Groundbreaking ceremony for new development and technology center at KUKA
Augsburg, 2 April 2014. KUKA celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for a new Development and Technology Center at its Augsburg site. On Zugspitzstrasse in Augsburg, construction is under way on an office building which will cover nearly 39,000 square meters. It will be equipped with a showroom, state-of-the-art testing facilities and a generously-sized conference area.
2 April 2014
At the moment, the area is still a trench surrounded by excavators and cranes. In the future, a six-story building more than 30 meters in height will tower above the neighboring structures on the KUKA premises. Hall 13, the oldest on the site, had to be demolished to make way for the construction project. KUKA invited 100 guests to the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building.
On the guest list were Mayor Dr. Kurt Gribl and other city representatives, building contractor Bilfinger, and KUKA directors and supervisory board members. “KUKA stands for robotics and automation around the globe. Our headquarters are here in Augsburg, with some 3,000 employees,” said Dr. Till Reuter, CEO of KUKA AG. “The investment in this site is a clear investment in the future.” Along with robot production and systems engineering, the Augsburg site is also home to research and development. KUKA has set a construction period of roughly two years for the project, which entails approximately 60 million euros. The Development and Technology Center is set to be completed by the end of 2015.
As is appropriate for an automation company, a robot called LBR iiwa laid the foundation stone: it placed a stone from Hall 13, which had to give way for the new building, into the trench next to a time capsule containing contemporary documents.
KUKA has already completed two building projects: the Orange Care daycare center was opened in November of last year, and since March, KUKA employees have been using the new parking garage on Zugspitzstrasse. It accommodates more than 400 vehicles.