B&R IS SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDING PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

Hiring Hundreds of Employees for Temporary Weekend Shifts

The ABB Group is expanding production at B&R, its global center for machine and factory automation, headquartered in Eggelsberg (Upper Austria, Austria). Following the recent easing of global supply chain bottlenecks, B&R is focused on quickly meeting the high demand for automation solutions from its customers.

Just this past summer, ABB inaugurated a new global innovation and education campus in Innviertel, Upper Austria. As part of this initiative, production is also being significantly expanded. B&R plans to complete the next phase of this expansion by Q1 2023. The company also plans to temporarily add a weekend shift. The company announced on Thursday that this will create several hundred new jobs, initially limited to one year. B&R CEO Jörg Theis said, “Supply chain bottlenecks have eased significantly in recent months. Increasing automation is now a top priority in many industries. We have responded to this by expanding production and working hours, and we are currently looking for several hundred new employees in production and logistics for a temporary weekend shift. As a result, we can quickly process our record order volume and be ready to meet the ongoing high demand for our automation solutions.”

Increased Capacity to Handle Two Billion Components Per Year

With the opening of the new innovation and education campus, ABB expanded B&R’s headquarters in Eggelsberg to over 100,000 square meters this summer. Since then, B&R has become one of the largest integrated production, research, and training centers in Central Europe. All B&R production for the global market takes place at Eggelsberg on fully automated production lines. By relocating offices to the new campus, 7,000 square meters (the size of a football field) have been freed up for further production expansion. In this area, B&R is once again significantly increasing the volume of its automation solutions. This expansion boosts capacity to more than two billion components per year. Consequently, B&R will be able to process up to 60% more components than before.

B&R is expanding production in the Innkreis region and is hiring several hundred new employees for a temporary weekend shift. (Image source: B&R)

Record-High Order Volume

As part of ABB’s Robotics & Factory Automation division, B&R has seen significant growth over the past five years. In the past year alone, total orders grew at a double-digit rate. B&R’s order volume has reached a record high this year. By the third quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, customer ordering behavior had normalized as supply chain bottlenecks eased. However, demand remains at a high level.

Weekend Shifts for One Year

To quickly manage the high order volume, B&R will temporarily produce and ship products on weekends over the next year. For these weekend shifts, the company will hire several hundred additional production and warehouse employees, alongside its permanent production expansion. B&R, in collaboration with the workers’ council and labor unions, has developed a new working time model for this temporary weekend shift.

Two Days of Work, Five Days Off - “Job Days” for Those Interested

With a total of 20 hours per week, only working on Saturdays and Sundays, the company offers a salary equivalent to the standard 38.5-hour workweek from Monday to Friday, including all applicable allowances. “We provide employees who choose to work on Saturdays and Sundays for one year with an exceptionally attractive work-life balance,” said Robert Perperschlager, Managing Director of B&R. B&R’s HR department expects strong interest in these new positions, which is why the company plans to hold “Job Days” instead of traditional recruitment interviews. For more information, please visit www.br-automation.com/wochenendschicht.

Overall, ABB employs more than 11,000 people across over 100 locations in 53 countries within its Robotics and Factory Automation division. Once recruitment is complete, more than 3,000 employees will work at the Eggelsberg headquarters.

Source: https://www.br-automation.com/en/about-us/press-room/bampr-is-significantly-expanding-production-22-12-2022/