Beiersdorf Lays Cornerstone for New Plant in Leipzig

Leipzig, Germany will be soon be home to a new Beiersdorf plant.

 

At a ceremony in September, dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Beiersdorf AG, Vincent Warnery, together with the Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung oversaw the initial phases of a state-of-the-art production center for cosmetic products. The plant is being built on the northern outskirts of the Saxon metropolis with an investment of 220 million euros and a start of 200 jobs. 

 

A new logistics hub will be built in the immediate vicinity. The construction accounts for what company officials call a future-proof supply chain infrastructure in the heart of Europe – its largest investment in one location worldwide.

 

“Beiersdorf’s investment in a new plant in Leipzig is another major success for Saxony as a business location,” said Kretschmer. “The modern production center creates new attractive jobs and ensures additional value creation in the region. In conjunction with the planned logistics center, the industrial structure in the Leipzig metropolitan region will become even stronger and more diverse. I am very pleased that Beiersdorf is making its largest investment to date at a location in Saxony and would like to thank the Group for its trust.”

 

The new plant creates the capacity for long-term, sustainable growth in Beiersdorf’s production network. Up to 450 million cosmetic products will come off the production line each year at the new plant, including deodorants, hair sprays, and shaving foams for the entire European market and for export. Depending on the market and business development, capacities could still be expanded.

 

In building the plant, the focus is on innovation capacity and a modular, flexible design. This allows the production center to react agilely to new technologies, consumer demands and market developments in the future as well. A high-degree of automation allows for perfect interaction of the production steps as well as high efficiency and productivity – from the delivery of raw materials to the finished product in the high-bay warehouse. 

Sustainable Agenda

 

The new building meets high environmental standards and contributes to Beiersdorf’s Care Beyond Skin sustainability agenda with numerous aspects. The plant is expected to be completely carbon neutral through the use of renewable energy, it is equipped with a photovoltaic system as well as charging points for e-cars, and has the ability to recover and process heat, wastewater and ethanol. With the new building, Beiersdorf is aiming for LEED Gold certification as part of its commitment to sustainability. 

 

The new plant also contributes to sustainability at the product level. The new technical conditions make it possible to bring innovative, sustainable packaging solutions to the market, for example, aerosol cans made from recycled aluminum.
 

In March 2022, the structural and civil engineering work for the 12 buildings under construction began, and in the coming months, up to 600 people will be working on the construction site. The project team, which is preparing the start of production in parallel with the construction, already includes nearly 50 employees. In the course of 2022, they will coordinate the commissioning of the first three production lines, with two more to follow in the near future. As planned, many employees from Beiersdorf’s plant in Waldheim will transfer to the new production center in Leipzig. 

 

“Leipzig is continuing its economic success story. Beiersdorf is the first major cosmetics company to settle in Leipzig,” said Mayor Jung. “During the pandemic, at the latest, we learned that cosmetics are always on the agenda. By attracting Beiersdorf, we are broadening our economic base and reducing our dependence on individual sectors. This will benefit the entire city, the entire region, and all citizens.”

 

The transformation process is slated for completion in 2023.