"Only by expanding our production capacity we can meet the high volume of orders," says COO Tobias Drixler. "With our key technology for semiconductor production, we are also affected by the increased global demand for microchips. Semiconductor manufacturers urgently need our wet process equipment for their fabs. Shortening delivery times for these and increasing capacity is our top priority."
As recently as 2019, production at AP&S headquarters was expanded and a second manufacturing plant was opened, both in Donaueschingen-Aasen. By the end of 2020, it was already clear that the next expansion step would not be far in coming.
"The challenge of rapid capacity expansion is running through the entire semiconductor industry. Chip manufacturers report every week about planned investments worth billions. These bring a large demand for production equipment. In the long term, the demand for semiconductors will continue. These are elementary components of every modern technology. More digitization and more e-mobility automatically mean more microchips. Therefore, the step with an additional production hall was strategically very important for us," Tobias Drixler explains. "In addition, our headquarters in Aasen is currently also being expanded by 1000 square meters. The new building will accommodate some administrative areas and logistics in the future. The move-in is planned for Q2."
Almost 20 manufacturing employees are located in Plant 3 at the start. Pre-assembly and module construction are the main tasks here. In October last year, the rebuilding work started, and in January 2022, the relocation work got underway. From this week regular day-to-day production will begin. "Additional space is awesome already. But now we urgently need some reinforcements for our team. We are looking for plastics fitters, carpenters, commissioning engineers and trainees in the fields of mechatronics and process engineering. Interested parties and especially newcomers who enjoy machine engineering are welcome to apply to us. Further information can be found on our website," says production manager Philipp Scheu.
