EVVA continues to expand

Commitment to the Vienna site

"It’s a nice feeling to be in the new building. Together, we’ve created something really great here. To achieve this, we had to overcome some difficult hurdles. We were able to do so with impressive success thanks to the dedication and commitment of everyone involved in the project. A big thank you for this from me and on behalf of my wife!", said Stefan Ehrlich-Adám, CEO of the EVVA Group at the internal opening ceremony of the new extension. The expansion of EVVA's production facility at the Wienerberg site became necessary due to the lack of space that has been an issue for several years. "Ultimately, our new mechanical platform Akura 44 was another catalyst for considering investing in a new building. With this expansion, we are expanding the production area by 20%, thus remaining loyal to our site since 1955," said Ehrlich-Adám. 

Investing in the future

The expansion in Vienna demonstrates that EVVA is now consistently implementing its Power Plant strategy in terms of construction. In addition to the now complete new building at the Wienerberg site, the three main production sites designated for this purpose are the modernized production facilities in Krefeld, Germany, and the new greenfield building in Tišnov (Czech Republic), which opened two months ago. The satellites for flexible and fast production and assembly of products for local needs will in future be located on site at the respective international EVVA subsidiaries. “With the Power Plant strategy and the associated investments, we have made EVVA future proof and have also shown a clear commitment to the production sites,” CEO Ehrlich-Adám added.

Big steps on the path to excellence

The expansion in Vienna and the resulting new floor space of 4,000 m2 will not only provide sufficient capacity for the expansion of the product portfolio in the future but will also enable the optimization of existing production lines, thus increasing output. “In doing so, we are clearly demonstrating which goal EVVA will continue to pursue in the future: innovation and new products as well as the further expansion of the existing product lines; furthermore, an increase in speed, a further increase in delivery reliability; and enhanced efficiency of the entire value chain combined with a clear focus on sustainability,” Michael Kiel, Group Division Executive for Operations explains, “so, important steps forward on our path to the development of excellence”.

Green Factory

Speaking of sustainability: EVVA has been pushing ahead with the opportunities and investments associated with sustainability for many years and has already received numerous awards for this, including (again) this year the “Trigos“-Award. Aside from the many, continually optimized clean production initiatives, EVVA has set up its own photovoltaic (PV) systems at several sites to generate at least a part of its energy requirements. A PV system was also installed on the new extension. Together, the photovoltaic systems will generate 250,000 kWh of environmentally friendly energy per year, which is as much power as approximately 50 single-family households need per year. This saves EVVA approximately 30,000 euros per year in energy procurement and save the environment from approximately 100 tons of CO² emissions. 

“What is special about the new building is its sustainability,” explains Martin Van Berkum, Division Executive for Production at EVVA. "In addition to the photovoltaic system and the introduction of a central digital building control system (BCS), which has a corresponding impact on energy consumption and emissions reduction, we have a completely sustainable building with concrete core activation for the first time at the site. This system, which is installed on the ceilings, ensures optimal and resource-saving heating and cooling. This means that EVVA saves around 50,000 kWh per year – around as much power as 10 single-family households need per year.

Brownfield planning challenge

As part of the new EVVA extension, a basement along with underground car park, ground floor and four floors were expanded over an area of 650 m2. At the same time, a gap between buildings at the back of the company premises was filled. The considerations were based on what is known as brownfield planning – planning taking into account the pre-existing building remaining in the old section, such as galvanization, chimney and warehouse in particular, and the associated construction challenges. The architectural firm Gottfried Woisetschläger was responsible for the planning, and the construction work was carried out by the construction company Pittel+Brausewetter. Construction took two years, including a four-month coronavirus-induced construction freeze. Everyone involved agreed about the good collaboration despite the technical and pandemic-related challenges.

The video of the opening