New building in Norderstedt dedicated

Mar 22, 2016

Largest investment in tesa’s history Headquarters and research and technology center at a single site.

The tesa campus, an open complex marked by close physical proximity and streamlined communication channels, was officially dedicated in late January 2016. Starting in July of last year, more than 1,000 tesa employees have moved into the integrated new building complex, located right near the Hamburg airport. The first to move was the technology center, where engineers work on about 90 different systems and pieces of equipment, developing things such as innovative and ecofriendly production methods. They also test the production of different product samples for new adhesive applications in the industrial and end consumer segments before they are manufactured on large-scale equipment at the tesa plants.

The relocation of the company’s headquarters, with more than 700 employees, from Hamburg’s Eimsbüttel district to Norderstedt followed over a three-day period in September. It took 40 tesa IT specialists, working in three shifts, just to unplug all of the company’s computers at the old site and wire them back up with about 4,500 meters of network cables in the new building. At the same time, about 7,500 moving boxes were transported by truck and distributed to the respective offices in the administrative building. The third and final major part of the move, in December, was also a tough job. Approximately 3,000 different containers holding chemicals and other equipment needed to be packaged as safely as possible and transported securely. More than a thousand pieces of equipment, some of them very sensitive, had to be set back up, adjusted, and subjected to safety acceptance tests. The new building complex, which is connected by main traffic routes, is located on a plot of land measuring 86,000 square meters; the gross floor area for the three units – the headquarters (seven stories), research center (six stories), and technology center (four stories) – is more than 64,000 square meters. Nearly 48,000 tons of concrete and reinforced concrete was used in the construction project, and over a million meters of cable was installed for electricity and measurement and control technology. The state-of-the-art building houses various facilities, including the “tesa sport club,” featuring a fitness area and studio for classes as well as massage and physical therapy rooms. At about 160 million euros, the complex is the largest investment in tesa’s history.

Strengthening international competitiveness
“The new building complex is geared precisely toward our business model. It enables the tesa group of companies to pool its strengths even more and to strengthen its international competitiveness on a lasting basis. In the future, we will be able to respond to various customer requirements significantly faster and with much greater flexibility,” says Dr. Robert Gereke, tesa CEO. “With our new building, we have optimum conditions to be able to boost our innovation rate and expand on our top position in the ‘Champions League’ of adhesive tape manufacturers that operate worldwide,” he adds.

Torsten Albig, Minister-President of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, welcomed the technology firm’s move to the area at the dedication celebration: “I am impressed at what you have built up here over the past few years. A nine-figure investment and about 1,000 jobs isn’t something we see every day in Schleswig-Holstein. I’m delighted to welcome tesa as another globally renowned company that has chosen Schleswig-Holstein as a place to do business.”

Important dates in the new construction project
September 7, 2012: Beiersdorf supervisory board approves investment and building concept
November 6, 2012: Ground broken at site
March 18, 2013: Work on the building shell begins
June 18, 2013: Cornerstone laid
December 12, 2013: “Topping-out” ceremony
January 2014: Steel construction work starts
Late March 2014: Parking structure construction starts
July 1, 2015: Technology center moves in
September 21, 2015: Headquarters moves in
December 11, 2015: Research center moves in
January 28, 2016: tesa campus dedicated