With courage into the future: Griesser AG breaks ground for new building

Griesser AG has been headquartered in Aadorf since 1882 and has long since established itself as one of Europe's market leaders for sun and weather protection for windows and terraces. The demolition and reconstruction of a factory building, the expansion of an existing production hall, the replacement of the existing powder coating plant, which is over 20 years old, and the installation of an automated warehouse are intended to increase productivity and improve energy efficiency. "If everything goes according to plan, we will complete the construction project by summer 2021 and then install and commission the new equipment," says Urs Neuhauser, CEO of Griesser, at the groundbreaking ceremony. The fact that Griesser is sticking to the original timetable for its construction project shows that the company is looking boldly to the future, even in times of Corona. And it is a commitment to investing in Switzerland as a place to work and thus to the philosophy of the traditional company.

From groundbreaking to commissioning

In the first construction phase, a new access road including a plant bridge to the construction site is planned. The second construction phase is expected to start in September with the demolition and new construction of the hall for the new coating line and the extension of the neighboring hall for the storage of long material. In the third construction phase, the new powder coating line will be installed in the new building and a honeycomb storage system will be built into the hall extension next door.

The rearrangement of the individual production sections and the two new plants for coating and storage provide a better material flow and higher automation. In addition, the new coating line has five chambers for pretreatment and two powder lines for coating, which reduces throughput times and at the same time increases flexibility.

In terms of energy efficiency and sustainability, Griesser's building project also scores points: "With the new building, a photovoltaic system will be implemented that will enable us to cover a good 10% of our total electricity requirements in the future," says Emanuel Kissling, Head of Product Organization at Griesser. "Together with an efficient heat recovery solution and reduced water consumption thanks to the latest technology, we will be able to significantly reduce our ecological footprint."

No interruption of production

Griesser is maintaining production operations throughout the construction period. To make this possible, parts of the production will be compressed and moved to another building. In addition, some raw materials will have to be temporarily stored off-site. The associated restrictions on production operations and internal logistics require a great deal of flexibility from employees. "However, I am confident that our well-coordinated, competent teams will be able to master the challenges of the coming period and the changes associated with the construction project in the best possible way," says Urs Neuhauser.

More information: www.griesser.ch