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From Uwe Schulz
The energy transition is often seen as a job killer in this country. With Yados in the Nardt industrial estate in the west of Hoyerswerda management and Hoyerswerda's mayor sit at the table on Wednesday morning, completely relaxed. "This is a job engine for us," says Frank Stiehler. He is the Managing Director of Yados GmbH, which, integrated into the Hoval-Group, district heating stations, combined heat and power plants (CHP) and all system components for efficient heating networks. This year, the company will invest around 20 million euros in the site, practically doubling the production area and also increasing the number of employees over the coming years.
Two new halls with a total area of 12,500 square meters will be built. The number of employees is set to grow from the current 320 to over 600. This is the third expansion at the site and the company's largest single investment to date.
Yados authorized signatory Olaf Besser outlines the company's view that it is not only optimistic about the energy turnaround, but also assumes that the economy will pick up in the second half of the year: "Ships are built at low tide, not high tide".
Construction to start in March
The site was purchased months ago. And before anyone gets annoyed later that they thought too small, it would be possible to expand it again this year without any problems. The opportunity was also taken to acquire a section of the originally public Yados road several hundred meters long. The public transport company's city bus now drives onto the company premises, serves the bus stop here, turns around and continues on its way. Public transport is particularly popular with employees in the winter months, according to the company.
The search for employees is seen as a sporting challenge, not a problem. Last year alone, according to Frank Stiehler, 80 employees were taken on. The company trains its own apprentices and now has 24 trainees. The company is looking for planners, IT specialists and welders as well as sales staff. The majority of current employees live in the region. It is said that 80 percent of them travel less than 20 kilometers to work every day. The company now employs people from Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. The user interfaces of important programs, for example in control cabinet production, are not only available in German, but also in English and Russian. Internationality is not a foreign concept at Yados. "But you have to be able to offer the right working environment as a company," continues Frank Stiehler. Yados is working on this.
And the assumption is that rural areas will become increasingly attractive, especially when you have the Lusatian Lakeland right on your doorstep.
The 20 million investment is well planned. The building application was submitted to the city of Hoyerswerda in December. With the Bautzen branch of Goldbeck Ost GmbH the contract as general contractor was signed a few days ago, according to Olaf Besser. Mayor Torsten Ruban-Zeh assures that all documents will be processed quickly, the building permit should be available in February and then construction can begin in March. "Both halls will be built at the same time," explains Thomas Gröbe from the commissioned bauhoys Planungsgesellschaft mbH. The construction schedule envisages the structural work starting in May and the halls should be weatherproof four months later. The company's Christmas party in the new premises is planned for December 20. Production is to be ramped up from January.
Heat pumps and photovoltaics
With the new halls, Yados is also embarking on the path to becoming a Green Factory. According to the company's management, it is the first company in the industry to undergo an audit by the German Sustainable Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) in accordance with the ESG regulations, which can be translated into German as environmental, social and corporate governance. Brine-water and air-water pumps will provide the majority of the heat supply for the new halls, while electricity of up to 600 kWp will come from the photovoltaic systems on the roofs. Thomas Gröbe is fascinated by the task: "Building something this big in a climate-neutral way is quite a challenge."
