Another milestone in the company's history

The wind blows hard and later rain sets in. Despite the rather uncomfortable weather, the guests who gathered at the Rauhbusch industrial estate above the Kocher valley near Forchtenberg at 10 a.m. on 7 April were in high spirits. 50 people gladly accepted the invitation of ARNOLD Umformtechnik GmbH & Co. KG to attend the laying of the foundation stone for the new for the new production site in Rauhbusch.

The event, which lasted about an hour, was moderated by Lukas Schmieg, who as Senior Director at ARNOLD Umformtechnik is responsible for both the headquarters in Ernsbach and the new location in Rauhbusch. In Rauhbusch, ARNOLD, as a manufacturer of high-quality fastening and connecting elements with headquarters in Forchtenberg-Ernsbach, will in future push the "Conform Next" product Rauhbusch - the changeable April weather does not spoil the good mood: 50 invited guests are present for the layingrange, which is in particularly high demand in the mobility industry.

ARNOLD is investing around 20 million euros in Rauhbusch for the first construction phase. This sum already includes the development costs for the other construction phases, as Dirk Döllner, Managing Director of the ARNOLD Group, adds: "In the second construction phase, among other things, an administration building is to be realised. In the long-term planning, we assume that about 400 people will be employed at this location in the next few years until 2028."

Dirk Döllner is one of the first to address the guests on this special day in the company's history after a snack and a musical interlude by Mariola's Swing Quartet. 

The planned wood-concrete construction method is just one of many examples of the sustainability ambitions ARNOLD is pursuing in Rauhbusch.

ARNOLD can be sure of the support of the Würth Group's management at the new location. Robert Friedmann, Chairman of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group, is also convinced that the ARNOLD subsidiary in Rauhbusch is making a sensible investment in the future. "ARNOLD is aiming for sales of EUR 500 million in the next few years. If the economic development continues as positively as before, then nothing stands in the way of the second construction phase in 2026," Robert Friedmann affirms.

Gotthard Wirth then took the floor. The first state official of the Hohenlohe district office is standing in at short notice for District Administrator Dr. Matthias Neth, who is ill. Gotthard Wirth is also excited about what will be built in the next eighteen months in the street "Im Weitblick 1" in Rauhbusch. He first looks back to the beginnings of ARNOLD in 1989: "With the paper mill, Carl Arnold set the course for the industrialisation of the Kocher valley at the end of the 19th century. Without Arnold's fastening technology, the economic landscape of the Hohenlohe region would certainly look different today."

For the state official, ARNOLD's new settlement in the Rauhbusch industrial estate is an important sign despite the current difficult framework conditions. "Of course, economic development is currently strongly influenced by wars, climate change and Corona. But I am therefore particularly pleased that new jobs and connections are also being created here in Hohenlohe with the new production site."

Michael Foss, mayor of the town of Forchtenberg, seamlessly follows Gotthard Wirth's words. For the head of the town hall, too, ARNOLD's laying of the foundation stone marks a positive signal that further strengthens Hohenlohe as a business location. "After Ernsbach and Dörzbach, Rauhbusch is ARNOLD's third major location in the region. It is fantastic for us as a town that ARNOLD is additionally fuelling the good development with the construction in Rauhbusch.

Forchtenberg's mayor takes the fact that Michael Foss has to give his speech in rather rough weather conditions in Rauhbusch with humour. "The name Rauhbusch is no accident. The rough weather here is therefore appropriate for the laying of the foundation stone," he jokes. After an hour, Michael Foss is in a good mood even at the highlight of the event. First of all

The time capsule is lowered into the foundation stone by the speakers. Under the expert guidance of Karl-Heinz Dorsch, managing director of the construction company Stauch from Kupferzell, the speakers finally take up their rubber hammers and trowels for the laying of the foundation stone.