Bremen – SIKORA AG has started construction works for their new production building at the headquarters in Bremen-Mahndorf. On December 12, 2017 the executive board of the industrial company laid the foundation stone for the new building in the presence of employees and business partners. In the process, a time capsule was placed into the prepared foundation. The expansion of the location creates more space for an efficient production and logistics as well as perfect conditions for communication, creativity and innovation. The completion of the building is scheduled for November 2018.
January 30, 2018
The new building, with an effective area of 7,000 square meters, offers space for production and logistics on three floors including a stacked storey with areas for communication and creativity purposes for new ideas and innovation. The building will be erected on the site of the old production building, which had been demolished during the last weeks. The production has been moved to a building 400 meters away in order to maintain short ways to the management, administration and development team. The project is being supported by BAB – The development bank for Bremen and Bremerhaven.
“The expansion at the production location Bremen is a strategic future investment,” says Dr. Christian Frank, CEO of SIKORA AG. “We invest in further growth and global competitiveness.” Strong growth as well as diversification of the company in new markets and the accompanying new and further developments of technologies and devices prompted the expansion. Today, SIKORA serves the four industrial areas wire & cable, optical fiber, hose & tube and plastics with innovative measuring, control, inspection and sorting technology. “With our product portfolio that grew significantly in the last years for the cable segment as well as in the area of optical fiber measuring technology and the hose, tube, sheet and plastics industry, we reached the limits of our capacity with the existing building,” says Dr. Christian Frank. The new building offers 350% more space for the strong growing businesses.
The expansion will also be used to make existing procedures even more efficient and innovative. The integration of modern lean production concepts is a key element in order to increase productivity. Prior to the construction of the new building, an intensive planning phase took place where existing processes were recorded in order to optimize material flows from incoming goods, via production up to the shipping department. The result is a more efficient and innovative production to ensure highest product quality as well as delivery reliability.
The architectural realization of the production building is carried out by Gruppe GME, who also realized the previous three SIKORA buildings. “The challenge was to find a design concept that emphasizes the contemporary character of the new building and also harmonizes with the existing two buildings,” explains architect Jürgen Keil, associate of Gruppe GME. He adds, “We have found a perfect solution that combines the contemporary and traditional elements. This is reflected in the design of the exterior as well as the interior planning, which, in addition to production specific aspects, offers creative areas for communication purposes and new ideas.”
With the new construction, SIKORA also makes a clear commitment to Bremen as production location. “We want to continue gaining qualified employees for our company in Bremen and to remain attractive for them,” explains Dr. Christian Frank. This year, new employees were already hired for production and logistic. “In 2018, our work force will continue to grow in order to meet the increasing requirements of the market,” says Frank.
