The miserable state of the GRP market last year has also left its mark on Mitras Kunststoffe GmbH (D-92633 Weiden). During the business year 1993/94, ending March 31, the decline in turnover at the Weiden home factory, due to lower sales to the automobile industry, was compensated by increased sales by the East German (Mitras Composites GmbH, Radeburg bei Dresden) and French (Stratinor SA, Limoges) subsidiaries. Group turnover was held at DM 190m. Staffing levels – 1000 employees are on board, with 700 of them in Weiden – have been maintained at peak levels. A joint venture, Mitapres in Stroud, England, founded in September 1993, has been in full production since April 1994 and has just ordered a fully automatic press for a recent large order.

Mitras has just started up a Czech subsidiary, Mitras Composite CR sro, in Chodova Plana (an hour's journey by car from Weiden and close to Marienbad). The first four presses have already been installed and additional equipment for SMC moulding for the automobile and electrical industries will follow shortly. Walter Geißler, Director of the materials business area at Weiden, is responsible for the Mitras activities in the Czech Republic.

On the same site at Chodova Plana, 130 employees of the Mitras subsidiary, Fortit, are fully equipped to manufacture containers. Projected turnover this year is DM 6m, based on production of 2500 large steel containers and several hundreds of aero- and marine containers. Sales will be handled by Fortit Container- und Gestell-Vertriebs-GmbH (Moosbürger Str 20, D-92637 Weiden). Peter Müller, a long-serving Mitras manager, is responsible for this new area.

READER SERVICE: Extensive information and press release on the Mitras involvement in the Czech Republic, and about Fortit (German): PIE-No. 36401.