Industrial Construction with High Standards
Interview with Lukas Holzinger, Managing Partner of RSE+ Architekten Ingenieure GmbH
Especially when it comes to cleanrooms, RSE+ Architekten Ingenieure GmbH, based in Kassel, is a sought-after contact for planning and implementation of industrial construction projects. Renowned corporations, including those from the automotive sector, therefore rely on the expertise of the architectural firm, which sees itself as 'a small one among the big ones'.
Reiser, Stremme, and Engelhardt, these are the three founders who built RSE+ from 1971 and gave the company its name formed from their initials. "They demonstrated entrepreneurial foresight by arranging their succession early. We see today how difficult it is for architectural firms to find successors. Many are acquired by large, internationally active planning corporations," reports managing partner Lukas Holzinger, who was previously an employee at RSE+ and has belonged to the 3rd generation of owners since 2016. He established the first branch in Stuttgart, and a second one is now in Göttingen. Since 2001, there has also been a sister company for factory and logistics planning. From this, synergies arise, emphasizes Lukas Holzinger: "The fact that we, as an office that does a lot of industrial architecture, have our own factory planners in-house gives us a much deeper insight into our clients' processes." Over 100 employees work at Architects Engineers, and 15 at RSE+ Factory Logistics.
Small Big Office
The main focus of RSE+ Architekten Ingenieure is in the Automotive sector with clients such as VW, Porsche, and Mercedes, as well as suppliers. In the medical field, the company serves clients like Aesculap. "Cleanrooms are also important here, and we really know our way around them," says Lukas Holzinger, who is also on the board of the German Cleanroom Institute. These skills, garnered over more than 25 years, are also needed in high-tech, pharma, and IT sectors. The first semiconductor factory for Jenoptik in Dresden was just inaugurated, and a chip factory for Vishay in Itzehoe is still under construction. "While automotive is weakening, we are cautiously optimistic for the other industries," explains Lukas Holzinger.
The past few years have been successful for RSE+. The company's annual turnover is now over 20 million EUR. Lukas Holzinger views his office as 'a small one among the big ones' and explains: 'In Germany, the architecture sector is divided into many small offices and very few very large ones. With our 100 employees, we already compete here with companies that have significantly more than 1,000 employees. However, with our expertise in highly complex industrial construction and clean rooms, we are quite well positioned in the market. And we are still small enough to be very flexible.' Furthermore, he describes the company as extremely customer-oriented, project-focused, and unpretentious. The ideal case for the managing director is to accompany the client from the beginning – the ideation – to the end – the handover of the keys. But it does not always happen this way. 'We do a lot of conceptual and feasibility studies. Often, the service is then re-tendered. Thanks to our knowledge lead, we then sometimes have a small advantage,' he reports.
20,000 Regulations
The topic of sustainability has come more into focus in recent years, says Lukas Holzinger. "This is perhaps the only positive aspect of the energy price shock. We had already conducted studies on sustainable concepts before, but these were often discarded for economic reasons. Now, we have just laid the foundation for a pharmaceutical project near Stuttgart, where the entire building is heated and cooled using geothermal energy. Therefore, I think that one should see such a crisis in a positive light and be happy that sustainable concepts are now coming to the forefront." Sustainability, in his view, also means that buildings can be used for a long time and are easy to remodel and repurpose. However, he struggles with bureaucracy.
"We have to comply with 20,000 regulations in construction. The working space regulations alone make us despair at times when we have to discuss with clients why the distances between lockers and thus the rooms must suddenly be larger than before. One should always ask when revising a standard: Can it be made simpler?" He, therefore, appeals to professional associations to engage more in standards committees.
Becoming More Digital
The clients of RSE+ are predominantly international conglomerates that produce in Germany. "We are generally open to internationalization. We have people from over 25 countries working with us," says Lukas Holzinger. In the area of digitalization, he sees room for improvement in his industry: "We are not yet where we want to be. We use BIM, draw in 3D, and have our own price database. For about two years, we have also been working on digitalizing our construction sites."
In the next step, all projects are planned to be migrated to the cloud. Furthermore, the topic of artificial intelligence will play a larger role. Plans include professionalizing marketing and offering additional services in the areas of supply chain and production planning. 'We are currently developing a product that we will launch in 2025,' announces Lukas Holzinger. Besides the professional challenges, interpersonal relations are an important factor for him: 'We treat each other as equals and with respect. Additionally, my motivation is also the enjoyment I have at work.'