Wittmann Shifts Some Production out of Austria

Citing inflation and wage rates, Wittmann, the Austrian supplier of injection molding machines, auxiliary equipment and robotics reported at NPE2024 movement of some of its production to new sites in Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. Speaking at the company’s show press conference, Managing Director Michael Wittmann said production of the Smart Power injection molding machines with clamp forces up to 120 tons has been moved to Hungary, as has the manufacture of EcoPower presses up to 110 tons; sprue pickers and robots with payloads up to 15 kg; Tempro basic and plus temperature control units (TCU); and the water flow regulator (WFR) line. Wittmann noted that moving WFR production, on which the company was founded, was “emotional” for the Austrian business, but necessary due to its home country’s energy costs, inflation and wages, noting that Austria has the third highest level of inflation in Europe, which has impacted labor rates.

“In the upcoming years, Wittmann Austria will increasingly transform itself into a development center with production focus on special equipment,” Wittmann says. The transfer of WFR and TCU production to Hungary has already been completed, with the transfer of some Drymax resin drying and Feedmax feeders to Turkey in progress.

Wittmann reported that the company, which has 2,320 employees globally, generated €401 million ($431.5 million) in revenue in 2023 and is forecasting a slight contraction in 2024 to roughly €375 million in revenue globally. With 10 production sites in six countries, Wittmann currently counts the U.S. as its biggest market, followed by Germany and Mexico. From 2022 to 2023, European revenue dropped (56% to 55%) while America’s rose (32% to 34%); and Asia’s contracted (13% to 10%).

In the U.S. in 2023, Wittmann recorded record revenue of $88.5 million, due in large part to a large backlog carried over from 2022. In 2024, Wittmann said the company is on pace to achieve a lowered projected revenue of roughly $75 million. Wittmann employs 162 people in the U.S. where it recently finished a new 11,000 ft.² automation integration center and added solar panels to its facilities in Torrington, Connecticut.

In Hungary, Wittmann has operations in Mosonmagyaróvár and Törökbálint, with an existing 162,000 ft.² plant in place and a second property, covering 280,000 ft.² being set up for sheet metal fabrication and machining. That site is expected to be completed in 2025. In Bulgaria, Wittmann currently employs eight people, having acquired a 65,000 ft.² property in Plowdiw. The company is currently building out a 180,000 ft.² building, including 7,500 ft.² of office, training and storage space, which will be completed by the end of 2024. It’s also on schedule to complete a new facility in Poland outside Warsaw this year as well.

The company expanded into Dilovasi/Kocaeli in Turkey, out of a desire for a relatively close facility that’s outside of the European Union. The current space covers 34,500 ft.² and features production of Feedmax loaders and Drymax dryers. Despite these moves and pressed in a question-and-answer session about the company’s commitment to Austria, Wittmann stood firm.

“We will always have production in Austria,” Wittmann says. “Large-tonnage machines will always stay there. As a company, we’re trying to put manufacturing capabilities in other areas of the world.”