Further expansion of the Mannheim site for over €20 million
The FUCHS PETROLUB Group, which operates globally in the lubricants sector has enjoyed a successful past six years and is continuing this success. Profit after tax has risen by more than 30% a year on average. At the same time, existing debts have almost been repaid in full and the balance sheet has been strengthened. FUCHS PETROLUB will build on this by investing in the future and in its global infrastructure from 2008 to 2010. Through this investment initiative FUCHS is underlining its trust in the high performance, quality and productivity of its global activities.
The worldwide investment initiative of FUCHS PETROLUB comprises a comprehensive package of measures. In accordance with these a new lubricant plant will be opened in Shanghai in August 2008. Not only does the new location represent the headquarters of FUCHS' activities in China, it will also be the center of the FUCHS Group's research and development in Asia. In March a large site was purchased near Mumbai, India, for which the first stages of construction for a plant with laboratory and office space will begin at the end of this year. In Brazil the FUCHS Group is searching for a large new site, in order to relocate and modernize the existing plant in the Greater Sao Paulo area which is much too small. On August 6, 2008 the groundbreaking for the global headquarters of the specialty business FUCHS LUBRITECH Group with new laboratory and administration buildings will take place in Kaiserslautern.
This investment package is complemented by the planned construction projects at the home site in Mannheim. FUCHS EUROPE SCHMIERSTOFFE will further expand its main plant and so create the necessary infrastructure for continued success in the future and at the same time strengthen its position as competence centre of the FUCHS Group. The largest manufacturing facility in the Group will become more efficient and gain attractivity in the Rhein-Neckar metropolitan area. The investment in the Mannheim site will exceed €20 million. Start of construction is scheduled for mid 2009.
The purchase of an almost 12,000 m² site from Röhrenlager Mannheim GmbH, on August 1, 2008 is the basis for the construction project. This purchase gives FUCHS over 106,000 m² on the Friesenheim Island. The key focus of the FUCHS EUROPE SCHMIERSTOFFE construction project will be the building of a new technology and sales and marketing center with new office and laboratory space, as well as an increased capacity of the test rigs. In addition to this, previously separate parts of the site will be connected to each other.
A new laboratory building will be the core of the technology center, which will create additional capacity in the field of metal-working fluids and will take into account the large increase in analytical activity in the service and quality laboratory. The new laboratory building will include space for our research activities in metal-working, corrosion protection, advance development, quality control, technical service and knowhow transfer. The new building will be located near the €6 million laboratory space created in 2003 for automotive lubricants and industrial oils.
The test bench area will be enlarged and capacities increased in order to expand the development of new products by simulating their application. The existing test bench, the fundamental component of the technology-driven new development of future-oriented lubricants, was only constructed in 2003 and is now to be expanded.
As research and development activities in Mannheim play a decisive role for the entire Group, this investment will secure the future of FUCHS as a technological leader in strategically important areas of application.
The number of employees at FUCHS EUROPE SCHMIERSTOFFE in Mannheim has increased by 15% since 2002. The construction of the new sales and marketing center enables us to bring the scattered departments of internal sales, product management and marketing together under one roof. The new building provides space for 140 workplaces. Additional meeting rooms and a large conference room form the basis of the customer center.
The FUCHS PETROLUB Group achieved sales revenues of €1.4 billion in 2007. As at June 30, 2008 the Group employed 3,900 employees worldwide including over 600 employees at the Mannheim site.
Mannheim, August 6, 2008
FUCHS PETROLUB AG
Public Relations
Friesenheimer Str. 17
68169 Mannheim
Tel.: ++49 (0) 621 3802 - 105
This press release is also available on the internet at www.fuchs-oil.de.
Important note
This press release contains statements about future developments that are based on assumptions and estimates by the management of FUCHS PETROLUB AG. Even if the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, future actual developments and future actual results may differ significantly from these assumptions and estimates due to a variety of factors. These factors can include changes in the overall economic climate, changes to exchange rates and interest rates, and changes in the lubricants industry. FUCHS PETROLUB AG provides no guarantee that future developments and the results actually achieved in the future will agree with the assumptions and estimates set out in this press release and assumes no liability for such.