The Salzburg heating expert Windhager is continuing its path on the road to success. In the last two years alone, the company has significantly increased sales of its sustainable heating solutions. "Although we have only recently modernised our production and greatly increased the number of employees, we have already almost reached the limits of our capacity in the past year. As far as our expectations for the coming years are concerned, we expect further strong growth in almost all of our markets," says Windhager's Managing Director Roman Seitweger.
To accommodate this development, Windhager has now acquired a 50,000 square metre plot of land in Pinsdorf in the district of Gmunden. An additional production facility and a new, modern logistics centre will be built on this site over the next two years. This means that the two managing directors Stefan Gubi and Roman Seitweger are continuing the company's expansion course set by owner Gernot Windhager. The ground breaking ceremony for the new building is planned for May 2022, and the new Windhager factory in Pinsdorf is scheduled to go into operation in mid 2023.
Green Technology for 100 new jobs
Green technology is playing a central role in the construction of the new factory. In addition to environmentally friendly building materials, state-of-the-art technologies will also be used for the building's heat and energy supply. Among other aspects, the electricity demand will be covered by a large photovoltaic system. Windhager also wants to comply with the sustainability concept in the best possible way with a fully electric transport fleet of trucks and with energy-saving, innovative production technologies. In the first stage, 40 new employees will be employed at the new factory; over the longer term, a need for more than 100 employees is anticipated.
New pillar for Windhager
Over the last several years, Windhager has specialised in the development and production of wood, pellet and wood chip heating solutions. The new factory in Pinsdorf will also be producing heat pumps in the future. The company intends to create an additional pillar for itself and at the same time expand its expertise in renewable energies. "Heat pumps are one of the fastest growing areas of the industry today and will continue much more so in the future. At the same time, this business unit also underscores our efforts to provide innovative solutions in the field of sustainable energy and to be one of the leading full-service suppliers," says Windhager Managing Director Stefan Gubi.
Further investments at the Seekirchen site
Windhager intends to invest heavily not only in its new factory in Upper Austria, but also in the boiler production facility in Seekirchen/Zaisberg, which is to be rebuilt and upgraded to state-of-the-art level. Windhager is investing a double-digit million figure in the acquisition of innovative production technologies. In addition to a fully automated boiler welding system, a new fibre/laser cutting line is also expected to increase production capacity by threefold. "The site in Seekirchen will continue to play a central role for the Windhager Group in the future. With these investments, we are setting a strong course for the successful future of the company and at the same time securing a lot of jobs in the region," reiterate the two Windhager Managing Directors Stefan Gubi and Roman Seitweger. The new Windhager boiler production facility is scheduled to go into full operation as early as the end of 2022. Windhager will then have the most modern biomass boiler production in Austria.
About Windhager:
The company was founded in 1921 in Seekirchen, near Salzburg. With a workforce numbering 550 employees, two foreign subsidiaries and an international network of partners, it is now one of Austria's leading boiler manufacturers. Production currently takes place exclusively at the company headquarters in Seekirchen near Salzburg. The export share amounts to approximately 70 per cent. The research and development department of the international heating specialist is devoted above all to developing highly efficient heating solutions for renewable energies.