Wedemark, Germany (May 16, 2024)—The Sennheiser Group has announced a series of construction and upgrade measures to position the company’s production capabilities for the future.
According to a Sennheiser Group statement, by making some significant investments in its manufacturing facilities the family-owned company is strengthening the independence of its production and “setting the course to continue to successfully shape the future of the audio world.” Most notably, at the group’s headquarters in Wedemark, near Hanover, Germany, the company is investing in manufacturing technologies, particularly in circuit board assembly, under the banner of “Moving into the Future.”
The first step involved moving Surface Mounted Device (SMD) Line 1 to create space for two additional PCB assembly systems. The first SMD production line has been in use at the Wedemark location since 2017. In 2022, another plant with twice the production capacity was put into operation. The SMD 1 system uses eight assembly heads to place components on a circuit board at an average speed of 25,000 elements per hour.
Moving the machines has provided space for a total of four SMD assembly systems on the production floor. With new reflow ovens for the new lines now in position, lowered by crane through the roof, the company says that it can increase its PCB production capacity many times over and also take future technological developments into account.
“Moving the plant and setting up new facilities are two of many measures to strengthen our own production,” explains Dr. Andreas Fischer, chief operating officer and member of the executive management board. “Through continuous investments in production capacities at the Wedemark location, we are making ourselves more independent of supply chains. Last year we invested around 5 million euros here on-site. This year it’s over 14 million euros.”
“We have constantly developed our supply chains and continuously expanded our own production capacities. This not only makes us future-proof in the long term, but also a reliable partner for our customers,” adds co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser.
The delivery of the reflow ovens and the changes to the assembly lines reportedly had no impact on production. “Since the beginning of the year, we have pre-produced around 10,000 circuit boards to compensate for the loss of production during the move,” Fischer says. “Without the passionate commitment of the entire team, the move would not have been possible.”
Sennheiser’s location in Wennebostel, Germany, specializes in technologies for high-precision, automated processes, as well as the manufacturing of high-end products, including the production of microphone capsules in a clean room. Here, the company says, investments were made in a new SMD line in 2022 and in a digital tool management system in 2023, as well as in 10 additional production systems for microphone components. Other upcoming measures include the expansion of an automated SMD warehouse.
The factory in Brașov, Romania, on the other hand, focuses on manual production, as well as the final testing and packaging of products. Sennheiser is also heavily investing in this location. Available production space has tripled in size over the last year, the company reports.
In total, almost 13 million euros went into expanding the group’s production sites in 2023. “Through our own strong production, we are investing in our core competence—in the high quality of our products,” Fischer says.
