Stihl GB has held a groundbreaking ceremony this week to mark the construction of its new 11,500m2 purpose-built headquarters and warehouse facility in Camberley, Surrey.
Chairman of the Executive Board at Stihl AG, Michael Traub, Stihl GB managing director, Kay Green, Mayor of Surrey Heath, Councillor Helen Whitcroft, and managing director, London and South, at Glencar Construction, Roy Jones, attended the ceremony to turn the first soil and announce the official commencement of works on the site.
The site is set for completion in 2023 and will be home to nearly 100 employees. It will include dedicated dealer training facilities, an on-site restaurant, collaborative workspaces and a technical workshop. The new 9,000m2 warehouse will utilise the latest picking and storage systems to maximise productivity and all logistics will be consolidated onto the site, for quicker delivery to the dealer network.
Ms Green commented: “The groundbreaking ceremony is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for STIHL GB and the result of a sustained period of growth in recent years. Our new purpose-built headquarters represents a significant capital investment and is a commitment to the future for our dealers and end-user customers.”
The site meets BREEAM Certification and it’s proposed that two-thirds of the roof area will be covered in solar panels to provide power to the facility, as well as having EV charging points installed. It will be connected to Blackwater railway station by a dedicated cycle path and will also feature landscaped gardens, which make up part of an integrated flood risk mitigation zone.
Three biodiversity offset planting schemes will take place locally to replace the greenery removed during construction, as well as adding 10%. Only native species are being planted.