Two new production buildings are to be erected at OTTO JUNKER's Lammersdorf site with a view to safeguarding the company's future competitive strength in global markets. The shops will accommodate the central optimization of coils, one of the key components of coreless induction furnaces, as well as their fabrication in line with market demands. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2017. The new sheds will add another 3,440 m² to OTTO JUNKER's current 30,300 m² of manufacturing floorspace. OTTO JUNKER is to invest approx. EUR 4 million in the new shop buildings, thus securing existing employment and creating the basis for new jobs. Another EUR 1.5 million will go towards the erection of a new employee welfare building and new foundry equipment.
For the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony marking the start of construction of the new production buildings at 12:00 noon on August 18, 2016, the management of OTTO JUNKER GmbH had invited all parties involved in the project, regional community leaders, as well as journalists from the local press and technical trade press.
Mr. Markus D. Werner, Chairman of the Managing Board of OTTO JUNKER GmbH, welcomed all guests on behalf of the Otto Junker Foundation, the Supervisory Board, and the Managing Board of Otto Junker GmbH. By inviting the attendees to witness the turning of the first sod for the new buildings, he emphasized his confidence in the future of the site and, more specifically, of OTTO JUNKER GmbH. "Our aim is to secure growth and to create the basis for new jobs with this investment", he said.
Along with Mr. Bernd Goffart, Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Simmerath, Mr. Werner welcomed further invitees including Mr. Helmut Brandt, member of the German parliament, Mr. Stefan Kämmerling, member of the provincial parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mr. Marcel Philipp, Lord Mayor of Aachen, and Mr. Franz-Josef Hammelstein, chief of the Lammersdorf community.
Mr. Werner expressed special thanks to the planning team and to all other parties involved in the project who had given their support in the last few months and would continue to do so in the months to come to see the construction project through to its successful completion, thus expanding the available surface area for the projected purpose, i.e., for the future coil fabrication.
Before Mr. Werner gave the floor to Mr. Helmut Brandt, a brief welcoming address to the entire audience was delivered by Mr. Markus Kroner, spokesman for the GOLDBECK general contracting firm. Next on the speakers list were Stefan Kämmerling, Marcel Philipp, Bernd Goffart und Franz-Josef Hammelstein.
The highlight of the event, needless to say, was the symbolic turning of the first sod. This was followed by Mr. Werner's invitation for a snack lunch at the teahouse in Junker Park which was still built by the company's founder, Mr. Otto Junker.