Engel is expanding its global production network, establishing a manufacturing site in Kikinda, Serbia.

The company said in a press release that this move "secures a high-performing value chain in Europe for the long term" and benefit European and American customers with shorter lead times and greater supply-chain reliability.

In the first phase, the facility in Kikinda will dedicate nearly 140,000 square feet of space and about 150 employees to produce machined components, freeing up capacity at the company's Austrian plants.

"The new Kikinda site complements our existing plants across Europe," said Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group, in the press release. "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."

Peter Jungwirth will serve as managing director of Engel Serbia in addition to his current position as commercial director of the Kaplice (Czech Republic) site.

Engel Group, headquartered in Schwertberg, Austria, manufactures injection molding and automation technologies. Engel Americas is based in York, Pa., and the company also has a facility in Queretaro, Mexico. Its other production locations outside Europe are in China, South Korea and India.