Avira opens new company building in Tettnang

The new building perfectly embodies the company’s “live free” motto

Tettnang, Germany, April 6, 2011 – Today, after 16 months of construction, Avira celebrates the grand opening of its new corporate headquarters at Tettnang. The new building’s floor plan resembles the umbrella in the Avira logo and now has ample workspace for 320 employees. Its interior design promotes transparency and communication, thus perfectly reflecting the company’s “live free” motto. So far, the IT security company has invested close to US$ 25 million in this venture.

“Today is a very special day in our corporate history and I am proud that it coincides with our 25th anniversary,” says Tjark Auerbach, Avira’s founder and CEO. “Our ambition was to create an equally pleasant, productive, and inspiring work environment for our employees and I am convinced that the modern, transparent architecture of our new headquarters is the perfect answer to these requirements.”

Symbolic opening – connect not divide

The new building now unites the 12 separate local sites that Avira used to operate. Instead of opening the building with the usual red-ribbon cutting ceremony, Tjark Auerbach had something special in mind. Avira employees stuffed helium-filled balloons into two boxes and let them float towards the ceiling, thus creating two pillars in the building’s lobby that displayed the company’s core principles “Extreme Reliability” and “Personal Freedom” while perfectly symbolizing the new building’s support pillars.

The project was financed by company resources and a loan from the KfW Bankengruppe, provided by Sparkasse Bodensee. The second and final construction phase has already started and will add another 50,000 square feet to the building complex, bringing it to a total of 155,000 square feet. The move-in-date is scheduled for early 2012. The second construction phase will cost US$ 12 million.

The new building – facts & figures

Start of construction works / move-in dates

• Construction phase 1: November 2009 / April 1, 2011
• Construction phase 2: November 2010 / early 2012 (planned)

Floor space & size

• 155,765 sq ft gross floor area
  • Construction phase 1: 105,271 sq ft
  • Construction phase 2: 50,494 sq ft
• 13,000 cubic meters of basement excavation
• 540 workspaces
  • Construction phase 1: 380
  • Construction phase 2: 160

Construction material & installations

• 5,000 cubic meters of concrete
• 600 tons of construction steel
• 18,837 sq ft of insulating glass panes
• 48,438 sq ft of heat insulation at walls and roof
• 61,354 sq ft raised floors on 25,500 small supports
• 4,000 liters of paint
• 48,438 sq ft of wall-to-wall carpet
• 230,000 meters of cable
• 650 meters of cable trays
• 1,500 lights
• 3,800 meters of lightning protection wires
• 50 data racks

Costs

• Construction phase 1: US$ 25 million
• Construction phase 2: US$ 12 million

About Avira

Avira wants its customers to ‘live free’ from spyware, phishing, viruses and other internet-based threats.
The company was founded 25 years ago on Tjark Auerbach's promise to "make software that does good things for my friends and family." More than 100 million consumers and small businesses now depend upon Avira’s security expertise and award-winning antivirus software, making the company the number-two market share leader globally. Avira provides IT-security protection to computers, smartphones, servers and networks, delivered as both software and cloud-based services.

In addition to protecting the online world, Avira's CEO promotes well-being in the offline world through the Auerbach Foundation, which supports charitable and social projects. The philosophy of the foundation is to help people to help themselves.

For more information, please visit www.avira.com or join the community at www.facebook.com/avira.