Expert jury honours Wilo’s Smart Factory in book

Book edited by Olaf Salié and Hartmut Rauen recognises the Wilo plant in Dortmund

Dortmund. The Smart Factory at the Wilopark in Dortmund has been named one of “spectacular sites of industrial production in German-speaking countries” in the book Traumfabriken (dream factories). The German-language book, published by Prestel Publishing and edited by Olaf Salié and Hartmut Rauen, honours the high-tech factory at the Wilo Group’s headquarters with a six-page article entitled “Climate-neutral, smart showcase factory”. The factories presented in the book were selected by an advisory board and a jury of prestigious entrepreneurs and experts from architecture, associations, specialist media and research, including McKinsey & Company and the mechanical and plant engineering association VDMA.

“We are proud that our Dortmund plant has now also been distinguished as a ‘dream factory’. This recognition is yet another reward for our courageous investments in the site – and in particular the Dortmund plant employees for the continuous further development of the factory”, says Oliver Hermes, President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group. “Small and large AI applications are already being used in the Smart Factory to make production even more efficient and intelligent. We will continue to consistently pursue this path.”

“We consider dream factories to not only be production sites but also places of identity and pride for employees. They are an expression of entrepreneurial thinking that combines endurance and sustainability,” states co-editor Salié. This undoubtedly includes Wilo’s Smart Factory in Dortmund. “The open architectural language, the high degree of digitalisation, the innovative energy concept: the concept of the factory brings people to the fore – and thus above all the employees who work in it”, explains the author and publicist with roots in Dortmund.

Just last year, the plant, which opened in 2019, was honoured with the prestigious “Factory of the Year” industry award and the Microsoft Intelligent Manufacturing Award (MIMA). Besides Wilo’s Smart Factory, the book Traumfabriken lists production sites from BMW, VW, Mercedes-Benz, Trumpf, Hilti and other industrial companies.

Salié, Olaf & Rauen, Hartmut (2025): Traumfabriken. Hardcover, paperback, 288 pages. ISBN 978-3-7913-8015-5. Prestel, German language.