Client projects: Alfa Laval
New horizons in the harbour city
Kinnarps anchors innovative office design for Alfa Laval
The Swedish company Alfa Laval has relocated its headquarters for Germany to Hamburg's HafenCity and moved into floors 8 and 9 of the certified Green Building Watermark in an attractive location with good transport links. Around 150 employees work here in an office concept that enables agility and promotes communication. Best all-round view of the city included. Kinnarps was a partner in furnishing the space.
Attractive and sustainable employer
Being an attractive employer was an important factor in the relocation, as well as the new way of working associated with it. ‘A large proportion of our employees will be retiring in the coming years, so we have a high demand for new employees,’ says Sven Schreiber, Managing Director of Alfa Laval Mid Europe. The attractive office and the flexible, hybrid way of working now make it possible to recruit employees from a larger catchment area.
At the same time, the company's ambitious sustainability goals were also a reason for the new office, as Alfa Laval wants to be climate-neutral in some areas by 2030 and reduce its emissions by 50 per cent. The new location therefore fits in with the modern, sustainable global group and fulfils its ambitions to continue to grow, act sustainably and be an attractive employer. ‘The choice of Kinnarps as a partner fits in well, as both companies not only pursue the same sustainability goals. The collaboration was also uncomplicated, informal and friendly in other respects, not least due to our shared Swedish corporate culture,’ says Amrei Tausch, Project Manager at Alfa Laval, describing the process. She was part of the project team that developed the concept together with the management team. The furniture was tested and fabrics and materials selected in the Kinnarps showroom in Hamburg. In addition to the requirements and needs of the employees, the team was primarily guided by the CI and the spirit at the headquarters in Lund: harmonious shades of blue, white, lots of wood and the simple Scandinavian design give the office a light and airy flair.
Work café as the new centre
The Work café on the ninth floor is the heart of the new office.
"Despite the ambitious schedules and a timeline of just one month, Kinnarps kept all promises and delivered everything on time."
The view over the river Elbe and the city can be enjoyed from the Leia bar stools with table Uni. The Town Hall meetings also take place here, where a screen in size of a cinema screen ensures that remote employees can also be seen clearly. Even events such as a poetry slam, watching football together or other events organised by employees are possible here. This is also exactly the right place to display the joint strategy for all to see: it hangs on a wall as a customised target image. The strategy envisages that the ambitious targets will be achieved by 2025, including customer service growth and agile working methods. With the Work café and the new office concept, parts of this strategy have already become reality.
Huddle room
Follow the work
While the ninth floor is used for meetings, representative purposes, agile project rooms and huddle rooms, the eighth floor serves as a classic office space with workstations. But here, too, there is a new quality of collaboration thanks to the two- and four-person desk constellations, all ergonomically equipped with height-adjustable Serie P desks and Esencia task chairs.
Colleagues meet here and can now also exchange ideas across teams. The new office promotes a flexible way of working without permanently assigned desks, and the management does not have their own offices either.
This switch to the flex system has led to a positive change in communication and collaboration between departments. "The new exchange between departments and people also promotes a new culture of problem-solving," reports Amrei Tausch. If teams want to sit together, they can use an app to book individual tables for themselves or near colleagues. Follow the work is the principle that Alfa Laval wants to live by.
The office offers all the prerequisites for this: meeting rooms of all sizes, a library, a project room for agile meetings and workstations for individuals through to workstations for larger groups are available. Overflow areas have also been created in case the office gets full on any given day. Mobile furniture such as partition screens and plant dividers provide the necessary flexibility.
The major changes are also in line with Alfa Laval's strategy. "Most employees have been more than positive about the new location," says a delighted Sven Schreiber. After just one month, many are very enthusiastic.
There is also praise for the collaboration with Kinnarps: "Our contact persons did everything they could to find solutions at short notice and responded quickly to our requests," says Amrei Tausch. And Sven Schreiber emphasises: "Despite the ambitious schedules and a timeline of just one month, Kinnarps kept all promises and delivered everything on time."
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