BEHRINGER, a world-leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of professional audio and musical instrument products, announced on June 6th the opening of its new manufacturing hub which comprises a series of buildings in a campus-like setting. Each building has a distinct function, including factories for electronics, wood, speaker assembly and guitars, warehouses, logistical operations, receiving areas for suppliers, as well as R&D and administrative offices. Extensive infrastructure such as different canteens, several dormitories, a library, recreation facilities and on-site medical assistance complement the state-of-the-art production site making BEHRINGER City an exceptionally attractive place to work for the 2980 BEHRINGER employees.

“We chose June 6 for our grand opening long ago because in the Chinese calendar, this is a date for smooth beginnings in which the farmers traditionally start spreading the seedlings in hope to enjoy a prosperous growth of their plantation” explained Mr. Michael Deeb, CEO of the BEHRINGER Group “and indeed our beginnings have been smooth even in the final weeks in which 1,600 trucks transported all materials and machinery from the old premises to the our new 2 million square foot site. Within only two months the whole move was completed, without any interruption in production and with all our employees relocated to BEHRINGER City”.

Retaining the skilled workforce and enhancing production efficiencies were the drivers for the creation of the new site, which is only a quarter of an hour drive away from the previous facility. Efficiency was increased significantly through optimization of the factory layout and consequent application of integrated production principles (i.e. ERP systems and co-location of R&D, Logistics Operations and suppliers).

“Differently from other companies that started operations in China only recently, BEHRINGER took this decision almost at its beginnings and embedded it strongly into its “in-house” philosophy. By this we mean a powerful integration of the whole value creation chain resulting in tangible advantages for our customers. EUROTEC and Behringer City represent the culmination of this approach. Our global R&D, for instance, shares IT resources, working together according to the “follow the sun” principle and enabling what we call “design-to-cost”. Their proximity to production at EUROTEC will now let us further accelerate time-to-market and ultimately deliver innovative products with excellent value-for-money ratio, ahead of our competitors. Another example of the benefits of integration at EUROTEC is the fact that we can best implement Total Quality Management (TQM) there, because we have a stable and committed workforce, which we employ directly and train long-term. Superior manufacturing quality, in turn, is the enabler for our industry-first global warranty scheme -- “New for old” -- which we launched in January. With this program, we replace defective gear within warranty with new products on the spot at participating dealers and thereby provide users with unprecedented service” commented Mr. Deeb on the significance of BEHRINGER City within the Company’s strategy.

“The BEHRINGER brand stands for quality gear at a competitive price point. BEHRINGER City is key to ensure we keep delivering on our promise to the global markets and hence builds a strong foundation for our future success.” concluded the Chairman of the Group, Mr. Uli Behringer.