Built at a cost of €50 million, the investment in the new 46,500 sq. m facility will allow Combilift to realise its ambitious growth plans.
The purpose–built factory is set on a 100-acre site with room for future expansion when required.
The site it fitted with four 90 metre moving assembly lines that produce a finished truck every 15 minutes.
There are also 60 welding bays, two plasma cutting machines, three paint lines, which use sustainable water-based paints, and three automatic shot blasters to cater for different sized products.
In addition, 12,000 pallet locations ensure ample storage space for parts and components, while the facility also houses a 50-seat cinema training room, 5,000 m² of office space and a dedicated R&D Development and Testing Centre.
The factory also sees 23% of its roof space covered in skylights, enabling staff to work in natural daylight without the assistance of artificial lighting. Other lighting is provided through 1100 LED light with individual PIR sensors.
Solar panels supply 185 kW of energy with a 1 MW Biomass plant fuelled by recycled wood (pallets etc.) to heat the spraying booths and assembly area and 110,000 litres of rain water are harvested for jet washing and bathroom facilities.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the company also announced on Wednesday that it will be significantly expanding its workforce with the creation of 200 new jobs in the next three years.
Martin McVicar, managing director of Combilift, said: “We have employed an additional 230 people since we announced our plans for this factory in 2015 and the combination of this state of the art production plant and the growing skilled workforce will allow us to double production within the next 5 years.
“Combilift has set the benchmark for the mass production of customised innovative products. Mass customisation is the new frontier for both the customer and the manufacturer as customers are increasingly expecting products to be tailored to their requirements. We listen to and take feedback on board from our customers and dealers to identify solutions that best match their individual specific needs.”
Combilift currently exports 98% of its products to 85 countries through its 250-strong international dealer network. The current workforce stands at 550 people and the new employment opportunities will be for skilled technicians, design engineers, logistics and supply chain specialists and those with mechanical and electrical mechatronics skills.
More than 50 truckloads of finished products are dispatched from the factory each week, and spare parts are shipped across the world to the dealer network.
