On 9 July 2026, the Cluster Mobility & Logistics hosted its „Cluster vor Ort“ (“Cluster on Site”) format at Sonplas GmbH in Straubing – this time with an international dimension. Alongside around 25 participants from Cluster Mobility & Logistics member companies, project partners from the Interreg Central Europe project Drive2Transform joined the afternoon: Business Upper Austria from Linz and NOI Techpark from South Tyrol.
A company that has shaped transformation for over 30 years
After a joint welcome by Steve Schumann (Project Manager, Cluster Mobility & Logistics) and Florian Klimmer (Sonplas GmbH), Managing Director Christian Wachtmeister introduced the company: founded in 1993, its name stands for „Sondermaschinen, Planung und Service“ (special-purpose machinery, planning and service). Over the years, Sonplas has moved its portfolio from classic injection technology towards solutions for e-mobility, battery cell production, hydrogen and further “new fuels”. Wachtmeister’s central message: transformation only works if you take your people with you, take responsibility and bring genuine commitment to the task.
Factory tour and impulse talk
In two groups, participants toured the workshops, where Sonplas staff showed live how machines are developed and brought into series production at the customer’s site – from testing and inspection systems to tailored assembly and machining lines.
A highlight was the impulse talk by Dr.-Ing. E. h. Konrad Auwärter, a pioneer of bus manufacturing. He traced the history of the family business Neoplan – from his 1964 diploma thesis, which led to the first lightweight double-decker city bus, through the Skyliner double-decker coach, to the plant in Pilsting, Lower Bavaria. His message fit the occasion: nothing works without a network – stay active, work together, keep at it.
The international dimension
The barbecue get-together on the roof terrace left plenty of room for exchange. The presence of the Drive2Transform partners biz-up and NOI Techpark underlined what the project is about: cross-border cooperation between regions undergoing transformation. For companies, this exchange across regional borders opens up concrete opportunities – new contacts, shared experience and access to markets and partners beyond their home region.
Sonplas is a good example of an actively engaged member company in Drive2Transform: a speaker at the project’s first conference in South Tyrol in 2025 and – through Florian Klimmer (Business Development) – a member of the project’s Electrification expert group, as well as a participant in all the formats offered so far.
Next stop: Automotive Transformation Conference in Linz
The exchange continues at the second Automotive Transformation Conference, hosted by Business Upper Austria on 22–23 September 2026 at the Kunstuniversität Linz. The programme brings together companies and institutions from at least nine European regions, with sessions on Autonomous Driving, Mobility Platforms and Electrification, an EEN B2B matchmaking session, an innovation expo and company visits. Participation is free of charge; registrations are reviewed for thematic fit and international balance.
Our thanks go to Sonplas GmbH for their hospitality and the open insights into the company. For the Cluster Mobility & Logistics, Project Managers Anne Häner and Steve Schumann were on site.
Drive2Transform is co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg Central Europe Programme.