CASE Construction Equipment, a brand of CNH Industrial, celebrated the 50th anniversary of its manufacturing plant in Lecce, Italy. The facility is an important hub for CASE, which produces wheel loaders, graders, backhoe loaders and compact wheel loaders for distribution to markets across the world.
Celebrations began with the planting of an olive tree, a symbol of the Salento region where it is located and of the company’s roots in the area. Local authorities attended the event, as well as a representative of the Department of Innovation and Engineering at the University of Salento, which has a long-standing partnership with the plant. On the following day, the plant hosted a Family Day dedicated to the plant’s employees and their families.
CASE has consistently invested in technology, facilities, training, occupational safety and ongoing innovation at the Lecce hub, which plays a key role in the brand’s manufacturing footprint. It manufactures 4 lines of equipment, for a total of 64 models and 3,400 configurations. The facility has successfully managed the challenges and added complexity created by the global supply chain crisis, achieving record production volumes in 2022.
The plant’s R&D center has driven technology advances for the CASE brand, and dedicated resources to reducing the facility’s carbon footprint and increasing it use of clean energy. To this end, it has introduced a host of measures, including the installation of photovoltaic solar panels. It is also making changes to its processes that will reduce its environmental impact: it will soon replace its coating plant with a new powder-coating system that generates lower emissions, and uses no water or volatile compounds. The new system will benefit both the environment and the customer, as this type of coating provides a longer-lasting finish that will result in better quality for the end product.