Extrusion International USA 5-2020

12 Extrusion International 5/2020 INDUSTRY NEWS On 3 September 2020, KraussMaffei and VGP – a leading project developer for high-quality logistics and commercial real estate – officially laid the foundation stone for the con- struction of a new production plant for extrusion systems in Laatzen’s eastern industrial park located in the Hannover/ Germany region. According to the time schedule, the 66,500 square meter facility is planned to be completed by the third quarter of 2022. The new address will replace the former KraussMaffei site in Hannover-Kleefeld that did not allow any further expansion. In the third quarter of 2022, up to 750 employees will be working here at innovative workplac- es in order to produce extrusion systems for the plastics and rubber industries. Ultra-modern premises with impressive office and pro- duction areas will be built on the spacious site to combine KraussMaffei’s extrusion business activities under a single roof. Special focus is placed on the new InnovationCenter that will be available for challenging and complex prelimi- Foundation Stone for New Company Premises KraussMaffei Extrusion www.kraussmaffei.com nary tests under realistic production conditions to customers from the plastics and rubber industries before they actually order a new machine from KraussMaffei. On a floor area of around 10,000 square meters, the InnovationCenter will comprise 20 state-of-the-art machines and lines – from small laboratory facilities up to production-scale machines – to be used for trial purposes. Completion is proceeding according to schedule. The new plant in Laatzen is already the third joint project KraussMaffei implements with the support of VGP’s experi- ence and expertise. Majority Stake in Norwegian Machine Trading Company Acquired On July 14 the Feddersen Group acquired 75% of the shares in the Norwegian company PROTEC Scandinavia AS and 100% of the shares in PROTEC Scandinavia Sweden AB from Pemel Holding AS. Both companies trade in machinery and equipment for the plastics processing industry and rep- resent long-established manufacturers in this segment. With the acquisition of the shareholdings, the Feddersen Group is further expanding its regional presence in North- ern Europe and will in future serve the Norwegian market with a legally independent company and its own sales struc- ture. The portfolio of PROTEC Scandinavia AS will soon be expanded to include the distribution of engineering plastics. PROTEC Scandinavia Sweden AB is to be integrated into K.D. Feddersen Norden AB. Synergies within the group of compa- nies are also to be exploited to a greater extent. PROTEC Scandinavia AS www.protecscandinavia.com In the presence of Lower Saxony’s Minister-President Stephan Weil, Laatzen’s Mayor Jürgen Köhne, Jan Van Geet, Chairman of the VGP Board of Management, Dr. Michael Ruf, Chief Executive Officer of the KraussMaffei Group and Dieter Thewes, Chief Operating Officer of KraussMaffei Extrusion GmbH, the foundation (Photos. KraussMaffei) New KraussMaffei plant covers 66,500 m 2 offering ample space for up to 750 workplaces in production, assembly and administration