Lenze announces German-based Mechatronic Competence Campus

May 15, 2019 – Lenze, a manufacturer of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control and automation technologies, announced their new Mechatronic Competence Campus (MCC) in Extertal, Germany.

The development and production site in North Rhine-Westphalia is the largest single investment in the 70-year history of the company at a cost of approximately $57 million. The facility covers approximately 81,000 square feet, with a total of nearly 323,000 square feet of space available on the campus for development, production, service and storage. Approximately 800 employees, who are currently spread over three separate locations in Extertal, will work at the facility when the final phase is completed.

Lenze is particularly determined to improve collaboration – from brainstorming to product development, prototype construction and pilot series, through to series production – the various disciplines will be brought closer together. A central element of the development site is the technical center.

Industry 4.0 will be reflected in practice at the MCC. Networking and control are redesigned from the ground up, based on an SAP environment. Driverless transport systems will be used in production itself, while a high-bay storage facility with space for more than 16,000 pallets and over 15,000 containers will be directly connected. Around 300 Lenze drives will be mounted in logistics.

Compared to the previous production processes, the make-to-order process, where finished products tailored to the customer's requirements are created from prefabricated elements, aims to be between 50 and 85 percent faster. In extreme cases, the throughput time may drop from 32 days to only five days because material movements and idle times are eliminated. One hundred eighty-six miles of pallets per year are envisioned to be saved in the future, and 10 percent less energy and 48 percent less space will be required.