Smart Molding International 2-2021

11 newsfeed www.smart-molding.com In the second half of 2020, the WITTMANN Group has seen a more than positive development in its busi - ness in spite of the economic slow - down in the automotive sector and the restrictions due to COVID-19, and this trend is continuing in 2021. This development has paved the way for further investments. The order intake of the WITTMANN Group has substantially increased, mainly from the second half of 2020 onwards, and reached a new record level in February 2021. An increase has been registered across all markets and sectors of industry. Michael Witt - mann, Managing Director and CEO of the WITTMANN Group, states: “Based on the current order backlog and con - tinuing very positive order situation, we are looking forward to a two-digit increase in sales for 2021. From today’s point of view, we expect to reach the figure of 2019 once more and maybe even exceed it.” In this connection, the availability of parts is a challenge, since the industrial production figures are experiencing a global upturn. The Group’s staffing level of 2,200 associates is currently slightly above that of last year. Since the end of January 2021, WITTMANN Kunststoffgeräte GmbH in Vienna has now been operating under its new, more international company name WITTMANN Technology GmbH. For WITTMANN’s two production fa - cilities in Vienna, a major remodel - ing of its headquarters in Lichtblaus - trasse is planned for 2021, together with an extension of the building in Percostrasse. The latter involves an extension of the R&D departments in the areas of mechatronics and soft - ware development. An additional 1,050 m² of office and test lab space will be created. Another note - wor thy i nvest - ment is imminent a t WI T TMANN BATTENFELD in K o t t i n g b r u n n . Here, a fully auto - matic pallet rack - ing system with about 1,500 pallet bays will be built. For this purpose, the construction of an extension to the existing building to provide about 3,000 m² of additional space will start inMay. Completion and commissioning is scheduled for 2023. In addition to the fully automatic pal - let racking system, this extension will house a separate storage and order picking area, as well as assembly space for vertical and large machine models and a new electrical workshop. Rainer Weingraber, Managing Director of WITTMANN BATTENFELD GmbH, com - ments: “This investment will help us to make the production process even more efficient and to continue on our course of growth. It will be a further milestone for the production plant in Kottingbrunn.” The investment projects of the WITTMANN Group planned for the current fiscal year for its subsidiar - ies concern primarily China, Hun - gary and Bulgaria. The facilities at these locations are to be further extended. Michael Wittmann: “With these planned investments we will be op - timally prepared for the challenges of the next few years in the areas of development as well as logistics and sales.” WITTMANN Group www.wittmann-group.com The WITTMANN Group is a glob- ally leading manufacturer of injec- tion molding machines, robots and auxiliary equipment for processing a great variety of plasticizable materials – both plastic and non- plastic. The group of companies has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria and consists of two main divisions: WITTMANN BATTENFELD and WITTMANN. WITTMANN Technology GmbH, Vienna WITTMANN is looking ahead with optimism Extension to the existing assembly hall to be constructed in Kottingbrunn