The lighthouse project "heritage 4.i" receives the ISPE FOYA award "Honorable Mention"

Drone image of Erbe Campus (Copyright: AVoss)

Atrium and connected corridors (Copyright: Daniel Keil)

With its new production facility, Erbe Elektromedizin combines performance, quality awareness, and future viability with sustainability, efficiency, and a positive working environment. The project led by io is gaining international recognition.

As a family-owned business, Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH from Tübingen develops, produces, and sells surgical systems for professional use in various medical fields, now in its fifth generation. Over more than 170 years, the company has evolved from a traditional family business into a successful corporation active in 110 countries, with over 2,100 employees worldwide and an international network of supply, production, sales, and service locations.

As part of a continuous growth and excellence strategy, Erbe decided more than six years ago to build a new, modern production plant in Rangendingen, Baden-Württemberg. Erbe entrusted io-consultants GmbH & Co. KG, an experienced expert, with the overall planning from concept to realization. Recognized with an "Honorable Mention" at the ISPE Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) 2025, io and Erbe now receive acknowledgment for a project that is unique in many areas and simultaneously pioneering.

The ambitious project began after extensive planning between April and July 2019 under the title "erbe 4.i – we are evolving." The goal was to construct a complex with a total area of 25,000 m². In addition to a production facility covering 2,400 m², the planning included spaces and facilities for product development, logistics, administration, social areas, and a modern company cafeteria with a production kitchen for 500 employees.

After completion, Erbe presented in early May 2024 to the public one of the first German industrial buildings that meets the strict requirements of the KfW Energy Efficiency Standard 40, consuming 60 percent less primary energy than comparable buildings. A particular challenge was the location in Rangendingen, which includes an ISO 8 cleanroom according to DIN EN ISO 14644-1 within a building complex primarily constructed from wood and wood-based materials. As part of the overarching sustainability strategy—beyond resource-efficient, sorted construction from renewable raw materials—the power supply is provided by 2,800 photovoltaic modules with a capacity of about one megawatt. The facility covers the additional annual energy needs through a combined heat and power plant fueled by biogas. Alongside the goal of setting standards for sustainable construction using innovative methods and environmentally friendly materials, Erbe, together with io, also convincingly addressed the economic efficiency of the new competence center, significantly reducing annual operating costs.

Special attention was also given to logistics. Most customer orders and internal production supplies are managed via an AutoStore small parts warehouse. The planning already considered the company's ongoing growth strategy and included a flexible expansion capability for the warehouse system.

In January 2025, the project—totaling an investment of 90 million euros and achieving a CO₂ savings of 400 tons per year—was named a finalist in the submission category at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) 2025, in the categories "Innovation" and "Social Impact." The additional recognition in the special category "Honorable Mention" is a special acknowledgment. This "commendation" is awarded outside the main competition, where participants apply for individual categories, and annually honors a particularly successful project that has overcome significant challenges in planning, execution, and implementation.

"This special award rewards and confirms us all the more in our work," explains Florian Heimerl, partner and project manager. "The project definitely deserves the attention associated with the 'Honorable Mention' and demonstrates how, with the necessary will and expertise, ambitious sustainability goals can be achieved and combined with maximum efficiency, performance, and the highest quality standards."