Pierburg Auto Parts Plant in Germany Switches to Artillery Shell Production

The Pierburg plant in Berlin is halting the production of automotive components and will begin manufacturing casings for 155-mm artillery shells.

The IG Metall Berlin reported on this.

The plant’s owner, defense group Rheinmetall, made the decision amid a crisis in the automotive industry and rising demand for ammunition.

Instead of producing engine pumps and valves, the facility will machine steel shell bodies. Management has already transferred nearly 300 employees to the newly created defense division, Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH.

The plant will become part of the company’s global production network, which manufactures ammunition in several countries and is one of the largest producers of 155-mm artillery shells.

Rheinmetall is rapidly expanding production capacity and plans to reach an output of 1.1 million shells by the end of 2026. This would be roughly 10 times the company’s pre-war capacity, when annual output was about 100,000 units.

The main industrial hub remains the plant in Unterlüß (Lower Saxony), where the company has invested hundreds of millions of euros in a new production line known as “Werk Niedersachsen.”

The site is expected to produce up to 200,000 shells annually, covering all stages of production — from manufacturing the casings to filling them with explosives and conducting quality control. The Spanish asset Expal, acquired by Rheinmetall, also plays a significant role, adding capacity to produce about 300,000 rounds per year.

Production is also expanding beyond Germany. In 2026, a new plant in the Hungarian city of Várpalota is expected to become fully operational, and production is also set to begin at a newly built facility in Lithuania.

Within this network, the Berlin Pierburg plant will function as a specialized machining facility. There, steel billets will be processed into high-precision projectile bodies, which will then be transported by rail to Unterlüß or other European facilities for final assembly.

Militarnyi previously reported that Rheinmetall and the Romanian company Pirochim Victoria signed an agreement to establish a gunpowder production plant.

The facility will be built in the city of Victoria, Brașov County, and is expected to create about 700 jobs in the region.

Production is scheduled to begin in 2028 and is aligned with the investment schedules of both companies.