Health Cube – the new, innovative Wilo health centre
Ground-breaking ceremony for construction project at Wilopark Dortmund
Dortmund. The starting signal for an extraordinary project: on 15 December, the Wilo Executive Board and Dr Jochen Opländer, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Wilo Group, broke ground for the construction of the new Health Cube at Wilopark. Wilo employees worldwide and throughout the entire Dortmund region will benefit from the innovative health centre. The construction will start in May 2024 and will be completed by the end of 2025. The official opening of the new Health Cube is scheduled for the beginning of 2026.
The concept: With a modern location, a holistic approach to medicine and high-quality treatments on offer, a number of general practitioners, specialists and therapists will work on an outpatient basis to resolve their patients’ acute problems, as well as actively support their long-term health. All of this is made possible through a comprehensive offering of premium-quality diagnostic and therapeutic services that encompass general and occupational healthcare, as well as a range of other specialist areas. There is an orthopaedic practice that deals with musculoskeletal complaints, while a cardiology practice focuses on heart conditions. In a psychotherapy practice, specialists offer talking therapy. The new Wilo health centre will even cover sports medicine. These services are also complemented by physiotherapy treatments, preventative services such as skin cancer screenings, a gymnasium with state-of-the-art sports equipment for endurance and strength training, and an outdoor sports area. The concept of the Health Cube is therefore aimed at curative treatment but specifically the prevention of common conditions such as back pain or cardiovascular diseases.
Oliver Hermes: “We’re investing in health!”
“With our innovative Health Cube, we are sending out a strong signal: we’re investing in health!” says Oliver Hermes, President & CEO of the Wilo Group. “This step is a clear illustration of our comprehensive, Group-wide sustainability strategy, which is based on three pillars: Creating, Caring and Connecting.”
Creating: with its system-relevant products and solutions, Wilo has become an integral part of critical infrastructures around the world. One such example of this is hospitals. Modern healthcare cannot be sustained without using pumps and pump systems. “We bear this responsibility out of a sense of tradition,” adds Oliver Hermes. Around 100 years ago, Wilo significantly improved hygiene and health conditions for miners by manufacturing pithead baths and clothes lifts for the mining industry.
Caring: a commitment that is extended to Wilo’s employees. “It is particularly important to us to create a safe and healthy working environment,” says Oliver Hermes. Wilo has long been putting this belief into practice by providing a robust company health management programme that goes far beyond existing standards. “And that applies across the entire world. But with the Health Cube, we are now going one decisive step further.” There are even plans for an international point of contact for crisis intervention to be included in the new Wilo Health Centre. In the future, employees who have suffered major setbacks or who find themselves in exceptional personal situations will be able to seek counselling and support here.
Connecting: however, it is not only Dortmund-based employees who will benefit from the new health centre. From the outset, Wilo’s concept has been based on offering location-independent remote medicine in collaboration with a partner group from the industry and fostering links to an international network of doctors. This means that all of Wilo’s 8,400 employees worldwide can take advantage of the programme. “The Health Cube is the new focal point of our global health management,” says Oliver Hermes. The services on offer are also aimed at patients beyond the Wilo workforce. “The Health Cube not only brings together Wilo employees from different locations around the world, but once again demonstrates our strong ties to the region.”
Advocate, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer: “It’s a project close to my heart”
The health and well-being of Wilo employees has always been a matter of great importance to Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer. The current Honorary Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Wilo Group was an early advocate of promoting health in the workplace and encouraging a safe and healthy working environment. “Together you work tirelessly every day to ensure Wilo’s success,” says Dr Jochen Opländer, addressing the Group's more than 8,400 employees. “I would like to make one thing very clear: Wilo owes you a lot.”
Dr Jochen Opländer is therefore lending his own very personal support to the construction of the new Health Cube. “It’s a project close to my heart,” adds Dr Opländer, who follows in his family’s footsteps in making this commitment. “What drove my father in 1927 was not just to develop a circulator. He wanted to replace unhealthy stove heating with hygienic central heating and, in doing so, improve people’s living conditions. The Health Cube builds on this initiative almost 100 years later.”
