The Raleigh, North Carolina, area will see another boost in skilled jobs for automation professionals, once Schmalz completes an expansion at its facility there, adding 85 jobs over the next few years. Based in Germany, Schmalz has had a warehouse and office headquarters in Raleigh for 23 years. This is the culmination of many years of expansions, starting in 2016 to 2021 when the facility size tripled. The next three-phase expansions will grow the assembly warehouse and headquarters to 140,000 square feet. The growth will accommodate new product lines, including workstation cranes and end-of-arm robotic palletizer and de-palletizer tools.
Schmalz celebrated the Raleigh facility expansion, and Schmalz President and CEO Dr. Volker Schmitz, Schmalz Managing Director and Shareholder Dr. Kurt Schmalz, Schmalz Managing Director Andreas Beutel and Schmalz Management Board Member, Global Sales & Marketing Thomas Lichtenberger, were joined by local government officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 20.
Schmalz manufactures vacuum automation products, robotic end-of-arm vacuum gripper tools, material handling vacuum lifters and CNC vacuum clamping tools. The organization is a third generation, family-owned company dating back more than 100 years.
Adding to the 118 people already employed at the Raleigh location, the $20 million investment will bring more skilled jobs to the facility and allow the company to focus on customization and market expansion.
The new area will allow Schmalz to assemble aluminum workstation cranes, which were previously imported from overseas, and custom end-of-arm robotic palletizer and de-palletizer tools used in logistics warehouse automation, consumer packaging, food and beverage, kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturing and other industries. Schmaltz will also add new product lines for collaborative robot end-of-arm tools and material handling systems.
“We are excited about this expansion for our customers and for the city of Raleigh,” said Dr. Volker Schmitz, President & CEO of Schmalz. “The expanded assembly warehouse will allow Schmalz Inc. to accommodate high demand products that require quick delivery to distributors and customers, as well as provide much needed additional capacity for value added assembly work. The additional office space will further aid our expansion in the North American market.”
“Raleigh is a great city in which to work and live,” said John Feutz, vice president of operations at Schmalz. “We have access to outstanding engineering talent from nearby universities, great support from local, regional and state agencies, an international airport to receive product from our parent company, and easy access to ship products to our U.S. customers. We are excited to partner with and invest further in this community.” He said Schmalz also reinvests 8% of annual revenues every year into hiring and training apprentices, co-op students and paid interns, and the company is a member of the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP) in Raleigh.
