Bookmark 06-28-2013

LPKF Laser Welding Expands

Since being set up in 2001, the laser plastic welding department of LPKF Laser & Electronics AG, Garbsen, Germany, has seen its workforce grow to more than 100 employees. Despite repeated expansions at the current location in Erlangen it is bursting out of its seams.

As already announced by management, LPKF has now acquired a production building that offers growth potential for this area of the business.

At around EUR 14 million, the purchase of the production building in Fürth is the largest single investment in the company’s history.

These high expectations are based on the results of the past. The growth rates were in double-digits from the beginning. Especially when it comes to demanding joining tasks, laser plastic welding is rapidly replacing conventional processes today. It only needs simple work holding devices, creates visually appealing weld seams and reduces the reject rate during the welding process due to its sophisticated monitoring technologies.

Potential for expansion at the previous location was clearly exhausted. Even auxiliary buildings were converted to storage and production areas in the last few years. The new building was first built in 2008 and is only ten kilometers away in Fürth. With a production area of around 10,000 square meters, it will end up 2.5 times as big as the previous location. The application center for optimization of customized processes also gets more space. Moreover, LPKF has acquired an additional undeveloped area for later expansion. Office spaces will be converted before staff relocation.