The End of an Era: Carter Mining Closes Its German Factory

Everyone knows that Germany is a leading country in the field of machinery. It has produced a large number of well-known construction machinery manufacturers. The same is true in the mining machinery sector. Besides the well-known surface mining manufacturers such as Demag (now Komatsu), O&K (now Caterpillar), Liebherr, etc., it is also very strong in underground mining. There are too many manufacturers to list them all. 

Traditional German mechanical enterprises usually have a long history. Many of them were established in the 19th century. Even if they were destroyed during World War II, they were able to rise from the ruins and quickly keep up with technological trends, leading the industry's development. However, since the 1980s, with the arrival of the new liberalism and globalization waves, German enterprises have apparently become somewhat sluggish in the face of capital. A large number of small and medium-sized enterprises disappeared. Apart from some going bankrupt and closing down, a considerable number were acquired by foreign enterprises. 

For instance, after the division of Demark's excavators entered into a joint venture with Komatsu, it eventually became Komatsu Mining Germany Company. And O&K was also acquired by Terex and became the mining excavator division. In the United States, Bisceros not only dominated the open-pit mining market but also aimed to enter the underground mining market. Therefore, it acquired the renowned underground mining equipment supplier DBT from Germany. Eventually, both O&K and DBT were acquired by Caterpillar along with Bisceros. 

The brands of these acquired enterprises were gradually removed, but they still continued to live a life similar to the past in the old factories. Apart from the brand and the paint color changing, there were not many other significant changes. However, in recent years, the situation has gradually changed. On the one hand, the market situation is still not very good; on the other hand, the production costs in Germany are too high. 

In March, Carter Mining claimed that it would close its factory in Germany and integrate production to other locations. Recently, it officially announced this news. This includes the original O&K mining excavator factory located in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as the two factories of the original DBT, both of which are also located in North Rhine-Westphalia, one in Lünen and the other in Wuppertal.

Among them, the production of mining excavators may shift to Indonesia. Although Caterpillar had previously invested 40 million euros in this factory and the adjacent street was renamed "Caterpillar Avenue", this is not surprising. Previously, Caterpillar had already produced the 6090 and the largest 6120B in the United States. And the longwall mining equipment for underground coal mines will also be transferred to be produced in Asia, possibly in Indonesia. One of the reasons given by Caterpillar is that Germany is too far from the market, and Caterpillar hopes to be closer to the Asian market. Indeed, not many large excavators are needed in the entire Europe, and the engines still have to be transported from the United States. The same goes for the longwall coal mining system, with the main market being Australia.

Of course, moving house is not an easy task. However, the majority of the 550 people in the underground mining factory have already reached an agreement. They will reduce their workforce by half by the end of the year, and the rest will leave by the end of next year. Local media said that everyone was very depressed, the last hope had been shattered, and an era of long history was coming to an end. The Dortmund factory had 650 workers, and the situation is expected to be similar. German manufacturing is becoming less and less, and the legends wrapped in oil paper will also become fewer.

However, the Germans should have been able to anticipate this outcome. After all, Carter closed the largest factory in Europe, the one in Belgium's Wallonia region. The same happened with other brands - the famous French brands Poclain and Yobou were also shut down after being acquired. No one could resist the power of capital.