Late summer 2018, ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH, which is located in the Fraunhofer Science Park in the Hanau-Wolfgang district of Germany, announced that it wanted to expand the company on site once again in order to make room for more employees and facilities. Mayor Claus Kaminsky currently handed over the building permit for the planned buildings.

The construction of 2,500 square metres of office space and a 2,000 square metre pilot plant will create space for an additional 100 employees. The move is planned for the end of 2019. This will significantly reduce the space requirements for the ALD workforce in Hanau, which has now grown to more than 500 employees. “Currently we have to move closer together and even create interim solutions in order to find a place for all employees. We are therefore very much looking forward to moving into the new buildings this year,” said Dr. Markus Holz, CEO of ALD.

In early 2016, ALD moved from its old location on the Heraeus site in the city center to the Fraunhofer Science Park in the Wolfgang district. In the summer 2017, the company completed its plant merger in Hanau by relocating outsourced operations to Hanau and putting a new warehouse and office building into operation. With the further expansion and the new buildings, ALD is now taking account of the company’s success and the good order situation.

ALD is again working with its proven partner Dietz AG to implement the company expansion. Dietz AG is the property owner and has erected all ALD buildings in the Fraunhofer Science Park. It then leases the buildings to ALD on a long-term basis.

“ALD’s research and development centre, which was previously located in one of the previous assembly halls, is now located in the new technical centre hall – purposefully equipped to develop the plants of the future there,” explained Dr. Markus Holz. “In future, our development engineers will work in the new offices directly adjacent to the hall. Due to the close proximity of the engineers to the plants during construction, commissioning and test runs, development time can be significantly improved,” he said. “In addition to the proximity to the previous plant sections, the proven cooperation with Dietz AG and Hanau city in particular made the decision for the third plant section in the Fraunhofer Science Park very smooth.“

“ALD is an integral part of the materials technology competence in Hanau, fits perfectly into the Fraunhofer Science Park and contributes significantly to the further development of the area,” said Mayor Claus Kaminsky. “We are very pleased that the company is so successful and is expanding locally for the second time,” said Erika Schulte from the Hanau Economic Development Agency, in agreement with the Mayor.

“We feel very comfortable here in Hanau Wolfgang and can optimally organize our processes here and thus ensure our workforce a future-proof and modern location in a highly technical environment,” said Michael Protzmann, Technical Director of ALD. “We would like to thank Hanau City and Dietz AG for their excellent cooperation and highly professional support!“

Hayo Haebler from Dietz AG also thanked Hanau City for the exceptionally good cooperation: “In my many years of professional experience, I have rarely experienced such constructive and good cooperation with the building supervisory authorities and the offices of a city. That makes the decision to invest and build at the location much simplier!“