State-of-the-art assembly parts come from southern Saxony-Anhalt

Italian investors have discovered Saxony-Anhalt for themselves for many years. The recent settlement in Plötz, a district of Wettin in the area near Halle, has almost been completed in record time. The industrial holding company Gruppo Manni decided to build a new manufacturing facility at the beginning of 2012, all necessary permits were issued in May this year, and the production of the so-called sandwich panels started in mid-September. The insulating panels with a high isothermal coefficient are used in various areas of industrial and agricultural construction, and also enable important solutions in the construction of cold storage cells.

Approximately eight million euros has so far been invested in Plötz. “The state and the European Union funded the project”, the authorised representative Luca Ferro said. Nothing was built on the green grasslands; instead an industrial wasteland was revitalised. Visibly pleased, he points to the first hall of ISOPAN Deutschland GmbH. The original dull grey has gone. Hardly anything is reminiscent of the building that remained vacant for a long period of time. With the renovations, one of course also referred to the panels from the group of companies, reports Ferro. The first production line resulted from this. In it, the sandwich panels were joined together. A polyurethane core provided the necessary insulation between two sheets. A two-shift operation is planned for 2014. Even a second line is already in discussion, explained the representative. There, mineral wool is used as insulating material. When the decision comes for further projects, another 5.5 million euros would be invested at the site.

Luca Ferro regards ISOPAN’s decision for Saxony-Anhalt as clearly understandable. The central location provides optimum logistics connections with Poland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In addition, Germany is an important market for one of the largest and most important European providers of such assembly components. Plötz complements the company’s portfolio of locations in central and northern Italy, Romania and Spain.

As an important asset for the region surrounding Halle, ISOPAN highlights that there was no subcontracting. “Administration, marketing and logistics have their headquarters in Plötz“, Ferro said. For him, the good surroundings include a custom-fit infrastructure. When searching for employees, there were hardly any problems in finding well-trained professionals. Some of the employees completed their training at the ISOPAN factories in Italy and Romania, in order familiarise themselves with the machines and technology. 32 men and women are currently employed; he appeared optimistic that their numbers will increase to 50 in the medium-term.     

Luca Ferro regards it a good thing that Italian companies see Saxony-Anhalt as a “good patch” when it comes to foreign investment. “It is great when different cultures approach one another and learn to understand each other in their daily lives in a Europe that is growing together”, he draws from the personal assessment of his first year in Plötz. There the chemistry is right, the construction work is a lot of fun and there are many discoveries for him in the surrounding area. It will hardly be possible to discover everything by the time of his farewell in the coming year. The plan is to definitely make a trip
 
 to Magdeburg, where the grave of Otto the Great, the first Roman-German emperor, in the cathedral recalls the common past of Germany and Italy.


Author/Photo: Klaus-Peter Voigt

Contact person:
Luca Ferro
ISOPAN Deutschland GmbH
Kreisstraße 48
06193 Wettin-Löbejün/OT Plötz
ph: +49 34603 3221804
E-Mail: luca.ferro.ignore@isopandeutschland.de
Web: www.isopandeutschland.de