ENGEL AUSTRIA has further boosted its presence in Germany. After less than a year of planning and construction, the injection moulding machine builder and automation expert, whose head offices are in Schwertberg/Austria, inaugurated its new sales and service facility in Wurmberg near Stuttgart on 19 April together with customers and partners. All told, ENGEL invested some 5 million euros in its new location.
“Germany is our most important market, this is where we generate around a quarter of our global sales", said Dr. Peter Neumann, CEO of ENGEL Holding during the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by 130 guests. "In the last few years we have continuously increased our market share in Germany. Our investment in South Germany sees us do justice to this growth." Besides Nuremberg, Hagen and Hanover, ENGEL Deutschland GmbH Technologieforum Stuttgart, located in Wurmberg, is the fourth subsidiary in Germany. 22 staff for sales and application technology, training, service and energy consulting are in from the start. In the mid-term, ENGEL seeks to continue growing in Wurmberg.
Communication hub for the injection moulding industry
"Our objective is to establish ourselves as an information and communication hub for our customers in South West Germany", said Claus Wilde, Head of ENGEL Deutschland Technologieforum Stuttgart. At 700 square metres the technical centre is the largest of any ENGEL subsidiary. It offers space for seven automated production cells which are available to customers for demonstrations, tests and training. The exhibits change to match the comprehensive programme of seminars and workshops. “We can present new applications to clients and guests every time they visit", said Wilde. Energy efficiency and lightweight design are two current focus topics, and they play a central role in the strongly technology-driven Southwest German industry. Many global leaders in automotive supplies have their head offices in Baden-Württemberg, as do leading research institutes such as the Fraunhofer Institute in Pfinztal, with whom ENGEL has cooperated for many years on the field of fibre composite technologies.
Another benefit the Wurmberg location offers is a direct link to the A8 motorway. "We have substantially shortened the route to ENGEL for our customers in the Southwest", said Claus Wilde. "Customer proximity is becoming increasingly important as a success factor. Many plastics processing firms are moving away from small standard machines in favour of larger, complex and technologically sophisticated system solutions. That means plastics processing companies and systems suppliers are having to work together more closely all the time.”
Located on the new Dachstein trading estate, ENGEL in Wurmberg has the best possible conditions for plans for continuing growth. "We felt at home here right from the outset, and have received optimum support from the local community and Mayor Jörg-Michael Teply", said Claus Wilde. "Wurmberg needs strong partners", emphasised Jörg-Michael Teply in his welcome speech. "Especially as a small community, we need to be particularly innovative. ENGEL matches us really well."
