The then called company Horst Gutbrod– headquartered in Baden-Wurttemberg - opened a new factory for series production of sheet metal parts for the automotive industry in Schmölln in 2001. It invested EUR 10 million and created jobs for 140 people in eastern Thuringia. Six years later, the Austrian company voestalpine AG took over the Gutbrod Group and continued successfully manufacturing high-quality stamped and formed metal parts and modules as well as safety and collision protection system components for the international automotive industry.
Today, voestalpine Stamptec Schmölln GmbH employs 360 people and is to create a further 70 jobs on the back of a large order from a premium vehicle manufacturer in southern Germany that will trigger an expansion of operations. The company plans to spend EUR 28 million on developing a new production line at its Schmölln facility, which will be used mainly to produce high-strength light metal body parts for vehicles, pushing ahead with solid growth. (maa)
