New factory building planed for 2017 in Bad Saarow

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Next to being a micro-photo-factory we also became a micro-industrial lot last december.
This enables us to grow and extend our buildings (by quite a lot).
We start with doubling the space orignally purchased in 2006.
Works have begun and we hope for an outer hull finish in the summertime.

The most important improvements will be:

• Increase of storage space (by a lot) in order to optimize product flow and have room for additional products
• Begin of the assembly of a new and simplified coating machine
• Setting up of a large coolhouse for masterrolls (64 palette places)
• Setting up of a chemical production line for medium batches of liquid chemistry and for the production of powder chemicals
• Setting up of a machine shop for maintenance and development of our various machines
• Reserve space for the relocation of the packaging factory which is currently sourced out (planed for 2018)
• Create space to move the Super8 factory which was purchased from GK-Film in 2015 back as soon as possible because it cannot remain where it is.
  
• More lab spaces
• More office spaces

So you can see we have plans and continue to move foreward.
Running a photo factory is more complex than many of you might imagine. Many of these tasks do not immediately mean new products to come out but they secure the existing products to remain in place which is already an everyday challenge. Only in the past two years we faced the break away of five important suppliers (in some cases due to giving up the business in other cases due to "market politics"). Resolving supply chain issues mainly takes place in the background and you, the customer, does not take any notice (in the best case) but they are happening and need to be adressed on a daily basis here.
So many "goals" on the list above simply mean to keep everything in working order as it was before and build the business properly, become more independant from suppliers and prepare the ground for possible new products to come.

So I guess we can consider this an "internal affairs announcement" ;-)

Mirko

Read more on the ADOX Website.

 

[Ian Grant]

Good to hear things are progressing Mirko, keep up the good work

Ian

 

[bsdunek]

Glad to hear this. Marketing must be sure there is a market for film, and that's great!

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Glad to hear this. Marketing must be sure there is a market for film, and that's great!

Oh yes. There is. Our figures are up in the two digit range every year. We could do more if we had more capacity and if prices against costs would not be so tight. So there is definitely a demand the challenge is to have a supply @ working price.

Investing ususally helps in case such as this, so we do ;-)

Mirko

 

[Prest_400]

Great news Mirko. Film usage seems to be on the rise, but double digit is a lot.
"New and simplified coating machine" sounds excellent for a self-contained small film manufacturer. That is centralization with the ex-Ilford Marly equipment or there will be two lines? Interesting!

 

[flavio81]

Wow, this is exciting news, really exciting news! Congratulations and thanks for commiting to keeping film alive!

 

[David Allen]

Mirko, I wish you well with your project. It is wonderful to observe someone so committed to analogue photography.

I think that all of us living in Berlin are very proud to have FotoImpex on our doorsteps and I know that the people that I teach love going to your shop and seeing their chosen world of analogue photography is flourishing.

With best wishes,

David
www.dsallen.de

 

[Sal Santamaura]

..."New and simplified coating machine"...the ex-Ilford Marly equipment or there will be two lines? ...

Yes, this question! If ADOX is on a path to establishing its own organic film/paper coating capability on real estate it owns, it will have a huge advantage going forward.

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Yes, this question! If ADOX is on a path to establishing its own organic film/paper coating capability on real estate it owns, it will have a huge advantage going forward.

You know that things aren´t always easy. When we were suddenly cut of contract coating we needed a fast solution. Buying Machine E and operating it on location in Switzerland was the way to go (in our German Forum I explain a bit about the lethargy of German building allowance offices). And maybe we will stay forever in Marly, for sure we will for the coming years.
It depends on how things go in Switzerland. It is not a common thing to produce there due to very high wages and the Swiss Frank going through the roof with every Billion Mr. Draghi is printing.
Probably someday in the future it is the best to do only R&D in Marly but move coating to Germany.
Our original plan was to simplify coating and make it more energy efficient. This is why we became interested in parts of Machine E.
We continue with this plan for now with other parts and preparing the option of moving Machine E in case we have to.
And yes, after seeing what happened with all the other factories number 1 priority was to own the land. The downturn is Brandenburg and a 45 minute drive each direction every day.
Bad Saarow is really nice though and we have a train station only a quarter mile away.

