RUF has a New Subsidiary in the USA
German briquetting system manufacturer RUF Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG has opened a new subsidiary in North Ridgeville (Ohio) with 2,800 square meters of production and office space for RUF US Inc.
Around ten years ago, RUF invested in a building of its own for the first time, close to the current site. “Since then, up to ten employees there have primarily handled sales and service for US customers,“ the company informed. “As revenue rose steadily, driven in particular by sales of mid-sized systems, the idea emerged of setting up a dedicated assembly line specifically for these briquetting presses. Now it has been achieved. Just in time for the official opening of the site on August 13, 2026, the first RUF 5.5 machines were completed.”
RUF Managing Director Roland Ruf and US CEO Jim Weist expect to assemble around ten briquetting presses in North Ridgeville in the very first fiscal year. “Interest in RUF machines has been incredibly high already. With the new building – perfectly equipped for service work and featuring its own assembly line, paint shop, and test-run and final-acceptance station – we can now respond to customer needs even faster and better. Demand is therefore sure to keep rising, we will grow, and we will hire additional employees accordingly,” Jim Weist was cited.
RUF US Inc. currently employs twelve premanent employees. Within a good five years, management expects to gradually increase this number, in line with demand, to 40 to 50. Recent developments suggest that this target is as realistic as the underlying business plan. This plan also provides for quadrupling the total number of machines assembled in Ohio. “In addition to the RUF 5.5, we will also be assembling other machine types,” Jim Weist is certain.
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 3/2026, Page 16, Photo: RUF Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG)
