Two trainees lay the cornerstone for the Meyer Werft
Today the cornerstone was laid in Papenburg for the new Technology and Development Center at the Meyer Werft. Kendra Schulte (19), sandwich-course student on a degree programme for shipbuilding and marine technology, and Björn Abeln (22), mechatronics technician in the third year of his apprenticeship, laid the cornerstone for the new center. "We are honoured to be asked to perform this task of laying the cornerstone", says Kendra Schulte.
Bernd-Carsten Hiebing, german politician, and Jan-Peter Bechtluft, Mayor of Papenburg, praised today's cornerstone laying ceremony and the major investment this represents in further enhancing Papenburg as a place for business. Constant further development at the highly innovative MEYER WERFT, which today is one of the world market leaders for building cruise ships, has had a hugely positive impact on the job situation in the town, region and whole state.
The constant growth in the workforce and the excellent orders situation at the shipyard, which resulted from its involvement with MEYER TURKU in Finland, led to the decision to build a new Technology and Development Center. Most of the design and development work for the shipyard's complex newbuilds will be pooled in the new building complex. In future, altogether around 400 designers and engineers will be working on the many different subjects and topics involved in building cruise ships. The new building will offer a surface area of around 6,750 m² on five levels. "In terms of technology, we must stay well ahead of the competition while still offering a high standard of cost-optimized quality. This balancing act will only succeed with highly qualified designers and development engineers working in ideal surroundings that give them plenty of space to think creatively", says Managing Director Lambert Kruse.
The total investment volume for the new Development Center, which includes an entrance and conference area in a completely new design with so-called meet-and-greet areas, amounts to around 10 million Euro. This includes state-of-the-art building control systems and energy-saving measures, such as exploiting geothermal heat and cooling. The new five-storey building is being built in accordance with the passive house standards.
The construction work should be completed by mid 2016. "I have always given absolute priority to the successful on-going development of the Papenburg site. As agreed in the Site Continuation Contract, we will fulfil our share of the agreement", says Bernard Meyer.
Besides the Technology and Development Centre, the shipyard will also be upgrading and modernizing its canteen facilities and social amenities for its own workforce and also for external personnel in order to meet the growing requirements.
