Kennametal Inc. recently announced that it completed the relocation of Kennametal Extrude Hone GmbH to its new location in Holzgünz, Germany, after a year of planning and construction. The new building in Holzgünz is a highly sophisticated and innovative production and administration site located in an ecological building following a state-of-the-art ecological concept and structure. On May 6, 2014 the inauguration took place in combination with technology days and an employee family day on May 10, 2014.
This relocation is consistent with Kennametal’s strategy to increase efficiency and better serve our customers – in this case by merging the two locations of Kennametal Extrude Hone GmbH Erkheim and Babenhausen, Germany, and transfering the production unit of Kennametal Extrude Hone Shannon, Ireland, under one roof in the newly built facility in Holzgünz, about 10 km from the old location in Erkheim and 20 kilometers from Babenhausen.
“The new site combines all functions of the previous locations, including state-of-the-art machine technology for the areas of AFM (Abrasive Flow Machining), ECM (Electro Chemical Machining), PECM (Precise Electro Chemical Machining) and TEM (Thermal Energy Method – Thermal deburring), sales, finance and administration,” says Urs Hirsiger, Managing Director Kennametal Extrude Hone Global, a subsidiary of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE) Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA. “The spatial arrangement of this newly built facility has been tailored to our own specific needs and enables an optimized process flow which increases our overall performance and enables us to provide our worldwide customers with the machines, products, services and technology of Kennametal Extrude Hone in an even better and optimized way.”
The customers benefit from shorter lead-times which increases Kennametal Extrude Hone’s competitiveness. Through its global technology centers Kennametal offers excellent services and solutions in the field of precision surface processing and increases the value and productivity of customers worldwide.
Kennametal invested in the latest machine technology, building and infrastructure, including a new test and demonstration center which represents an excellent opportunity to showcase the technology and machinery of Kennametal Extrude Hone to its customers. With this new facility Kennametal Extrude Hone is able to better serve customers by offering Kennametal’s complete product portfolio as well as customized solutionsand technologies for customers in the industries of aerospace, transportation, including drive systems and fuel injection, as well as the energy and medical technology.
The four-day event in May 2014 with the official opening on May 6 and the subsequent Technology Days on May 6 to 8, and a Family Day on Saturday, May 10 was a great success. Guest speakers from industry and business as well as universities gave insights into market developments and innovative technologies. Likewise, Kennametal experts answered questions on issues of metal cutting and other areas with a focus on injection, transmission and energy production.
“We are excited about the new facility and the productivity boost to our customers and look forward to future growth opportunities for Kennametal Extrude Hone,” affirms Urs Hirsiger, Managing Director Kennametal Extrude Hone Global.