BENTELER further expands growth field of electro-mobility in Germany

Schwandorf/Paderborn, March 02, 2018. The groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion was held on March 02, 2018. BENTELER Automotive is expanding its production and site area at the Schwandorf location by approximately 50 percent. We employ more than 600 colleagues at the site: The plant in Schwandorf is one of the largest employers in the area. The expansion is set to be completed by the end of 2018, production is expected to begin in 2019.

The plant proves two things at once: BENTELER's competence in the segment of complex light-weight solutions. And its innovative ability with regard to electro-mobility: For the company, the contract marks the entry into the production of battery trays in Germany. Globally, we are the manufacturer of every tenth battery tray. In Europe even every second.

Ralf Göttel, CEO BENTELER Group, explains: "We are systematically implementing our Group Strategy 2022. Here we have defined three priorities: the further development of the core business, targeted growth and a performance-oriented corporate culture. In a saturated market such as Germany, we are investing primarily in innovative technologies, such as the expansion of our electro-mobility business."

The new machine outfit uses Industry 4.0 solutions. Among other things, the company's teams will be able to read out machine data in real time (Conditioned Monitoring) to remain aware of a machine's condition at all times. This will permit early detection of malfunctions, allowing the teams to take preventative measures accordingly. The required IT structure for using solutions such as these is included in the plan from the very start of construction.