Volkmann adds 48,437 sq ft to German manufacturing centre, cuts conveyor lead times

Volkmann USA has expanded its global headquarters in Soest, Germany, adding 48,437 square feet of manufacturing and testing space. The facility now integrates design engineering, assembly, quality control, and shipping under one roof, and includes a new testing laboratory with fully operational pneumatic vacuum conveying systems, bulk bag unloaders, and metal powder handling equipment for additive manufacturing. The company reports that the expansion has already reduced lead times for custom conveyor orders to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and launched a Quick Ship program that delivers a VS Series vacuum conveyor in two weeks.

This expansion addresses a persistent bottleneck in metal AM production workflows: powder handling and post-processing infrastructure. While printer OEMs compete on build speed and chamber size, the practical throughput of a metal AM factory is often constrained by powder transfer, sieving, and depowdering steps that remain manual or semi-automated in many facilities. Volkmann's move to consolidate engineering and production under one roof and shorten delivery timelines for custom conveyor systems directly attacks that constraint. The company's existing PowTReX system for automated powder transfer and sieving, and its collaboration with HP on depowdering for the Metal Jet S100, position it as a critical enabler of production-scale binder jetting and PBF-LB operations. The expansion signals that powder handling equipment is no longer an afterthought but a competitive differentiator in service economics.

For AM production managers evaluating metal powder systems, the practical takeaway is that lead time and integration support now matter as much as the conveyor's technical specs. Volkmann's ability to deliver a VS Series conveyor in two weeks under Quick Ship, and to test full powder handling lines in-house before shipment, reduces the risk of production line downtime during installation. The company's next challenge will be maintaining that responsiveness as order volumes grow, particularly from North American customers benefiting from the expanded German facility.