Austria's Semperit (Wimpassing; www.semperit.at) plans to invest a little more than EUR 10m in a hose production expansion project at its Semperflex Optimit plant in Odry / Czech Republic. Now underway, the project when completed is planned to increase capacity by 30% by the second quarter in 2015, the company said. No further details were disclosed.

"In 2013 we achieved a significant increase in hose sales and gained a greater market share despite a weak global economy. Thus, we are currently operating at full capacity," explained Semperit CEO Thomas Fahnemann, adding, "We see additional growth potential [and] we can meet the strong demand for our hoses, intensify our partnerships with key customers and secure future growth by expanding our production capacities at Odry."

The company said though its "Semperflex" segment has recently been negatively impacted by a weaker market environment, it still benefits from global growth in the mechanical engineering, construction and mining sectors. The Austrian producer of rubber and plastics products added that due to the need of customers to enhance positions in emerging markets and expand infrastructures, an ongoing demand for construction and agriculture machinery has been sealed and the Semperflex segment "boasts a strong market position" for its hydraulic and industrial hoses for these areas.

The expansion will not only increase production capacity, but will also add jobs to the Odry site, which is in the eastern region of the Czech Republic, and which has been a part of the Semperit Group since 1998.