Mirko

 

[miha]

BRAVO!

Indeed, many things in your business take place in the background as you suggest. Losing five important suppliers, including a contract coater is very new to me!

 

[Peter Schrager]

Great news..keep moving forward!!

 

[Photo Engineer]

Congratulations Mirko. I'm wishing you all the best.

Ron

 

[Sal Santamaura]

You know that things aren´t always easy...Probably someday in the future it is the best to do only R&D in Marly but move coating to Germany...number 1 priority was to own the land...

Outstanding long-range planning. Congratulations on your success so far!

You're young enough that, in an even further-distant future, perhaps you might shake off the burden of a single-source raw paper supplier and expand into that too. OK, OK, vertical integration to such an extent is far-fetched, but I think less a fantasy than Kodachrome returning.

 

[Molli]

Dear Mirko, That's wonderful news and very heartening to read here. I hope things continue to move forward for you. My best wishes to all of you there!

 

[Jesper]

Great work, and we are very grateful that you have the energy to keep supplying us with good products.

 

[AgX]

Mirko, your Adox child finally is becoming adolescent!

 

[mshchem]

You must be doing well, Looks like a Porsche 911 in the drawings!
Mike

 

[spijker]

Judging from the drawings, Porsche seems to be Adox' favourite car brand.

Great to read that the business is doing well. Adox Variotone is my preferred FB paper. It makes a for a good excuse to come to Berlin.

 

[macfred]

Judging from the drawings, Porsche seems to be Adox' favourite car brand.

I also like the Dodge Challenger from the ADOX CHS100 TypII advertisement ...
http://www.adox.de/Photo/adox-filme-2/adox-chs-100-typ-ii/

 

[TheToadMen]

I also like the Dodge Challenger from the ADOX CHS100 TypII advertisement ...
http://www.adox.de/Photo/adox-filme-2/adox-chs-100-typ-ii/

I'd love to order several rolls of CHS100 II to support the new ADOX factory, but it's all sold out at the moment .....

 

[macfred]

I'd love to order several rolls of CHS100 II to support the new ADOX factory, but it's all sold out at the moment .....

Same here, Bert - I'm still waiting for the 120 (though 35mm would be fine also ...).
I was to shy, to ask Mirko (explained due to my good education).

 

[TheToadMen]

Same here, Bert - I'm still waiting for the 120 (though 35mm would be fine also ...).
I was to shy, to ask Mirko (explained due to my good education).

Mirko, if you're watching, please??
Could you send us analogue guys som 120 type films of CHS100 II to experiment with??
We'll load up our Mamiya's, have a nice APUG meet and make a good review.

 

[macfred]

Mirko, if you're watching, please??
Could you send us analogue guys som 120 type films of CHS100 II to experiment with??

Waaghals !!!

 

[spijker]

Could you send us analogue guys som 120 type films of CHS100 II to experiment with??

For that you'll have to show up in person in a classic Porsche at the factory in Bad Saarow.

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

The new building has little impact on the unavailability of CHS 100 II. This is caused by one of the problems described above though.
CMS 20 in 120 as well. Both issues will (most likely) be resolved before the new building is up.

 

[macfred]

Mirko, if you're watching, please??
Could you send us analogue guys som 120 type films of CHS100 II to experiment with??

For that you'll have to show up in person in a classic Porsche at the factory in Bad Saarow.

---

Bert, what do you think about lending a 356 SC and going east ??

Porsche 356 SC - 3 by Andreas, on Flickr

 

[TheToadMen]

---

Bert, what do you think about lending a 356 SC and going east ??
Porsche 356 SC - 3 by Andreas, on Flickr

YES! When can I come over? Somewhere in April or May?