On 8 March 2017 the groundbreaking ceremony of the new innovation and production center of GF Machining Solutions, a division of GF, took place in Bözingenfeld in Biel (Switzerland). The modern facility will be completed by the end of 2018.
On an area of around 24‘500 m², GF Machining Solutions will build a state-of-the-art production plant to manufacture machine tools and spindles. The new facility will include a cutting-edge research & development center as well as a modern application center. The three existing GF Machining Solutions sites Nidau, Ipsach and Luterbach (all in Switzerland) will be concentrated under the roof of the new building, which will provide space for a total of approx. 450 attractive working places. Responsible for the development and construction of the plant is the total services contractor HRS Real Estate AG.
In the presence of Christoph Ammann, member of the government council, Erich Fehr, major of the city of Biel, Martin Kull, CEO and owner of HRS Real Estate AG, and Pascal Boillat, Head of GF Machining Solutions and its management, together with all project participants, celebrated the start of construction in a groundbreaking ceremony. Yves Serra, CEO of GF, commented on the event: “This substantial investment underscores the commitment of GF to Switzerland as an attractive business location. Besides allowing us to bring together all milling production activities in a state of the art plant, the new facility will provide the most modern innovation environment able to attract the best engineering talents.” Overall, GF is investing about CHF 80 million in the new plant over the next three years.
GF Machining Solutions provides machine tools, automation solutions and customer services for the production of molds, dies and high value-added metal parts. The division has manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Sweden and China, and serves its customers in more than 50 countries.