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September News in Brief
Published:  01 September, 2012

♦  SKF has marked its 100th anniversary in China by announcing a £66m investment to establish a new SKF Campus in Shanghai including a new automotive bearings factory, a global technical centre, and an SKF college. The 45,000m2 site will employ around 900 people by 2015. SKF already has 18 factories and more than 7,000 employees in China.

♦  The German connection technologies and automation manufacturer Wago has invested €8m in a 5,400m2 office building to accommodate more than 250 employees at its Minden headquarters. The new premises will house development and automation sales activities. Wago now employs 1,800 at Minden – nearly 800 more than in 2003. 

♦  Global demand for materials-handling equipment is forecast to grow by around 4% a year in the period to 2016, when it will be worth $123.6bn, according to a report from the market analyst Freedonia. The best opportunities will be in advanced equipment such as automated guided vehicles and conveyors. The fastest-growing markets will be India and China, while the US will remain the largest.

♦  The power supply manufacturer TDK-Lambda has opened a new European logistics and supply centre in Achem, Germany, which will hold €5m of stock. The 2,300m2 facility is 900m2 larger than the company’s previous premises. Last year, company supplied more than 8,000 customers with more than a million products.