03/20/2004 Gotschlich opens Subsidiary Plant at Strassburg, Carinthia
With the original Vienna plant bursting at the seams, Plant II opened its doors in Strassburg, in Carinthias Gurktal Valley, on March 20, 2004. A happy accident helped determine the location.
Just five years after building the second assembly building, the Vienna plant was already nearing its capacity limits. Since no further expansion was possible at the Vienna location, an alternative location was sought. Outsourcing production to a lower-wage country was just as far out of the question for the Wotke family as reducing the level of vertical integration. Director Heinz Wotke: "Insourcing, not outsourcing, is our motto. In a business where nature or construction progress determines the delivery dates, only complete control over the entire production sequence provides the necessary security."
From idea to grand opening in just one year
Chance had a hand in the choice of location: The Wotke family likes to vacation in the Gurktal valley. There they learned of a former construction company site sitting vacant in Strassburg. GOTSCHLICH found the land suitable and built a modern plant there in place of the old buildings. Some 30 employees work in the assembly building, primarily producing full-height vertical turnstiles, while production of the drive modules, controls and half-height turnstiles, such as those for ski resorts, remains in Vienna. "Just with the additional space we've gained we will be able to improve our production processes significantly," says Director Wotke. The city and state governments in this underdeveloped region also find a new employer very welcome.
With Carinthian wood and stainless steel columns that match the nature of the business, the new plant is not only an architectural success, but, with plenty of light and open space, a very attractive workplace as well. The plant even produces its own energy by heating biomass in the form of wood chips from the local logging industry.
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