Margret Mergen, the first lady Major of the city of Karlsruhe, and Thorsten von Killisch-Horn, representing the project partners – Vollack GmbH & Co. KG took part in a special ceremony to celebrate the laying of the first foundation stone. Guntram Prohaska a local performance artist from Grötzingen added some artistic flair to the occasion with his special chain-saw performance set to music, in which he created a wooden sculpture - "Good spirit of hope".

More room for innovation - "Made in Karlsruhe"

CAS Software AG is a worldwide leader in software solutions for systematic customer management, and one of Germany's most attractive employers for which it has received numerous awards, most recently as "Employer of the Year 2009" and as "Innovator of the Year 2011". Working closely with the project partners: Vollack GmbH & Co KG, a lot of attention has been paid to the overall planning of the project to create an attractive working environment and a green-building design. "Creating market leading, innovative software solutions is the CAS Team's passion. To make the magic happen we have to give the team an environment in which they can thrive, and this means: contemporary, bright and friendly work areas that promote creative thinking", emphasized Martin Hubschneider, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CAS Software AG. "With the new CAS Campus our goals are to create a special space, or hot-bed of ingenuity that will drive our future innovations - 'Made in Karlsruhe'."

Steady growth creates attractive jobs

Ms. Margret Mergen, Mayor for Economic Development, congratulated the company and wished them every success with its project: "I would like to wish CAS Software the very best of luck for its project, in this, its 25th year of business – and am delighted that a company from Karlsruhe is in a position to create new jobs thanks to its constant growth and success". As the German market leader in Customer Relationship Management software (CRM), CAS Software AG currently employs some 420 people in the CAS group.

Low-impact green design

When the two new buildings are finished an open CAS Campus will have been created that reflects the company's dynamic philosophy. And as an environmentally conscious and forward-looking company, it was of course important to implement a green energy building design. "Both office buildings will be heated using environmentally friendly district heating provided by Karlsruhe municipal utilities. In practice, and from an ecological point of view, the new buildings demonstrate an improvement in energy efficiency over the minimum legal requirement of 20 to 30 percent", explained Thorsten von Killisch-Horn from Vollack GmbH & Co. KG.

Overall the CAS Campus site will expand by approximately 3,300 m². This will take the total size of the property to over 7,700 m² which equates to a total office area of approximately 6,200 m². Both of the new, three-storey office buildings have a net footprint of approximately 2,200 m², and have been designed to compliment the existing three buildings to form a single harmonic unit, otherwise known as - The CAS Campus. Plans also include a bistro which will become a popular meeting place for co-workers and guests alike. CAS Software is investing around 4.5 million Euros in the expansion project. Project completion is expected to be June 2012.

Photo caption: Margret Mergen, the first lady mayor of the city of Karlsruhe, and Thorsten von Killisch-Horn representing the project partners - Vollack GmbH & Co. KG together with the CAS Software AG Directors, Martin Hubschneider (CEO) and Ludwig Neer (CTO) laying the foundation stone in the Technology park in Karlsruhe.