Focus on wood: laying the foundation stone for a sustainable future

The construction project for the expansion of the Bürkert Fluid Control Systems site in Gerabronn is divided into a total of three construction phases. Over the next two and a half years, the assembly area for customer-specific systems will be expanded, solenoid valve production modernised, storage capacity increased and a new company restaurant for employees built. Wherever possible and sensible, wood will be used as a renewable building material in all steps. 

“Bürkert is building” – this has already been mentioned several times in recent months. Following expansions at the Bürkert Campus Criesbach and the Öhringen plant, extensive construction measures are now also planned at the Gerabronn site: “Due to the growth of recent years, we have long since reached our spatial limits. There was less and less space left for the social areas in particular and the company restaurant is no longer up to date,” says plant manager Martin Wolfarth. This will now change over the next two and a half years as extensive remodelling and expansion measures will take place in a total of three construction phases in order to adapt the site to the needs of the company: “This expansion will play an important role in Bürkert’s global production network,” Wolfarth affirms. 

Project in three phases

 In construction phase one, the new company restaurant and the social rooms for the approximately 270 employees at the site are being built, and the existing clean room is also being expanded. A total area of around 2,500 square metres is being worked on in this first part of the project. An energy centre will also be installed as sustainable energy supply is a high priority in the construction measures. The aim is to make the conversions as energy-efficient as possible: “The buildings will be equipped with a photovoltaic system both on the roof surfaces and on the façade. There will also be a system for heat recovery from the compressed air generation and everywhere that was previously heated with gas will be converted to heat pump technology and geothermal energy,” says Lorenz Kraft from architects Kraft & Kraft, describing the measures. 

The second construction phase is scheduled to start in March 2025. The plan is to build a new hall adjacent to existing buildings in order to expand solenoid valve assembly capacity at the site. This new building will also provide the necessary growth space for the increasing business with customised solutions, for example for medical and analysis technology, which Bürkert mainly manufactures in Gerabronn.

The three-stage construction schedule will be completed with the expansion of coil production and the warehouse. Existing buildings that are no longer required as part of the conversion work will also be demolished. This final phase is planned from November 2025.  

Wood as a sustainable building material

In total, Bürkert is investing around EUR 30 million in the plant modernisation and expansion. “Around EUR 6 million is being invested in measures for sustainable construction, including good insulation of the buildings and rainwater utilisation. Geothermal energy is also an important issue for us,” explains Stefan Müller, CTO at Bürkert. He added: “As far as the use of wood is concerned, we have been able to improve even further here following our extensions in Criesbach and Öhringen.” In Criesbach, the hall beams were made from a composite construction of wood and concrete; in Öhringen, the beams and walls are made from this renewable raw material. In Gerabronn, they are now building on this and also using wood for the roof. In addition, the entire new building for the company restaurant is being realised with wood. 

Wood is a renewable raw material and, especially in comparison to steel and concrete, no CO2 emissions are produced during its manufacture. Wherever possible, it is important for Bürkert to use local wood that has the shortest possible delivery routes: “The wood is mainly sourced from the Black Forest and central Germany,” explains Lorenz Kraft, adding: “If standard wood is delivered from another country several thousand kilometres away, the sustainability is invalidated due to the long transport route. Only in the case of special timber products can a longer transport route be justified without compromising sustainability.” The architect also emphasises how remarkable it is that Bürkert is consistently thinking about the topic of ‘sustainable construction’. “This shows that Bürkert’s shareholders and management are aware of their responsibility towards the environment,” emphasises Lorenz Kraft, while plant manager Martin Wolfarth also points out that he is particularly impressed by the project’s sustainable construction method and consideration of nature and the environment. It is an important foundation stone for the company on its way to a sustainable future. 

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