Stadler hosts grand opening for its North America office and warehouse complex

Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH, headquartered in Altshausen, Germany, inaugurated its new U.S. headquarters and warehouse complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Oct. 28 with a grand opening celebration. The 234-year-old company says the 27,000-square-foot facility reflects its commitment to innovation, customer service and sustainable growth in North America.

Photo courtesy of Stadler America LLC

Founded in 1791, Stadler Group plans, produces and assembles sorting systems and components for the recycling industry. The company delivers tailor-made turnkey solutions from conceptual design and engineering to installation, modernization and servicing.

Its product range includes ballistic separators, conveyor belts, trommel screens, label removers, bale dewiring units, steel structures and electrical switch cabinets for complete recycling plants.

The event, which included tours of the new facility, a ribbon cutting and dinner, brought together Stadler leadership, including Stadler Group co-CEOs Willi Stadler and Julia Stadler and Stadler America LLC CEO Mat Everhart, with the company’s customers and partners, local officials and media representatives. Guests from across the U.S. and abroad joined Stadler at the new Centre Park Court premises.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nick Reid, president of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the company to the community and its investment in the region, saying, “Stadler’s decision to establish its North American headquarters here in Winston-Salem is a strong vote of confidence in our city, our workforce and our future. Investments like this create high-quality jobs and reinforce our city’s position as a hub for sustainable industry and innovation.”

An investment in service and responsiveness

Construction of the new headquarters complex, which was designed to reflect Stadler’s corporate identity and reflects a commitment to sustainability, took 17 months. Combining office and warehouse space, the site enables faster service, improved logistics and enhanced customer support, according to the company. Strategically located near major transportation routes and the local airport ensures Stadler’s ability to serve customers across North America.

The site accommodates roughly $4 million in spare parts currently, with plans to double that in the near future, Stadler representatives said during the tour.

Photo courtesy of Stadler America LLC

“The new site marks a key milestone in our growth strategy and underscores our commitment to staying close to customers worldwide—particularly in the North American market, which offers enormous potential,” Willi Stadler said. “With expanded office and warehouse space, we can respond to customer needs more efficiently, driving innovation and performance. A local presence enables closer collaboration, allowing us to develop tailored solutions, from new plant designs to system retrofits. In addition, our extensive stock of spare and wear parts ensures exceptional speed in any service situation, providing immediate support with minimal downtime.”

Expanding its capabilities across North America

With the new facility, Stadler America has nearly doubled its staff and inventory, enabling faster service and improved customer responsiveness, the company says.

“As many, if not most, of our customers operate their sorting and recycling lines more than 16 hours a day, seven days a week, they rely on us for maintenance assistance, so our service and quick responses are crucial to earning our customers’ confidence,” Everhart said.

He underscored that the company’s true strength lies in its people: “The new facility is world-class, state-of-the-art; however, the true success of a company and its value to its customers is shown in our employees’ deep commitment to service and timely responses.”

Built for innovation, teamwork and sustainability

The new headquarters also reflect Stadler’s core values of innovation, collaboration and sustainability, according to the company. Designed with sustainable materials, efficient workflows and generous natural light, the facility provides room for expansion and features dedicated spaces for training and teamwork.

“The new location is symbolic of many things that define Stadler: innovation, close customer relationships and the courage to explore new paths as a company,” Willi Stadler said. “It is not only a milestone in our international expansion but also reflects our core values: We are actively shaping the future of the recycling industry. My special thanks go to our employees worldwide for their dedication, ideas and team spirit. Without their commitment, this step would not have been possible.

"I would also like to thank our customers for their trust and long-standing cooperation. Together, we develop solutions that truly make a difference. It is only through close collaboration with our partners that we can take the circular economy to the next level.”

Readying for the future

The company plans to further increase its local service and engineering teams to provide more direct support to its growing customer base.

Photo courtesy of Stadler America

“Our goal is to intentionally strengthen and sustainably grow our market presence in North America,” Julia Stadler said. “The new branch office and warehouse location is just the beginning: We plan to gradually expand our local service and engineering teams, bringing us even closer to our customers both when developing technical concepts and when addressing operational challenges. In this way, we aim to consolidate further Stadler’s position as a dependable partner and innovation driver in the North American recycling industry.”

Everhart added, “We want to attract top talent, and the new facility will help us do that with an environment that clearly signals that this is a great place to work.”

As part of Stadler America’s efforts to attract talent to the company and the recycling industry broadly, the company welcomed students from Duke University’s graduate programs in the Pratt School of Engineering and the Fuqua School of Business to the grand opening.

Everhart tells Recycling Today Media Group that Stadler became aware of two new Duke programs in 2023 that are similar to initiatives the company has seen serve as talent pipelines into the waste and recycling industry:

• Fuqua School of Business – Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE), led by Dan Vermeer, Ph.D. 
• Pratt School of Engineering – Climate & Sustainability Engineering (C&SE) Program, led by Professor Sara Oliver. Nine master’s students attended from this program.

In addition to three master’s students from the Fuqua School and nine from the Pratt School, Everhart says three doctoral candidates from Pratt who wanted to learn more attended the event.

Stadler America also hosted Bastian Küppers, Ph.D., from Stadler Anlagenbau for the week as he led three guest lectures at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering.

“Our interest in partnering with Duke stems from a desire to help bridge a gap we see in the current talent landscape,” Everhart says. “At the graduate level, most engineering and business students are still largely unaware of the waste and recycling sector, even as manufacturers like Stadler and operators such as WM, Republic Services and GFL and, of course, many more have experienced a technological renaissance over the last decade. The skills needed to plan and operate facilities today are far more advanced than even a few years ago, and we believe that early exposure through university programs like these is key to developing the next generation of leaders in this space.”