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Batz and Matrici reinforce their leadership in the European die-making sector
In order to consolidate its position in a sector which has been undergoing an acute crisis worldwide over the last few years, the Batz-Matrici Group has set up the MB Tooling company in Amorebieta and has taken over a company in Lisbon and another in Logroño. This will help make the die manufacturing process more flexible in the plants in Igorre (Batz) and Zamudio (Matrici).
MB Tooling, set up in 2006, has meant an investment of 20 million euros and both Batz-Matrici and MCC Inversiones have shares in the company. Work has already started on the building of the plant on the Boroa industrial estate in Amorebieta. The plans are for the activity to start in January 2008, with a workforce that will get up to 80 people when the plant is fully up and running. MB Tooling will be in charge of putting the final touches to the dies that are designed and manufactured in the Igorre, Zamudio and Urduliz plants.
MB Lusitana de Matrices, located in the north of Lisbon, was purchased last year from the Matrison company and has a workforce of 30 people, with its activity focused on the machining and production of dies in their initial phases.
The Group’s most recent acquisition is Troquelería LEM, located on the El Sequero industrial estate in Logroño. This company is engaged in the manufacture and commissioning of dies, mainly for the automotive sector. It currently has a workforce of 18 and plans to raise that to 40 when it is operating at full capacity.
The Batz-Matrici Group is now the leading die-making group in Europe, with a total turnover of 180 million euros in 2006, of which 130 million came from die manufacture, and the rest from components and units for the automotive sector.
The Group’s joint workforce totals 1,200 people and it has production plants in the following towns in the province of Bizkaia: Igorre, Zamudio, Urduliz and Amorebieta, as well as one in Marinha Grande in the north of Lisbon and another in Logroño. The Group’s clients are made up of the leading car manufacturers.
http://www.batz.com