{"id":26239,"date":"2026-07-13T15:19:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/?p=26239"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:21:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:21:01","slug":"from-the-ground-up-weinheim-builds-for-the-materials-of-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/2026\/07\/from-the-ground-up-weinheim-builds-for-the-materials-of-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Ground Up: Weinheim Builds for the Materials of Tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-cnvs-paragraph-callout wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong>With the construction of a new mixing plant, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in Weinheim is laying the foundation for future materials. After intensive planning, one of the site\u2019s largest infrastructure projects is taking shape \u2014 with complex technology, short distances and specific requirements for safety, sustainability and future viability.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"in-brief\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In Brief<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Around 30 Freudenberg sites worldwide source their elastomers from FST\u2019s mixing facilities in Weinheim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The new mixing plant is one of the site\u2019s largest infrastructure projects and is now close to start of construction start after years of planning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project includes a 15,000-square-meter warehouse and a 22,000-square-meter production building designed for optimized material flow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Safety, environmental protection and sustainability are central to the project, from advanced fire-protection systems to special ground sealing, heat recovery and photovoltaics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 30 Freudenberg sites worldwide source their elastomers from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies\u2019 (FST) in Weinheim. With the new building, FST\u2019s mixing facilities at the company\u2019s headquarters in Germany is positioning itself for the future \u2014 a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime major project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After two and a half years of intensive planning, the project officially got under way with budget approval at the end of 2024. Since summer 2025, excavators have been at work preparing the nearly 40,000-square-meter site in the northeastern part of the Weinheim Industrial Park for its new purpose. Before actual construction can begin, existing structures must be dismantled, the ground prepared, and the technical prerequisites for infrastructure and energy supply put in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning and preparation are now entering the home stretch: The construction work for the new building has been out to tender since the end of 2025. A general contractor has been selected. Construction is about to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"as-large-as-12-olympic-swimming-pools-plus-three-soccer-fields\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">As Large as 12 Olympic Swimming Pools Plus Three Soccer Fields<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-1160x653.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-1160x653.jpg 1160w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-120x68.jpg 120w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-90x51.jpg 90w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-560x315.jpg 560w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01_Intranetbeitrag_Gebaeude_Titelbild.jpg 3840w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new building includes a number of special features. To optimize the flow of materials, the project includes not only the mixing plant itself but also a separate warehouse directly connected to the production building and located immediately next door. The warehouse will cover around 15,000 square meters. To put that into perspective: That is equivalent to the surface area of 12 Olympic-size swimming pools. The warehouse will be divided into two sections: one cooled area for finished compounds and sensitive raw materials, where the temperature will be kept low, and a second warehouse section where cooling is not required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Short distances are a key factor: Airlocks will directly connect the warehouse and production areas. The new production building will be larger than the warehouse, covering 22,000 square meters \u2014 about the size of three soccer fields. In some sections, it will have two upper floors and will house not only the production equipment but also the materials technology center, social areas and offices. The warehouse is scheduled for completion in just under two years, at the beginning of 2028; the finalization of the more complex production building is expected about six months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"complex-tasks-mean-complex-coordination\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complex Tasks Mean Complex Coordination<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numerous stakeholders are involved in the planning. Freudenberg Real Estate is responsible for the building, while Freudenberg Service is responsible for the energy supply. Experts from the mixing facilities are working out the details of the newly designed production process and material flow, supported by colleagues from other FST departments \u2014 many of them in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities. The final fine-tuning is currently still under way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marina Bang leads the overall project team, and Christian Pfeifer heads the \u201cBuilding\u201d workstream. Given the project\u2019s complexity, the far-reaching nature of the decisions involved and the large number of internal and external stakeholders, both consider coordination among all parties to be critically important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, the joint development of the sophisticated fire-protection concept involves not only the plant fire brigade but also representatives from T\u00dcV and the insurer, among others. Because of the hazardous materials handled by the mixing facilities, fire protection is a particular focus. One highlight is the use of AMFE systems. These self-triggering systems suffocate flames in control cabinets within seconds \u2014 using gas and without a single drop of extinguishing water. As a result, the control technology remains largely intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"built-on-special-film\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Built on Special Film<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government agencies were involved not only in the building permit process, but continue to be involved, for example, on environmental requirements. One result of this cooperation with the public authorities: The natural subsoil and the floor slabs of both new buildings will each be completely separated by a special film. This prevents any unintentionally released pollutants from seeping into the ground. Around the building, the soil will also be sealed with asphalt to help prevent environmental impacts there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe greatest challenge for the construction company is the complex technical building equipment,\u201d says project manager Marina Bang, looking ahead. Power and compressed-air supply, room ventilation and cooling, exhaust-air systems and much more must be planned and implemented down to the last detail. The technical building equipment also includes a number of sustainability aspects, such as heat recovery and photovoltaics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-template-1\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"\" data-post-id=\"26239\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"ip\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                        <i class=\"fas fa-thumbs-up\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the construction of a new mixing plant, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in Weinheim is laying the foundation for future materials. After intensive planning, one of the site\u2019s largest infrastructure projects&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":26238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1259,78],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-26239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-divisions","category-weinheim-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26239"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26242,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26239\/revisions\/26242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26239"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=26239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}