Acknowledging that the ability to accelerate a sustainable energy future is only possible with high-volume factories, Tesla announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Grohmann Engineering, a world-renowned engineering company in Prüm, Germany. The company will be known Tesla Grohmann Automation and will serve as Tesla’s Germany headquarters. With the expectation that other locations will follow, Tesla’s deal with Grohmann has the potential to add over 1,000 advanced engineering and skilled technician jobs in Germany over the next two years. Grohmann currently employs around 700 people, including hardware and software engineers.
The global engineering leader will help Tesla to increase the automation and effectiveness of its manufacturing process. Grohmann Engineering currently develops, supplies, and services production systems, with automotive, telecommunications, consumer electronics, and biotechnical industries as clients.
“This will really be our first acquisition of significance in our whole history,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, noting that Grohmann was their “first choice” in terms of bringing on expertise to help it “build the machines that build the machine.” With Grohmann on board, Tesla will expand its capacity to manufacture high-quality products with economies of scale, making them more affordable and accessible.
Tesla CTO J.B. Straubel added that Tesla has been working on the partnership with Grohmann for several months.
Tesla plans to design and produce several critical elements of its automated manufacturing systems in Prüm, which, according to a November 8 press release, “will be to help make our factories the most advanced in the world.” The combination of Prüm, California, Michigan, and other engineering facilities to follow could yield exponential improvements in the speed and quality of production, while substantially reducing the capital expenditures required per vehicle.
“We thought it was important that Tesla become, in part, a German company,” Musk said, regarding the investment in the country. “That’s what this was all about.”
With production rates at their Fremont Factory reaching a 400% increase in only four years, Tesla expects the Grohmann Engineering acquisition to accelerate that growth rate even further. The agreement, which is contingent upon clearance from regulators in the U.S. and Germany, is likely to have full approval and close by early 2017.
“We are excited to have the Grohmann team join us in our goal of becoming the best manufacturer in the world to help accelerate the world’s progress to a sustainable energy future,” Tesla affirmed.
