Magirus Lohr has manufactured firefighting vehicles in Styria for almost 100 years. Now, the Styrian manufacturer, part of the Magirus Group, has opened its new site in Zettling, a municipality belonging to Premstätten near Graz in Austria. At the opening, the company also presented a number of trendsetting product innovations.
"The new plant will allow us to serve our customers even better in coming years. The newly opened site offers the best conditions for innovation, production, and customer service. We are happy to have found a modern new home for our activities and the 160 employees in Austria," explained Marc Diening, CEO of the Magirus Group.
Additional powerful contribution
"Since the first fire engine was built nearly 100 years ago, Magirus Lohr has demonstrated an innovative spirit and done outstanding work for the region. The construction of the new production facility is yet an additional powerful contribution to strengthening Styria as a business location. I am always pleased when a Styrian company expands and thus secures jobs in Styria," said the Provincial Governor Hermann Schützenhöfer.
Due to the positive development in 2017, we started a strategic search for a new location"
"Due to the positive development in 2017, we started a strategic search for a new location," explained Christian Reisl, Managing Director of the company: "There was no possibility of expanding the Hönigtal site due to its particular topographical conditions. Looking into the future, we urgently needed modern development and production space, not least because of the framework agreement with the Bundesbeschaffungsgesellschaft (BBG) for all firefighting vehicles of any tonnage."
Most modern standards
The optimal location was found in Zettling, a municipality belonging to Premstätten near Graz. On February 20, 2020, the foundation stone for the new production facility – which includes a delivery center and a sales outlet for firefighting equipment – was laid during the groundbreaking ceremony. With 17,000 m² and an investment sum of around 10 million euros, the company now has a location that meets the most modern standards.
Less than 10 months have passed from the groundbreaking ceremony to the handover. This was done during the extremely challenging pandemic year of 2020 and in parallel with the introduction of a new ERP system. All of this was only able to function due to the perfect cooperation of all professionals as well as the cohesion and commitment of all employees.
Trendsetting product developments
In Premstätten, innovative, top-quality product solutions will be developed and manufactured
In addition to trendsetting product developments, customer proximity is a central part of Magirus's corporate philosophy. The new location offers the best conditions for this. In Premstätten, innovative, top-quality product solutions will be developed and manufactured for the use of fire departments. These solutions have only one objective: making the operations of the fire departments safer, more effective, and thus even more successful.
In this context, the new innovations represent an important building block in the next generation of ‘smart’, technologically Magirus products. In addition to the innovations presented at the opening, such as the new HLC rolling containers and various forward-looking connectivity solutions, intelligent device recognition, for example, allows a first glimpse into the company's innovative future.
In addition to its responsibility for the Austrian market, the company will continue to act as a competence center for firetruck cabs, Group-wide component production, and market strategy that targets Eastern Europe.
