Gelsenkirchen, 3 November 2016 – Yesterday, the expanded facility at the Gelsenkirchen site passed its final inspection by officials. Their approval means the new building, with a gross floor area of roughly 7,700 square metres, constructed for the international Masterflex Group was completed well ahead of schedule.
Dr Andreas Bastin, the company’s CEO, stressed, “This expansion gives us the means to improve both the quality and volume of our production. Thanks to the smooth collaboration between all parties involved, we can now begin installing brand-new, state-of-the-art production equipment sooner than expected.” Starting in the first quarter of 2017, the market and technology leader in the field of sophisticated connection and hose systems will then be able to operate with significantly increased output.
The Masterflex Group invested about €5 million in this building alone, and it will spend roughly another € 2 million on new equipment. With the project’s completion, the production area for spiral hoses will grow by as much as 2,400 square metres. In addition, warehouse capacity will be increased by about 3,700 square metres. Some of the new space can serve multiple purposes. “It gives us the flexibility to adjust our production in line with market conditions for the long run. From a business standpoint, that is a real advantage,” Bastin remarks. “With the money we are saving on external storage, in addition to the optimised operations, we will also be able to work a lot more efficiently.” The new facility also includes office space. Those offices will take the place of ones being leased externally, which will be given up by the end of the year.
Additionally, the two-storey building has room for the development and production engineering departments, including laboratories. The vehicle access routes and loading zones have also been optimised. According to Bastin, “The expansion is another major step forward – for us as a company, for our customers and for the city of Gelsenkirchen as a place of business.”