The Hettich Group is investing € 10 million on new production facilities for the manufacture of hinges in Vlotho-Exter, Germany. Construction will soon begin on the project to expand and optimise production as part of the group's growth strategy.

To take place over three building phases, the construction project will add about 9,500 square metres of area. In the first phase, the new production building will be constructed with a gross floor area of around 7,000 square metres by the end of 2016. This phase will not only extend the production facilities but also provide a new technical service centre for sprinkler, compressed air and ventilation systems.

Once the new supply services have been completed and connected up, the existing technical centre will be taken down. This will be followed by the second and third building phases, adding a further gross floor area totalling 2,500 square metres in 2017.

Project highlights include a reinforced concrete floor slab to provide the base for a highly insulated engineered timber frame construction with a slightly sloping flat roof; and 54 trussed laminated timber beams to carry the visible rafter structure on the external walls, in the form of a partly open timber frame construction with the centre axis made of fixed vertical steel supports.

The timber construction of the building combined with natural daylight flooding the interior will ensure an excellent workplace environment for Hettich staff at the Vlotho-Exter site.

The construction project is being built to a high energy efficiency and ecological standard, falling well within the requirements of the German energy saving ordinance from 2014 and greatly reducing running costs for the user.

The extended Hettich production facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

Image: Hettich is extending its production facilities for hinges by just under 10,000 sqm. The Vlotho-Exter operation is being expanded and restructured until the end of 2017. Photo: Hettich