German machinery manufacturer Kautex Maschinenbau (Bonn; www.kautex-group.com) has opened its own sales office in Mexico to meet growing demand for extrusion blow moulding machines in North and Central America. Kautex Machines México is headquartered in Mexico City and will initially be staffed with one sales person and three service technicians. Support will also be provided by Kautex Machines based in New Jersey. The company said it planned to hire additional service technicians in Mexico during 2018.

“Proximity to our customers is an important element of our success story,” said Andreas Lichtenauer, managing partner at Kautex Maschinenbau. Kautex said it was expecting particular interest in the Mexican market for its “KBS”- and “KSB”-series machines for automotive applications as well as “KBB” and “KCC” machines for industrial and consumer packaging.

The Bonn-based company currently employs 530 people in Germany and 170 outside of Germany. In the past year, it generated sales of more than EUR 140m.