Altra supports Bauer Gear Motor's growth with investment in new manufacturing headquarters
Ever since 1927, Bauer Gear Motor has been well known and respected around the world for its highly efficient and reliable gear motors. The company has a strong tradition for paving the way with new technologies and solutions; this tradition is still alive today, as Bauer pushes forward with the latest IE4, super premium efficiency technologies. Now a part of Altra Industrial Motion, Bauer is supported with investment to grow the business with the building of a new manufacturing headquarters in its home town of Esslingen, Germany.
Karl-Peter Simon, Bauer Gear Motor Managing Director, comments: “This investment will make Bauer Gear Motor one of the most flexible gear motor suppliers on the market. Introducing our new production concept will enable us to reduce our current standard production time for configurable gear motors from 10 days to 5 days by the end of 2014.
“This development will demonstrate Bauer’s ability to supply customised gear motors with a very short lead time. In fact, Bauer is already supplying premium-efficiency gear motors with permanent magnet motor technology, enabling energy savings of more than 30% to be made when inverter controlled.”
Wilhelm Bauer, an entrepreneur from Esslingen, first began eliminating the transmission shaft from machine tools and production machinery back in 1927. He put into practice the brilliant idea of the gear motor and gave an electric high-speed motor a gear wheel mechanism using the appropriate gear ratio. Over the decades, the company has acquired a wealth of knowledge that has been supplemented and passed on. Bauer paved the way for many new gear motor solutions and will continue to do so in the future.
In 2011 Bauer Gear Motor was acquired by Altra Industrial Motion, a leading global manufacturer of electromechanical components for the whole drivetrain. This has allowed Bauer to grow its market share thanks to Altra’s global sales network, while continuing to invest in improving its existing manufacturing capabilities in Esslingen and Zlaté Moravce, Slovakia; as well as building a new assembly plant in China to support increased demand from emerging markets. In the latest example of on-going commitment to the expansion of the Bauer brand, Altra is investing over €10million in a new manufacturing headquarters. The bulk of the investment will be spent on an additional production building for producing gear motors and the construction of a new office building with conference rooms.
Speaking at the Groundbreaking Ceremony, Altra Industrial Motion Group President, Carl Christenson said: “Since the acquisition of Bauer in 2011, we have been impressed with the dedication of the company’s workforce. Altra is committed to supporting the growth of Bauer and we are looking forward to the improvements this most recent investment will make in our ability to serve our customers”
As a result of the expansion, the floor space in the production facility for the assembly of gear motors will be increased to around 6,000 m2. The implementation of energy efficiency measures will enable energy requirements for electricity and processing heat to be reduced by more than 30%. The production facility is due to go into operation by December 2014 and occupation of the office building is planned for March 2015.