This week, thomas gruppe signed a purchase agreement with CRH/OPTERRA Germany under which thomas gruppe will buy OPTERRA Zement GmbH and OPTERRA Beton GmbH. This includes the Karsdorf plant, the decommissioned Sötenich plant, and the Neufahrn ready-mix concrete plant. The purchase will effectively be completed by the end of 2022.

For years, we have been pursuing a steady, long-term growth course in the cement, concrete components and ready-mix concrete segments.

In the cement business, the purchase of the Erwitte plant in 2017 significantly improved our competitive position. Together with the plant in Dorndorf, we have achieved significantly greater coverage in Germany and also in the Netherlands and are benefiting from synergy effects.

We would like to continue this growth course. You don’t often get an opportunity like taking over the cement plant in Karsdorf in your life. Karsdorf, with its gigantic rock deposits, its market position of well over 1 million tons of cement and its experienced team, enables us to better supply our customers and leverage improvement potential. In addition, Karsdorf has sufficient scale to introduce a technology in the long term with the Dorndorf clinker requirement that will capture the CO2 produced in the cement production process in an ecologically and economically viable size. We are convinced that cement will become a clean building material and believe in its future.

We look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

OPTERRA Werk Karsdorf

Quelle: OPTERRA

In October, parts of the thomas gruppe were outsourced to thomas next.

For years, Mr. Thomas has been dealing with the question of how the thomas group can be optimally prepared for the upcoming generation change and the future. In the meantime, the group has reached a size and strength that make it a special challenge to manage the entire company. This is not least because the group of companies is active in many different business areas and regions and should continue to grow and thus also give its employees the opportunity to develop. This task is complex, probably too complex, for the next generation, which does not have and cannot have 45 years of experience in different business areas. Therefore, Mr. Thomas was convinced that it was time to divide the group of companies into different business units that are more manageable and easier to control.

The outsourced companies are the complete precast, transport, asphalt, stone and road construction business, all other activities in Poland (ready-mix concrete and special binders), and the concrete components business in southern and western Germany.

Both groups of companies, thomas beteiligungen and thomas next, will be run as separate corporate entities. As far as ownership is concerned, this will remain unchanged in the hands of Mr. Thomas at thomas beteiligungen. In addition to thomas beteiligungen, Iris Thomas and external business partners with entrepreneurial experience will be involved in thomas next.

Due to the cramped conditions at the previous office location, it was decided to take a space-creating measure. An office building was planned, but was rejected due to costs and loss of further storage capacity. The current rental property is located only 2 minutes drive from the Remscheid freeway access and the landlord Mr. Klostermann with the additional pulling in of load-bearing walls accommodated.

The implementation of the move is done within 2-3 months and thus creates:

  • Space for new employees and trainees
  • Space in the old building for other departments such as sales, KV and production
  • No noise pollution from production and public traffic, which leads to better concentration, quality and increased performance

A possibility for meeting or visitor rooms, as well as a large break room

  • The design of large, bright offices, which provides a pleasant working atmosphere
  • Enlargement of the control room in the double-wall/element ceiling plant, which will also create a pleasant workspace for production employees
  • Restoring a parking facility for visitors and the employees (on the Knapp), which before was crowded and problematic

 

Challenging and supporting employees is our most important capital—so this year we are once again pleased to welcome our new apprentices in 7 different professions. We offer our apprentices the best possible training in their respective professions.

This marks the start of a new stage in the lives of our junior staff—their future in the thomas gruppe.

We look forward to supporting our apprentices on this journey and wish them a successful start to professional life.

To secure our future, we place great importance on training our own specialists. Training is an investment in the future—not just in our own, but also in that of the apprentices. As a result, training has a very high standing in the thomas gruppe.

A good IT system is a must—simple, fast and efficient. And we are constantly working on our digital advancement.

There was a great deal of action on the topic of digitalisation at the thomas gruppe in 2020. New solutions had to be found for existing as well as new projects.
A constant goal is to simplify the processes. A big step in this direction was the integration of an online-based leave software in 2020. We were driven by the incentive of making the approval process as easy as possible for employees and reducing the individual work steps.

But we are not just thinking of ourselves, we are also focussed on our environment. As a result, the thomas gruppe decided to record and process all invoices digitally in future. The invoice processing operations were simplified by the switch to digital invoices. The switch is also intended to significantly reduce the consumption of paper as well as the processing time.

We are pleased to present our new website. After a huge amount of preparation and hard work, we are proud to be able to launch the site.

Following a long overhaul of the appearance and technical requirements as well as a revision of the content, our new website has been completely modernised. It now not only has an eye-catching design, the contents have also been restructured. We have specifically adapted the contents to the needs of our target group.

You receive a fast and direct overview of our range of services without much searching. A clear structure was a priority.

We would also be pleased to hear your feedback on our new website. Whether suggestions or comments, praise or criticism, we will take it all on-board. For any feedback, please use our contact form.

A big thank you to the team who helped bring the homepage to life.

Within one month, the plant in Remscheid was re-equipped.

The following measures to increase productivity and production capacity were implemented:

  • Old steel processing was dismantled and disposed of, automatic steel processing was installed
  • Robot relocation
  • Own lattice girder production
  • Enclosure of the drying chamber to increase quality, as fewer cracks are formed due to uniform and faster curing of the components, consequently faster take-off times

 

Due to this rebuilding there is an assurance and improvement of the quality of the semi-finished parts. It is worth mentioning that the automation of the robot also makes the work easier – facilitating the working conditions and preserving the jobs in the production.

The thomas gruppe has consistently grown over recent decades both organically as well as through acquisitions. This continued development has naturally also created a heterogeneous mix of brands and forms of representation in individual companies, which could not be assigned to a clear brand structure. To refine the profile of the thomas brand and ensure that it is clearly recognisable on the market, the thomas brand and the associated divisions have been strategically restructured.

Unternehmen thomas gruppe | thomas gruppe
Unternehmen thomas gruppe | thomas gruppe
Unternehmen thomas gruppe | thomas gruppe
Briefpapier thomas gruppe | thomas gruppe
Logo thomas betonbauteile | thomas gruppe

A strong strategy for the thomas brand

A new strategy was developed that clearly reflects the group’s success, size and divisions. The thomas gruppe as the umbrella brand bears the green th mark and transfers this to the sub-brands as a recognisable feature that creates a sense of identity. Every main division—Concrete Components, Concrete, Cement, Asphalt/Stone and Construction—has received a division logo that uses the th brand label as a reference to the umbrella brand. In addition, a system was introduced for product brands, to clarify their affiliation to the umbrella brand with the distinctive green “th”. The new, consistent brand hierarchy and look ensure a uniform appearance across all media—in both word and image.

Step-by-step towards the new brand

As the medium-sized group is extremely diversified and has numerous sites, the brand relaunch and all the associated changeovers were planned and implemented step-by-step. That’s because the new brand was closely looked at, from the smallest to the largest medium: from the office equipment through to the site branding, from printed materials through to the website.

Consistent brand management—across all media

The new-look thomas brand is now live on the web where it provides a digital picture of the comprehensive portfolio. The website also presents the impressive history, the thomas philosophy and job opportunities. This gives customers as well as potential applicants quick and convenient access to the relevant information. The corporate brochure has also been revised and adapted to the new, modern look to make sure that the group is optimally presented in print as well. Further print products, such as brochures, will be created in future to give all our customers an even better overview of the products and services provided by the thomas gruppe.