SPIE: technical services at the Siemens campus in Erlangen

Erlangen, 14 June 2023 – SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, is ensuring self-sufficiency in plumbing, electrical, and security technology at properties on the new Siemens Campus in Erlangen. This operation aims to separate the technical facilities of the Siemens properties from those purchased by the Free State of Bavaria, while ensuring their optimal operation independently of each other. The multi-technical service provider's work on the project also includes carrying out fire safety upgrades on some of the older buildings on the campus. The project began in the first quarter of 2022 and is scheduled for completion this autumn.

Wide-ranging work alongside day-to-day operations

At the Siemens Campus in Erlangen, what was previously a self-contained company site covering 540,000 square metres is gradually being transformed into an open city neighbourhood and an international showcase project for digitalisation, research, and sustainability. In charge of the transformation of the location, SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa oversees establishing self-sufficiency at the properties both owned and sold by Siemens. That means separating their infrastructures.

A team led by Carlos Wallner, Project Branch Manager at SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa's Efficient Facilities operational division, is handling inventory and planning, interfaces with authorities and utility companies and, finally, implementing the work necessary to establish premises self-sufficiency. This mainly involves separating the drinking water and fire-fighting water supplies, electrical systems, instrumentation and control equipment and security technology for two buildings from the Siemens grid.

The work includes therefore switching the buildings over to a new water supply, installing access control and camera surveillance systems and setting up three medium-voltage substations to allow the buildings to be connected to the electricity grid independently of each other. The SPIE team is also carrying out a fire safety upgrade on several older buildings on the site by retrofitting fire dampers, installing new fire alarm systems and fire-fighting equipment, making structural modifications, and reconfiguring sprinkler systems. "One particular challenge lies in making sure we don't disrupt day-to-day operations on the Campus during the work. That's why we have a very experienced team on-site and are making sure to always coordinate closely with the customer as well as the local authorities and utility companies throughout the project," said Wallner.

A close and long-standing partnership

SPIE and Siemens have been working together as partners since 2004, to considerable success. There are now more than 1,000 SPIE employees working on projects for the customer. The multi-technical service provider has been responsible for technical facility management at numerous Siemens locations in Germany, including the Siemens Campus in Erlangen, for nearly 20 years. In 2020, the companies signed an additional project contract covering all Siemens locations across Germany, incorporating extensive planning services, project planning and management, as well as the completion of fit-out and modification projects plus installation services. The current project is based on that contract. "SPIE's exceptional technical capabilities and location-specific expertise make it a highly adept partner and one that we know we can trust. In our cooperation with SPIE over the last few years, the company has always impressed us with its high quality and solution-orientated approach," said Thomas Schwarm, Head of Asset Management for the Erlangen area at Siemens.

"We are thrilled to have the chance to carry out this project at this key location for Siemens. It is yet another demonstration of how much confidence our long-standing customer has in SPIE's work and technical expertise and reinforces a partnership that was already built on a high level of trust," said Stefan Schusterschitz, Member of the Operational Division Management and General Manager of the Siemens Key Account within the Efficient Facilities operational division at SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa.