Construction Starts on Linde Hydraulics' New Main Plant in Aschaffenburg

www.chinatrucks.com: Linde Hydraulics has symbolically broken ground on the new construction for its main plant in Aschaffenburg. The new complex of buildings will be built on the 70,700 m² site over the next two and a half years: a new production and assembly hall and a building for administration, research & development and sales.

The brand new construction of Linde Hydraulics’ main plant provides the company with a wide variety of opportunities for the future: "The new plant will allow us to significantly increase the capacity, innovative strength and efficiency, and further develop our market position on an international level", Dr Jörg Ulrich, management spokesperson at Linde Hydraulics, explained during the event.

 
Dr. Jörg Ulrich, Spokesman of the Linde Hydraulics Management Board Optimised processes, expanded research & development

The new plant structure, developed specifically for Linde Hydraulics, will allow the company to significantly improve information flows between individual departments and work steps in the future, thereby achieving optimised interdisciplinary co-operation. The new structure will also benefit the heart of the new plant: the research & development area that has been doubled in size.

Thorsten van der Tuuk, member of the Management Board, said: “In the future, more than 100 additional local and international employees in this area will ensure that both innovations and specific customer requirements are ready for the market, and therefore for the customer, even more quickly.”

The new production and assembly area, which will cover more than 24,000 m², will enable the company to improve logistics and material flows, significantly reducing lead times, and new, modern systems will also ensure increased productivity. The new plant will enable the highly-qualified Linde Hydraulics employees to work more flexibly and effectively. The new administration building will also be expanded to accommodate more than 350 office work stations.

Ulrich symbolically marked the start of construction together with Klaus Herzog, Mayor of Aschaffenburg, Gerhard Eck, state secretary of the government of Bavaria, Tan Xuguang, Chairman and CEO of Weichai Power and Gordon Riske, Chairman of the Board of Management of KION GROUP AG.

Central pillar of newly established corporate independence

Even during negotiations with Weichai Power, all the parties agreed on the importance of a new, dedicated main plant as foundation for the newly established corporate independence of Linde Hydraulics. Planning began as soon as the contracts were signed.

Tan Xuguang, Chairman and CEO of Weichai Power said: "We are very committed to providing active support to this new construction project. This is the main site of Linde Hydraulics, where new products are to be created and will accelerate the expansion in the Asian growth markets".

Dr. Steffen Appel, member of the Management Board and responsible for the new construction, said: "Our planning is focused on improving work processes and research & development opportunities in particular. The initial findings are already paying dividends in the current day-to-day business. I would like to thank everyone for their dedication and commitment to move the construction project forward in recent months".

 
Tan Xuguang, Chairman and CEO Weichai Power Phased construction

Construction work will start with a new car park; which will provide around 800 parking spots for presently 700 employees. Like the other two buildings, it is designed with growth in mind. This will be followed by construction of the production facility and the building for administration, research & development and sales.

The new main plant will be completed in stages. Production is scheduled to move at the end of 2015; corporate headquarters follow until end of 2016.

About Linde Hydraulics

Linde Hydraulics is a global developer and supplier of modular drive systems consisting of hydraulics, electrical engineering and electronics. As a leading technology provider in the field of high pressure hydraulics, the systems produced by Linde Hydraulics set the standard in terms of significantly reducing fuel consumption and CO2. The product range comprises hydraulic pumps and motors, valves, electronic controls, peripheral devices, rotary drives and electric motors. Linde Hydraulics is the development partner and supplier of a number of reputable manufacturers of mobile work machinery, including construction, mining, agricultural, forestry and municipal utility machines, as well as manufacturers of industrial machinery.

The company, which was founded in 1904, is based in Aschaffenburg. Around 1400 employees work at four production sites in Germany and at the subsidiaries in Europe, the US and China. Linde Hydraulics is represented in more than 50 countries by a strong network of around 60 sales and service partners. In North and South America, as well as the Asia Pacific region, Linde Hydraulics is also drawing on the sales network of Eaton Hydraulics.

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