Oerlikon Barmag investing in the future

Remscheid, February 25, 2020 – by breaking ground for the extension to its Pump Construction division, machine and systems manufacturer Oerlikon Barmag is continuing on its innovation course. With an investment in the high single-digit million-euro range, the new-build at the Leverkuserstraße site represents a clear commitment of the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group to ensuring its business segment continue to be future-oriented.

February 26, 2020

Caption : Groundbreaking ceremony at Oerlikon Barmag in Remscheid Lennep on February 25, 2020: Head of Real Estate Real Estate Nina Krüger, CEO Georg Stausberg, Mayor Burkhard Mast-Weisz, CFO Ralf Schilken as well as the Head of HR and Management Board Member Uwe Model (from left to right).

Groundbreaking for the Pump Construction extension at the Remscheid Lennep site

The world market leader for manmade fiber systems and texturing machines will be manufacturing and testing hi-tech spinning, feed and metering pumps in the around 4,000 m² no later than December 2020. The attractive new-build will also house offices and communal areas totaling approx. 500 m² on the second basement level. By investing in its future, Oerlikon Barmag is creating new benchmarks in terms of Pump Construction’s profitability, process stability and logistics. Around 80 members of staff from incoming goods, logistics and pre-production with 40 machine tools will be moving into the new-build, where they will also be benefiting from a new warehouse and logistics concept.

“There continues to be a high demand for our pumps. They are one of the most important core components within the spinning process. Here, we are currently benefiting from a high order backlog and a high number of incoming orders for manmade fiber systems. But our pumps are also deployed in many other industrial applications, such as the painting industry, the chemicals industry and the production of automobiles. Expanding our production capacities was the prerequisite for optimizing our processes and fulfilling increasing customer demand. In perspective, the expansion not only helps secure the site and jobs for around 150 members of staff, but also above all the Pump Construction division’s growth targets. Our clients throughout the world truly value our pumps, particularly against the backdrop of the ‘Made in Germany’ brand”, explained Klaus Lorenz, Head of Pump Construction at the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, in Remscheid Lennep.

Georg Stausberg, CEO of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment, added: “Our innovative strength has always been the reason for our globally leading market position in the manmade fiber systems construction sector. For this reason, it is only consistent that we would invest in our development sites in Remscheid and Neumünster – where we were able to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for a new R&D Center in early-February.”

Remscheid’s Mayor Burkhard Mast-Weisz was present at the groundbreaking ceremony, as were numerous representatives of the city, construction company Dohrmann and the architect Michael Treders. Mast-Weisz underlined the significance of the building project for the city. “Creating new jobs on the back of this investment is hugely important for Remscheid”, commented the Mayor. Oerlikon Barmag created several hundred jobs last year alone. This figure included around 20 new jobs in the Pump Construction division in 2019. And there are plans to create further jobs in this division in 2020 as well.

Oerlikon Barmag will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2022. Pump Construction – practically the core of the former Barmag AG – was involved from the very start and has been all about superlative innovative strength and state-of-the-art manufacturing methods in conjunction with a stringent quality philosophy ever since. Oerlikon Barmag manufactures precision gear metering pumps for textile and non-textile applications. The smallest pumps weigh 400 grams, precisely conveying 0.015 cm3/rev, while the largest come in at four tons and are capable of conveying 12.8 liters of liquids per revolution. Textile spinning pumps provide highly-accurate metering of the melt in manmade fiber systems for manufacturing continuous filaments. Non-textile pumps are predominantly deployed in the manufacture of films, in the metering of paints, in the mixing of chemical liquids, in the application of hot-melt adhesives as well as in the processing of silicones, resins and polyurethanes. All manufacturing processes are carried out at the Remscheid site: turning, drilling, milling, grinding, lapping and toothing.