Volkswagen Group Australia has commenced business at its purpose built new corporate headquarters in Chullora.
The new state of the art facility incorporates all business divisions under one roof housing Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, ŠKODA Australia, Bentley and Volkswagen Financial Services.
The new facility was developed in anticipation of continued growth for all four brands in the Australian market. The development was embraced by the company's global Board of Directors in late 2007 in order to facilitate the growth plans for Volkswagen Group in Australia.
The new corporate headquarters incorporates a large combined showroom and reception area, parts and accessories warehouse, workshop, training centre for dealer staff, office areas for all business divisions and a purpose-built café managed by Swiss Deli.
"Our success here in Australia has resulted in an increased need for staff, space, technology and equipment – necessities that our previous offices and warehouse could not adequately provide," said Anke Koeckler, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Australia.
"At Botany we simply ran out of space. We have been growing at a rapid pace in recent years and we have been increasing our staff number, while also growing our dealer network and parts and accessories business.
"In 2011 alone we expanded our product range with 13 models and 2012 is also going to be a busy year.
"We believe we have the right products for the Australian market to continue our growth plans. This new office at Chullora provides our staff and dealers with the best facilities to ensure our customers are receiving the best service possible," said Ms Koeckler.
The Chullora site houses a 16,000 square metres warehouse and 5,930 square metres office space. The workshop and training centre is 4,720 square metres and the new facility accommodates over 250 people. All areas of the facility have been designed to allow for future growth.
The new location covers a total area of 51,000 square metres and is located within the Chullora Technology Park. The facility was designed by Commercial & Industrial Property in collaboration with the Group's corporate architects. The interior design of the office was undertaken by Davenport Campbell guided by the Group's corporate identity guidelines.
The total investment in the new facility was over $40 million.