Alongside ongoing M&A activities, the Austrian publicly listed Semperit Group has set out its plan to boost organic growth at its huge hose factory in Odry in the Czech Republic. A total of EUR110 million will be invested into extending one of the world’s largest production facilities for industrial and hydraulic hoses over the next few years, with a focus on sustainability and automation. Operations are set to start up in the new production hall in 2025, where an extra 32 million m of hydraulic hose will be added to the current production capacity.
This project is the final stage of a plan to increase capacity that has seen investments made into all hose factories, including in China and in Thailand (in that case together with long-time joint venture partner Sri Trang Group).
“By investing heavily in Odry, the Semperit Executive Board will be guaranteeing the ongoing organic growth of Semperflex, our successful hose division, and ensuring that we can continue to support our customers who are on track for exceptional expansion in the future,” says Karl Haider, CEO of the Semperit Group.
Gerfried Eder, Managing Director of Semperflex, adds: “Being located close to our customers in Europe, a key market for us, brings us benefits like more manageable supply chains, faster deliveries, reduced carbon emissions, and savings on transportation. From this strong position, we can aim to disproportionately increase our market and supply share and achieve continued growth above the market average.”
Hose production will be powered exclusively by renewable energy at what will be the world’s first carbon-neutral hose production facilities. Even though capacity will be increased, the overall water consumption in Odry will drop by around 30% once the new hall is finished. With the flow of goods to be optimised, lead times will be improved too.
“Every step of the production process that can be automated will be automated. This means we will be raising the bar for staff productivity, process stability, and consistent product quality higher than ever before,” says Michael Adelbauer, Director of Operations at Semperflex. “We will also be making life easier for our employees and removing elements of their jobs requiring physical effort and exertion, meaning that almost every step in our workflows could be performed by anyone of any gender.”
Semperit’s Semperflex segment, which accounted for around 29% of the Semperit Group’s total revenue in the first quarter of 2022, produces hydraulic and industrial hoses at sites in Austria, Thailand, and China in addition to the Czech Republic. Sustained efforts to increase capacity and maintain the highest of quality standards has seen Semperit become the third top company for hydraulic hoses in the world and reach second position for industrial hoses in Europe. Its customer database is full of well-known manufacturers of cranes, agricultural machinery, excavators, and construction machinery.