Vienna-based Wittmann Group set an order intake record in 2021 for its injection molding machines, robots and auxiliary equipment and realized its third-highest sales year of $384.8 million (376 million euros) even amid supply chain problems.
To meet demand, the company, which was founded in 2008, is ramping up a new facility in Kottingbrunn, Austria, to house a fully automatic pallet shelf warehouse with 1,700 storage locations, an assembly area for large and vertical machines, and a new electrical workshop.
Most of the construction has been completed at the facility with installation of a solar power system underway on the roof. The system consists of 1,604 panels with a total capacity of 651.8 megawatt hours per year.
In April, the group completed an expansion of its research and development facility at Wittmann Technology GmbH in Vienna. The company added new offices for 40 software and hardware developers with most positions filled.
For Wittmann Group CEO Michael Wittmann, the ongoing investments are "an important step to secure continuing corporate success for the years to come," according to a news release about the strong sales year.
"In spite of the supply chain problems preventing an even higher sales figure, the Wittmann Group is looking ahead with optimism," the company said.
In other recent investments, the group upgraded two technical labs that are part of German subsidiary Wittmann Battenfeld Deutschland GmbH, modernizing one in Nuremberg and expanding one in Meinerzhagen to perform factory acceptance tests, which will start this fall.
Another major project is under way at Wittmann USA Inc. in Torrington, Conn., where the company is in the last stage of expanding a plant for automation systems and injection molding cells.
In addition, the Polish subsidiary, Wittmann Battenfeld Polska Sp. z o.o., purchased a land in Krze Duże, close to its current location, with plans to build sales, service and training facilities starting at the end of the first quarter of 2023.