The test centre is at the heart of our global customer testing for heavy-duty applications. It includes various test machines with flexible set-ups, as well as a metallography lab for meticulous process testing.

The move to Zurich brings the test centre closer to our design engineers and sales team, making it easier to show customers live tests and allowing design and test engineers to collaborate more closely. Christoph Baer, Development Engineer at the new test centre in Zurich, said: “It’s not easy to say goodbye to Schaffhausen, a location that is closely entwined with our history here in Switzerland. But the practical advantages of having the test centre near our main offices are simply too great. When the perfect spot became available, we knew it was time and the new centre the team have built over the past couple of months is fantastic. We’re looking forward to showing our new testing facilities to visiting customers.”

The new test centre will officially open its doors this month. It accommodates the same test machines and lab facilities as before (plus a brand-new machine to be commissioned in August), but on a more compact layout. A better utilization of the shopfloor and an optimized machine arrangement means that the centre fits into a 700m² building, compared to the 1200m² available in Schaffhausen. Christoph Baer, explains: “The new set-up is a lot more flexible in terms of the tests we are able to run for customers. Being within such close proximity of the rest of the engineering and sales teams means it’s a lot easier to have a quick look at a machine or component in action or examine latest test results. This will be invaluable for our R&D as well as our day-to-day machine development.”

The Wheelabrator team in Zurich was quick to establish a fast transport link between the new test centre and the offices in Bachenbülach: dedicated Wheelabrator staff bikes for a swift shuttle service covering the short distance.