GERMANY – IMA Klessmann GmbH has signed a EUR 8.5 new machinery contract with Häcker Kitchen, one of the largest kitchen manufacturers in Germany.

The supply will allow Häcker to produce kitchen cabinets with IMA’s laser edge banding process technology. The new high-end manufacturing cells will replace three existing plants and will allow Häcker to increase production to a total of 1.18 million furniture components per year. The contract will be realized in three stages of supply: first production cell is planned for July 2015, the second cell will follow in December 2015 and the third in May 2016.

The new facilities will offer Häcker maximum flexibility – especially when edging furniture parts. Each manufacturing cell includes a Combima panel sizing and edge banding combination machine that offers both the jointless laser edgebanding as well as conventional edgebanding. Among its capabilities, the edge magazine of the Combima can be equipped with up to 96 different edges.

In 2014 the German kitchen manufacturer achieved sales of 406 million euros, up 15 million euros on the previous year. Sixty-two per cent of sales were in Germany and 38 % came from exports. The recovering German economy, the emerging markets in the Netherlands and Great Britain and steadily increasing sales in Switzerland, India and China made sure that turnover increased in equal shares in both Germany and abroad. Häcker CEO Jochen Finkemeier stated, “We are delighted that we have exceeded the 400 million euro mark, despite difficult conditions in some markets. For coming years, too, our aim remains to generate sustainable and profitable growth. The focus here continues to be on expansion of foreign business.”