Last Thursday Lipetsk Special Economic Zone hosted the opening ceremony of the new production centre by OBO Bettermann, a German producer of cable management equipment. The new facility is designed for cable routing and cable mounting hardware. The factory has become the ninth and one of the biggest facilities by OBO globally.
The launch ceremony was attended by OBO President Mr. Ulrich Bettermann, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Central Federal District of Russia Alexander Beglov, Governor of the Lipetsk Region Oleg Korolev.
Starting from acquiring Lipetsk SEZ residency certificate in April 2014 OBO Bettermann has invested over $30 mln. into the facility as large as 20 000sq.m. with the capacity of 5 000 t. of metal components per year.
Speaking at the ceremony Mr. Ulrich Bettermann, the company president, observed, among other things, that Russian economy is steadily recovering from “the oil curse” and continues to increase its technology-intensive industries against the on-going slowdown at the world market. The tendency, said Mr. Bettermann, gives the OBO management high hopes for the further development perspectives at the regional market since the demand for high-quality wiring equipment in Russia has been growing drastically over the last few years.
The owner’s son and successor, Mr. Andreas Bettermann, in his interview told that the company has been working in Russia for 13 years invariably building up the volume of import to the country over this time. With the amount of sales currently exceeding €30 mln. it seems only logical for OBO to start production expansion.
“OBO was originally looking at a few other destinations for the new facility, but when we explored all of the competitive advantages Russian special economic zones offered we threw off every doubt and landed in Lipetsk. We take pride in the good relations we have established with the local community. The project was given comprehensive support and assistance at every stage and the plant construction went far ahead of schedule”, said Ulrich Bettermann while proudly taking the guests around his new acquisition.
The Bettermann family feels at home in Russia, publicly paying tribute to the country social and economic potential and consistently deploring the politically-motivated sanctions against the country.
OBO Group expects the new factory in Lipetsk to deliver up to 15% of the company’s overall profit within the next 5 years, as Andreas Bettermann announced. The expansion of operations in Lipetsk SEZ will also give the company much more flexibility in logistics and pricing, help to localize resources and eliminate the risks of customs restrictions. Moreover, it will definitely bring OBO closer to a great number of its Russian and CIS customers.
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