Mate Precision Tooling Opens New European Operation

Mate Precision Tooling (Anoka, MN) announced the opening of its new and expanded European headquarters and manufacturing facilities. Centrally located in Frankfurt Germany, the new facilities culminate a major investment by the company in the latest manufacturing technologies including best practices from its U.S. headquarters that recently were named ?Manufacturer of the Year.?

?Mate?s new Frankfurt facilities are designed to support a three-fold tool manufacturing expansion,? reports Kevin Nicholson, Mate president. ?The 1500 square meter facilities include Mate?s European administrative offices, complete production facilities, and a product training center ? all newly designed to improve Mate?s products and services to the European fabricating industry.?

?Mate?s centralized location was selected for its superior logistics, infrastructure and professional supplier base,? reports Mr. Nicholson. ?The Frankfurt location makes good business sense because it offers a highly skilled and motivated workforce, leading edge manufacturing processes, and space for future expansion as our business grows. The new facilities enable Mate to conduct all of its activities under one roof, further supporting better time, resource and process management. These new facilities further enhance our ability to deliver the quality, cost and reliability our European customers expect from Mate.?

Mate began its German operations in 1992. During that time, Mate grew its core German market developing innovative tool designs that became integral to the company?s world-wide punch press tool offering. The 2009 Mate move to new facilities marks the foundation for an expanding role in the overall European fabricating markets supporting more end users, dealers and original equipment manufacturers.

?Enhancing our customer?s experience was foremost in our planning for the new Mate facilities,? reports Frank Baeumler, managing director and vice president Mate European operations. ?We made new investments in manufacturing processes with a focus on efficient and effective use of space and materials, and improving order processing time while reducing delivery time. We upgraded the entire order-to-ship cycle to improve efficiency and reduce the chance for errors and waste. Implementing these improvements supports our overall goal of greater service and support to the European marketplace.?

Another new feature in the Mate facilities is a dedicated 450 square meter training and seminar center. Special displays of Mate tool designs and applications will be featured as part of a program of training and service support for users, dealers and sales personnel. The facility is designed to host large and small groups and includes area for Mate?s OEM partners to display and demonstrate their products.

?We have designed these exciting new Mate facilities so that they are truly a focal point and important destination for all of our fabricating partners and customers throughout Europe,? Mr. Baeumler stated.

www.mate.com