Last year, KraussMaffei announced it was strengthening its ‘Made in Germany’ commitment with the construction of two new production plants. The company has meanwhile also taken steps to restructure itself into a more flexible organisation able to respond nimbly and fast to changes and requirements of the markets it serves.
One of these projects, announced in June 2019, concerned KraussMaffei Extrusion’s plans to build a new plant at Laatzen, on the outskirts of Hannover, including a state-of-the-art TechCenter, production and office facilities, that will provide space for up to 750 employees. Clustering all extrusion activities at one site will enhance the efficiency of the division, all the more so because at the newly built facility, the principles of Industry 4.0 are being consistently implemented throughout.
At Laatzen, KraussMaffei is realising a smart factory with continuously networked production and data processing in real time, visualized processes and data evaluation. In addition, the plant will be equipped with ultra-modern machine tools, which will also reduce the throughput times in manufacturing extrusion components.
When completed, the TechCenter will house over twenty machines ranging from a small laboratory system through a full-size production machine. At the centre, technology will be specifically developed aimed at processing plastic waste into create new materials. Completion of the new factory is scheduled for 2022.
Also announced last year was construction of a new metalworking plant for the company’s subsidiary Burgsmüller GmbH in Einbeck, not far from its current location in Kreiensen, where some 125 will be employed. The focus here will be on the production of wear parts for plastics processing machinery. Built to rigorous technical standards based on an energy-efficient concept and with production optimised to Industry 4.0 standards, the components produced at the new plant will be globally competitive. The new factory will open on 8 July 2020.
KraussMaffei is organising two customer events on 8 and 9 July 2020 at respectively the Einbeck and the Hanover locations where attendees will be shown the new premises and, on the second day, hear about the latest technological developments in plastics recycling.