TUCKER, Ga.—Lehigh Technologies Inc. has formed a wholly owned subsidiary in Barcelona, Spain, with a goal of expanding the company's base in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Called Lehigh Spain, it will serve as the firm's commercial face in the European market.
It will handle the order fulfillment process, ensuring a smooth operation of the supply chain with products currently produced at Lehigh's U.S. plant in Tucker, the company said.
Lehigh Spain officially opened for business on June 16 under the leadership of Lluis Molina and Josep Freixas.
It was formed to help set the stage for construction of a production plant in the country.
A producer of micronized rubber powders from recycled rubber, Lehigh Technologies is now working with Hera Holdings on a European manufacturing strategy.
The two companies have plans in the works to team up on adding a manufacturing operation in Spain in the not-too-distant future, Lehigh said.
During the last year, according to a spokeswoman, detailed engineering and design work for construction of a new facility was completed as was the selection of an engineering, procurement and construction company.
Supply chain planning for raw materials also is complete.
“The creation of Lehigh Spain ensures that key commercial and customer service capabilities are more broadly available locally, an important step in expanding the MRP market,” Lehigh Technologies CEO Alan Barton said in the news release.
He said the company is excited about the prospect of looking ahead “to invest in a European manufacturing presence to further expand supply.”
Molina noted Lehigh has made solid progress in market development work that began in 2013.
It is now supplying MRP to multiple European countries and end use markets, he said.