At Holländer Weg in Köthen, work is progressing as planned: the shell of the building is taking shape, and the accommodations are already recognizable as such. Bördegarten, a subsidiary of the Wimex Group, is building new accommodations for its seasonal workers on the site of the former tax office. The company grows vegetables and fruits on approximately 1,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Magdeburger Börde and in the greenhouse in Osterweddingen. For this, Bördegarten employs several hundred harvesters during the peak season. "Over the past few years, we have regularly surveyed the needs of our seasonal workers. With the new accommodation, we can now meet their most important requests. The accommodation is centrally located in Köthen, close to the train station. This allows the residents to do their shopping without needing their own car or relying on public transport. This was particularly important to them," says Lutz Rüger, Managing Director at Bördegarten.
In addition, there are various types of rooms, so families can live together in a large unit, or colleagues can share smaller rooms - depending on their needs. Bördegarten is also implementing larger common rooms, focusing on modern sanitary areas, including their own washing areas for work clothes. And finally, contemporary amenities such as Wi-Fi and TV, as well as leisure activities like an outdoor barbecue area, are included as well.
Collaboration with local partners
The entire building meets the EE 40 energy standard, so it only requires 40 percent of the primary energy of a reference building for heating and cooling - and at least 55 percent of that is supplied by renewable energies. The construction work is expected to be completed by July 2024, and in two connected buildings, up to 150 people will be able to live on three floors. The company is investing a total of around five million euros in the accommodations, and a second identical building will be constructed in a second phase, allowing all seasonal workers to live in one place in the future. For the construction of the accommodation, Bördegarten relies on local crafts businesses. Contracts have already been concluded for upcoming work such as electrical, plumbing, and heating installation. "In our daily business, we already cooperate a lot with local partners, so it was important to us to also rely on companies from the region for the new building," explains Lutz Rüger.
Bördegarten optimizes processes
In addition to better care for the workers, the company itself also benefits from the central accommodation. Lutz Rüger explains: "All seasonal workers will live centrally in one place in the future, which will allow us to organize transfers between accommodation and workplace efficiently and quickly. This saves costs and at the same time increases the satisfaction of our employees, as they can now start their free time earlier and thus enjoy it longer." At the moment, Bördegarten is still using several smaller accommodations in the surrounding area of Köthen. However, without their own vehicles, the seasonal workers can only be independently mobile to a limited extent, which is why the two new buildings are now being built directly in Köthen.
For more information:
www.boerdegarten.de