Nicole Sander, the Neunkirchen Mayoress and Reinhard Bellinghausen.
DR-WALTER makes room for growth
27.09.2017
The expert for international health insurance opens its new building in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid. It offers room for 45 new workplaces over an area of approx. 1,300 m².
Thanks to the strong growth of DR-WALTER, the old office building at Eisenerzstraße in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid had been too small for some time. In the last 10 years, the number of employees has already tripled: More room was needed for the now more than 90 employees. In 2014, Managing Director Reinhard Bellinghausen already begun planning for a second office building on the company’s premises.
Digital and personal
Although most insurance policies are nowadays purchased online and customers like to get their information from the internet, they can always call a personal contact here at DR-WALTER. “We are adding a personal touch to insurance”, said Reinhard Bellinghausen. “Our staff enjoys working here in Neunkirchen. With our new building, we want to make sure that it will stay that way.”
Requirements
Optically, the facade of the three-story building was to be similar to the one of the already existing building and both buildings were to be connected by a passage. In addition to the 45 new workplaces, the new building also was to feature new meeting rooms, a kitchen and a large open space for employees to meet and hang out. As part of the expansion, 62 new parking lots for staff and visitors of DR-WALTER were also planned. Hamburg-based architects Schenk + Waiblinger, who had also designed the original building, were selected to design the new building as well.
Local companies
To promote and strengthen the local economy, DR-WALTER commissioned several construction companies and craftsmen from the region to carry out the works. Moreover, the company made sure to only use high quality and sustainable materials. Thanks to its energy-efficient heating system, a solar PV system and a top-notch insulation, the new building also has an excellent ecological balance. Merten Architekten from Hennef was responsible for carrying out the works and for construction supervision.
Shaky start
Due to a building permit delay, construction works didn’t start until winter 2015. Finally, the topping out ceremony was held in April 2016. But after the windows were also late, yet another issue arose with the facade: Due to problems with the exterior plaster, other works had to be postponed as well. And last, but not least, a wrong sewage connection caused yet another delay of several weeks. At the end of August, half of DR-WALTER’s staff could finally move to their new and almost finished offices.
State-of-the-art offices with a friendly atmosphere
The new offices are bright and modern: all workplaces feature state-of-the-art ergonomics and are equipped with height-adjustable desks and two monitors. The building also comes with several meeting rooms for staff and project teams. Sensitive information can be processed in access-controlled work areas so that the data of our policyholders is always treated strictly confidential.
Feel-good area
The new building also features a large open space with a lounge-like atmosphere that provides both additional workspace as well as a place to meet, talk, relax and have a coffee. Thanks to a modern kitchen and a comfortable dining area, lunchtime also got an upgrade. Since there is now a greater distance between the individual workplaces, due to the staff working in two separate buildings, this area aims to bring them closer together again. It is a place to exchange important information that will help to maintain DR-WALTER’s personal touch and family-business-like atmosphere.
