STRUCTURAL WORK AND GIRDERS SOON IN PLACE FOR NEW ENGINE PLANT IN ZUFFENHAUSEN
Stuttgart, 14.11.2014.- Porsche AG will have completed the structural work and erection of steel girders for the new engine plant at its Zuffenhausen site by the end of the year. By the beginning of 2016, the new development in the northern part of Stuttgart, on a site occupying only 10,000 square meters, will include a state-of-the-art assembly line with logistics areas and engine-testing technology, plus appealing offices and staff recreation rooms. The two-storey plant will accommodate a total workforce of around 400 people. The master plan for the conversion of the entire ‘Porsche Werk 4’ industrial site has received the highest commendation from the German Association for Sustainable Construction (Deutsche Gesellschaft für nachhaltiges Bauen; DGNB).
At the official ceremony and site tour to mark the laying of the foundation stone, Dr. Oliver Blume, Member of the Executive Board Production and Logistics of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, emphasised the key importance of investing in the Porsche company headquarters: “The heart of Porsche will continue to beat in Zuffenhausen in the future, and the rhythm will be taken up across the world in the unique engines of our sports cars.” The construction of a new engine plant at a cost of around 80 million euros is, according to Blume, a clear indication of Porsche AG’s commitment to production at the Zuffenhausen site. Blume also added that the expansion of engine manufacturing capacity could lead to improved utilization of synergies within the Volkswagen Group. “The basic principle underlying this investment in jobs for the future is sustainability. This is what impressed the DGNB, it’s excellent news for our workforce and it reinforces the position of Porsche as a good employer,” said Thomas Edig, Deputy Chairman and Member of the Executive Board Human Resources and Social Affairs of Porsche AG.
Guests invited to tour the site included representatives of the companies and authorities involved in the planning, approval and construction work, as well as the leader of Zuffenhausen council, Gerhard Hanus, and Uwe Hück, Chairman of the General and Group Works Council of Porsche AG, who concluded: “For me this is a dream come true. It’s the intergalactic engine that makes a Porsche so unique! To develop and build these amazing engines we need real Porscheans on our side. So I’m proud that we have succeeded together in investing in a new engine factory here in Stuttgart, the birthplace of the 911. All I can say is: the legend lives on!”. The symbolic foundation stone will be integrated in the entrance area of the new plant once the building work is complete.
For Porsche, the construction of the new engine plant also represents a milestone in terms of sustainability, as the company underwent the process of DGNB-certification for the first time for its development of the ‘Werk 4’ site in Zuffenhausen, which covers over 28 hectares and will include the new engine plant. In this, Porsche joins two other companies as pioneers in the field because, until recently, a certification of this kind for industrial sites did not even exist. What’s more, the master plan submitted for ‘Werk 4’ received DGNB’s Pre-Certificate in Gold at the very first attempt. The development’s sustainability was assessed according to 40 criteria, with Porsche not only achieving top scores for ecological, economic, technical and process quality but also an above-average rating for work-place design.
Porsche will be investing over 300 million euros in its headquarters in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, through to 2016. Along with the new engine plant on the site of a former cable factory, the company is converting existing buildings previously used for gearbox manufacture into central vehicle workshops. A training centre for the youngest Porsche employees is also being built on land where a tram depot once stood. In order to be able to realise these forward-looking projects and develop the inner urban factory spaces, Porsche AG effected a number of acquisitions, increasing the extent of its property in Stuttgart to over 600,000 square metres, double the previous size.
Over the next few years the sports car company will be investing well over one billion euros in construction projects in Germany with the aim of ensuring further healthy growth. Plans include 95 million euros for a new test centre for drive systems at the Weissach site and an investment of around 500 million euros in further expansion of the plant in Leipzig for switching to full production of the Panamera there. On top of this, a further 25 million euros will be invested for the future assembly of components for the Porsche Cayenne at the multi-brand site in Osnabrück.
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Text and photographs by: Porsche
