HUSKY HOUSE
The new Development and Operations Centre of the motorcycle manufacturer, recently acquired by the BMW Group, was inaugurated today. The structure covers an area of 2,603 m2 and offers a total volume of 25,156 m3 on three floors.
A project realised in less than 15 months
The inaugural ceremony of the new Husqvarna Motorcycles Headquarters was held today, Monday 21st September at Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese). It has been built to expand the site of the motorcycle manufacturer in via Nino Bixio 8.
Present at the ceremony were Hendrik Von Kuenheim, President of BMW Motorrad, and Rainer Thoma, President and Managing Director of Husqvarna Motorcycles, together with civil and church authorities and the workers themselves.
Over an overall area of 42,320 m2, the new building covers a space of 6,300 m2, with the partial demolition of an old pre-existing warehouse of about 600 m2. The building, covering a space of 2,603 m2, has three floors above ground for a total of 5,800 m2and 25,156 m3.
Fitted with the latest thermal and acoustic insulation in conformity with regulations governing energy saving, it also has a system of solar panels providing hot water for the whole building. Construction work began on 2nd July 2008 and has lasted less than 15 months in all.
The new headquarters completes the layout of the Cassinetta plant
"The new Headquarters and its organisation", declared Rainer Thoma, President and Managing Director of Husqvarna Motorcycles, "have been planned to facilitate the development of the product and to integrate all the production units involved in the creation process of the entire Husqvarna Motorcycles range in an optimal manner.
The structure has been designed to face the foreseen growth in the medium term and to be expanded in the long term. For example, the production capacity of the plant can, with only minor further changes, arrive at a quota of 40,000 motorcycles a year".
On the ground floor (2,603 m) in the centre of the building, we find the engine division and roller test beds.
The surrounding area is dedicated to the prototypes and racing motorcycle production workshop. A section is also reserved for the Training Centre for the engineers comprising the Husqvarna after-sales service.
On the first floor (2,278 m2), next door to each other, there are the Styling Centre (753 m2) and the Development Division (816 m2) organised to assure work can be done with maximum concentration on the product.
The same floor is also home to the Acquisitions Office and Market Research Office.
The proximity of these two functions to the Development Division ensures that the latter is increasingly central to the commercial activities to obtain the best in terms of functionality, quality and costs, in close collaboration with suppliers. The second floor (592 m2), covering only the north part of the building, offers the Management and Administration offices.
Alongside, on the roof of the Development Division, there is an open space dedicated to the presentation of new models.
To the front of the building, facing the road, there are the windows of the Husqvarna Motorcycles showroom (325 m2), easily visible and accessible from the outside.
This space is used to display the company's top models and the finest photographs of the sporting events around the world; it is destined to become the pulsing heart of the firm and a Mecca for all fans of the Husqvarna marque.
Wonder if Sprite got some front window space 
