RUF USA IS expanding
RUF USA will establish a new location in Ohio.
On September 18, 2024, RUF Briquetting Systems broke ground for a new company building in North Ridgeville, Ohio. Starting at the end of 2025, assembly of all briquetting systems, sales, service and repair for RUF USA will be handled there.
RUF has a long history operating in the USA. Roland Ruf, CEO of Ruf Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Zaisertshofen, Germany, has established operations here bit by bit. He knows what’s important: “Basically, you need patience and you have to look at the market very closely. We were actually already interested in 1990, but we viewed [the] USA cautiously.”
Over the years, RUF has ramped up its US operations and identified the specific needs of American customers, along with selected dealers and service partners. The next step followed in 2008: when RUF set up its first subsidiary in North Olmsted, Ohio. Then in 2015, RUF invested in its own building in Elyria, some 13 miles away, and now employs 11 people there, generating revenue of around $6 million.
The fourth quarter of 2025 should see the new location take up operations. The building shown here as a 3D simulation with an area of 8,500 square feet is on a site covering 140,000 square feet, offering ample room for future growth.
Steady growth leads to a new company building
The Ruf family prioritizes measured and strategic expansion within the USA market, which has so far been successful. After breaking ground on the new facility just two miles from the current site, Ruf explained, “We have reached the capacity limits at our current location. And because expansion is no longer possible there, we are now building on a greenfield site.”
Starting at the end of 2025, the expanded facility will be able to better serve the steadily rising demand for briquetting. Ruf sees huge opportunities for growth when it comes to delivery times – “Our warehouse capacities in Elyria are currently pretty limited. Also, we first manufacture all machines required… at our main plant and then ship them. That takes time, and we are going to change that.”
RUF Briquetting is now building an assembly line at the new location to supplement sales and service. Additional employees will be responsible for the test runs and final acceptance testing of the briquetting systems. In the coming months, there are also plans to build a component manufacturing facility to supplement the assembly line in the new space. “This will be done step by step, at a speed ensuring that we always achieve the same quality that we do with the systems from Germany,” Ruf explained.
Looking ahead
Ronald Ruf isn’t worried about the economic future of his company, either in the USA or in Germany. With his briquetting systems, Ruf is contributing to saving resources and improving sustainability. Additionally, experience has shown that the RUF machines pay for themselves in one or two years, so the customers’ investments pay off quickly.
Ruf expects that the new location will more than double its revenues in just a few years – with a much higher level of vertical integration. This is also good news for the main plant in Zaisertshofen, Germany, because the utilization rate is also very high there. Due to rising demand and increasing international competition, Ruf is confident that the coming years will bring even more stability to the entire company and secure jobs across all locations.
Roland Ruf, CEO of Ruf Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, is confident about the future: “We see great potential for our briquetting system in the USA and want to serve this market even better in the future.”