Reading time: ca. 3 min. | An article from Jens Georgi | TUNAP Blog
Household Waxes, Detergents, Aerosols
At the German TUNAP site in Oberlichtenau in Saxony, you can look back on a long and eventful history. The plant dates back to 1902. At that time, Wilhelm II., last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, was ruling, the two world wars, the division of Germany and the reunification were still in the distant future.
In the Oberlichtenau plant, the “Cirine-Werke Böhme & Lorenz” initially produced floor wax and soap solutions, and from 1965 the “VEB Aerosol-Automat Karl-Marx-Stadt” produced cosmetic aerosols there. In 1997 the TUNAP GROUP took over the site of "OLI Chemie" and since then, has expanded it into the group's main plant, in which over 60 million aerosol units and liquid products are filled annually - making the TUNAP GROUP one of the top 10 producers in Europe.
Former (left) and renovated (right) administration building.
Start of Renovation in 2018
TUNAP Oberlichtenau now houses the production and administration of the location as well as the laboratory, social and storage areas with a total usable area of approx. 75,000 m². Despite various minor maintenance work, the almost 120-year history has of course left its mark on the structure of the administration and laboratory buildings.
Due to today's requirements for building insulation, fire protection and energy saving, a fundamental renovation was inevitable, which was started in 2018.
The new reception area between administration (left) and laboratory area (right).
Fresh Cell Treatment for the Outer Skin of the Building
The main components of the renovation so far have been the renewal of the outer building with facade insulation, cladding and drying, the insulation and re-covering of the roof as well as the modernization of the windows and doors.
In the course of the construction work, new spatial connections were created, for example by moving the main entrance from the front of the 100-meter-long building more into the center: the new reception area is now located between the administration on one side and the laboratory area on the other.
Connection Between Past and Present
Further renovations to the interior of the building are still pending, such as the creation of additional usable space on the second floor of the administration area. The renovations are not yet fully completed, but they are already bearing visible fruits, especially in the outdoor area:
The merging of the lavishly renovated Wilhelminian style buildings made of stone with the modern glass facade of the new reception area and the reduced industrial design of the laboratory wing has created a harmonious connection between old and new, between history and the present.
