After two years of construction, Bucher Automation moves into its new headquarters in Marbach am Neckar. The prestigious new building comprises a seven-storey office and administration building as well as a production hall for logistics and manufacturing. When planning the building, the company paid attention to sustainability - in an economic, ecological and social sense.
The style of the office building is characterized by the foyer with the building-high atrium. The air space connects the floors and offices with each other: the rooms on each level are arranged in the same way around the open space. Offices with variably divisible group offices are located on the north side of the building, an open-space area on the north-east side. The meeting rooms, which can be adapted in size, and other work areas are located on the west side. The access core is located on the south side of the building. In total, the building comprises around 7,000 square meters of office and ancillary space. The adjoining production building contains the two production and logistics areas and has a total area of around 5,000 square meters. Production is divided into a clean room area and an assembly area for the series production of electronic components and systems. The warehouse for the individual components is located in the logistics area, as are the packaging and shipping areas for the finished products.
Ambitious: The energy concept
"Low consumption, low emissions - that was the aim of the energy concept for the new building," explains CEO Christian Benz. The new building now meets the Efficiency House Standard 40, which is significantly higher than the legal requirements. The entire roof area of the hall and parts of the office building are covered with a photovoltaic system, and a PV system has also been integrated into the façade on the south side of the office building (BIPV). Together, the systems achieve a total output of around 650 kWp (kilowatt peak). "This enables us to cover around 70 percent of our electricity requirements," emphasizes Benz.
Building temperature control was already taken into account during the planning phase: The zoning in the office building with generously glazed work areas to the north and more closed adjoining rooms on the south side minimizes heating in summer. In addition, an automated night ventilation system was installed that cools all office areas and the hall using the thermal properties of the high atrium and the storage masses of the unclad storey ceilings. This efficient cooling system requires no additional energy. Attention was also paid to the energy balance of the building materials used. Recycled concrete was used in large parts of the building and the supporting structure of the hall roof was implemented as a timber structure.
Finally, the roofs of both buildings were greened. The mobility of employees was also taken into consideration and charging stations for electric cars and bicycles were installed.
Designed for growth
When planning the building, Bucher Automation not only paid attention to ecological sustainability, but also always had economic sustainability in mind. The new building offers the company the opportunity to grow enormously. Highly automated assembly and a significantly increased level of automation in logistics and production as a whole improve throughput times. This enables a larger production volume and thus an increase in turnover.
New building for togetherness
The new building is also sustainable in social terms, as it enables good cooperation. "Of course, we have paid attention to optimal working conditions - in production and administration. But I am particularly pleased about the work cafés. I'm sure that they really encourage informal exchanges," explains Benz. These communication spaces promote collaboration - also between departments. One of the work cafés provides an overview of production - including a better understanding of production. Another advantage of the new building is that everything now takes place on the same campus. This was no longer the case in Ludwigsburg. Due to the company's strong growth in recent years, employees were spread across different buildings - they didn't necessarily see each other. Now everyone is close together again.
Contact
Timo Spatz, Head of Marketing
T +49 7141 2550 462
pr@bucherautomation.com
