For WITTMANN BATTENFELD France SAS, the French subsidiary of the WITTMANN Group, 2017 was the most successful year so far in its entire corporate history. The sales increased by 14% compared to the previous year, and the growth in order volume was even more dramatic. The increases occurred across all product segments, with substantial growth being realized especially in the sectors of granulators, robots and automation systems, with a corresponding increase in market shares in France.
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View of the WITTMANN Group’s new French headquarters in Moirans. Completion of the new building is expected in spring 2019. |
As an appropriate response to this positive trend, a piece of land situated in the immediate vicinity of the existing company site has been acquired in Moirans, which will now serve as the basis for an extension of the existing production floor space. Planning for the new facilities to be constructed there is in full swing. The planned new factory and office building will have more than 5,000 m2 of usable floor space. The total amount of investment for this project will be more than 5 million Euros.
Groundbreaking for the new French headquarters is expected to take place at the end of June this year. Completion of and relocation to the new building are planned for March 2019.
The roots of WITTMANN BATTENFELD France SAS in Moirans date back to the year 2002, when the French company Albora was taken over to 100% by WITTMANN. Today, the French subsidiary holds an important strategic position within the Austrian WITTMANN Group. The subsidiary develops and manufactures standard and screenless granulators for worldwide sale. The French branch within the group of companies has also developed into a competence center for the production of IML systems and special automation solutions for packaging systems – equipment which is sold by all subsidiaries of the group.
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Fabien Chambon, CEO of WITTMANN BATTENFELD France SAS. |
Following completion of the new office and production facility, the French subsidiary will be able to present to its customers the group’s range of injection molding machines, robots and peripherals in a 400 m2 showroom, combined with appropriate training facilities.
Effective 1 May 2018, Fabien Chambon has taken over the general management of WITTMANN BATTENFELD France SAS from his successful predecessor Thierry Petra. Fabien Chambon comments: “Managing the French WITTMANN subsidiary is not only a challenge, but also a great pleasure – largely thanks to the excellent general conditions. The new building we expect to move into next year will enable us to perform our work even more efficiently and even closer to our customers. We are really looking forward to that!“
About WITTMANN Group
The WITTMANN Group is a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of injection molding machines, robots and peripheral equipment for the plastics industry. Headquartered in Vienna/Austria, the WITTMANN Group consists of two main divisions, WITTMANN BATTENFELD and WITTMANN, which operate 8 production facilities in 5 countries, including 33 direct subsidiary offices located in all major plastics markets around the world.
WITTMANN BATTENFELD focuses on the independent market growth in the manufacturing of state-of-the-art injection molding machines and process technology, providing a modern and comprehensive range of machinery in a modular design that meets the actual and future requirements of the plastic injection molding market.
WITTMANN’s product range includes robots and automation systems, material handling systems, dryers, gravimetric and volumetric blenders, granulators, mold temperature controllers and chillers. With this comprehensive range of peripheral equipment, WITTMANN can provide plastics processors with solutions that cover all production requirements, ranging from autonomous work cells to integrated plant-wide systems.
The syndication of the WITTMANN Group has led to connectivity between all product lines, providing the advantage plastics processors have been looking for in terms of a seamless integration of injection molding machines, automation and auxiliary equipment – all occurring at a progressive rate.
