On 1 September, the mechanical engineering company SML laid the foundation stone for its new plant in Redlham, Upper Austria.  During an 18-month construction period, modern buildings for R&D, production and administration are to be built on a 9 hectare-site. In addition, the new premises will also accommodate a large technical centre for machine demonstrations.

CEO, Karl Stöger, describes SML’s future plans as follows: “Over the past 22 years we have grown steadily and our current facilities in Lenzing are literally bursting at the seams. Therefore, with the new plant we are creating the basis for further expansion.”

With this investment, SML has both underlined its ties with Upper Austria, which is known as a competence centre for plastics technology, as well as a commitment to production “Made in Austria”, which is an important quality criterion in the machinery production field.
 

Additional employment

In line with the clear objective of expansion, in the medium-term the new and enlarged location will provide 160 extra jobs, which above all will relate to the technical professions. The new premises are therefore designed for a workforce of 420, as opposed to the roughly 260 personnel currently employed at SML in Lenzing.  

International orientation

SML is the globally recognized technology leader for especially high-performance extrusion systems for the production of a diversity packaging materials and composite. Last year, it achieved sales revenues of EUR 100 million with an export quota of over 95 per cent. Moreover, an increase in sales revenues of 15 per cent is forecast for 2017 and the company’s international activities are supported through its own sales branches in China, Malaysia, Russia and the USA. 

Lenzing, 04.09.2017