September 18, 2026 11:21

Engel will concentrate some of its mechanical manufacturing operations at a new plant in Kikinda, Serbia, which will cover 13,000 square metres in the first phase of the project.

Around 150 employees will be hired at the Serbian site over the first three years. Experienced staff from Austria will train the local team to ensure the transfer of know-how.

According to the Austrian injection moulding machine manufacturer, the investment is aimed at strengthening its European production value chain by increasing flexibility, reducing lead times and improving supply reliability.

Engel has not disclosed which operations will be transferred from the group’s other European plants, but says the move will allow its Austrian sites to devote more capacity to complex, customer-specific system solutions.

From an organisational perspective, Peter Jungwirth (pictured) will take on the role of Managing Director of Engel Serbia in addition to his current position as Commercial Director of the Kaplice plant in the Czech Republic.

“The new Kikinda site complements our existing plants across Europe,” says Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group. “It improves our cost efficiency and gives us greater flexibility compared to sourcing directly from Asia. Our Austrian plants will have more room to focus on what we do best: highly complex, tailored system solutions that are in demand worldwide.”

The investment comes amid persistent cost pressure and growing international competition for European injection moulding machine manufacturers.

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