RAJA invests in Germany: construction work begins on the new building of the German RAJAPACK branch

With the first “ceremonial engraving” on the land where the future building of the German RAJAPACK is to stand, Harald Schönfeld, CEO of Rajapack, Johannes Arnold, Mayor of Ettlingen, Thomas Burkard, CEO of Vollack, started the construction work on the new building in Ettlingen near Karlsruhe. Nearly 50 guests, customers and colleagues attended the event. The new headquarters of the German subsidiary of the RAJA Group, the European market leader in B2B mail order in the packaging sector, is primarily intended to serve as a basis for further growth in Germany. The RAJA Group is investing EUR 5 million in the new facility.

Already at the end of 2012, the German branch of Rajapack will move from its current location in Birkenfeld near Pforzheim to a new office building in the industrial area of Ettlingen-West. The official start of excavation work is thus realised with a groundbreaking ceremony, which seals the end of almost two years of planning. In just seven months, the two-storey building with almost 2,000 square metres of usable space for offices, sales, marketing, service and administration is to be completed: “An ambitious project that we are embarking on with great drive and enthusiasm”, Harald Schönfeld expressed his opinion.

“Here in Ettlingen, we are today building the foundation for our future corporate headquarters, which will fully meet our increasing space requirements and development opportunities. At the very least, we plan to quadruple our wholesale turnover in the next ten years”.

Plenty of room for growth and development

The new corporate area in Ettlingen creates the ideal conditions for this planned project. With its size of 10,500 square metres, it offers plenty of space for future habitat development outside the new building. “In addition to optimal transport connections, this was a particular priority for the choice of our new location,” explains Schönfeld. “We want and will continue to grow, also in terms of personnel. It is therefore important for us to have sufficient space for development. This also shows why we are planning to establish our headquarters here in Ettlingen in the long term and want to exploit the potential of this location.”

In his speech, Johannes Arnold, the city’s mayor, also welcomed the long-term presence. “It also confirms our right as a member of the Technology Region Karlsruhe: Ettlingen is an excellent economic location with optimal infrastructure.

Even Rajapack was convinced by the aforementioned advantages of the location to decide and move to Ettlingen. In addition to good motorway connections and good accessibility, the proximity to the existing site in Birkenfeld was also important. “Our existing site and the new site are about 30 km apart,” said Schönfeld. “This is a distance that allows most of our employees to support the company’s relocation. This is very important to us: As a service-oriented company, our highly trained professional workforce is an important asset. Even in the personnel area, we place emphasis on continuity and long-term cooperation, and we are therefore pleased that our employees support us in the move to the new location.”

Rajapack currently employs just under 70 people in Birkenfeld. The majority of them will also work at the new location in Ettlingen. In addition, the planned growth of Rajapack in Ettlingen will create new jobs.

High standards with regard to sustainability

Last but not least, environmental considerations such as energy saving are also at the heart of the construction of the new corporate headquarters. The head office building will therefore be built to not only comply with the current Energy Saving Directive (ENEV) from 2009, but to save an additional 20 percent more. A_{CO2-optimised} groundwater heat pump will be installed to generate the necessary energy for heating and cooling_. “Rajapack is a modern company that sets high standards in terms of sustainability of natural resources. The new building will be a complete mirror image of the old one: it shows how state-of-the-art equipment can be combined with functional energy-saving ideas”, said Thomas Burkard, CEO of Vollack, the company responsible for the concept, planning and construction of the new Rajapack building. “Office buildings today have to support communication. Construction is the application of a corporate strategy – not just the application of concrete, stone and soil.”

Rajapack’ s Czech office is located in the modern industrial zone of Nupaky – Říčany near Prague.