WCA March 2020

Würth builds innovation centre ❍ The groundbreaking ceremony at the site in Künzelsau, Germany

engineering office was entrusted with the general planning. “We have set our sights high. We are delighted that we can actively contribute to underpinning the particularly pro- nounced culture of cooperation, promotion, research and ultimately also the innovative strength of Adolf Würth GmbH & Co KG with the architecture of the innovation centre,” said Christoph Blessing, head of Obermeyer Planen + Beraten’s Stuttgart branch. The ground floor features laboratories and workshops as well as a light-flooded, roofed inner courtyard, from which public and non-public areas can be accessed. The office space on the first and second floor contains open workspaces. Further workshops, laboratories and logistics areas are planned in the basement. A second building will house a two-floor anchor laboratory, among others. Completion of the innovation centre is scheduled for late 2021. Adolf Würth GmbH & Co KG www.wuerth.de

feature of the innovation centre: “These university cooperations allow us to take a scientific approach, thus opening up entirely new opportunities. We want to develop even more from a trading company to a manufacturer,” said Thomas Klenk, managing director for product, purchasing and export at Adolf Würth GmbH & Co KG, explaining the motivation behind the large-scale project. “We aim to significantly shorten our innovation cycles in order to bring our new and further developments to the market even faster and to be able to offer our customers solutions with genuine added value.” Würth focuses its research and development activities on fastening technology, screws, anchors, chemi- cals, power tools and systems. The construction of the technology and innovation centre aims at exploiting these opportunities even more effectively. The polygonal and expressive shape of the building is intended to promote and express innovative power. The Stuttgart-based Obermeyer Planen + Beraten GmbH

Adolf Würth GmbH & Co KG, parent company of the globally operating Würth Group, is building a research and development centre in Künzelsau, Germany. The investment volume amounts to €70 million. Modern laboratories and workshops will be built on an area of around 15,000 square metres. A climate chamber, the latest 3D printers and seismic test rigs for anchor technology offer a wide range of options to strengthen and advance internal research in the long run. Approximately 250 people will be working in the innovation centre to implement ideas and make them fit for the future: employees from the research and development department of Adolf Würth GmbH & Co KG and from group companies active in the manufacturing sector, as well as external researchers. The cooperation with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the universities of Innsbruck and Stuttgart will create a cluster of knowledge and know-how. This is precisely the special

Graphics bigstockphoto.com/Artist Kumruen Pakom

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Fasteners ASIA – March/April 2020