WICONA Worldwide

The Test Centre was founded in 2009 and is located in Bellenberg. Today, 2 areas of 100 square metres enables you to test your windows, doors and façades in accordance with a wide range of test specifications, in one of Europe’s most modern test centres.  Individual tests are required for special structures, project solutions and, in general, requirements that differ from the system tests carried out in accordance with the product standards as part of CE labelling. If the façades pass all the tests, they obtain the CE Certificate, which confirms that the façade complies with the European guidelines and can be sold throughout Europe.

After the leap in the German building systems market, Norsk Hydro built one of the most modern extrusion plants in Europe, in Bellenberg. The first extrusion billets in the new extrusion plant were pressed in July 1990. Hydro Aluminium Bellenberg GmbH was Hydro’s first plant to exclusively supply a building systems manufacturer. It was geared to providing for WICONA. Operating around the clock, the Bellenberg extrusion plant produces highly functional precision profiles and special lengths for WICONA windows, doors and façades using customised equipment, which can then be put through their paces in the neighbouring Test Centre.

Ready for delivery: From Bellenberg, the finished aluminium and composite profiles are shipped via the Gerstungen Service Centre to WICONA customers all over the world.

Most aluminium profiles from the Bellenberg extrusion plant are sent to the Gerstungen Service and Logistics Centre in the Thüringen state, a key hub for German, European, and international deliveries. With 950 profiles, 2,500 accessories, and 800 fittings, the 60-member team manages 3,400 high-rack spaces for 6-metre profiles and 1,200 pallet spaces. Innovative stacker cranes with double tables enable fast, efficient handling. In addition to logistics, composite profiles with polyamide insulation are produced in both Bellenberg and Gerstungen. The on-site powder coating facility (HBS Coating GmbH) optimizes workflow, ensuring fast, direct delivery to WICONA customers worldwide.

With an investment in the double-digit million range, the Service and Logistics Centre in Courmelles was completed in 2011 on a 7,3 hectare site, with a building of 18,000 square metres. The location was designed to ensure optimal customer service, from the storage of the raw profiles to their finishing and rebate assembly right through to dispatch. The aim was to reduce the length of time between order and delivery, irrespective of the type of order or required profile colour. The six halls, in which all the industrial and logistical operations take place, are laid out in a logical sequence so that the successive work steps can be carried out in a timely basis. The different areas of activity are brought together in one central location:

• Goods-in hall for raw profiles

• Automated high-capacity warehouse (4,400 storage spaces distributed over two side wings with honeycomb storage, with a height of 25 m)

• Orderpicking

• Coating line (2 cabins for powder coating)

• Crimping, packing and dispatch

• Showroom

The location is certified in accordance with ISO 14001, Qualicoat and Qualimarine. Another logistics centre is located in Bonneuil-sur-Marne, a small town near Paris. With a surface area of 4,000 square metres, it has 3,400 available storage spaces for seals, fittings and accessories.

NEXT is a unique industry project initiated by WICONA to thrive innovation in our business. A location where leading experts and partners of our industry share their knowledge and experience to shape current and future trends by going beyond – together with our NEXT Partners, together with you for a better future.