NEXUS supplier Marquardt is always looking to the future. And having just opened a €30million new Development and Innovation Centre, it has created a new base for over 600 engineers, technicians and skilled workers.

The Innovation Centre (EIZ) is at Marquardt’s headquarters in Germany - though the firm has bases around the world, in Asia, Africa, America and Europe, whilst keeping its roots as a family business.

Matthias Marquardt, a grandson of one of the company founders and a member of the advisory board of the Marquardt Group, said: "The Marquardt shareholders - like their ancestors - are counting on the long-term success of the family business.”

Nexus is proud to be associated with a company that never rests on its laurels, despite having such an enviable range of switches for every possible use.

Reinvesting in the business is a core belief of the company, founded in the 1920s, which puts aside around ten percent of its revenues each year to pay for new research & development.

It’s an approach that has meant the business, from its solid foundation in the production of snap action and toggle switches, has been at the forefront of the development of eco-switches for an increasingly energy-conscious world.

It has also developed into e-mobility, battery management systems for a new generation of cars, and is blazing a trail in e-bikes with a modular, customisable range of products.

The new building will provide a training centre space for over 120 young people, who can learn technical professions on networked industry 4.0 measuring instruments, on the latest laboratory workstations or CNC milling machines. One of the most modern training centres in the region, it will closely link theory and practice.

The office and development rooms of the EIZ are organized around two lightflooded atriums. The building also includes a new company restaurant.

Climate control was a factor in the design, which has a combined heat and power plant that reduces annual CO2 emissions by around 100 tons. The company generates additional energy via a photovoltaic system on the roof of the EIZ; at peak times it generates up to 100 kilowatts of electricity.

LEDs with daylight control are also used in the entire building, which reduces electricity consumption by 60 percent compared with conventional lighting. Heating and cooling is provided by an environmentally friendly concrete core activation.

Dr Harald Marquardt, the chief executive of the company, said that the investment was a continuation of the company’s future.

He said: “The spatial structure of the new building supports the agile and creative exchange between the departments. This makes the building an architectural answer to the major future challenges of our industries, regardless of whether it involves digital networking, the further upgrading of vehicle interiors, electromobility or smart home solutions.”

Picture - Marquardt