It is one of the biggest company settlements of the last decades in Saarland. Kitchen producer and market leader nobilia from Northrine-Westphalia will establish its new big production site on the Industrial Area Lisdorfer Berg. Earlier today, this was sealed with the notarization of the purchase contract in the Saarlouis town hall by nobilia´s Managing Directors Dr. Lars M. Bopf and Dr. Oliver Streit and gwSaar´s Managing Directors Thomas Schuck and Rita Gindorf-Wagner. In a final development phase, over 1,000 jobs shall be created. A stone´s throw away from the French border – this had been particularly important for the company. The Lisdorfer Berg near Saarlouis is one of the biggest relocation areas in the Southwest of Germany and, for Economics Minister Rehlinger, a success story for the business location Saarland.
At the press conference, she said: `I warmly welcome nobilia to Saarland! Here, ideal conditions for growth and employment and, insofar, also a part of the future of the whole region, have been shaped. Economic activity needs space to grow so that attractive offers to investors can be made. The offering here on the Lisdorfer Berg is in manifold ways excellent and much sought after. The current marketing situation on the Lisdorfer Berg confirms this: The nobilia surface was one of the last areas available there. This affirms us to continue with our course in terms of creating industrial areas on the Saar. I am very pleased that, in doing so, the location Saarland as a whole can once more be strengthened`.
`For nobilia, the French market is the second most important market after Germany. So, we think that the Saarland town of Saarlouis is an excellent location. Saarlouis is located near the border which means that we are geographically a bit closer to our customers in France and other countries in Southern Europe. This reduces transport routes and delivery times and leads to optimized logistics processes. Furthermore, the Industrial Area Lisdorfer Berg is excellently linked to the transport infrastructure`, Dr. Bopf summarizes the main reasons of nobilia´s choice of site. `Furthermore, the pool of skilled workers in Saarland is well structured – another site selection criteria for us. From this perspective, too, the closeness of the French border is a good basis as nobilia will employ people with French language skills in many different fields. That´s why nobilia has already installed an independent sales office in Saarbrücken at the turn of the year. In this sector, we have thus already hired new staff to service especially our French customers`, Bopf continued.
gwSaar´s Managing Director Thomas Schuck is pleased: `A great success. With Ford or ZF, comparably big industrial settlements date back several decades. Our concept to create space for top companies that offers outstanding transportation links and is located directly on the border to our European neighbors is paying off. So, gwSaar contributes to the creation of new jobs, which also implies our web-based database germanys.saarland where investors can find a comprehensive offer in industrial areas and real estate`.
`The establishment of nobilia in Saarlouis brings valuable jobs and ecconomic boost to the whole region`, so the Mayor of Saarlouis Peter Demmer. Now, the intensive efforts regarding the location of the industrial area bear fruit. `An industrial settlement of this scale and quality happens perhaps once in 50 years. Therefore, the site decision of the kitchen producer for the Lisdorfer Berg is of immense importance.`
Wanted – Found in Saarland
After installation of a sales office in Saarbrücken one year ago, the company with headquarters in Verl, North Rhine-Westphalia, started a new location search in Southwest Germany and later on in Saarland. Now, the company was looking for the right location to establish a huge production plant in direct vicinity of France – for most relevant export sales are generated in European neighbor countries, with special emphasis on the French business.
The new site will be developed in a modular way i.e. gradually and in different construction stages. `In the final development phase, over 1,000 jobs may be created successively on a production area up to 120,000 sq.m.`, explains Dr. Lars M. Bopf, Managing Director of nobilia.
The Lisdorfer Berg and its recent companies
The spacious area near Saarlouis meets the requirements of nobilia down to the last detail. Located barely 10 minutes from the French border, also a surface of the right size is available. Here, nobilia is now going to construct its production plant.
Also other companies appreciate the good conditions available at the huge industrial area and have decided to settle down there. To date, eight companies have relocated on a surface of 370,000 sq.m. and have created about 850 new jobs up to now.
3,100 kitchens per day – from nobilia
Over the last 17 years, the worldwide successful company has seen constant growth. With a turnover of €1.126 billion and 3,315 employees, nobilia is the market leader for kitchen furniture in Germany. In this context, the broadly based export business has proved to be the main engine of growth. In the financial year 2017, nobilia generated 46.5% of its sales from exports. Most relevant export sales are generated in European neighbor countries. With a share of 42%, the French business is dominating, followed by Belgium with a share of 13%. In the last few years, exports could, at a high level, be continuously raised.
For the future development and growth, nobilia requires additional production capacities. Several expansion possibilities in Germany were checked intensively. Now, the decision for Saarlouis has fallen.