20 years of Bechtle in Neckarsulm

• Bechtle moved into new headquarters in April 2004
• From 450 employees to some 2,500
• European IT company firmly rooted in Neckarsulm

20 years ago, Bechtle and its then 450-strong workforce moved into its headquarters at Bechtle Platz 1 in Neckarsulm. The new site initially consisted of 14,000 m² of office space and 11,450 m² of warehousing. Since then, the listed IT company has experienced rapid growth with 2,500 employees now working from the head office. Over the last two decades, various phases of construction have seen the Bechtle campus expand to cover 67,350 m² that include highly-equipped office buildings, a modern logistics hub and, since January 2024, a large conferencing area with 40 rooms for workshops, seminars, community meetings and customer events.

“We operate in an industry characterised by innovation and growth. Having a corporate headquarters with excellently equipped offices and meeting facilities allows us to offer our employees an outstanding working environment with an atmosphere that fosters collaboration and creativity, which are the cornerstones of long-term business growth,” says Dr Thomas Olemotz, CEO, Bechtle AG.

Bechtle Platz 1 – A central hub for a dispersed organisation
Bechtle’s story can be traced back to a student software project at the Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences. Founded by Gerhard Schick, Ralf Klenk and Professor Klaus von Jan in Heilbronn in 1983, it has been on an upward trajectory ever since, with new locations in Germany and Europe added to the fold through acquisitions and the founding of new companies from 1993 on. Establishing a central hub would not only lay the groundwork for future growth, but also create a nerve centre for the dispersed organisation, and so the then management identified a suitable plot of land in Neckarsulm that promised scope for future expansions. Ground was broken in 2002—two years after the company’s IPO—and today, the site serves as the heart for all of Bechtle’s more than 15,000 employees.

Catering and training spaces round off the holistic workspace
The focal point of the most recent construction phase completed in 2020 is a covered atrium surrounded by galleries with the lower floor dedicated to additional training rooms used by Bechtle Corporate Health Management and available to the Sport-Union Neckarsulm women’s Handball Bundesliga team. The headquarters is also home to numerous break and catering areas as well as a large cafeteria. In total, the site currently covers some 67,350 m², which equates to around nine football pitches.

Sustainable energy
“Today, Bechtle is one of Europe’s most successful IT service providers and also an important and attractive employer in the Heilbronn-Franconia region. We are therefore taking a cautious approach to further expansion, but have also set ourselves ambitious economic, ecological and social objectives,” says Dr Thomas Olemotz. With this in mind, Bechtle has recently implemented a wide range of measures to make its energy supply, vehicle fleet and logistics sustainable. Each building at Bechtle Platz 1 has been designed to reduce resource consumption and there are a total of 224 geothermal probes and 5,400 solar panels generating energy on site. Landscaped roofs insulate buildings from the heat and cold while providing a habitat for insects and birds while two gardens totalling 7,500 m² provide space for meetings, breaks or working outdoors. Built in 2017, the 1,600-space multi-storey car park offers 166 charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles making it one of the largest charging stations in Germany.