A new home for the iVario: Rational expands site in Wittenheim
On 5 May 2026, Rational officially opened the extension to its plant in Wittenheim, France. With its production area now doubled, the “RATIONAL iVario Business Centre” has increased its capacity for the iVario Pro cooking system and now offers modern workspaces and a spacious Customer Experience Centre for customers and partners.
The iVario Pro and its predecessor models have been developed and produced at the Wittenheim site for over 20 years. From here, Rational supplies appliances and accessories to over 120 countries worldwide – with great success: whilst around 500 cooking systems were produced in 2005, this figure had risen to over 10,000 by 2025. “With the new building, we are laying the foundations to meet the growing global demand in the long term,” says Thomas Hoch, Chief Product Officer iVario. The new plant will increase potential production capacity to 25,000 units per year. The building’s design also allows for expansion to over 75,000 units per year in the future.
Alongside the combi oven, the iVario Pro is one of the world market leader’s core technologies. While the iCombi Pro and iHexagon are manufactured at the main site in southern Germany, Wittenheim serves as a centre of expertise for contact heating technology. The new building and the investment of €35 million underline the growing strategic importance of the iVario Pro, creating the appropriate structural foundation in the process.
As a result, the site now encompasses the entire iVario value chain, from market and customer development to production and worldwide delivery. Alongside a production area spanning around 10,000 square metres, the new building houses a spacious Customer Experience Centre comprising three training centres where cooking demonstrations, training courses, and events for customers and partners are held. The site also features a modern staff restaurant and around 1,500 square metres of office space with bright, ergonomic workstations. Wittenheim is also home to the headquarters of Rational’s French sales company. Around 270 people from 11 countries work here in total, reflecting the company’s international focus.
Rational placed great emphasis on energy efficiency and a sustainable building concept in the new building. A highly insulated, material-efficient steel structure forms the basis for energy-optimised operation. A heat pump handles heating and cooling, while an intelligent, daylight-dependent LED lighting control system with separate lighting zones reduces energy consumption further. This is complemented by a photovoltaic system designed to cover 25% of the current annual electricity consumption.
“The new building is an important milestone for the team in Wittenheim,” says Hoch. “It creates modern working conditions and underlines the importance of the iVario within the Rational product portfolio. It also lays the foundation for us to continue supplying professional kitchens with the best possible solutions in the future.”
For more information, go to rational-online.com
