- Festive opening ceremony with many guests
- Construction completed smoothly
- Good order situation means plant expansion necessary
Wackersdorf, Germany, April 26, 2016 ... The plastics specialist Röchling has com-pleted the expansion of its location in Wackersdorf faster than planned. Röchling Automotive celebrated the official commissioning of the new spaces, warehouses, and production facilities with a ceremony at the plant today. “We are glad that our expan¬sion project was completed so smoothly, thanks also to the support from the community and the local construction companies,” said Evelyn Thome, Commercial Manager of Röchling Automotive Germany SE & Co. KG in Worms. The capital expenditure for the expansion and renovation amounted to EUR 4.5 million.
The plant in Wackersdorf has been supplying customers primarily in southern Germany for 18 years. In that time, it has made an important contribution to the success of the Group. At the turn of the year 2014/2015, Röchling Automotive had acquired a 21,400-square-meter property next to its site in the industrial area in Wackersdorf, expanding the overall size of its premises to 58,500 square meters. In the summer of 2015, Röchling Automotive constructed a 1,200-square-meter warehouse for spare parts services in lightweight construction on its newly acquired property. This was followed by the expansion of the existing plant. The production hall, including engineering and social spaces, was expanded by 2,300 square meters, the logistics warehouse by 3,000 square meters, the engineering area by 250 square meters, and the logistics canopy/empty packaging area by 1,200 square meters.
In total, the production area was expanded to 5,700 square meters and the logistics area now covers a total of 7,700 square meters. During the course of the year, a modern warehouse management system will be introduced in the logistics warehouse that will make technology-supported loading and unloading possible.
At the opening festivities, which were attended by the Executive Board and management of Röchling Automotive as well as employees, customers, and representa¬tives from local politics and businesses, the Plant Manager Karl-Heinz Blöth explained the reasons for the expansion. Key factors had been a number of new orders and increasing call orders from BMW, especially for the new 5 and 6 series as well as the BMW X1. The company produces innovative plastic parts for the automobile manufacturer for the underbody, engine compartment, air induction system, air flap control, and air and water management. “The orders made additional storage and logistics space necessary as well as an expansion of the production facilities,” Blöth said. Investments were made in an injection molding machine with a clamping force of 500 metric tons, a plate welding system, and a foam application system. In May, a 2,300-metric-ton injection molding machine will also be taken into operation as well as an additional 800-metric-ton system at the end of 2016.
Mayor Thomas Falter emphasized the importance of the plant expansion for the Wackersdorf community at the opening festivities. “Röchling Automotive is one of the major employers in our region and is putting its trust in the Wackersdorf location with this important decision for the future,” said Falter. The automobile supplier employs 170 staff at that location, with this number set to grow. Four young workers are currently being trained as Process Technicians for Rubber Technologies. Two apprentices for electrical engineering have already been signed on for September 2016.
Röchling Automotive is also well prepared for further growth at the Wackersdorf location: The newly acquired property has 15,000 square meters of green space available for potential expansions.
