• Most modern manufacturing facility for Double Universal Joint (DUJ) shafts worldwide

• 220 employees at Walterscheid Welsberg AG

• Annual capacity of 600,000 Double Universal Joint shafts and 30,000 cardan shafts

With the new manufacturing facility of Walterscheid Welsberg AG in South Tyrol, Italy, Walterscheid Powertrain Group now has the world’s most modern plant for the production of Double Universal Joint shafts.

As a global leader in the manufacture of drive shafts for agricultural and construction machinery, Walterscheid Powertrain Group accounts for the entire life cycle of these products at the new production site, from the initial conversation with the customer to series production of the shaft. It is not without pride that the plant manager, Andreas Kaufmann, points out that “already now, practically every other four-wheel drive tractor in Europe contains two drive shafts that were manufactured at our previous Bruneck plant.”

The manufacturing facility was recently relocated from Bruneck to Welsberg. An empty industrial hall that was acquired from another company allowed for the optimum integration of the production line. The new facility thus complements the GKN Sinter Metals and GKN Driveline plants in Bruneck, which have been located in South Tyrolean Pustertal for some time, as well as the second GKN Sinter Metals plant that was opened in nearby Sand in Taufers in 2017.

Solid growth thanks to research and innovation

The new manufacturing plant in Welsberg does not only impress as the world’s most modern production site for Double Universal Joint (DUJ) shafts. The plant also has an impressive production capacity, with an annual production of 600,000 DUJ and 30,000 Mechanics^®cardan shafts. This is not without reason, as the quality and the innovative character of the products manufactured by Walterscheid Powertrain Group in South Tyrol have already allowed for an organic growth of 20 percent in recent years.

Thanks to the relocation of the production of Double Universal Joint shafts to the new plant in Welsberg, GKN Driveline will be able to concentrate entirely on its role as a competence centre for electro-mobility at its current site in nearby Bruneck, and to further develop the ePowertrain sector which will become increasingly important in the future.

Flagship site within WPG Group

For more than 50 years, WPG has been present with its own production facilities in South Tyrolean Pustertal. GKN Sinter Metals (Powder Metallurgy Division) at its Bruneck and Sand manufacturing sites is dedicated to the development and production of powder metallurgy components for the automotive sector and other industrial applications.

GKN Driveline in Bruneck today focuses on the development and production of components for electric drives and all-wheel drive transmissions for the automotive sector.

At its new location in Welsberg, Walterscheid Welsberg AG is dedicated to the development and production of drive shafts for agricultural and construction machinery.