THERE'S CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION! 
30^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRKENSTOCK COMPONENTS GMBH SITE IN BERNSTADT

With a big celebration for all employees, BIRKENSTOCK Components GmbH celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Bernstadt site on 25 September 2021. The event was designed to say “Thank you” for 30 successful years and a clear commitment to BIRKENSTOCK’s production and quality “made in Germany”.

Since 1 July 1991, the biggest German shoe manufacturer BIRKENSTOCK has had its own production site in Bernstadt. On 25 September 2021, BIRKENSTOCK celebrated the 30^th anniversary with a COVID-compliant “Open House” for all employees and their families – as a big "Thank you” for 30 successful years.

More than 650 guests attended the event in Russenstraße in Bernstadt on Saturday and enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere and many interesting offers, including guided tours, complimentary food and drinks, entertainment for the kids, and a prize draw.

Andreas Schulz, managing director of BIRKENSTOCK Components GmbH, who hosted the event was also honored to welcome the mayor of Bernstadt, Markus Weise. Mayor Markus Weise emphasized his close relationship with BIRKENSTOCK and assured that “the city of Bernstadt will continue to be a reliable partner” and thanked the company for the trusting and successful relationship in the past 30 years.

BIRKENSTOCK in Bernstadt – a success story

At the end of the 1980s, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the shoe industry had long since turned its back on Europe and relocated to South East Asia, Karl Birkenstock stayed true to his principles and to the quality of his shoes and sandals “made in Germany". BIRKENSTOCK’s shoe production remained in Germany and the company established several production sites in Saxony. One of them in Bernstadt in 1991. A new factory for the production of uppers and buckles was set up in the “Bernstädter Baumwollspinnerei”, a cotton mill which had just been shut down.

Today – 30 years later – BIRKENSTOCK has 850 employees in Bernstadt. Together with the sites in Görlitz and Markersdorf, BIRKENSTOCK is the biggest private employer in the southern district of Görlitz.

In the Bernstadt site, which measures around 20,000 square meters, more than 100,000 pairs of uppers and more than 30,000 footbed linings are produced per work day. Every year, the leather from 480,000 cows (which corresponds to the size of 300 soccer fields) is first of all checked for any harmful substances in the new chemical laboratory and then processed. The laboratory was put into operation in 2020 and ensures the high quality of the BIRKENSTOCK products manufactured.

In order to further develop and improve the site (in addition to the new laboratory), almost 2 million euros have recently been invested in the creation of modern office spaces and a contemporary social area, and thus in improved working conditions. Moreover, approximately one million euros were invested in the set-up of a new leather production line. All these measures show BIRKENSTOCK’s clear commitment to the Bernstadt site.