[NEWS]
Foundation-laying ceremony for the new Husqvarna Motorcycles Headquarter.
Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese, ITALY). On Wednesday 2 July, a foundation-laying ceremony took place at Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese) for the new Husqvarna Motorcycles HQ which is to be built to supplement the motorcycle manufacturer’s present premises. The ceremony was presided over by Friedrich Eichiner, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Hendrik von Kuenheim, President of BMW Motorrad, and Rainer Thoma, President and Managing Director of Husqvarna Motorcycles, as well as church and government representatives and the staff. The new Development and Management Centre of Husqvarna, the motorcycle manufacturer recently aquired by the BMW Group, will be in operation from May next year.
An innovative project showing commitment the region
The establishment’s production capacity will, with a few alterations, reach 40,000 bikes a year, and every section is scheduled to be complete by summer 2009.
“The building of Husqvarna Motorcycles’ HQ at Cassinetta di Biandronno” declared Rainer Thoma, President and CEO of Husqvarna Motorcycles, “shows how keen our firm and the whole BMW Group are to invest in Italy, and in area of Varese in particular: not just in setting up new buildings, but also in finding the right workforce, and especially the right highly skilled staff.
The project involves the use of the most advanced systems of thermal and acoustic insulation in accordance with energy-saving regulations, and will be fitted with a system of solar panels to provide hot water throughout the building. Covering 2603m² of ground, the total floor area on all three above-ground storeys will be 5800m² and the total volume 25,156m³.
The new Cassinetta HQ
The creation of the new corporate HQ is the result of a project designed to bring Husqvarna Motorcycles’ various organisational units together in the shortest time possible. Both the structure and the organisation of the new HQ have been conceived and designed to encourage product development and optimal integration of all the functional units involved in the process of creating the whole range of Husqvarna Motorcycles. The structure is designed in such a way as to cope with forecast growth in the medium term, and also to be extended in the longer term without difficulty.
The design puts the engine division and the roller test benches on the ground floor (2603m²), in the centre of the building. The surrounding area is devoted to the workshop producing prototypes and racing bikes, the Training Centre for the technicians of Husqvarna’s after-sales support network, the Styling Centre (753m²) and the Development Division (816m²).
The firm’s commercial activities represented by the Purchasing Department, the Market Research Department, and the Development Division will get the most out of the new infrastructure in terms of functionality, quality and cost, and be able to closely work with the suppliers.
On the second floor (592m²) are the senior management and administration offices; these occupy the northern part of the building only, and beside them there is an open space on the roof of the Development Division for presentations of new models.
At the roadside front of the building there is space for installing the 325m² Husqvarna Motorcycles showroom, which will be highly visible and easy to reach from the road.
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MOTORCYCLE AND SCOOTER DAY IN FRANCE
PEUGEOT AND CSIAM SIGN EUROPEAN ROAD SAFETY CHARTER
INITIAL RIDER TRAINING, FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Husqvarna Motorcycles. Tradition on two wheels since 1903
Husqvarna Motorcycles, which was bought by the BMW Group in October 2007, is a well-known and highly respected firm in the off-road motorbike market, its image being inextricably connected with competition riding (72 prizes in Moto Cross, Enduro and Supermotard contests). Production was moved to the Varese facilities from 1987 onward. Husqvarna Motorcycles has recently overhauled its product range with the introduction of an innovative two-shaft drive unit available in four sizes: 250cc, 310cc, 450cc and 510cc.