Stand builders are particularly suffering from the pandemic.
An entrepreneur from Sauerlach now has an idea: office cubes.
“We now see the crisis as an opportunity,” he says.
Sauerlach
- Stand builders are particularly suffering from the Corona crisis.
There have been no orders for them since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The stand builder Heilmaier from Sauerlach sees the crisis as an opportunity.
The company now wants to score with bold concepts: with tiny houses and office cubes for the home garden.
The lights in the huge warehouse have gone out, the otherwise busy workshop is now deserted, a forklift is standing alone in a corner.
The name "Heilmaier" can be read on a pallet loaded with wooden parts.
It's been here for more than a year.
Nobody needs the parts.
The global coronavirus crisis has hit hard here in Sauerlach.
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This is the material for the construction of the tiny houses: wood.
© Robert Brouczek
"My employees are on 100 percent short-time work," says Thorsten Hörner, 53. He is the managing director of the company with 24 employees, which was flourishing until a year ago.
He has lost six employees in the past few months.
You quit.
Who still needs trade fair workers in this pandemic?
Not boss Thorsten Hörner.
He had to fire two employees on a probationary period.
Office cubes and tiny houses give hope to the 18 employees
For the remaining 18 employees, however, there is now hope, there is a spirit of optimism.
Hope measures 4.1 by 3 meters and is called “garden office”, an “oasis of calm”.
It is an outsourced office for the garden - made of solid wood.
The components are to be prefabricated by a supplier using CNC machines.
The team around Hörner wants to assemble the parts in Sauerlach, and also carry out the interior work.
The finished office cube, it weighs 1.8 tons, is then lifted into the customer's garden with a semi-trailer truck and crane.
Turnkey and ready to work in the home office.
"Tiny Houses" are called "partially mobile units" here
The project is still in the planning stage, and a limited company has already been founded.
The company is called "mdreiLiving".
The company also wants to produce tiny houses for living, which Hörner prefers to call semi-mobile units.
“The idea came to us during the crisis,” says Hörner.
The team met and considered new business ideas, the construction of the trade fair is suspended for an indefinite period and there are currently no “real alternatives”.
Since 1946, for three generations, the company has been planning and developing concepts for trade fairs.
80 percent of the business has so far been concentrated on the construction of trade fairs, the rest of the working time has been devoted to flying structures, such as pavilions.
The company implemented 300 projects a year.
She had jobs in the US and China.
“If I were not an optimistic person, I would definitely have existential fears,” says Hörner.
The aid packages from the Federal Ministry of Economics would not be enough, and there is also a lack of prospects.
"The government's lack of plan is our corporate lack of plan." In the "near future" there would be no trade fairs, thinks Hörner.
Managing director beams: "We now see the crisis as an opportunity"
Therefore, new business areas had to be found.
“We asked ourselves what all people do?
And how can we use our know-how? ”Says the entrepreneur.
The brilliant idea was not long in coming: tiny houses.
The company also opted for so-called promo boxes.
These are large, fold-out boxes for outdoor trade fairs.
“We now see the crisis as an opportunity,” says Hörner.
Hörner is convinced of his idea: An office with at least nine square meters can be tax deductible.
In principle, buildings in the garden with less than 75 cubic meters do not require approval.
It depends on the municipality's development plan, but “normally the Office Cube is not a problem,” says Hörner.
However, the district office has concerns.
Even if tiny houses remain below the threshold of the permit requirement, "it is the client's responsibility to ensure that all legal requirements are met independently," said a spokeswoman for the district administration when asked.
It is about requirements for stability, fire protection and energy saving law.
Each project must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to the spokeswoman.
In the event of subsequent complaints, “some building owners experience a rude awakening”.
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"We now see the crisis as an opportunity": Because trade fair construction is no longer in demand in the Corona period, Thorsten Hörner is relying on new ideas such as office cubes for the garden.
© Robert Brouczek
Entrepreneur Hörner therefore wants to talk to every customer about the building project.
He also sees the advantage that the houses can be built all year round, there is no need for a construction site.
The office cube costs 30,000 euros, the prices for residential units start at 75,000 euros.
The houses have a lifespan of 50 years, says the company boss.
Interesting solution for seniors
Tiny houses could create additional living space in areas with high settlement pressure - through redensification of land.
Hörner thinks of cities like Rosenheim, Landshut and Regensburg.
Older people in their own single-family houses could create space for younger people there, says Hörner.
Elderly citizens could still live in their familiar environment - in a tiny house on their own property.
Hörner's vision ranges from extra-wide entrance doors to barrier-free showers.
But that is still a long way off.
Hörner is currently planning a first prototype, the framework conditions for suppliers are now being tied down.
The first garden office should be ready in three months at the latest.
When the die is cast properly for the company, the lights in the huge warehouse in Sauerlach come on again.
And short-time workers are back at their workplaces in the workshop.
A student at the Technical University of Munich is also looking for living space.
After a dispute with his landlord, he has to pay a few thousand euros.
Because of the corona pandemic, he had given notice to terminate his apartment.
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