Injection moulding machine peripherals manufacturer Moretto (Massanzago / Italy; www.moretto.com) has established a sales and service subsidiary in Neunkirchen am Sand, near Nuremberg / Germany. Moretto Deutschland GmbH will operate on a 6,000 m² site, where an existing building is being renovated to accommodate 1,600 m² of hall space and 700 m² of offices, said managing director Renato Moretto.

The company, Moretto’s second German subsidiary, will be headed by Bernd Kraft and will initially have twelve employees. It will cover southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and complements the existing subsidiary, Moretto Germany GmbH, in Paderborn in northern Germany. By autumn 2008, Kraft aims to have established a pilot plant for customer trials and training in drying, conveying, mixing and metering. By 2010 he intends to expand the business to neighbouring eastern European countries. The subsidiary’s sales target for 2012 is EUR 10m.

Moretto is currently in the process of significantly expanding its presence in the European market. At the beginning of this year, the company opened Moretto UK in Milton Keynes. In the medium term, the Italian company aims to become one of the top three European suppliers of peripherals. In 2007, Moretto posted sales of EUR 32m, of which the domestic market accounted for one third and the remainder of the EU for another 35%.