• Production area will more than double - from 3,000 to 6,300 square meters
• Around 40 new jobs will be created
• Investment is also a clear commitment to Styria as a business location
• Miba currently employs around 300 people in Styria and generates an annuel revenue of more than EUR 60 million in the province

In the coming months, Miba will more than double its production area for high-tech power electronics in southern Styria, from currently 3,000 square metres today to 6,300 square metres in the future. The ground-breaking ceremony for this took place today at the production site in Kirchbach. The reason for the investment is the enormous growth of the plant, where power and high-voltage resistors are produced under the "EBG Resistors" brand. In the past two years alone, annual revenue has doubled, increasing from 18 to almost 37 million euros.

Energy transition and eMobility drive growth

Traditionally, EBG power electronics are used in buses and trains, in measurement technology or in medical equipment. In recent years, the energy transition and eMobility have opened up a wealth of new markets for them. Around 90 per cent of all wind turbine manufacturers worldwide now use EBG power resistors for their electronics. In addition, they make an important contribution in power grids to transmit energy with as little loss as possible. The biggest growth driver, however, is eMobility: an increasing number of customers from the automotive industry are using the company's discharge resistors in their series production. When the electric vehicles are turned off, these immediately and safely reduce the voltage present in the system.

Around 3,000 square metres for eMobility -
for production, research and development, sales and administration

Miba has already invested more than two million euros in a first production line for eMobility products at the Kirchbach site in 2021. The current plant expansion will create a large-scale production infrastructure equipped to meet customers' rapidly increasing volume requirements. "We are expanding the factory location, which has existed since 1977, with an additional two-storey building," describes EBG General Manager and Plant Manager Louis Klein. "Around 3,000 square metres on the ground floor are reserved for eMobility - for production, but also for research and development as well as sales and administration." In addition, production and office capacities for growth in other customer markets will be created in the new building. The new building will also make it possible to optimise the existing production processes: "The greatly increased space will allow us to integrate our previous external production in St. Stefan im Rosental into the Kirchbach plant location. This not only saves time and organisational effort, it also reduces transports and thus helps the environment," says Louis Klein. In total, the investment is expected to create around 40 new jobs for the region.

Miba and Styria - a success story since 2010

Miba Group has been represented by production sites in Styria since 2010. At that time, the Upper Austrian family-owned company, which currently employs 7,800 people at 29 plant sites worldwide, had purchased the power electronics specialist EBG and with it the site in Kirchbach. "The plant has developed magnificently since then. Turnover has tripled, from 13 million euros in 2010 to almost 37 million euros last year. We have also created more than 130 new jobs - the number of employees has grown from 48 to 180," describes F. Peter Mitterbauer, CEO of Miba AG. DAU, the second Styrian power electronics specialist acquired by Miba in 2010, also developed successfully. The manufacturer of cooling technologies employs around 100 people at its plant in Ligist in the Voitsberg district. Turnover is around 25 million euros. "It is fair to say that the history of Miba in Styria is a success story. The great know-how, the commitment, the many new ideas and the pioneering spirit of our almost 300 Styrian employees are an essential basis for this success," says Miba boss Mitterbauer. In addition, the partnership with the municipalities and the province of Styria is excellent. And Mitterbauer makes it clear: "The decision to invest in the plant expansion in Kirchbach is therefore also a decision in favour of Styria as a business location, with which we have been linked by such a great success story for 13 years."

Important impulse for the town of Kirchbach-Zerlach and for the region

The investment in the plant location is also an important impulse for the town of Kirchbach-Zerlach, as Mayor Anton Prödl notes: "High tech for the energy transition and for the mobility of tomorrow creates growth and secure, future-oriented jobs. This also applies to rural regions, and the Miba site in Kirchbach is the best example of this." Attractive jobs can also prevent commuting to the provincial capital Graz, for example, and thus promote active community life. "We are therefore pleased about Miba's decision to locate in our community and look forward to continued good cooperation in the interest of the region and the people who live here.

Picture: groundbreaking ceremony on July 21st. Ltr.: Bürgermeister Anton Prödl, EBG Geschäftsführer & Werksleiter Louis Klein, Miba Vorstandsvorsitzender F. Peter Mitterbauer, EBG Geschäftsführer & Werksleiter Franz Konrad, General Manager der Miba Power Electronics Group Jens Kuschel, Landtagsabgeordneter Franz Fartek.