Jenoptik is building a modern technology campus for engineering, production, sales and service for metrology and laser machines for the automotive industry. In future, other Jenoptik businesses will also expand their North American business from this location. The Jenoptik Group is investing around 15 million US dollars in its US location in Rochester Hills, Michigan, creating a new modern technology campus for metrology and laser machines for the North American automotive industry. The acquisition of the property was finalized in April. On May 31, 2016, Jenoptik President & CEO Michael Mertin and CFO Hans-Dieter Schumacher as well as Andreas Blind and David Matynowski, both responsible for the Jenoptik business on site, jointly held the groundbreaking ceremony with the Jenoptik Executive Management Board and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett also attending.

The new location is currently the largest single investment being made by the Jenoptik Group. The total amount includes the purchase of the property as well as the construction of modern production, service and office environments. The new building is in direct vicinity of the current location, which is rented by Jenoptik. Relocation is expected to take place in the spring of 2017. The new technology campus will cover a total area of nearly 16 acres while, in the first expansion phase, the new building will have 100,000 square feet of space, almost half of which is production space.

The new building will be equipped with modern systems and materials for energy efficiency, for example latest sensor-controlled office and plant LED lighting as well as special energy-saving HAVC systems. “We will markedly exceed US and local standards by means of several components and, for that purpose, we planned additional budget”, says Jenoptik President & CEO Michael Mertin.

The investment allows Jenoptik to pave the way for planned future growth or technical upgrades. The technology group has had an in-house production facility in place at Rochester Hills since 2007 and currently employs more than 100 local staff. “Besides the APAC region, the USA have been our most important growth region with average annual growth rates of 13 percent since 2009. There is a high demand for our metrology and laser machines. The new campus provides us with state-of-the-art infrastructure and allows us to get even closer to our customers in the US automotive industry”, explains the Jenoptik President & CEO.

The new location will also provide areas and flexible expansion options for other Jenoptik activities and its future planned growth in the USA, including for the Jenoptik Defense & Civil Systems and the Healthcare & Industry divisions. The location is designed to ensure that it will also be able to provide significant expansion options in the medium-term.

System solutions for the automotive industries

As of January 1, 2016, Jenoptik realigned its divisions more closely to target customers and markets even more specifically. In particular, the Metrology and Laser Processing units were merged in the Automotive division. In the USA, the Laser Processing unit had moved to Rochester Hills already in the past year and has since used the infrastructure for administrative and operational processes together with the Metrology unit. Synergies also arise in sales, logistics and customer contact: the comprehensive product and service portfolio as well as customized solutions, especially for automotive customers, will be offered from a single location and as a system partner.

The business with the JENOPTIK-VOTAN® BIM laser cutting systems will also be expanded in Rochester Hills. For example, these cutting modules can be used to process aluminum or plastic parts. A new product will also complement Jenoptik’s portfolio in Rochester Hills: the “drop tester”, an impact test bench, measures the necessary force required to open an airbag compartment as well as the necessary time taken. The mechanics of the system are designed in Rochester Hills for application in the automotive industry. It complements the JENOPTIK-VOTAN® A laser system, which creates the predetermined breaking points in airbag covers.

North America is one of Jenoptik’s strategic target markets with an expected above-average growth in the coming years. In 2015, Jenoptik generated around 20 percent of group revenue, or 130 million euros (143 million US dollars), in the Americas. This was an increase of just over 24 percent compared to the previous year, while revenue in the Americas has more than doubled since 2009. In total, Jenoptik employed about 250 staff in the USA at the end of the first quarter of 2016.