photo by Brent McDonald (See Video on Channel 9)
ATN Hölzel GmbH, a German specialist in glue application and automation technology, announced plans on Wednesday to establish its U.S. presence in Chattanooga, a project that will bring a $500,000 investment and 15-20 new jobs with annual wages averaging $60,000 over a period of three years. The new facility will be located at 4701 Wilson Road, Ste. C, in Chattanooga.
ATN Hölzel GmbH develops custom-made, robotic gluing solutions for car manufacturers and solar equipment producers all over the world. In 2010, the parent company founded ATN Hölzel LP to supply products to the new Volkswagen facility in Chattanooga.
"We took this opportunity to pursue further contracts in the U.S. and were able to land several large orders" said Kay Sachsse, the gluing automation veteran responsible for the subsidiary. "As Detroit demonstrated, the U.S. car industry is following the German pattern of recovery and there is significant investment. We plan to utilize the local talent pool and the 'open for business' mindset here to grow our foothold in the U.S."
“We welcome ATN Hölzel as the newest member of Chattanooga’s business family,” said Chattanooga City Mayor Ron Littlefield. “This company is creating family-wage jobs for local residents through an enterprise which has excellent potential for additional expansion. I was particularly pleased to learn that the company will bring in veteran employees from Germany on a temporary basis to train local residents, who will then take full-responsibility for these permanent positions.”
"The decision to locate in the area was not entirely motivated by the Volkswagen project as that was engineered in Germany and almost finished by the time our client chose Chattanooga," said Benedikt Ibing, managing partner of Pegasus Partners, an Atlanta-based consultancy, which is assisting ATN Hölzel during the start-up phase.
“We’re pleased ATN Hölzel chose to locate their operations in Chattanooga and believe Hamilton County is well-positioned to support its growth,” said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger. “ATN Hölzel’s investment continues to build our reputation as an excellent point of entry for international companies with U.S. interests. We will continue to leverage that reputation to create local jobs.”
“ATN Holzel’s project demonstrates the nexus between our recent successes in attracting investments from both the automotive and energy industries,” said Trevor Hamilton, vice president of economic development for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. “We now have the opportunity to market the business synergies created through significant investments by both of these sectors. This project also continues our trend of successfully attracting European investment and building on previous recruitment successes.”
For more than 12 years the ATN Hölzel GmbH has stood for innovative solutions, high quality, and local service availability in Germany and around the world. The core competencies include complete solutions for glue application, automation technology for the automotive and solar industry, as well as combined heat and power units (CHP).
Although ATN Hölzel GmbH has already hired its initial group of local employees, anyone with German language skills may apply for future opportunities through hr@atngmbh.com
photo by Brent McDonald (See video on Channel 9)