Wenzel GmbH Opens North American Manufacturing Facility in Wixom

By Barbara Merryfield
Marketing Intern


Wenzel GmbH of Germany, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), officially opened a new 24,000 square foot North American headquarters and manufacturing facility on Oct. 9 in Wixom. The new two-story building houses all of Wenzel’s North American administrative and engineering offices, the production operation for the Wenzel X-Orbit and Xtreme LH series of bridge style CMMs, and a dedicated customer training and demonstration facility. A second facility that houses the recently acquired CMM remanufacturing operations of Xspect Solutions, Inc.  is located nearby.

Wenzel is one of Oakland County’s Emerging Sectors® companies. The Emerging Sectors business development and attraction strategy seeks out advanced technology companies to help diversify the county’s economy and replace jobs lost by changes in the auto industry. In less than four years the strategy has attracted 61 businesses, generated investment of more than $938 million, created 9,083 new jobs and retained 3,100 jobs.

Maureen Krauss, deputy director of Oakland County’s Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs, applauded Wenzel’s decision to locate here.

"Oakland County has proven to be a strategic location where Wenzel can grow in the North American market,” Krauss said. “We have worked with this company for several years and are thrilled to add them to our corporate family".

CMMs are precision measuring instruments used by manufacturers to ensure parts are dimensionally accurate. As the CMM’s probe moves along the part, data is sent to a computer for review. Capable of measuring up to 1/1000 mm, CMM’s are used in manufacturing applications to ensure that quality control standards have been met.

“The North American operation, known as Wenzel/Xspect Solutions, becomes our third worldwide manufacturing center, complementing what we currently have in Europe and Asia,” said Frank Wenzel, the company’s managing director.  “Our current objective is to have yearly production of approximately 100 of our smaller bridge-type CMMs at the Wixom facility, which will significantly enhance our ability to bring the bridge-type product to the market faster. However, with the weakening of the U.S. dollar, we may find ourselves exporting equipment from here as well. In 2006, Wenzel produced and sold over 500 machines worldwide and currently has over 5,000 CMMs in operation around the world, as well as over 10,000 software licenses.”

Company President Keith Mills said the decision to acquire Xspect Solutions was part of the company’s North American growth strategy. The company determined a North American manufacturing facility was more cost effective than continuing to import from its factories overseas and began looking for a location.

Xspect Solutions Inc. (long-time distributor of Wenzel CMMs) contacted the Oakland County Economic Development Team, in hopes of convincing Wenzel officials to locate its North American headquarters in Oakland County. Members of the Oakland County Business Development Team met with theWenzel family while on a trade mission to Germany and convinced the company it would be closer to its current clients, while having greater access to future clients and a highly-skilled workforce.

“Oakland County’s highly-skilled workforce provides companies such as Wenzel-Xspect Solutions Inc. with a competitive advantage globally,” said Michele Eaton, a senior business development representative who handles companies headquartered in Europe.
For more information about Wenzel GmbH of Germany or Emerging Sectors®, contact Eaton at 248-858-0978.