Innovation from tradition: Site expansion for pharmaceutical manufacturers in the fifth generation

The new office building with integrated company restaurant will serve as the central reception area on Engelhard's company premises. (Source: Carpus+Partner AG)

Functionality meets a feel-good atmosphere: The light-filled production building is optimally adapted to the process structure. (Source: Carpus+Partner AG)

Close to nature: Brothers Oliver and Richard Engelhard (1st and 2nd from the left) at the groundbreaking ceremony with Hessian Minister of Economics Tarek Al-Wazir (far right). (Source: Engelhard Arzneimittel)

What began as a pharmacy in 1872 is today an internationally active company with over 380 employees: Developed, produced, and distributed mainly over-the-counter herbal medicines by Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG in the fifth generation. Continuous research and ongoing product optimization have allowed the family business to grow into one of the leading manufacturers of non-prescription medications. "The combination of tradition and innovation makes our success," explains Managing Director Richard Mark Engelhard, who runs the company together with his brother and uncle. Therefore, the family character is to remain intact despite the strong growth, to which Engelhard is responding by expanding its location in Niederdorfelden, Hesse. With the support of the planning and consulting firm Carpus+Partner AG, a new office building with an integrated company restaurant and a new production facility with a high cleanroom class will be built on the company grounds by 2020.

Flat hierarchies, collaborative teamwork, open doors up to the management, groundedness, and transparent structures – all these aspects characterize the medium-sized company and are intended to be visually reflected on the company premises in the future. "In addition to the functionality of the new spaces, we place particular emphasis on their appealing, open, and straightforward design, in accordance with our corporate philosophy. To ensure everyone feels comfortable later in the new work environment, it was important for us to ask our colleagues for their ideas and wishes," reports Engelhard. In this spirit, the already completed planning process was characterized by a sense of community: Using the method-guided, participatory approach of the Aachen planners and consultants, all employees were actively involved. Additionally, a three-dimensional animation of all trades allowed the client to experience and evaluate the practical implementation of the jointly developed building concepts even before construction began.

Of Transparency and Clear Structures

The existing site previously lacked a representative entrance; the new office building will now serve as the face of Engelhard and as the central reception area for all visitors to the plant. The foyer acts as a connecting element between the two building sections of the planned structure: In addition to the modular office and meeting spaces on one side, a company restaurant will be created on the other. The two two-story cubes are fully glazed at the ends. This provides insights into the company's working world, and guests are openly welcomed by the people working there. A glazed light well in the building center also creates the desired transparency inside. The new building is additionally connected to an existing building via a bridge structure, and the restaurant can also be reached from the entrance area. The highlight of the single-story dining area: a glassed-in café space inserted into the upper floor's airspace, which will serve as a creative room.

The clear design language and the clean detailing of floor plans, facades, and interior design convey openness, a high quality standard, and straightforwardness, in line with the company's values. The company's strong connection to nature, reflected in plant-based medicines, is incorporated into the landscaped outdoor areas after construction – even meetings will be able to take place outdoors from 2020. The building concept, including the basic evaluation, preliminary, draft, and approval planning, has been completed by architects and engineers from Aachen; the building application has been submitted. Based on this, a sub-contractor will carry out the work after the building permit is granted.

Functional Clean Rooms with a Comfort Factor

The overall planning of the new production building is entirely handled by the experts for highly complex research and laboratory buildings at Carpus+Partner, who adapted the design optimally to Engelhard's process structure. The packaging lines will be housed on the ground floor of the two-story cube. In the southern area, the future filling area will be connected via a corridor to an existing hall. This area includes a personnel airlock and a sluice area for the provision of packaging materials.

The upper floor houses the pharmaceutical manufacturing with corresponding cleanrooms. Opposite the staircase are the changing rooms. From there, employees and visitors can access the various hygiene zones where the medicines are produced. The large technical areas – for ventilation, heating, cooling generation, or wastewater treatment – are located partly in the northern part of the first floor and partly in the basement. An L-shaped area extending into the middle of the production zones contains additional equipment separated from the cleanrooms, which can be maintained as needed without entering the hygiene zones.

"Thanks to cleanroom class D, our new production facility meets worldwide requirements for Good Manufacturing Practice and allows us to respond much better to market developments. Additionally, we will soon be able to produce our medicines entirely independently," says Engelhard. Especially practical: if needed, the building can be expanded to the north and east. The management also aims to create a purposeful yet appealing working environment in the production area. A high proportion of glass in the facade and interior walls ensures strong visual connection and light-filled rooms – the transparency embedded in the company culture is reflected in the architectural design both inside and out.

Long-term Strengthening of the Location

"The expansion of the site is a matter close to our hearts," emphasizes Engelhard. "As the largest construction project in the company's history, it is an important milestone." With the new office building and production environment, the family business creates space for further growth both nationally and internationally, and sustainably strengthens the Niederdorfelden location. At the same time, the architectural language of the new buildings makes the core brand values tangible for employees, guests, applicants, and business partners: building structure and materials convey openness, straightforwardness, and collaborative partnership. The latter is further emphasized by the management through a conscious decision to forego automation measures. "We have successfully expanded our market position over the past decades without replacing our employees with machines – and we intend to keep it that way in the future," Engelhard states firmly, indicating that the combination of tradition and innovation provides a solid foundation for long-term entrepreneurial success.