If the dog sneaks crouched through the garden and the cow in the barn doesn’t want to eat anymore, then a veterinarian is worth his weight in gold. And preferably effective medication. Such veterinary medicinal products have been manufactured in Unterschleißheim for more than 60 years. This was started in 1959 by the Asid company. Since then, the company has changed names and owners several times. As MSD-Tiergesundheit, the company on Feldstraße near the B 13 has belonged to the US group Merck, Sharp & Dohme since 2009. Now this is to be made fit for the future with new production buildings. The project, for which the city councilors have just unanimously approved a draft of a development plan, is being accompanied by an extraordinary campaign. Because the long-established location borders directly on residential buildings. Of course there is a lot to talk about.
For such cases, the city of Unterschleißheim has a proven tool in the online tool “Consul” to inform citizens and ask for their opinion. The most important information and visualizations have been available there for a few days. But this time they go further: About 2500 residents in the vicinity of the company – including Mayor Christoph Böck – were written to directly and invited to an information event on the company premises this Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. Representatives of the company and the city then want to answer questions.
There was also a separate press event in the company beforehand, at which Mayor Böck made it clear how important MSD is to him. The city has “always supported its companies”. And as an “innovative company”, MSD fits in very well with Unterschleißheim.
Standing shoulder to shoulder: MSD project manager Jochen Stöhr, press officer Elisa Bömecke, site manager Romke-Jan van Dijk and mayor Christoph Böck (from left) are standing in front of the administration building of MSD-Tiergesundheit on Feldstrasse.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
At the appointment, it was evident that the administration building with its 1980s-style corridors is getting on in years and that the conditions on the site are cramped. Everyone was sitting close together in the office of the “general manager” Romke-Jan van Dijk when Böck expressly emphasized how closely coordinated the company’s expansion was and how important dialogue with the public was. There will be additional greenery on the Theresienbogen, he said. The buildings themselves would also be greened, as far as possible under the conditions for a pharmaceutical manufacturer. MSD had expressly promised to be open to discussions about the design of the facade. A “visually appealing” solution is sought.
The former Reka business premises were demolished. There was room for something new.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
It is about a 16 meter high, elongated production hall, in which there will also be space for laboratories. In addition, there is an adjacent energy supply center with a planned chimney that is 22 meters high. The fact that all of this should be possible within a distance of less than 20 meters from the residential buildings on the Theresienbogen has to do with the fact that the Reka corrugated cardboard works once had a production facility on the site. This was abandoned and MSD saw an opportunity to expand its site. According to Böck, the city helped to initiate the purchase of the area. The Reka halls were demolished. Now there is room for something new.
A multi-storey car park is to be built on a narrow strip north of Südliche Ingolstädter Straße.
(Photo: visualization form 3d)
And that, as MSD and City Hall pointed out, promises benefits for local residents. A six-storey multi-storey car park, which is also planned and will be built on the north side of Südliche Ingolstädter Straße, is intended to reduce parking pressure in the district. It was said that production would be quieter compared to Reka, and the MSD halls would be set back a few meters from the property line to allow for planting. According to project manager Jochen Stöhr, it is still unclear which energy source the energy center, which MSD says is indispensable for production, will run on. Talk about geothermal energy, but also think about gas. We are a few years too early for hydrogen. An expressly preliminary visualization envisages a facade with colour-changing metal strips, which is vaguely reminiscent of the Brandhorst Museum in Munich. Something like that is conceivable, although not with the artistic standards of the museum, said Stöhr at the press conference.
Between 50 and 60 medicines for pets and farm animals are manufactured in Unterschleissheim in facilities that Stöhr compared to a large kitchen with large pots and filling stations. Above all, sterile drugs that are administered by syringe, such as insulin preparations for diabetes, go from Feldstrasse to veterinarians or animal owners who care about their dogs, cats and cattle. According to Stöhr, as a large corporation, MSD is entitled to provide medicines for all needs. According to General Manager van Dijk, these are being built at around 24 locations. The research is located in Frankfurt in particular, not in Unterschleißheim.
Near the B 13: the largest investment project for MSD animal health for years to come.
(Photo: visualization: form 3d/MSD-animal health)
According to MSD, the project in Unterschleißheim is the largest in terms of investment volume in the next few years in the MSD animal health sector. They did not want to name a sum, although project manager Stöhr referred to the US corporate culture, which demands restraint with such things. An expansion of the current workforce of 400 and of the business is not immediately planned, but will be made possible by the project in principle. Internally, this runs under the name “MSD Unterschleißheim location evolution”. As Stöhr emphasized, the project, known as “Muse” for short, is keeping a number of things open and wants to be inspired by the citizens, especially when it comes to the design of the facade.