Weinheim. May 5, 2015. The Freudenberg Group is investing 36 million Euros in a modern office and administration building at the company's Weinheim site. The development will include a total of 800 ultra-modern workplaces for employees, spread over around 14,000 square meters, as well as a conference center with the latest media technology and an auditorium for 400 people. The new building will provide workplaces for office employees already working at the site. Freudenberg sees further positive signs in the new four-storey building, which will be characterized by lightness, transparency and open workplaces. "The aim is to offer employees modern working environments that will enable excellent and efficient work", said Dr. Tilman Krauch, Member of the Freudenberg Group Board of Management, during today's groundbreaking ceremony. "The new building will provide for optimum communication within teams, between Business Groups and with our customers." Other speakers at the event included Ulrich Kerber, Head of Corporate Real Estate, Dr. Torsten Fetzner, Lord Mayor of the town of Weinheim and architect Volker Biermann, Project Manager at HPP Hentrich-Peschnigg & Partner. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2016.
"The transparent and bright new building will provide a modern and flexible environment that generates a creative atmosphere and enables team-oriented communication. Flexible workstations play as important a role as the latest communications technology and having attractive location for large events with participants from different countries", said Ulrich Kerber, Head of Corporate Real Estate at the Freudenberg Group. "Colleagues are sure to feel at home in an environment that promotes communication and creativity."
The sustainable building is oriented towards LEED Gold
The sustainable building has been designed from the ground up to protect the environment. Statutory energy building standards will not only be met, but exceeded. The building is also oriented towards LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This is a certificate from the US Green Building Council, which is widely considered a successful classification system for sustainable buildings worldwide.
The thorough needs analysis and detailed planning phase for the new building lasted nearly two years. In addition to 20 open, transparent and bright office modules – each with up to 40 workstations and nearby chill-out and meeting rooms in the middle zone – the four-storey building includes a conference center with modern IT and media technology. This will be available for use by everyone on the site. The auditorium on the ground floor with capacity for around 400 people can be rented for events. A green courtyard to enjoy short breaks, a cafeteria in the entrance area and a health zone will make the building not just efficient but also an attractive working environment.
Tenants will include Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, Freudenberg Information Technologies and Trelleborg Vibracoustic. Further discussions are currently underway.
About the Freudenberg Group
The Freudenberg Group is a family company offering its customers technically challenging product solutions and services. The Group develops and manufactures seals, vibration control components, filters, nonwovens, products for surface treatment, release agents and specialty lubricants, medical and mechatronic products. Especially for mid-size companies Freudenberg develops software solutions and IT services. The end-user can find modern mechanical household cleaning products from Freudenberg in the shops under the brand names of vileda®, O-Cedar®, Wettex®, Gala®, Marigold® and SWASH®. The Freudenberg Group employed more than 40,000 people in about 60 countries and generated sales of more than €7 billion in 2014 (including pro-rata consolidation of our 50:50 joint ventures). For further information, please go to www.freudenberg.com.