Bomag to double drum capacity

Germany's Bomag has announced plans to build a new 11500 m² roller drum facility at its main factory in Boppard. The company said the € 24 million investment, the largest in its 51-year history, will double drum capacity there.

The company will consolidate all its Boppard drum fabrication, assembly and painting activities at the new plant, which required the acquisition of a neighbouring 12000 m² property. Construction will start in early 2009 and first production is expected in early 2010.

Ralf Junker, production manager at Bomag, said, "Although we also have plants in Italy, the USA and China, we are focusing on increasing production in Boppard as well. We have now reached the limit of our capacity here. We must expand."

Bomag said the new facility will include: heat recovery systems, a photovoltaic system for generating electricity, clean-room assembly, robots, driverless transport systems, and other automation. Production will centre on work groups and individual responsibility, said Bomag. The new drum facility will employ 160 workers, 50 more than those currently making drums at Boppard.

Mr Junker said, "This new plant means we can increase our capacity and the quality of our products. We will also optimise our cost structures, raise the quality of workplaces and create more flexibility for our customers and suppliers. It's an important building block for our future."