Charlotte – Schubert North America has called Charlotte, North Carolina, home since 2015. As one of Schubert’s most important export and growth markets, North America is developing at a rate that is well above average. In view of being able to serve customers even better in the future, Schubert successfully acquired land to expand its North American headquarters in Charlotte, NC.
Among other things, Schubert’s success in North America is attributed to the outstanding local training and service program and the high level of advisory expertise at the Schubert location in Charlotte, North Carolina. The expansion of its North American headquarters prepares Schubert to meet the demand of its growing customer base in North America. The new headquarters building, which is approximately 45000 sq. ft., will include sales, engineering, service, final assembly, and a customer training centre. With a total size of 7.36 acres, the entire site offers plenty of room for future growth. “An important criterion when selecting the land, was the possibility to add even further buildings in the future”, says Hartmut Siegel, Chief Executive Officer at Schubert North America. With an investment of almost tens of millions in its new North American headquarters, Schubert underlines its commitment to the region and emphasizes the strategic significance of the North American market over the long term.
“We are expanding our location for our North American customers,” explains Hartmut Siegel, “In addition to our new offices, an assembly hall will be built at the new location. Final assembly and commissioning for TLM packaging machines will be performed. There will be a workshop for service activities, as well. In the past, customers often had to fly to Schubert’s global headquarters in Crailsheim, Germany, for final acceptance of new machine projects. In the future, acceptance of selected machines will take place directly on site in Charlotte, NC.”
The new building will be designed according to Schubert’s new corporate sustainability initiative Mission Blue. The new headquarters will become a climate-neutral building equipped with the latest technology to generate green electricity in the future.
The Schubert subsidiary manages and grows the company’s business across the continent. “The market has developed disproportionately well,” explains Hartmut Siegel, “Fortunately, the pandemic has not slowed down the ongoing development of our product innovations. Demand from our North American customers for state-of-the-art packaging technology with great flexibility and a high degree of automation has been high.” The pandemic also highlighted the importance of autonomy and direct support for Schubert’s customers in North America.
The city of Charlotte has become a hub of headquarters for German businesses in the United States. There are 213 German companies in the area, including Bayer, Lufthansa, Siemens, Thyssen-Krupp and, since 2015, Schubert North America. The newly acquired location offers multiple possibilities. It is located directly near a major highway, close to the international airport and not far from the University of North Carolina and the Central Piedmont Community College. Schubert North America plans to develop close partnerships with both institutions. “Our service team will have everything right on their doorstep. Service team members could even complete a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree at the university part-time. Additionally, we could offer internships for students,” highlights Hartmut Siegel. An upgrade of local service expertise in combination with a capacity expansion for new machines, are the objectives Schubert has set for this project. Schubert North America will therefore be even closer to its customers and more responsive. Hartmut Siegel recounts: “Our customers and employees are enthusiastic about the land acquisition and investment plans.”
ABOUT GERHARD SCHUBERT GMBH
Gerhard Schubert GmbH is a globally recognized market leader in top-loading packaging machines (TLM). For its digital, robot-based packaging machines, the family-owned company based in Crailsheim (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) builds on an interplay of simple mechanics, intelligent control technology and high modularity. With this philosophy and a highly developed culture of innovation, the company has been pursuing an entirely independent technological path for more than 50 years.
With its TLM technology, the machine manufacturer provides its customers with future-proof packaging machine solutions that are easy to operate, flexible in terms of format conversion, high-performance and stable in function. The TLM packaging machines pack products of all types and from all sectors – from food, confectionery, beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to technical products – in trays, cartons, boxes or in flow-wrap bags.
Well-known brands such as Ferrero, Nestlé, Unilever, Mondelez and Roche rely on Schubert’s automation solutions, as do numerous small, medium-sized and family-owned companies. Founded in 1966, the second generation of the company now employs 1,500 people.
ABOUT SCHUBERT NORTH AMERICA
North America is one of the most important growth markets for the Schubert Group. Since the end of 2015, Schubert North America has been coordinating business in this market through its Charlotte headquarters. Together with its service center in Dallas, Texas, and with Schubert Packaging Automation, and its Canadian sales and service office in Toronto, Ontario, the company can guarantee the best possible service for customers throughout North America.
The headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, with its advanced training machines, also forms the Schubert Training Center for customers in North America and Canada – a core element of Schubert’s service offering. The company’s customers include very well-known corporations as well as medium-sized family businesses and start-ups.