On Thursday, 22 September, a new production facility of DGS Druckguss Systeme was opened in Frýdlant. The company produces die-cast parts made of aluminium and magnesium alloys for the automotive industry, currently employs 100 people and plans to employ up to four hundred people by 2025.
The newly opened DGS branch will employ up to four hundred people in the Fýrldant region.
The new production hall was built in Frýdlant above the roundabout on the left-hand side in the direction of Kunratice. It is DGS's second production facility in the Czech Republic; the company has been operating in Liberec since 1991.
"Newly acquired projects for structural parts for Mercedes, Audi and BMW decided that our original plans for the future of the company were completely unsuitable with regard to the planned construction. The main reason for this was the size of the castings, the resulting inadequate infrastructure of the Liberec plant, the resulting inefficiencies in production, the high cost of construction, moving equipment, etc. We therefore had to re-evaluate our plans and make a fundamental decision, which logically led us to build a new plant," explained Luboš Pfohl, production manager of the new DGS plant. A detailed screening conducted by the company in a total of 8 countries in Eastern Europe revealed that the Czech Republic was chosen as the preferred location, although it was not the "cheapest option" for construction.
Construction of the new plant began in April 2021 and in June this year the building and engineering were approved and trial operations began. "Currently, all structural casting production processes are undergoing technological testing, which will lead to customer audits and the subsequent release of mass production for our strategic customers," added Lubos Pfohl.
They welcome the opening of the new branch in Frýdlant. "It is a small miracle that three years after DGS bought the land here, we are standing in a ready factory capable of producing aluminium castings with the latest technology. It's a win-win for Frýdlant and the Frýdlant region because it will provide jobs for up to four hundred people in the second phase, which of course helps Frýdlant. The industry here suffered a severe blow in the 1990s and this is a way to get Frýdlant back on its feet economically," said Frýdlant's mayor Jiří Stodůlka at the opening.
