Ceremonial opening

New MULTIVAC site in Buchenau: Center of Excellence for slicing solutions

09.09.2024

Wolfertschwenden/Buchenau, 9 September 2024 – Last Friday MULTIVAC officially opened its new Center of Excellence for slicing solutions in Buchenau (Dautphetal) after a construction period of around two years. The investment amounted to approx. 15 million euros. Group presidents, Bernd Höpner (CTO) and Dr Tobias Richter (CSO), together with Jochen Ertl, Senior Director Slicing and Buchenau Site Director, greeted the guests at the inauguration ceremony.

The MULTIVAC Group has been developing and designing high-performance slicers for the food industry at its Buchenau site since 2017. Following strong growth since then in its Slicing Business Unit, the new building will now expand the current capacity. Built over a surface area of around 4,700 square metres, the new building complex comprises a Customer and Application Center, as well as production areas and warehouse facilities. The new building creates a second Application Center, in addition to that at the company's headquarters in Wolfertschwenden, and this new facility offers even greater opportunities for customer tests and demonstrations at the Buchenau site. As part of the building's sustainable infrastructure, a number of measures have been taken to reduce greenhouse gases: The heating for the building is provided by air-heat exchangers combined with a photovoltaic system, and this is assisted by the waste heat from the air compressors, so that no fossil-fuel energy is used.

“We have built up a range of MULTIVAC slicing equipment in record time, and this comprehensive range includes all output categories. Thanks to the new Buchenau site, we can now react even more flexibly to our customers' requirements, as well as providing yet more complete lines as tailored solutions for food processing and packaging,” said Dr Tobias Richter, Director and CSO of the MULTIVAC Group. “And with the additional Application Center in particular, we can now offer our customers an even better and more accessible consultancy service in that wider region.”

Bernd Höpner, Director and CTO of the MULTIVAC Group, added: “The investment is an important milestone in our growth strategy, and it is a clear recognition by the company's owners of their long-term commitment to the Marburg-Biedenkopf area. Thanks to the expanded development and production capacity, we now have the best conditions for continuing to develop the Slicing Business Unit successfully and sustainably.“

Attractive workplaces

The new building also creates additional jobs at the Buchenau site. “With this first expansion phase up to 150 staff members will be working in the state-of-the-art building complex,” said Jochen Ertl, Site Director at Buchenau. “We are offering interesting and future-proof jobs – and we are a highly attractive employer in the region. A further increase in the number of staff is planned for the coming years.”

Ceremonial opening of the new MULTIVAC site (from left to right): Tom Stachel (MULTIVAC), Bernd Höpner (MULTIVAC), Marco Schmidtke (municipality of Dautphetal), Jochen Ertl (MULTIVAC), Marie-Sophie Künkel (CDU Member of Parliament), Dr. Tobias Richter (MULTIVAC), Manfred Achenbach (MULTIVAC).

Press Release