A commitment to Germany as a business location: Koehler Group inaugurates new site in Willstätt
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- Investment volume of around 73 million euros
- Rethinking the working world at the new site with a flexible workplace concept
- The head of the Ortenau district authority, Thorsten Erny, praises the investment in brains, skills and future
The Koehler Group ceremoniously inaugurated its new site in Willstätt on June 4 in the presence of numerous representatives from politics and business. On a plot with an area of 23,000 m2, state-of-the-art workstations for 170 members of staff have been created. The office space was designed according to the New Work concept. The production of KATZ beverage coasters was already put into operation at the new site at the beginning of 2024, followed by the Koehler Group Campus, the Koehler Group's apprenticeship training center for industrial engineering professions, at the start of training in September 2024.
The new site is a commitment to Germany as a business location
The Koehler Group is a long-established company with a history that spans more than 215 years. Kai Furler, CEO of the Koehler Group, emphasized: “Our decisions are made with a long-term vision, rather than a focus on short-term gains.” The Willstätt site is one of the places the company is pursuing long-term plans, enabling future generations to profit from them too in years to come. For this reason, the Koehler Group has invested extensively in the former Orsay site. In his speech, Furler addressed the planning security necessary for the economy in the direction of politics: "We have specifically decided to continue growing in Germany, among other things because we can find the excellently trained workforce here that is necessary for the production of our specialty paper. At the same time, however, this commitment also requires planning security on the part of politicians for us as a company in terms of the framework conditions." With the additional site in Ortenau, the Koehler Group is once again committing itself to Germany as a business location, following the major investment of more than 70 million euros in the conversion of the power plant at the Oberkirch site, which was inaugurated at the beginning of the year. In his address to the guests at the event, Thorsten Erny, the head of the Ortenau district authority, emphasized: "The new location in Willstätt is a clear commitment to the Ortenau district and a strong signal for our region – the Koehler Group is visibly investing in brains, skills, and the future."
Since 2023, the existing buildings have been adapted and occupied in several steps to meet the needs of the family business. In a first step, the production of KATZ beverage coasters in Willstätt went into operation at the beginning of 2024. In September last year, the inauguration of the new apprenticeship training center followed. "The next generation that we ourselves train will be our resources of tomorrow," adds Furler, who represents the 8th generation to work at the Koehler Group. After the final expansion stage of the site, since March 2025, the employees have successively moved into the completed office workplaces, which were finalized in a third phase of expansion. The subsidiary Koehler Renewable Energy, founded in 2012, has also relocated to Willstätt. The fast-growing sector is playing a sustainable role in shaping the energy transition in Germany but also abroad.
The world of work has been completely rethought at the new location
In order for an employer to be interesting to specialists and managers but also to junior staff, the family business has rethought the working environment at its new site. Since the Covid pandemic at the latest, the term "home office" has become established – the Koehler Group has responded to this with a site in a completely new spatial concept. Flexible workplace concepts are in the foreground and individual offices according to classic hierarchical thinking have been completely dispensed with. This enables communicative, cross-team and cross-functional work. As a consequence, it was hoped for extensive synergy gains, which are already evident after the first few weeks of operation. With the design of the Koehler Group Campus, the training center for industrial engineering professions, the company has also broken new ground and thus set a new standard in the region.
Best regards
Alexander M. Stöckle Corporate Director Marketing & Communications Press Spokesperson
Koehler Holding SE & Co. KG
Tel: +49 7802 81-4749 Fax: +49 7802 81-5749 mailto:alexander.stoeckle@koehler.com