Q1 2020

24 EU BUSINESS NEWS / Q1 2020 , Celebrating Grand Opening of New European Headquarters Henniges Automotive, a leading global supplier of highly engineered sealing and anti-vibration systems for the automotive market, commemorated the grand opening of its newEuropean Headquarters and Technical Center in the Czech Republic with a ceremony and tour for customers and dignitaries. The 35,800 square-foot (3,330 square-meter) facility located in Mladá Boleslav supports Henniges' efforts to optimize its engineering and testing capabilities in Europe with a prime, central location to Henniges manufacturing facilities as well as its customers. "We are pleased to officially celebrate the opening of our European Headquarters and Technical Center, a facility that will help us strengthen our development and research competencies and enhance our production and testing synergies," said Larry Williams, President and CEO of Henniges Automotive. "This facility will serve as our European Headquarters as well as a key hub for technical development including advanced manufacturing and innovation – further solidifying our position as a global leader of anti-vibration, vehicle sealing and glass encapsulation technologies." A test lab, office area and prototyping workshop/warehouse make up the expansive footprint of the new facility. State-of-the-art development and testing equipment include tools for functional testing, climatic/environmental simulation, material properties, and mechanical and antivibration testing, among other tests. Additionally, the new facility will feature rapid prototyping, with 3D printing, silicone molding and polyurethane molding capabilities. With the advanced equipment, Henniges will remain agile and able to adapt to future customer and industry demands. "Our company is focused on customer satisfaction, optimizing our global business processes and achieving supply chain excellence," said Uwe Brinkmann, Vice President of European Operations at Henniges Automotive. "Our centralized location will be a true asset for furthering our long-standing customer relationships and forging new ones, while giving us the means to amplify the value and capabilities we are able to bring to our partnerships. We are excited about the immense opportunity this new footprint offers." The facility officially opened on December 9, with more than 20 employees. Henniges anticipates over the next five years, the facility will house nearly 75 employees, including research and development, and European management, business unit managers, sales representatives and product experts. To bring this new center to life, Henniges utilized a portion of a $1.4 million state investment incentive, which it received from the Czech Government through its Ministry of Industry and Trade's Operational Program, "Enterprise and Innovations for Competitiveness." To expand development and testing equipment, Henniges invested $2.6 million in test and laboratory equipment. The remainder of the incentive was used to fund manufacturing competence and a new process development center at the company's production plant in Hranice.