Wacker Neuson starts construction of a new factory in Austria

Wacker Neuson broke ground in early June at the site of its new compact equipment factory in Hörsching, Austria. The company is investing EUR65 million (US$95 million) in the 50,000 square metre (540,000 square foot) plant that it says will one of the largest, most modern production plants for compact equipment in the world.

According to deputy board chairman and compact equipment segment head Martin Lehner: "We are delighted to see construction work get underway. Growing demand for our products has clearly stretched capacity at our Leonding plant to the limit, and this is accentuated by our strategic alliance with Caterpillar for the manufacture of excavators weighing up to 3 tonnes."

General manager Johannes Mahringer said of the new facility: "Optimised production processes and the latest technologies - such as a paint line with powder coating und a sand-blasting facility - will further increase the quality of our products and create additional efficiency gains."

Currently, the company employs a workforce of 350 and this number is expected to grow by the time the new plant starts production at the beginning of May 2012.