On April 3, 2023, the time had finally come: Würth Elektronik set a new milestone with the ceremonial opening of the new high-tech location in Munich-Freiham. The HIC is outstanding in its technology and trend-setting in its new-work concept.
With the arrival of the most important guest from the Würth Group, even the weather changed. When Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group's Family Trusts, reached the opening ceremony, the sun was shining. Reinhold Würth was beaming as much as the sun. "We are impressed by what has been created here," he praised at the ceremony. "I want to offer employees a workplace that is characterized by friendliness and optimism."
This optimism is well justified, as the new think tank spans a whopping 10,770 square meters of superbly equipped floor space. A central component of the technical equipment is a large test field including two EMC test chambers in which electromagnetic compatibility and radio solutions can be tested. The test field takes up about a quarter of the total area.
At the HIC, engineers and scientists deal with high technology, with innovations in wireless communications, sensor technology, power modules, optoelectronics, power transformers and customer-specific inductors, with design and development kits, but also with seminars and further cooperation with the TU Munich. Advanced tests, originally designed for automotive applications rather than passive components, are used and further developed at the HIC.
A significant focus is on sample solutions and reference designs that facilitate and accelerate work in customers' development departments. Würth Elektronik has worked on over 12,500 reference designs in the last 15 years. Around 4,000 sample solutions are sent to semiconductor manufacturers every year. The reference designs are so mature that 65 percent of developers use them unchanged.
Currently, 160 experts from 29 nations are seeking new insights at the HIC that will enable innovations, advance technologies and improve our planet. There is room for 250 employees in the new HIC, so there is still plenty of room for growth and innovation.
Optimal conditions have been created for the employees. All workplaces are equipped according to the most modern "new work" approaches. Here, creative "high potentials" from all over the world can design their working environment according to their individual needs. This starts with adjustable desks and monitors and continues with flexible room concepts, where one can choose at any time between communicative togetherness and contemplative retreat. There are various meeting rooms, sometimes with, sometimes without monitors, sometimes with seating sometimes for meetings while standing - all designed to foster individual creativity, to make innovation possible, as the company's motto puts it. "The HIC is a growth space for ideas," is how HIC site manager Oliver Opitz sums it up. And the plans already go further: The next construction phase will create another 250 workplaces.
Bavarian politicians took the opportunity to attend the opening ceremony in person and virtually. In his video greeting, Bavaria's Minister President Dr. Markus Söder praised Würth Elektronik as "one of the most modern companies we have. This is the Champions League of modern transformation." In his speech, Bavaria's Minister of Finance and Home Affairs Albert Füracker said: "The Würth Group has developed from a small two-person business into a major global corporation with more than 85,000 employees and has always remained a family business - a truly impressive story. Family entrepreneurs think in generations, not quarters. With the new innovation center in Freiham, this success story can continue."
Check out the highlights from the opening ceremony here.
"WE enable to grow (growth)", was the motto at the opening ceremony after Prof. Würth made the first entry in the HIC's guest book. He used the same pen to plant seeds in a raised bed.
