Sputnik Engineering – founded in 1991 and one of the leading inverter manufacturers in the world today – has been producing and selling grid-connected inverters under the SolarMax brand for more than 20 years. Following the swift growth of the company, the space in the three existing Swiss locations had become scarce. This resulted in a new, future-oriented headquarters being built in the Swiss town of Biel where SolarMax had been located up to that point in time. The new headquarters now has development, production, warehouse, logistics, and office space all under one roof as well as sufficient space to accommodate 500 employees.
Environmental compatibility and energy efficiency play a decisive role in the new SolarMax building. The company is certified in accordance with the environmental management standard ISO 14001:2004 and manufactures in an entirely CO2-neutral manner. A woodchip heating system generates the heat and the air conditioning system was reduced as much as possible. For example, the inverter testing systems which generate heat are cooled by fresh air. Additionally, the exhaust heat generated by the production is used to heat the production hall during the winter.
The electrical energy consumption within the building is completely covered by renewable sources – a significant part thereof by the photovoltaic plant on the roof. The plant with an output of 220kW delivers 200,000kWh of green energy annually. This could allow SolarMax to supply enough energy for 50 households each year. If more energy is produced than required, SolarMax feeds this into the grid of the Energie Service Biel/Bienne (ESB), whereby no feed-in payment is claimed in this respect (KEV).
However, SolarMax not only committed to sustainability in terms of energy generation. For example, the new building is constructed primarily of wood. 3,370m³ of untreated timber from the Alps and the Alpine foothills of Switzerland, Austria, and Germany were used and bind 2,440 tons of CO2 for the entire service life of the building. Furthermore, the building corresponds to the Swiss MINERGIE® standard and therefore stands for a rational use of energy, higher comfort, and improved retention of value, amongst other things.
"We moved into the first official SolarMax headquarters in 2004, with just 17 employees at the time. The current move took place with approximately 300 employees," says Christoph von Bergen, CEO of Sputnik Engineering AG. "The new building is another milestone in our company's history and we are making a strong statement for the future of photovoltaics and Switzerland as a place to do business. From here, we will continue to service the global markets with high-quality products and extraordinary service."
