On 29th March 2017, a groundbreaking ceremony took place to mark the beginning of construction work on the first new manufacturing facility in Europe in the more than 100-year history of Firestone Building Products. Panattoni Europe, a leading project developer specialised in industrial and logistics real estate, is responsible for the planning and implementation of Firestone’s first project in Europe. Goldbeck International has been commissioned as the general contractor for construction of the facility. The project was brokered by Arnd Sternberg of Jones Lang LaSalle.
The new production plant with approx. 30,000 m² of floor space will be built on the company’s premises in Düsseldorfer Straße. Firestone Building Products produces complete roofing systems made of different synthetic materials which are mainly used for the roofs of large commercial and industrial buildings.
Firestone Building Products is a global manufacturer with world-wide business activities. It is a subsidiary of the American company Firestone which belongs to the Japanese Bridgestone Corporation. The company already operates seven insulation materials plants in the US and sells 80 million m² of insulating material for roof tops every year. During the search for the most suitable location, the company investigated options all over Europe. The town of Heinsberg and its business development agency are all the more delighted that the company has chosen this site for this important new business settlement.
The symbolic ground-breaking on 29th March 2017 was attended by Wolfgang Dieder, the Mayor of Heinsberg, Ulrich Schirowski of the business development agency for the district of Heinsberg, Troy Geuther of Firestone Building Products, Philip Moors of Firestone Building Products, Fred-Markus Bohne of Panattoni and Björn Bongartz of Goldbeck. In the Dremmen Industrial Park they all took a spade to symbolically start the construction work.
The facility is scheduled to begin production in Summer 2018.
About Firestone Building Products:
Firestone is one of the pioneers in rubber and elastomer technology. Since its founding by Harvey S. Firestone in 1900, the company has continually developed innovative products and thus made a decisive mark on this entire branch of industry. In 1980, the company started to apply its unique know-how in the construction industry. In less than thirty years, Firestone Building Products has become one of the global leading manufacturers of roofing systems based on EPDM and TPO/FPO materials.
The company has produced more than 1,500 million square metres of EPDM and about 300 million square metres of TPO/FPO membrane for secure and permanent sealing of roofs, as well as 800 million square metres of iso insulation for roof tops to date. This success is founded on a strong team of experts experienced in the development and production of roofing materials, application technology and professional customer service. It is their aim to provide unique products which will ensure the success of construction projects for building owners and contractors alike.
About Panattoni Europe:
Panattoni Europe is a full-service developer for commercial and logistics real estate. The company is a subsidiary of the Panattoni Development Company, Newport Beach, USA, an owner-operated, world-wide leading developer of industrial and warehouse buildings with branches in North America and Europe. Panattoni Europe offers facility solutions tailored to the individual requirements of its customers. The company’s portfolio comprises build-to-suit projects, fee development services, logistics parks and property management
Since entering the European market in 2005, Panattoni Europe has developed 4.5 million square metres of new space. In Germany, one of the company’s focus markets, Panattoni Europe developed 13 new projects in 2016 alone. The company has its German head office in Hamburg and further branches in Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Munich. In total, Panattoni has 26 branches in North America and Europe.
About Heinsberg:
Heinsberg is situated in the western part of North Rhine-Westphalia, about half way between Aachen and Mönchengladbach. Located centrally between Düsseldorf, Cologne, Maastricht (NL), Liège (B), Antwerp (B) and Eindhoven (NL), the town has excellent transport connections. The medium-sized town with approx. 42,000 inhabitants is the westernmost district town in Germany, about 3 km from the neighbouring Netherlands.
Positive political climate – favourable price of land
Besides a very positive political climate towards companies wishing to establish their business here, the favourable price of land for industry and commerce as well as the excellent transport connections at the centre of the core European economic area make this location very attractive.
The diversified economic structure is characterised by a healthy combination of small, medium-sized and large international companies.
The retail sector offers a large catchment area extending far into the neighbouring Netherlands, providing a wide range of daily consumer articles as well as exclusive upmarket products.
Due to its rural surroundings between the conurbations of central Europe, affordable housing and an employee-friendly economic climate, Heinsberg is becoming increasingly attractive as a residential location. The high recreational value of the region with its many different sports facilities and possibilities for outdoor activities together with a large number of cultural institutions as well as clubs and associations offers an exciting environment for the growing resident population.
