Moving on Relocations and expansions

NEWS

MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

Go-ahead for extension of the Porsche site

With the symbolic turning of the first sod, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has heralded the start of the extension of its Research and Development Centre in Weissach (Baden-Württemberg). The site is being enlarged through the addition of a highly modern design studio, a hightech wind tunnel and an electronics integration centre. Porsche is investing around €150 million in this project.

The new wind tunnel will enable the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer to cope with technological challenges in vehicle development in future. “Good aerodynamics make a major contribution towards low fuel consumption and high performance – both of which are important aspects in implementing Porsche Intelligent Performance,” said Wolfgang Hatz, board member in charge of Research and Development of Porsche AG. Visit: www.porsche.com

New air traffic control tower for Southend Airport

Minister for the Thames Gateway, Bob Neill MP, has officially opened the first of Southend Airport’s completed new development projects – an all-new state-of-theart air traffic control tower.

Operational since March this year, the control tower marks the first completed project in an impressive portfolio of developments, including a new dedicated train station, new terminal building, runway extension and a new hotel.

The tower is 26 metres tall and contains an approach radar control room in addition to the visual control room at the top of the building. This ‘cab’ offers panoramic views of the airfield and wider Thames Gateway area, with air traffic controllers able to see up to 20 miles on a clear day, with radar coverage over a far wider area. To coincide with the construction of the new building, there have also been significant changes made to airfield instruments and control systems in preparation for future growth at the airport. Visit: www.southendairport.com

Audi invests €34 million in new logistics centre

INrecent years Audi has launched production of more new cars than ever in Neckarsulm: six new models have come off the line at the site since the beginning of 2010. But more cars also means more parts.

To meet demand, a new logistics centre costing roughly €34 million has been built, where the handling of small load carriers can now be automated and performed ergonomically.

“The new building provides us with the security we need to ensure the supply of parts,” said Dieter Braun, head of Plant Logistics at the Neckarsulm site. The many production starts and numerous model variations has nearly doubled the number of small load carriers in Neckarsulm since 2008. An average of 1300 containers will be handled each hour in the new automated small load carrier storage facility, known as the AKL. Visit: www.audi.com

Treofan invests in Treo-Pore® capacity

Treofan Group, a global leader in high-end BOPP films, is making a significant investment in boosting capacity for its pioneering Treo-Pore® Separator Membrane product line, used in batteries, EDLC Ultracapacitors and Filtration. With this investment, Treofan is aiming to meet a surge in global demand for high-end power transmission and battery applications, especially in the automotive and electrical industries.

“We designed Treo-Pore® to reach new performance levels in separator weight, durability, and to cover a wide range of applications and operating temperatures – it’s a dramatic improvement in every way,” said Oliver Dirmeier, global business manager, Technical Films & New Business.

“This investment will allow us to produce many times over what we can produce today and is thus a huge step towards becoming the global leader in this fast-growing and demanding industry.” Visit: www.treofan.com

E.ON Russia commissions two new units at Siberian Power Station

E.ON Russia has officially commissioned two new units at its Surgutskaya GRES-2 power station. The new efficient CCGT units have a total capacity of 800 MW.

At the official ceremony which took place at the power station located in WestSiberia, Dr Bernhard Reutersberg, member of the E.ON AG board of management, said: “Russia has been an important business partner of E.ON for almost 40 years. With the acquisition of the Russian power generator OGK-4 in 2007, E.ON is now one of the largest buyers of Russian gas but also the biggest foreign investor in the Russian power market.”

The new power units use the most advanced technology in Russia today and include the latest steam gas designs. The efficiency of each 400 MW CCGT unit of Surgutskaya GRES-2 is 55.9%, which is more than one third higher than the average efficiency of power units used in the Russian power industry. Visit: www.eon.com