TEXTILES.ORG
Germany-based NAUE GmbH & Co. has opened a new geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) production center in Malaysia designed to serve the Asian and Oceanic markets, according to a May 19 press release from the company.
“This is a significant move for NAUE,” said Thomas Knuffinke, one of the firm’s managing directors. “While the company has had joint ventures in manufacturing around the world, NAUE Asia Sdn. Bhd. is the first 100% NAUE-owned facility outside of Germany.”
The new 5,000-sm plant is located in the west-coast Malaysian state of Selangor, and plans are already in place to facilitate plant expansion, the release said. Although the Selangor facility is dedicated to the manufacturing of the company’s Bentofix line of GCLs, NAUE Asia’s clients will also have ready access to other NAUE geosynthetic materials, such as Secugrid reinforcement geogrids and Soft Rock coastal protection geotextile container solutions, the press release stated.
Sebastian Naue and Alexander Naue, both managing directors and shareholders, said they are pleased with the establishment of the NAUE Asia manufacturing plant in Malaysia. “Malaysia’s infrastructure works well for us,” Alexander Naue said. “We have great road access, a high-quality communications network, and a large, skilled, international port to support our clients in Australia, India, China and other places in the region.”
Added Sebastian Naue: “NAUE’s business has doubled in the last decade and roughly 70% of our business is outside of Germany. Asia has been a big part of our growth.”
“The best choice for us was to begin our manufacturing here with Bentofix,” said Holger Pohlmann, NAUE’s Asia sales director. “We have an established market, certainly; but we also recognize that GCLs often need to be delivered quickly to sites for environmental control. Shipping from Europe to Asia takes time. The best thing for our customers was to have a production center right here to serve this region.”