Production capacities in Verl and surrounding area to be expanded – also beyond Verl
The rapid and dynamic growth of the technology company presents some major challenges. Production capacities have already been expanded and personnel resources increased. By the middle of the year, Beckhoff will expand its production capacities in Verl and the surrounding area by more than 50% compared to the beginning of 2020.
“To this end, we are mobilizing our last space reserves and acquiring additional space,” reports Hans Beckhoff. Beckhoff recently acquired a 15-hectare site in the immediate vicinity of existing properties in the inter-municipal industrial park planned by the cities of Verl and Rietberg in the Varensell district of Rietberg. “We plan to create an industrial park here that will provide space for further expansion in the future for both Beckhoff Automation and our wholly owned subsidiaries Smyczek and Schirmer, which are also growing dynamically along with us,” Hans Beckhoff continues.
These plans include modern production and administration buildings that will be embedded in a Westphalian park landscape and will involve the sealing-over of as little land area as possible. “Sustainability and environmental protection are important aspects for all business decisions in our company, and we are also taking them into consideration in our new building project,” explains Hans Beckhoff. This is why the company wants to build production and office buildings up to four stories high. Parking spaces are to be created in a space-saving manner in a multi-story parking garage, and a high-rack warehouse will also help to optimize operational processes and minimize the sealed surface area. An overall urban development plan is being planned by Beckhoff.
Together with the site on Gütersloher Straße in the town of Verl, which was acquired several years ago, the new property will secure the spatial development of the Beckhoff Automation Group at its main site in eastern Westphalia for the next decade and beyond. Hans Beckhoff is expecting to see continued healthy growth for his company: “Over the next 10 years, we expect to create more than 1,000 additional jobs here if all goes well. We are pleased to have created the basis for further development at the East Westphalia site for our company.”
Further expansion outside of Verl
At the same time as the expansions in Verl and Rietberg, Beckhoff is also expanding in other locations. For example, the 2021 financial year saw the automation technology specialist open an office in Kaunas, Lithuania, to serve the market in this part of the world.
A new building is currently being constructed in Balingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany for the sales office located there. This is set to be entirely self-sufficient in terms of its energy needs and will be ready to move into at the beginning of 2023. In Marktheidenfeld in Lower Franconia, the drive technology production facility of the Fertig Motors subsidiary located there is being expanded.
The subsidiary Beckhoff Austria is building a new headquarters in Bürs, while the first production facility outside Germany is to be built near Shanghai in China. The main reason for this is to expand the Chinese market from within the country itself, since this is one of the strongest markets in terms of sales for Beckhoff Automation with a share of more than 22%.