Topping-out ceremony on Prinzenstrasse Solingen-based machine manufacturer Evertz is building the future in Ohligs

Solingen - The topping-out ceremony for the new administration building on Prinzenstrasse was held under the motto "Together into the future". The employees are due to move from the city centre to Ohligs at the beginning of next year.

Solinger-Morgenpost 08.07. 2024

Vereinsstraße, Mangenberger Straße, Birkenweiher: Christine Hentschel has experienced several relocations and company headquarters in her 46 years at Evertz. "This is now the icing on the cake," commented the Managing Director Finance of the Evertz Group on Friday afternoon, when the company celebrated the topping-out ceremony on Prinzenstrasse. The "icing on the cake" has three floors and around 1,200 square metres of gross floor space. At the beginning of 2025, it will house the 30-strong workforce that currently works on the edge of the city centre. "The Birkenweiher era will not be forgotten," promised HR Manager Jil Evertz in her welcoming address. The Group was managed from there for a quarter of a century - and initially also produced on the former Kieserling & Albrecht site. The site in Ohligs also used to belong to Kieserling. In 2014, Evertz relocated the production of large grinding machines and grinding wheels to Prinzenstraße; the milling and turning machines (Klopp) were integrated at the headquarters in Langenfeld.

"Now the head office is moving back close to production," explained Jil Evertz. "We are building a sustainable company complex - with additional halls if necessary." That is music to the ears of the Lord Mayor, who had come to "show respect and recognition". Tim Kurzbach recalled the reorganisation in the post-war period: "We have to have confidence in ourselves again." It is a good sign for the future that the family continues to stand behind the company.

Egon Evertz, who founded the company in 1956 at the age of 19 and shaped it for decades, has retired from the public eye. In the meantime, Jil Evertz (29), the third generation, has joined the company or - like her cousin Robert (25) and his sister Sophie (22) - is ready to take on responsibility after completing her training. Robert Evertz: "We want to bring back the family spirit." "We want to be Solingeners," emphasises his uncle Ralf Evertz (63), Partner and Managing Director of Mechanical Engineering.

Evertz has also been showing local pride at trade fairs for years. In 2023, the large, now refurbished half-timbered house was once again on display in Düsseldorf at "Metec", the leading trade fair for metallurgical technology. "We try to withstand the market conditions with a mix of tradition and modernity," explains Jil Evertz. "Especially in times of crisis, customers are sticking to long-standing relationships and quality. We live out our expertise. That's something that strengthens us."

At the topping-out ceremony, thanks were therefore expressed not only to the craftsmen but also to the employees.

There are around 500 worldwide, with around 400 working in Germany (a good 70 of them in Solingen). Most of the employees work in steelworks with which Evertz has long-term contracts. Many members of the workforce have been loyal to the company for decades.


The new building in Ohligs is well on schedule. "We stuck to the plan one-to-one," confirms Marco Lages, Managing Director of GKB (General-Kontrakt-Bau) from Langenfeld. It took four months to erect the prefabricated concrete elements and the drywalls inside. The building complies with the KfW 55 standard and the photovoltaic system on the roof has already been installed, as have the first parts of the underfloor heating. Heating is provided by an air heat pump; in summer, the rooms can be cooled - also with the help of external blinds. "It was fun building for Evertz," says Lages. With the new buildings for Aricon and Breuer & Schmitz, he has reference properties in the neighbourhood.

Jil Evertz is looking ahead to the end of the year when the Birkenweiher will be "slowly packing up". She does not know what will happen there, where Evertz has only been a tenant since the sale to Kondor Wessels. "We haven't been given a demolition date yet." In any case, the listed administrative building, which is owned by the family, is still standing.

In front of the new building (from left): Martina Evertz, wife of Stefan Evertz (†) with son Robert, Erika Evertz, Jil Evertz with her parents Ralf and Astrid and Thomas Benner, Managing Director Sales. In the background: Gilles Schwirtz, Group Spokesman and Managing Director International Business.Photo: Fred Lothar Melchior
Evertz is currently still based in an administration building (front, right) on Birkenweiher street in Mitte. The listed administration building to the left is family-owned and will remain regardless of the plans for the Kieserling site.Photo: Peter Meuter