Gent, Belgium-based EskoArtwork has opened a new Kongsberg dieless cutting and creasing table manufacturing facility in Brno, Czech Republic.

Until recently, all of the company’s tables were developed and built by Kongsberg, owned by EskoArtwork, in Kongsberg, Norway. The Kongsberg area is the technology hub of Norway, with access to highly skilled employees. The Kongsberg company has been a successful manufacturer of plotter-cutters for more than four decades. During the last 10 years, EskoArtwork has installed more than 2,500 Kongsberg sample making tables worldwide — and virtually all of them are still in daily production.

The current generation of Kongsberg tables was originally developed for the packaging industry. Over the past few years, however, the tables have been introduced to sign and display companies as well, with successful results and a growing market share. During the past four years alone, annual sales of Kongsberg tables have increased 150 percent, and EskoArtwork expects annual sales to double again over the next five years. Thus, Kongsberg management decided, as part of a long-term strategic plan, to double its production capacity by building an additional, complementary manufacturing site to absorb the growth in demand.

Kongsberg management searched for a manufacturing location within a geographic area noted for quality manufacturing, mechanical and electromechanical expertise, good technical education, and craftsmanship. Its main criteria included availability and quality of the local labor pool, an ability to conduct business easily with an excellent supplier base, and an affordable cost of doing business. In addition, Kongsberg needed to ensure that the area was economically stable on a macro level, with ample infrastructure and transportation.

Brno, in the Czech Republic, satisfied all of Kongsberg’s needs. Nestled in the central part of Europe, the city has had a long-lasting heritage in automotive, defense and aerospace manufacturing. With more than 60,000 students in the city’s school system, the area is assured of an available, qualified work force. And as the Czech Republic’s second-largest city, it has a solid local supplier base and logistics infrastructure.

The new manufacturing site will be operated as a Kongsberg manufacturing subsidiary. Kongsberg will remain the CAM technology and R&D center for the company’s tables. Its specific focus will be on new products and critical subassemblies.