New factory and the 50,000th iVario in production
A great success and the proof of the steady increase of the order volume, is the delivery of the 50,000th iVario at the end of June, which in turn brings the need to expand the production capacity of the company. Rational has already started working on this, and from the spring of 2023, the company’s production facility, offices, training center and restaurant in the Wittenheim / Alsace area will be housed in a 10,000 sqm building.
“Having already expanded production in 2015, we now need to readjust our capacity to meet growing demand,” said Peter Wiedemann, Rational Chief Technology Officer, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant. Products from the Wittenheim region are now delivered to more than 120 countries. The company will invest a total of 30m euros in the new building, creating a production capacity of 25,000 units per year. In addition, the building will house an office complex with about 100 workplaces, the training center, the company restaurant with 300 seats and a small museum. At the same time, Rational is seizing the unique opportunity to build a sustainable building. For example, efficient and fine-grained steel with material savings will be highly insulated, and therefore extremely energy efficient.
In addition, the building will be heated and cooled by a heat pump, intelligent LED lighting, which depends on daylight, with separate lighting zones for energy savings, as well as the high proportion of glass on the facade will ensure the best possible working conditions.
“The production of the 50,000th iVario proves that we are already producing great products,” Wiedemann explained at the celebrations for the landmark iVario Pro 2-S, which is destined for Elodie Louvet at the Bistro d’Elo in Verdun, France. Everything will be installed in time for the opening of the bistro on July 1st. “I look forward to using the new iVario for the first time and feeling like I’m waiting for my Christmas present,” Louvet said. Because she is alone in the kitchen, she chose a combination of iVario and iCombi Pro and already knows that her job will change radically.
Like Elodie Louvet, Rational is also optimistic about the future: “We look forward to turning many more customers into satisfied customers,” says Wiedemanns on the occasion of two celebrations at the same time.
