With its unusual design Jopp’s new development center will be an architectural figurehead in Bad Neustadt where it will reflect Jopp’s economic strength. The company plans to invest approx. eight million Euros in the new building in Meininger Strasse with the ground breaking ceremony due to take place in April.
The architecture is undoubtedly the most remarkable aspect. The bend of the road will be echoed in the stylishly curved design of the building, leading to an inevitable comparison with the new municipal hall. There will also be an elegant glass façade giving way to light and creating an impression of openness.
Roughly 4000 sqm of floor space will be available on three levels, creating space for roughly 120 employees from all the various corporate departments (development, prototype construction, testing and project management). What cannot be seen from the BayWa road junction are the additional building activities behind the development center where the construction and renovation of more warehouses and buildings are also taking place.
Jopp has already expanded several times in the past few years. It is therefore possible to see its successful growth not just in Bad Neustadt but also in Grossbardorf at its subsidiary IFSYS and at its sites in the Black Forest, in the Eifel region, in the Czech Republic and Hungary. “The time is right to commence the project,” President Hubert Büchs explained the reasoning behind the large investment project in Bad Neustadt. The company is economically successful and it is necessary to set the course for the future. He sees the future in electric vehicles which have long been of interest to the company and have now received a more prominent position in the corporate concept.
A focus will be on the technology behind gear transmission and steering systems as well as thermal management for electric vehicles, Büchs stated. Ideally production will follow development in the longer term, although it is still to be decided where that will take place. The aim is to consolidate the company’s position as a prime partner for the automotive industry.
The new building is not only meant to be an expression of an innovative company; it is also intended to have an external effect. “We wish to recruit only the best engineers and specialists,” Büchs stated.
The building should be completed in good time for the 100th anniversary of the company which is to be celebrated from 5th to 7th July 2019.