Process equipment manufacturer Volkmann USA, based out of Bristol, Pennsylvania, recently marked the groundbreaking of its manufacturing center expansion in Soest, Germany. The company is building a nearly 50,000-square-foot addition at the site of its global headquarters there to increase production capacity and speed lead times — to meet demand for its pneumatic vacuum conveying systems, vibrating feeders, bulk bag unloaders, and other companion bulk material handling equipment. The plant expansion is expected to be complete and operational in 2025.
Aimed at supporting the family-owned company’s service to its worldwide customer base, the new facility in Germany is focused on integrating design engineering, manufacturing, assembly, quality control, shipping, and other operations under one roof for production efficiency. Lead times for conveyor orders to North America are set to be reduced to approximately eight to 10 weeks as standard.
The expansion is slated to house a testing laboratory featuring full-size pneumatic vacuum conveying systems and auxiliary equipment for material, product formulation, and factory acceptance testing that simulates a wide variety of process conditions. A training and education center for hosting technical seminars, and other events is also under construction.
The company operates a similar test laboratory in its Bristol, PA headquarters to serve customers in North America.
