NRW Minister-President as guest at the opening of the Materna headquarters

The new headquarters of Dortmund-based IT group Materna has been in operation since June 2024. The ultra-modern building on the former Phoenix West blast furnace site offers space for 1,800 employees and has now been officially opened. NRW Minister-President Hendrik Wüst honoured Materna as an IT pioneer and emphasised the importance of the industry for North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Minister-President recognised Materna's role in the structural change: "From the heart of the old heavy industry to the digital future: Materna could not have chosen a better location with the opening of the new company headquarters at Phoenix-West in Dortmund. Because where one of the Ruhr region's largest blast furnace plants once stood, an innovative centre for IT services and digitalisation is now being created. For this reason, we are not only celebrating the opening of a sustainable and state-of-the-art IT centre, but also the success of a family-owned company rooted in the Ruhr region that is strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location and actively shaping the future of our state: from coal to AI!"

The futuristic-looking new building symbolises the development of the Materna Group, which has been one of the leading medium-sized IT companies for many years. In the 2024 financial year, Materna set a new record with a turnover of 712 million euros.

Dortmund's Lord Mayor Thomas Westphal praised the headquarters as an outstanding building and emphasised Dortmund's role as a location for innovation: "Dortmund has been successfully positioning itself as a leading location for IT companies for years. Materna impressively demonstrates that even in a fast-moving industry, a family business can be successful in the long term and occupy a leading position." Materna is a flagship of the IT location Dortmund and stands for Westphalian solidity paired with the innovative spirit of the Dortmund location.

The two company founders Dr Winfried Materna and Helmut an de Meulen were proud of the new company headquarters: "With this location, we are making a clear commitment to the city and the region and underlining our contribution to the transformation towards a modern economy that sets standards in research, development and technology," said Dr Materna. Helmut an de Meulen added: "The Ruhr region can look back on a long tradition of change and innovation. Our new headquarters on the former Phoenix West blast furnace site is a clear signal of our belief in the future of this region and a commitment to progress and digital transformation."

The building at Robert-Schuman-Strasse 20, which cost around 150 million euros, was designed by Dortmund architect Prof Eckhard Gerber. The striking shape of the headquarters is deliberately reminiscent of New York's "Flat Iron Building" and, according to Prof Gerber, sends a clear message: "The shape of the building is a metaphor for Materna's cosmopolitanism and a clear commitment to Dortmund as a location. With this building, Materna is sending a visible signal in favour of its employees and the successful structural change."