From 2022-2024, ORAFOL intends to invest €150 million (AUD$238 million) in high-tech and digitalisation at its headquarters in Oranienburg, Germany. This will represent the largest investment in production infrastructure since the company was founded. Part of the investment is aimed at diversification and tapping into new markets.
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| Orafol's global HQ is located at Orienberg, Brandenberg close to Berlin, Germany |
The international ORAFOL Group, which specialises in the finishing of plastics, is investing €150 million in expanding the production facilities at its headquarters in Oranienburg, Brandenburg. The company is responding to a global increase in demand and establishing new technologies for manufacturing products for the graphics industry, retroreflective materials, industrial adhesive tapes and high-performance films.
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| Dr. Holger Loclair, Orafol Charman & CEO |
The majority of the investment will be ploughed into the construction of two new production halls by 2024, into equipping them with plant technology, and connecting them to the digital production planning system. Construction of the first of the two halls is scheduled to begin in (Northern) Spring 2022.
Dr. Holger Loclair, Chairman & CEO of the Orafol Group says: “Over the past five years, Orafol has consolidated and become a large-scale enterprise. With our current investment cycle through 2024, we are laying the foundation for sustainable growth through diversification. In product development, we are equally high-performing in all divisions. It therefore makes sense to reproduce this in terms of production technology.”
The hall covers an area of 15,000 square meters. Once the new building is complete, a total of five new production lines for lamination and coating will be installed. This will not only increase the capacity for manufacturing standard products, but also enable new products to be produced. In the future, Orafol will be able to produce self-adhesive laminates that are considerably wider than those currently available on the market. At the same time, the future technology portfolio will allow new variants for the production of laminates with innovative functional layers.
New production equipment for manufacturing adhesive fixing solutions means that the Adhesive Tape Systems (ATS) division can be expanded. With all technologies, Orafol is responding to requirements that are particularly important in the automotive sector and that also play a part in the company’s diversification strategy.
Marcel Janßen, Senior Vice President Engineering & Technology says: “From the outset, all machines are integrated into a digital production planning system, which guarantees efficient processes and optimum use of raw materials.”
Construction work on the second planned new building on the Orafol site in Oranienburg, Brandenburg is scheduled to begin in mid-2022. The hall will provide space for a highly automated picking and packaging line and will be connected to the Reflective Solutions production area.
Orafol Australia recently announced it's establishing a 'Creative Hub' within its Erskine Park, NSW office/warehouse complex.
