Sod-turning ceremony for 3.5 million euro investment in Übach-Palenberg

Schlafhorst celebrated commencement of the construction work together with high-ranking guests from politics and industry. Representatives from the community, from the business development initiative, from the state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as well as employees of the building authorities and construction companies involved were expected to attend the reception. Daniel Lippuner, CEO of the Saurer Group, Jan Röttgering, Managing Director of the Schlafhorst Business Unit Spinning, and Mayor Wolfgang Jungnitsch cut the first sod together at 1 pm.

“In the new logistics hall we can pick, store and send our machines which are ready for dispatch centrally and efficiently,” says Jan Röttgering from Schlafhorst. “Three loading ramps will be available in the future, upon which up to 15 large freight containers can be loaded every day. The pre-assembled machine Units come directly from the neighbouring assembly halls. Decentralised warehouses in the surrounding area are unnecessary. This saves time and money.”

The hall is, however, not only intended for dispatch purposes. It also provides enough space to assemble up to four fully functional machines for test runs and performance tests, thereby also expanding the performance capabilities of Schlafhorst's recently inaugurated Technology Center.

At its site in Übach-Palenberg Schlafhorst mainly manufactures its flagships, the rotor spinning machine Autocoro 8 and the winding machine Autoconer X5, which are exported around the world from here. “The markets have stabilised at a high level following the turbulences of the recent years,” says the CEO of the Saurer Group, Daniel Lippuner. “We are on course for expansion and therefore investing in our most important site here in Übach-Palenberg.” The new assembly and logistics hall should be ready in May next year.