Nord expands into a £2.25m UK plant

Nord, the German gearbox manufacturer, has opened a purpose-built assembly plant in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The company has invested £2.25m in the 2,320m² (25,000ft²) factory and already has plans to extend this by a further 650m² (7,000ft²). The company had outgrown it previous 930m² (10,000ft²) site, five years after it opened.

The new plant has the capacity to assemble up to 300 gearboxes a day using components shipped in from Germany. It will be able to turn some orders around in a day.

Nord, Europe`s second largest gearmotor manufacturer, was founded in 1965 and now employs 1,300 people in 25 operations around the world. Last year, the privately owned company`s turnover was DM295m (£90m) and founder Gustav Kuchenmeister hopes to raise this to DM500m (£154m) by 2005.

About 37% of Nord`s sales are in Germany and 37% in the rest of Europe. North America accounts for 21% of its business. "We are still a little top-heavy in Europe and Germany," reports general manager Ralph Resch.

As well as gearboxes, Nord produces motors and inverters. At the recent Hanover Fair, it launched new ranges of inverters and servo controllers, which will reach the UK in the coming year. It produces gearboxes with power ratings from 0.12-200kW and torque ratings from 10-100,000Nm - and has plans to extend this up to 200 or 300kNm.