Sennebogen Announces Opening of Plant in Germany

Sennebogen, a manufacturer of material handling equipment headquartered in Germany with North American offices in Charlotte, N.C., has announced the official opening of its new 1,345,000-square-foot production facility, marking a significant milestone in the company’s 55 years of growth in equipment design and manufacturing.

Phase 1 of the new facility, including a 140,000-square-foot equipment assembly hall, is now in operation. Plans for the site in the Straubinger Business Park near the compnay’s headquarters in Straubing, Germany, were first unveiled in February 2007. According to Erich Sennebogen, owner and managing director of the business, the development was undertaken specifically to add capacity for large-scale machines. “Due to the increasing worldwide demand for large-scale material handling and lifting devices, this new site is an important strategic step and another milestone in our company history,” he says. “We will now have the resources to respond even faster and with more flexibility to the needs and wishes of our customers and distribution partners.”

Increasing capacity will meet a growing need for Sennebogen America, based in Charlotte, N.C. According to Constantino Lannes, president of Sennebogen America, “In a few short years, we have seen Sennebogen material handlers become the preferred choice in American’s material handling industry. Innovations such as the new D-Series cab and readily available electric-powered models are demonstrating the Sennebogen family’s underlying commitment to responsive customer service. We are seeing the same trends toward Sennebogen and toward larger machine sizes all over the world.”

The Plant 2 assembly hall will allow for the production, erection and testing of the machines with operating weights of up to 300 tons. Advanced management processes are supporting increased planning reliability, shorter turnaround and faster delivery times. The tri-modal connections with the Port of Straubing provide all the logistic prerequisites for worldwide transportation of Sennebogen machines via road, rail or water. The site also provides a 54,000-square-foot administration building that is equipped with communications, offices and social rooms for staff and guests.

Sennebogen’s decision to locate in Straubing allowed the company to build on the qualified personnel in other Sennebogen facilities nearby and with experienced suppliers throughout the region. Plant 2 will employ about 350 people in Production, Development, Engineering and Administration. Investment in the project totaled about $48 million. The new site also provides for future expansions of up to 22,000,000 square feet.

Plant 1 at Straubing remains the group’s main office with central administration areas. The production of Sennebogen OEM carriers, worldwide spare parts distribution and customer support will also continue at Plant 1.

The original company that Erich Sennebogen Sr. established in 1952 has developed from a manufacturer of agricultural machines into a global player in the areas of material handling, crane technology and special machinery. Sennebogen has produced thousands of machines for worldwide use, and through 2007-2008, increased its machine output by as much as 30 percent.

With the completion of Plant 2, Sennebogen now has four production plants, three of which are in Germany and one in Hungary, staffed by 1,000 engineers, skilled workers and support personnel.

More information is available at www.sennebogen-na.com.