Conroe (USA) – BAUER Maschinen GmbH from Bavaria officially opened its new plant in Conroe, Texas, in the end of October. The opening party was attended by over 200 local people, customers and political figures, including Conroe’s former mayor wearing traditional Oktoberfest dress, in keeping with the event’s motto: “Texas meets Bavaria”. Before Marlies Bauer officially cut the tape, in honour of her 80th birthday, Dr. Sebastian Bauer emphasized in his speech that Conroe fits with Bauer “much better than a big-city culture would.”

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Managing Director Dr. Sebastian Bauer also highlighted the facility’s strategic importance: “Anyone who is aware of the dollar-euro exchange rate knows just how important it is to produce at market prices. Otherwise, in view of recent exchange rate fluctuations, prices of drilling rigs could theoretically double within just a few years. By localization we‘re able to keep prices stable in the medium term.” The new Bauer presence has been well received by customers. They particularly like having specialists close at hand and access to a complete inventory, but they also appreciate the investment being made in their country.

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“We were a bit late for the last boom, and we are a bit early for the next one,” stated Dr. Sebastian Bauer in assessing current market conditions. “But we are well placed to respond rapidly when it comes along.” There is a huge backlog of infrastructure engineering projects in the USA, so there is certainly demand for machinery.

The official opening of course also offered visitors the opportunity to take a tour of the Conroe facility, which at present is making drilling rigs BAUER BG 12 and BG 24, KLEMM KR 806, kelly bars, casing tubes and drilling tools. The 320,000 m² site, incorporating 12,400 m² of factory space, comprises an assembly hall, a steel component production facility, paintshop an a finishing hall. The long-term plan is for complete local production of machinery.

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