News
Green light for Mektec Europe's Technology Center
Weinheim, July 28, 2008: Freudenberg Mektec Europa GmbH - a joint venture between Freudenberg and the Japanese NOK Corporation - is moving into Weinheim Technology Park. The parent company in Japan is setting a clear signal in favor of Germany as an industrial location with this move into a newly built Technology Center.
Following the building of Freudenberg Household Products global headquarters, Weinheim Technology Park will soon boast another attractive company in the form of high-tech specialist Freudenberg Mektec Europa GmbH.
The complex being built in an area of Weinheim Technology Park amounting to 7500 square meters will comprise a four-storey office building and a hall with an architecture that is characterized by clean-cut lines and shapes.
The project has been laid out in such a way that the area can be doubled, if necessary, by building an identical building as a mirror image of the first one. Freudenberg's real-estate investment for the new complex will amount to around 5.9 million euros. The company is expecting to move into the new building by the end of the year. 160 highly qualified members of staff will be working there. The company is also looking for additional qualified development engineers.
The new Mektec Technology Center will stand for know-how and the development of ultra-modern, innovative, flexible printed-circuit boards. Its cornerstones will be product development, prototype production and pre-series production of PCBs for customers in the automotive and industrial electronics, medical engineering and telecommunications sectors.
At the same time, new technologies will be created in cooperation with customers, who welcome the idea of research & development and service being located in Europe. Mass-produced articles will be manufactured in Asia because of the costs involved. Expansion has been evident in the market for flexible circuits, particularly including mechatronic applications for the automotive industry, in recent years. By building this Technology Center, Freudenberg is creating ideal prerequisites for meeting the stringent quality requirements imposed by the automotive industry in Europe. Freudenberg Mektec has been expanding its three European facilities in Weinheim, Erkelenz and Budweis (CZ) consistently since 2006.
Freudenberg Mektec Europa GmbH
Freudenberg Mektec Europa GmbH with its headquarters in Weinheim was founded in 1989 as the result of Nippon Mektron's investment in the former Freudenberg subsidiary Simflex GmbH & Co. KG. The Japanese parent company assumes responsibility for industrial management.
The Mektec Group develops and manufactures flexible printed-circuit boards in Europe of the type used for in passenger vehicle transmission control systems, for example, or for daytime driving lights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Mektec's activities also extend to other segments, including telecommunications, medical engineering and industrial engineering.
30 percent of Nippon Mektron's 1.3 billion euros in worldwide sales during 2007 were achieved with flexible printed-circuit boards for hard disk drives, followed by mobile phones, which accounted for 26 percent. Around 10 percent of Nippon Mektron's worldwide sales - around 130 million euros - were achieved with products for the automotive market.
Cornelia Buchta-Noack
Freudenberg & Co. KG
Corporate Communications
Tel. ++49(0)6201 80-4094
Fax ++49(0)6201 88-4094
cornelia.buchta-noack@freudenberg.de
Contact Freudenberg Group North America:
Cheryl Eberwein
47690 East Anchor Court
Plymouth, Mich. 48170-2455
Office: +1 (734) 354-5373
Cell: +1 (248) 767-1068
Fax: +1 (734) 451-0043