German company IBG Automation GmbH will be setting up part of its operations in Malta, thereby strenghtening even further the presence of German investment in Malta.
The plans of the company, which is supported by Malta Enterprise, were announced during the 2014 edition of the Deutsche Messe in Hannover and comprise an initial investment of 600,000 euro to carry out design, development, manufacturing and testing of its automation systems in Malta.
While the company plans to start with small sized projects that involve light weight parts and robots, it eventually plans to set up a machine design and simulation cell for the design of larger machines. It is expected to employ a substantial number of professionals in mechanics and engineering, technicians and programmers for robot control, PC control and SPS control.
IBG Automation GmbH, is part of Goeke Technology Group, established in 1982 in Neuenrade, not far away from Düsseldorf. The family owned company specializes in the development and production of automation systems for various industries.
Major customers of IBG include German flagship companies like BMW, BAYER and MIELE. The company is renowned to cooperate with well known German robot names like KUKA, ABB, Bosch, Siemens and Festo. Sales of robots and systems from Germany grew by 8 % in 2012. IBG Automation GmbH’s turnover and net profit has grown steadily over the past years.
Malta Enterprise had established the first contact with IBG Automation GmbH at the previous edition of the Deutshce Messe, which is the most prominent industry fair in Germany.
The investment is one of the 36 new FDI projects approved by Malta Enterprise in 2013, when a record number of projects were approved.