The speech of the managing director, Andreas Fischer:

Dear guests,

I greet you all very warmly to our topping-out ceremony and I am happy today, like a little child, that we have managed to celebrate this with you all. After all, it looked different 1½ years ago after the devastating corporate fire!

The fire disaster of January 08, 2016 destroyed our complete machine room. The associated burdens to rescue the company were enormous for many employees and the management. The damage of 11 million euros was existential. But the disaster has also welded many of us closer together. Now and here we can say that we have done everything right and live the topic of Industry 4.0 consciously with the newly established production like no other company.

As the owner of the company, I am proud that we have reached the milestone for the topping-out ceremony after this difficult phase. I am encouraged with all of you by my side that the decision to implement the building application submitted in December 2015 was the right one. ...

With this new building, we are realizing a new production and logistics hall on the ground floor as well as a unique customer center on the first floor, which will live up to our new products. ... This new investment has to do with the expansion of our production in the equipment sector. The new erfi products require more production space, and so the former showroom is being converted into an electronics production facility.

Investing in a new customer center was therefore the result of the new product policy of our company. At that time we could not yet know that we were going to build this hall right here.

I would like to especially welcome my parents. We are very grateful that after a difficult start to the year in terms of health, it is possible to celebrate this festival with you. My father encouraged me to stick to the decision to build a new one after the fire. As the founder of the company we will honor him, in a way that will always connect him to this new building visibly. This will take place during the inauguration ceremony. Of course, I also welcome my parents-in-law. I am very glad that you are very interested in the development of the new building.

But now I especially welcome our artisans, whom we honor with this festival. On behalf of the entire Fischer family and the company, we would like to thank you all for your excellent work so far.

The shell construction company Theurer maintains an exemplary construction site here and masters this difficult task with the necessary professionalism and calm. The steel construction company Bühler is responsible for the many steel girders that we see here, which are even filled with concrete to guarantee a refractory hall. All other craftsmen receive our extraordinary thanks in equal measure.

We warmly welcome Mr. Landrat Rückert and Lord Mayor Osswald and thank you for the good cooperation throughout this project. I would also like to welcome the Sparkasse with Mr. Schmid as a partner of the company.

I welcome our workforce, without whom such an investment would not be possible. Today is supposed to be a symbol of our efficiency. The new building will bring us organizational advantages.

As is usual with our architect Mr. Schmelzle, the application for constructions that had already been submitted usually get extended again in the course of a few very creative meetings, and before you know it, a hall is added or two. This happened in 2008 and in 2009 and now architect Schmelzle has done it again! He's slowly becoming a repeat offender!

Actually, during the first step, this hall, in which we are sitting right now, was not planned at all and the formerly planned and very elaborately created parking lot from the year 2009 should be here. "Only" the upper floor, so our new customer center should be built and float above the parking lot! Hence the name spaceship!

As a result of the fire event (January 2016), we have planned a completely new production planning in accordance with Industry 4.0 and required the logistics warehouse 1 for fully automated production. ... In a nutshell, Mr Schmelzle suggested that you simply need a "piece of roof" and a "wall around the corner" to build another hall below the exhibition space. That would not cost much!

And there we would have it: a new hall for the goods receipt and other functions! So we decided to follow his advice! Where else would we have celebrated our topping-out today? This was a very far-sighted plan by Mr. Schmelzle! ...

Without creativity and inventiveness something like this can not arise. So I particularly welcome our team of architects with Mr. Schmelzle, Mr. Gardener, Mr. Hänßler and the ladies Mrs. Stark and Mrs. Ostmeier, who are responsible for the interior design. This team has mastered the previous tasks very well and professionally with their experience.

The accompaniment and the personal commitment during the very extensive repair work as a result of the fire damage were unparalleled and deserve our highest respect. The connection with the architecture firm Schmelzle has become an important strategic anchor due to the special events.

In connection with the professional care during the fire disaster, I would like to thank and welcome our expert Dr. Nothaft. ... without the right decision at the right moment, we would not all be sitting here and we might not have realized the new building so quickly. Thanks again.

Let's get to the statics of the new building! In this new construction project, the structural engineers and test statisticians were allowed to use their full repertoire! I mean it exactly as I said it! For the obviously correct dimensioning of all previous components, we would like to thank Mr. Münzner from the structural engineering office Boll und Partner from Stuttgart as well as the static tester Mr. Genthner.

Finally, the proof is standing! The rocket was detonated! The body stands and keeps what it promises!