Agricultural machinery manufacturer AGCO invests 18 million euros in paint shop and logistics center in Hohenmölsen

U.S. group builds further plant in Burgenlandkreis district

The U.S. group AGCO is expanding its site in Hohenmölsen in the Burgenland district with a further operating facility at a cost of 18 million euros. A logistics center and a coating line are to be built by spring 2022. According to the company, 26 additional jobs will be created. The Ministry of Economy of Saxony-Anhalt is supporting the investment with 1.8 million euros from funds of the joint task "Improvement of the regional economic structure" (GRW).

"In recent years, the agricultural machinery manufacturer AGCO has developed into an important industrial employer in Hohenmölsen. It is therefore all the more gratifying that the group is expanding its site," Saxony-Anhalt's Minister for Economy, Science and Digitalisation Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann said on Monday: "The Ministry of Economy supports the company's investment, because with its site expansion it is helping to secure industrial jobs in the Central German lignite mining region and successfully shape structural change."

Dr. Thomas Schneiderheinze, plant manager and managing director of AGCO Hohenmölsen GmbH, explained, "The AGCO/Fendt site in Hohenmölsen has been in existence since 2009 - since then it has developed rapidly. At the beginning, there were seven permanent employees; today, there are already 345 permanent employees and staff plus another 85 temporary workers. With the construction of a modern and resource-saving paint shop and a logistics center, we are positioning our site for the future and also creating 26 additional jobs."

According to the company, the AGCO site in Hohenmölsen currently combines two plants: on the one hand, agricultural machinery is manufactured here, including the "Fendt Katana" forage harvester, the "Fendt Rogator 300" trailed field sprayers and the "Fendt Rogator 600" self-propelled sprayer. On the other hand, numerous parts and components for other Fendt products such as the Fendt tractors are produced here.

"The coating facility will have cathodic dip painting as well as powder coating for thin sheet metal and thick sheet metal parts. This means that in the future, employees will be able to paint 1,300 different parts in the modern, high-performance facility for their own needs and those of other plants. The new dip painting process reaches small recesses and openings better, so we achieve higher quality in the painting process," explained Ekkehart Gläser, Managing Director Production. "Via the new logistics center, we supply our customers with their machines on time on the one hand, and on the other hand we supply other plants with parts quickly and on time."

Investment promotion remains important economic development tool in 2021
Despite the Corona pandemic, Saxony-Anhalt remains a highly attractive investment location for companies. In the crisis year 2020, the total volume of supported investment projects rose to 1.1 billion euros. According to the Ministry of Economy's annual report, 90 company establishments and expansions were supported with grants totaling 136 million euros from the Joint Task "Improvement of the Regional Economic Structure" (GRW). Each subsidy euro thus triggered eight euros in investments. More than 1,400 new jobs were created and almost 3,500 secured. In addition, 24 infrastructure projects with an investment volume of around 110 million euros were supported last year, bringing investment funding to a total of 1.22 billion euros, the highest level since 2014.

"In 2021, it will again be crucial to support investments by the business community," Willingmann explained. "In this way, we will ensure that our companies can continue their successful development with momentum after the Corona pandemic. In the Central German Lignite Region, moreover, the Ministry of Economy's investment support is already an important instrument for successfully shaping structural change in the years ahead. We are thus securing industrial value creation and jobs."

Quelle: mw.sachsen-anhalt.de