New Schmaltz distribution center inaugurated in Japan

Equipped for the future with the new headquarters: Arne Gaedtgens (center), Managing Director of Schmalz K.K., during the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, together with the management of Schmalz as well as representatives from politics and business. (Photo: J. Schmalz GmbH)

The new building in Yokohama (Japan) offers modern facilities on an area of approximately 1,400 m². (Image: J. Schmalz GmbH)

For 15 years now, Schmalz has been active in Japan with its own branch and additional sales offices. Worldwide, the automation and handling specialist employs around 1,300 staff at a total of 18 locations. The Japanese company Schmalz K.K. has grown steadily in recent years and currently has around 40 employees. "We have developed very well and still see great potential in vacuum automation," says Arne Gaedtgens, Managing Director of Schmalz K.K. Especially in automotive manufacturing, packaging, electronics, and glass industries, vacuum components and gripping systems from Schmalz are successfully used. "Optimal customer support depends heavily on having an optimally suitable company headquarters. Therefore, we are all the more pleased that we can finally move in," says Gaedtgens.

The new building, with approximately 1,400 m² of space, offers four floors for modern workplaces and sales offices, for the assembly of components and modules, for a generously designed testing laboratory including a showroom, as well as for a warehouse. From a construction perspective, not only Japanese requirements, such as earthquake safety, played a central role. Wolfgang Schmalz, Managing Director of J. Schmalz GmbH, explains: "We think sustainably and do not stop at the German border. Various measures help us save a lot of energy in and around the building — and even produce some ourselves." The new headquarters in Japan features, among other things, photovoltaic solar panels, highly efficient thermal insulation, and a charging station for electric cars. The facade and roof greening create useful compensatory areas for nature in the densely populated city of Yokohama.

"With the new building, we are committing to the Japanese market. We are setting the course for further growth," said Dr. Kurt Schmalz during his speech at the building's opening in front of numerous customers of Schmalz K.K., employees, and political representatives. Just a few months ago, Schmalz inaugurated a new production hall in India and a greenfield production and office building in the USA. For Dr. Kurt Schmalz, these are logical steps in the company's increasingly international orientation: "We are where our customers are — and that’s why there is a need for ideal conditions locally."