50 years of SYSTEA: an anniversary becomes an industry get-together

Henstedt-Ulzburg, 03.06.2024: “simplifying facades” – this is the motto under which SYSTEA, as a global player in the facade industry, develops high-quality solutions and systems that make the complexity of facades simpler, safer, more versatile and more individual and enable the realisation of almost any facade design.

The invited guests were welcomed in the historic Kesselhaus in HafenCity. After being welcomed by SYSTEA Managing Directors Andreas Bertram and Andreas Reinhardt, the guests were given an introduction to the history of Hamburg’s HafenCity in front of the 3D city model.

Mixed groups of employees, customers and co-operation partners then went on a tour of HafenCity to see a selection of the most important construction projects in which SYSTEA is involved. The highlight of the tour was the construction site of the prevention centre by Auer und Weber Architekten at the eastern end of HafenCity. Over a construction site beer, Olaf Bartels, well-known Hamburg architecture journalist and professor for the theory and history of architecture, explained the significance of this project for HafenCity to the guests. Buses took the guests past numerous other sights of the Hanseatic city to the celebratory evening in the Emporio high-rise. From the 23rd floor, the guests were treated to a sensational view over the city from the Alster to the Elbe.

After the keynote speech “Global facade trends in times of sustainability and artificial intelligence” by Jan R. Krause, Professor at Bochum University of Applied Sciences, the hosts Andreas Bertram and Andreas Reinhardt welcomed their guests from all over the world. “The facade is the face of the building and the employees are the face of the company,” said the Managing Directors, recognising the commitment and expertise of their employees. In their speech, they looked back on numerous stages in the company’s successful history: from its beginnings in 1974 as an owner-managed family business ALKO-Vertriebs-GmbH in Norderstedt to the global player for system substructures as part of the Simpson Strong-Tie Group. Highlights of the company’s history, milestones in product development and top references in international architecture with SYSTEA substructures were on display in an accompanying exhibition, including such prominent projects as the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris by star architect Frank Gehry and Ashgabat Airport.

Wolfgang Häußler, Managing Director of the FVHF, gave the laudatory speech for the anniversary. He summarised what makes the company so special: “SYSTEA combines products, systems, expertise and, above all, people, as you can see very clearly on this evening.”

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