|
|
05.03.2004
|
Bernhardt Apparatebau moves to Holm
|
| |
|
Manufacturer of SECUMAR lifejackets solves its massive space problems by relocating to new premises.
|
| |
|
|
Wedel / Holm. Bernhardt Apparatebau & Co Ltd, currently based in Wedel over six different locations will be moving to new single premises in the neighbouring district of Holm in October of this year. The manufacturer of the world famous SECUMAR brand of lifejackets has a staff of approximately 100 people and an annual turnover of over 15 million Euros.
Managing Director and company owner Jan-Ulrich Bernhardt explained, “We have had considerable space problems for a while now. Expansion has been in the pipeline for about three years and we are pleased to have now found a suitable site in Holm”.
The move signals the end of the Wedel chapter in the company’s history. Bernhardt Apparatebau was founded in Hamburg at the beginning of the last century. In early 1975 the company relocated to ABC-Strasse to premises that had previously been a furrier’s workshop. There followed nearly 30 years of continuous expansion in the marine safety equipment market.
Bernhardt Apparatebau has always had an excellent reputation for innovative products. Consistent research and the striving for top quality have resulted in attaining a world-leading position in the field of marine safety equipment and related technology. Apart from manufacturing lifejackets for the leisure and industrial markets the company also designs and produces lifesaving products for special sectors like the Fire Service and the Military. The most recent business sphere is trading in outdoor products such as kayaks and canoes.
The company began to look for more suitable accommodation about three years ago when it was feared that the diversification over six different sites might compromise the efficiency of its expansion programme. Departments like R & D, sewing, buoyancy chamber production, warehousing, servicing and repair, sales and administration needed to be housed under one roof. Places like Prisdorf, Waldenau and Schenefeld were investigated but then the Holm plot became available when an interested party stepped down at the last minute.
“Our employees come from around the area and so it was important for us to find a plot close to the current location in Wedel,” said Bernhardt, “We were lucky to procure this site and it provides us with the best possible business solution by far. It is of critical importance for us to be competitive in the world market, especially with the competition from countries like China who are able to manufacture with extremely low labour costs”
With an investment cost amounting to approximately 4.5 million Euros the new building comprises 5,000 square metres of production and administration facilities and will be erected on a plot of approximately 10,000 square metres (2.5 acres). Construction will commence in early June and Secumar hopes to complete the move in early October.
|
| |
|
|
|
