In April, work began on the expansion of Wacker Neuson’s light equipment production site in Reichertshofen. The company invested around EUR 10 million in a new R&D center for light equipment between now and the beginning of 2017.

Back in 1998, the company already moved production of vibratory plates from the previous site near the Olympic Park in Munich (now the location of Group headquarters) to the factory in Reichertshofen (65 km away) to support strong growth and overcome capacity bottlenecks. Now, over the coming year, R&D, product management and materials management will also be relocating to Reichertshofen near to the production facility. “Moving all technical operations for light equipment to the same site will improve processes, shorten workflows and boost productivity even further,” explains Helmut Bauer, Managing Director of Wacker Neuson Produktion GmbH & Co. KG.

Wacker Neuson currently employs around 330 employees at the Reichertshofen site. Now, the company is constructing a new office building and test hall next to the existing production facilities on an area spanning more than ten hectares. This will include around 3,500 m2 of additional room for up to 120 employees, primarily in R&D. Adjacent to this will be a large, modern test hall providing almost 3,000 m² of space for extensive testing of light equipment during the development phase. In total, the company is channeling more than EUR 10 million into the expansion project.

“Expansion of the Wacker Neuson production site is currently the most important commercial development in our community,” confirms Michael Franken, Mayor of Reichertshofen. “It is creating a lot of promising new jobs that will strengthen our region.”

Vibratory plates, various rammers (for example battery-powered rammers), internal vibrators and inverters, angle grinders, floor saws and breakers will be developed and manufactured at the Reichertshofen site. The silver-spade ceremony was held on April 22, 2016, and the first employees will be moving into the four-story administration building and test hall by the end of the year.