The German propulsion specialist has inaugurated three machining centres at its Rheine plant, where it will invest more than €20 million through 2030. Defence production capacity at the site has increased by over 30% annually since 2025, according to the company.
Rheine is the latest RENK facility to adopt a production model developed at the company’s Augsburg headquarters. The group is gradually transferring the approach across its manufacturing network to support higher-volume series production.
The model applies established methods from the automotive industry to defence manufacturing. RENK said the approach would improve efficiency and strengthen production processes while maintaining quality as volumes increase.
“This capacity expansion is another step in systematically scaling up our global production system for series production. It involves transferring established methods from the automotive industry,” said Dr Emmerich Schiller, chief operating officer of RENK Group.
Rheine, RENK’s third-largest production site, will manufacture components for the HSWL 256 transmission used in the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. The new equipment expands the plant’s role within the group’s defence manufacturing network.
The project forms part of RENK’s commitments under the “Made for Germany” industrial initiative. The company plans to invest up to €325 million in Germany by 2028 across digitalisation, innovation and additional production capacity.
RENK said the Rheine expansion would protect existing employment and create new jobs at the site and across the wider group. The additional capacity will support German and allied military modernisation as European governments raise defence spending and pursue NATO capability goals.
