Green light for DUCO’s new offices
DUCO inspires, innovates and… invests. Since it was founded in 1991 the ventilation and solar shading specialist has had the wind in its sails. Both its turnover and its workforce have risen constantly over the intervening years. This growth has obvious consequences – to accommodate all its staff the company now urgently needs to expand its existing infrastructures.
Building a new office complex is a logical step. The company’s existing site, which covers a total area of 101,000 m², offers little scope for further development. In the space of four years the company has increased its turnover by 111% and taken on 123 extra employees. In addition, it has recently constructed a new logistics centre, which means a new, fully automatic powder-coating facility is now a reality too. The company has also doubled the size of its existing solar array to 6,015 panels, making the site as a whole energy neutral in terms of its electricity requirements. All these developments were precursors to the large-scale expansion of the company’s infrastructure, in the form of an ultramodern office complex, which will offer a total area of 7,500 m² of office space, corresponding to 240 workstations. Work on this new complex got under way last summer.
Optimal working environment
In addition to its aesthetically pleasing, sleek architectural design, the new office complex will be equipped with the latest sustainable technologies, making it an energy-neutral building. Use will be made, for example, of an ingenious geothermal energy system combined with concrete core activation for heating and cooling. Together with a smart system for Demand-Controlled Natural Ventilation and purge ventilation, this will create a pleasant and, above all, healthy working environment. A real eyecatcher on the outside will be the structural external solar shading with rectangular louvre blades, which will ensure an optimal working environment, while maximising the amount of daylight entering the building, a solution that will prevent overheating during the warm summer months.
Health centre stage
This new office complex will therefore serve as an excellent advert for the Belgian ventilation specialist, highlighting what it can offer in the area of sustainable ventilation combined with architectural solar shading, as well as demonstrating how a healthy indoor climate can be created in a natural way for all employees without the use of energy-guzzling air-conditioning systems. ‘Health centre stage’ is part of the company’s mission. This commitment to health will be carried through into its new offices, which, alongside ergonomic office space and meeting rooms, will also incorporate a gym.
30 years of DUCO
One thing is certain: in the not-too-distant future the new office complex will be springing up alongside the E40 in Veurne. DUCO hopes to be able to celebrate its 30th anniversary in this brand-new building in 2021. That is definitely something to look forward to.