- Opening ceremony at the location
- Successfully completed after almost seven months of construction
- Approximately 1,300 square meters for more than 100 employees
Laives (Leifers), March 29, 2017… It has taken seven months for Röchling Automotive’s new Technical Center in Laives to be ready for opening this Wednesday. But the wait was worth it: Three stories and an area of 1,300 square meters will be sufficient space in the future for more than 100 employees from the Development, Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE), Innovation and Business Development, and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) departments.
“We are proud that the Technical Center in Laives allows us to commence operations at our third modern development center. Alongside our Technical Centers in Kunshan, China and Troy, USA, the Laives development center in Italy will now also contribute to Röchling Automotive’s worldwide growth,” said Erwin Doll, CEO of the Röchling Automotive Group. In Laives, the Engineering and Business Development departments alone have grown by over 200% in the last five years, from 70 employees in 2011 to 160 employees in 2016. In total, the automotive supplier employs approximately 850 employees at this location.
However, there were a few initial challenges that had to be overcome before the Röchling Automotive employees could move into the new Technical Center. A building of at least 900 square meters had to be found near to the one that already exists in Laives. “It was stroke of luck that we found such a building right next to the existing plant on the industrial estate in Laives,” explained Mirco Brusco, General Manager Engineering, at the official opening of the new Technical Center. Alongside the Röchling Automotive Executive Board and management team, the opening ceremony was also attended by company employees, representatives of the town of Laives and local business leaders. In total, Röchling Automotive invested €4 million in buying the existing building and the necessary conversion work.
“We were reaching the limits of capacity in the old office. The new premises allow us to free up around 670 square meters of office space in the old building,” said Mirco Brusco. A state-of-the-art office concept was put in place in the new building, which enables barrier-free communication and creates a pleasant atmosphere for specialists and engineers. At the same time, Röchling Automotive’s investment is also an investment in the future of the location. The mayor of Laives, Christian Bianchi, also agreed with this at the opening: “The new Technical Center offers excellent premises to successfully cater to specialists. It is a good example of how we can focus expertise in the region in the future. The community of Laives is proud to have a company like Röchling. The cooperation is always positive and together we try to find the best possible solutions for the company and the region at any time.”
The new approximately 1,300-square-meter Technical Center in Laives has an open-plan design with micro meeting rooms, like those in Troy, USA and Kunshan, China. Only the department managers have individual offices. However, thanks to these being fully glazed, they are designed to also be open to the rest of the office space. This creates transparency but still offers private space. Employees can also make use of the new 150-square-meter canteen, which has attached an attractive outdoor break area. “With our Technical Center, we are not only responding to the needs of our current and future staff. We are also accommodating our customer’s requirements,” said Mirco Brusco. For example, this is why the Research and Development department now has restricted access. In this way, we are taking into account many customers’ wish for confidentiality.
