Generally speaking, spaces dedicated to innovation are created on industrial site locations when the original industry is no longer present on the site. Not so in Zug: a manufacturer of household appliances, V-Zug AG has been active for over a hundred years just north of Zug. And for some time now, it has been investing in modernizing its sie to create space for Technology Cluster Zug (TCZ).
Says Beat Weiss, managing director of V-Zug Immobilien AG: “V-Zug will use one third of the area; our partners can move into the remaining 50,000 square metres and use our infrastructure.”
The aim is to design a new urban district by 2040 together with established industrial companies, startups, industry-related services, educational and research facilities and even housing. There will be space for up to 4,500 jobs and some 300 residents.
Synergies for industry
According to Weiss, the location is perfect for such a major project, and not just because the site is a jewel of industrial history. “TCZ also unlocks the region’s potential,” he says.
One often talks about the appeal of Zug’s Crypto Valley for blockchain companies, but its concept fits just as well into the industrial context here. In fact, more and more industrial companies are deciding in favour of Zug, which is located in the heart of Switzerland. In many cases, production facilities as well as R&D are located here.
And now it will also be home to a cluster of urban industry, an industrial ecosystem, and an urban laboratory. The terms used are many and varied, but they have one common denominator: V-Zug Immobilien wants to offer its completely renovated infrastructure in this urban environment to new businesses working to bring positive network effects to everyone in the future.
“You could say that V-Zug provides the motherboard, which can be flexibly used. Parking spaces will be provided. A self-driving shuttle will bring commuters to the railway station. Our logistics capacities can be used. There will be auditoriums and restaurants. State-of-the-art laboratories and production facilities could also be shared,” says Weiss.
Another key issue is energy: in a sustainable system, heating and cooling will be produced, stored and reused locally by means of renewable energy sources.
Development plan is already set
Metall Zug AG is the parent company of V-Zug AG and V-Zug Immoblien AG. It is also funding the TCZ project, making one thing certain already today: other Metall Zug subsidiaries such as the Schleuniger Group, an expert in wire processing machines, will also move to TCZ.
“But we are open to all industries and companies keen on planning their future in an urban industrial ecosystem,” says Weiss. They could become tenants, invest in projects or even build their own facilities. According to the development plan, high-rise buildings between 45 to 60 metres high will be permitted on the site.
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