Yados gets its own train

From Uwe Schulz

Nardt. In one hall 4,500 square meters, in the other 7,500, divided by a fire protection wall. Twice as much space as before. And Frank Stiehler, Managing Director of Yados Ltd. at Hoyerswerdaer West, the feeling comes over you again of what on earth you are going to fit into this space. But since Yados was founded 15 years ago, it has practically only ever grown, with empty spaces filling up more and more.

Now the largest investment in the company's history. 39,000 cubic meters of earth have been moved, 150 supports installed, 50 kilometers of power and data cables will be laid and 1,500 data sockets installed. The plans for the two new halls show exactly where things will be in the future, for example the assembly line for the district heating stations. The individual work areas will have colored floors. The traffic routes in between will remain concrete gray. In future, a so-called route train will operate here - a small, electrically powered tractor unit with several trailers that follows a specific route through the halls, delivering materials and taking away waste. In any case, the production process is changing - away from island or nest production and towards a production line. The former Edeka hall rented within sight in the Nardt industrial estate has now been used for two years to gain experience in line production. This will be continued in the new halls. And production is becoming more digital. Certain processes such as welding cannot be replaced, but the skilled workers are to be deployed in a more targeted manner. So before planning and building the new hall, the company looked at the production processes, scrutinized everything, tinkered around and then made decisions. The foremen's offices are also being moved back into the production areas. Ultimately, 300 new employees are to be recruited, in addition to those leaving the company due to age and new appointments. So new changing rooms, sanitary facilities, showers and recreation rooms are also being built.

When it comes to energy and heat supply, Yados wants to offer more than is currently the case. The company therefore relies on a mix of heat pumps that use brine heat on the one hand and air heat on the other. A total of 1,440 photovoltaic modules are installed on the roof of the hall. This does not make the company completely self-sufficient. In cases of hardship, the conventional gas-fed heating system and combined heat and power plant are still available. But the specialist for heating solutions wants to show what is possible. This also includes underfloor heating in the larger of the two new halls, which in turn can generate a certain amount of cooling in summer.

Sounds sustainable, and it is. In the current extension, for example, the aluminum insulation sandwich panels of the outer façade of a wall that had become a partition wall due to the hall extension were reused elsewhere. And every part of the site fence that enclosed the previous Yados site to the south was also dismantled and relocated.

Frank Stiehler points out that the construction work, which is being carried out by general contractor Goldbeck, is two weeks ahead of schedule. The staff will be able to celebrate the Christmas party in one of the new halls before Christmas Eve, and the move from the old Edeka hall will take place at the beginning of the year. In April, operations in the new halls should then start as planned. Through the west gate of construction phase 3, you can see a large undeveloped part of the Yados site. It is a reserve if the company continues to develop as planned. In any case, this time the outer wall has been designed as a fire protection wall. In case they expand again in a few years' time.