The Valley Kemptthal: Industry meets modernity
The Valley is located in Kemptthal, between Zurich and Winterthur. This is where Maggi seasoning was invented over 130 years ago. Today, the area is a home for innovation, development and production and also a centre for various events.
At the beginning of The Valley is one of Switzerland’s best-known “start-ups”: in 1872 Julius Maggi founded the company J. Maggi & Cie on what was then a sparsely developed site in Kemptthal and gradually expanded the site in the years that followed. in 1886 he developed Maggi seasoning – which became world famous.
A lot has happened since then. in 1947, Maggi merged with Nestlé. in 2002, Givaudan took over Nestlé’s flavour business and the associated properties in Kemptthal. in 2003, most of the Maggi production was relocated to Germany. in 2017, Givaudan sold two-thirds of the site to the real estate developer Mettler2Invest.
Since the beginning of 2018, Metler2Invest and the Motorworld Group have been developing the site with the joint company MA Kemptthal Besitz AG, based on a master plan by the architectural firm Ernst Niklaus Fausch Partner.
Since 2019, the area has a new name: The Valley. Today, it comprises office, commercial and production space. Currently 1100 people work here in over 130 companies. The area has a modern village character. Among other things, there is a post office, a bakery, numerous restaurants, bars, shops, health practices, art studios, a car-sharing company for business vehicles and a fitness centre.
Food still plays an important role on the site today – a high-quality food cluster is to develop in the Valley. Many of the resident companies produce or develop food: for example, the well-known manufacturer of plant-based meat substitutes Planted, a contract cheese dairy, a chocolate manufacturer, a bouillon producer and a coffee brewery. Givaudan with its highly specialised research centre and Nestlé with its retail shop are also still present in the area. By 2025, the first new building will house laboratory space for food development and, with The Cultured Hub (Migros, Bühler, Givaudan), a highly specialised research centre for the production of meat from animal cells.
A second thematic focus of The Valley is on motor vehicles. The Motorworld Manufaktur Region Zürich in the heart of the area is a meeting place for people with a passion for classic and high-quality mobility. Various event rooms among vintage cars, supercars and electric racers are the hub for mobility topics and offer space for numerous events.
With events, those responsible also want to enliven the area, which is easily accessible with its own railway station and the nearby motorway connection, but does not directly border on a city, for hours and days at a time. To this end, they have founded their own event company. The area offers 10 to 10,000 square metres of event space for seminars, congresses, readings, meetings, banquets, concerts, markets and festivals. As a supporting programme, for example, guided tours, various team-building activities or rides in racing simulators are possible.
Since 2018, the historic, listed industrial buildings have been extensively renovated and supplemented with additional new buildings that architecturally blend in with the historic building stock. Currently, one of the existing halls is being expanded as an event hall, and the first new building will go into realisation this spring.
A multi-storey car park on an adjacent plot is currently in the approval phase. A pedestrian bridge will later connect it with Valley Square – the central square of the area. A hotel is also planned in one of the existing buildings. A corresponding adjustment of the structure plan is currently underway at the cantonal level for the non-zoned use.
Another new building could be realised from 2026 or 2027. Another four new buildings are possible; these are to be realised depending on demand.