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| RKW's Michelstadt site with new production building (back left) |
RKW has expanded its production capacities at its Michelstadt site, putting into operation an extrusion machine for agricultural films last March. This additional capacity will allow RKW to meet the growing demand for film covers more effectively. At the same time, RKW is creating new jobs with this investment. With its sights set firmly on the international growth markets, RKW is further expanding its agricultural activities and strengthening Michelstadt as an agricultural competence center.
Using the new extrusion machine in Michelstadt, RKW is now able to produce films with a width of between eight and 18 meters (26-59ft). Following some ten months of construction work, the company has also completed a new building for the machine, with a modern infrastructure that is in line with operating and product logistics requirements.
Focus on international growth markets
"With the new machine, we have boosted our site's extrusion capacity by more than 23 percent as well as creating new jobs," explains Bernd Brenner, who has been the new General Manager of RKW's Michelstadt site since March 2018. "Expanding this capacity is an important step for us in our efforts to establish our Michelstadt site as an agricultural competence center in line with our company strategy and to shift our focus even more on to international growth markets." This year also sees RKW expand its pool of machinery in Hoogstraten (Belgium).
The new capacities give RKW the opportunity to manage the seasonal order peaks even more flexibly and to ensure delivery reliability. Thanks to the wide range covered by the machine in Michelstadt, RKW is in an even stronger position to meet the growing demand in the agricultural sector. It was only recently that RKW restructured its silage portfolio, gearing it more clearly towards the different needs of farmers. The principal focus of RKW's efforts in this regard is on agriculture and horticulture, given the growing requirements on both the domestic and international markets.
About RKW
The RKW Group is an independent, family-owned company headquartered in Frankenthal, Germany and one of the world's foremost manufacturers of film solutions. RKW is the market leader in the areas of hygiene and agricultural films, films for the beverage industry and packaging for powdery goods. In addition, the company makes films and nonwovens for medical applications, for the chemical and converting industries as well as for the construction sector. In the fiscal year 2017, RKW generated total sales of USD 1.022 billion. About 3,000 employees process 416,674 (short) tons of plastic materials at 20 locations around the world.
