With the goal of creating future-oriented and healthy workplaces for our 600 employees, we have created modern, environmentally-friendly office concepts, a green campus, a climbing wall, an organic canteen and much more. As a sustainable outdoor supplier, VAUDE is thus able to practice its brand values at its own company building.
Want to come for a visit and experience VAUDE firsthand? The team of our VAUDE Academy for sustainable business is looking forward to hearing from you.
Our campus-like inner courtyard with sweeping green areas was designed taking our biodiversity concept into consideration. The center of the inner courtyard is a ten-meter-high climbing wall that offers the many climbing enthusiasts amoung VAUDE employees a sporting challenge.
Right next to it, a large wooden terrace invites you to relax and work or have lunch outdoors.
An attractive working environment also includes good catering. In our certified organic canteen, "Mittagsspitze", employees and (in times when there is no high risk – due to the Corona pandemic for example – ) external visitors can enjoy tasty and healthy meals every day. Most of the ingredients are sourced from organic farms in the immediate vicinity. Since 2021, we have been focusing on vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Natural wooden furniture creates a cozy atmosphere. As a lively social hub for the company, the canteen also offers the opportunity to meet coworkers from other departments with whom there may be little professional contact. Given the size of our company, which has grown considerably, this is very important for the team spirit that characterizes our corporate culture.
From 2012 to 2014, our main building, including the inner courtyard, was rebuilt and completely renovated. The objective was to provide sufficient space for our rapidly growing workforce. In addition, our workspaces were to be designed in such a way to promote direct communication, social exchange and creativity and reflect our culture of trust. The aspect of sustainability was decisive in all of this – with regard to people, optimal conditions for the health, well-being and effectiveness of employees had to be ensured, and the highest standards of environmental compatibility also had to be met.
The entire reconstruction was carried out in accordance with the strictest ecological criteria. The result is a "Green Building" with DGNB Silver certification, in which all aspects of sustainable construction were realized, such as the use of ecological building materials and a maximally energy-efficient building structure.
Untreated wood, flood lighting and open design concepts characterize the new working spaces: modern open-plan offices with many private spaces, meeting rooms, communication areas and lounges.
The work stations are equipped with high quality, ergonomic, height-adjustable desks, sophisticated lighting and soundproofing measures.
In addition, special equipment based on each area’s needs was added. For example, the windows in the product development department are made from true-color flint glass, which makes it easier for the designers to assess the color of the materials.
»We wanted to create an optimal working environment that responds to the individual professional and personal needs. The new premises foster communication, creativity and teamwork.«
In the years since our major rebuild, our teams have once again grown to such an extent that we need more space - at least if office work is still to be carried out mainly on site in our buildings in the future. Our present, however, is characterized by a fundamental change in our work culture and organization. After VAUDE began offering the option of mobile working many years ago (read more here), digital and location-independent working has become the new norm for office activities since the Corona pandemic. In order to meet this development, we launched a program in 2021 to design the "New Working World at VAUDE."
VAUDE has a clear commitment to the production site in Tettnang-Obereisenbach. Since the founding of our family business, some of our products have been manufactured directly on site. The premises and equipment required for production have been expanded and optimized several times over the years. In 2015, after our former production building was destroyed by a lightning strike, we rebuilt a new manufactory building in accordance with strict environmental aspects.
This gave us the opportunity to optimize our manufacturing capacities, to further expand our "Made in Germany" production and to provide modern and healthy workplaces in the manufacturing area as well. Above all, the wooden construction method and plenty of natural light are paying off in terms of the well-being of our employees. Nevertheless, we are continuing to identify optimization needs and, since the workforce of our factory has grown to over 70 people, we will be carrying out additional construction measures starting in 2022, for example, to improve sound insulation and for larger sanitary facilities and changing rooms.
More on our Manufaktur and Made in Germany production
Almost all goods from our manufacturers in Europe and Asia arrive in our high-bay warehouse and are transported from here to our customers in the specialized trade. Employees use electric high-bay stackers to move hundreds of cartons every day. In the shipping department, customer orders are packed together, for which employees, supported by modern electronic picking systems, cover long distances on foot every day. A lot of planning and administration is done from office workstations. We deliver up to 5,000 parcels a day from our logistics center. In order to ensure pleasant working conditions for the approximately 100 people employed here, we are in a constant process of improvement. For example, sanitary facilities were renovated and enlarged in 2021. Among other things, improved ventilation systems and a new partial level for office workplaces are planned for 2022.
Since our factory outlet was founded in 1992, it has developed from a sales space intended only for employees and their families into a large, professional outlet store that is extremely popular in the region. Now almost 50 salespeople work here in a wide variety of working time models to cover the opening hours from 08:00 - 20:00, six days a week. In 2021, we took this into account by making not only the sales rooms, but also the premises for employees, such as offices and break rooms, more spacious and attractive in an extensive renovation of the factory outlet.
| GRI: | 103-1 |
| GRI: | 103-2 |
| GRI: | 103-3 |
