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On 3 February 2016, Kerstin Radomski, member of the German Bundestag, paid a visit to Hauser Umwelt-Service GmbH & Co. KG in Krefeld. She was able to experience at first hand how successful the cooperation on the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF)’s innovation network’s IGF (German Industrial Community Research) projects, as well as the projects of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)’s Central Innovation Programme for Medium-Sized Businesses (ZIM) runs, as well as see which fruits, in the form of new products, result from this research work.
Yvonne Karmann-Proppert, president of the AiF, Dr Burkhard Schmidt, director of the AiF’s Industrial Community Research, and Raphaela Smarzcz, head of the AiF’s research policy, accompanied MdB Radomski on her visit. “We are pleased to show politicians concrete examples of the fantastic innovation activities undertaken by medium-sized enterprises that were initiated by the IGF and ZIM’s support programmes,” is how Schmidt explains the background to the company visit. “Such visits provide insights into the research and development work carried out by medium-sized businesses.”
An inventive talent for clean, safe working worlds
Hauser Umwelt-Service GmbH & Co. KG is a family business specialising in room air and protective ventilation systems, founded in 1992 and based in Krefeld, Germany. As part of the HauserGruppe, which was formed in 1932, and which with its technology for safety, breathing protection, environmental protection and fire protection has undergone constant growth, the business operates on the basis of the motto: Quality without compromise. This is the only way to ensure that room air and breathing protection systems can meet the demanding requirements of the widest range of possible pollution situations that arise in everyday use. These span dangers resulting from contaminated earth, heavily dust-laden air in demolition and underground operations, right up to buildings whose concentration of pollutants is so high that they present an acute risk to health.
In order to be able to fulfil the complete spectrum of customer requirements, the Krefeld air purification experts deploy a balanced mixture of innovative products and proven technology. Together with customers, research associations and research institutes, such as the German North-West Textiles Research Centre (DTNW) in Krefeld or the Institute for Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA) in Duisburg, we have been coming up with sustainable product developments for many years now. Both research institutions were also represented on the visit to Hauser Umwelt-Service, in the form of Prof Dr Jochen Gutmann (managing director of the DTNW) and Dr Stefan Haep (IUTA managing director).
Importance of the Industrial Community Research to the business
The Industrial Community Research in particular has contributed to the constant optimisation of product technology here at Hauser Umwelt-Service GmbH. “The involvement in the AiF innovations network, and the resulting contact with other businesses, research institutes and scientists, inspires and motivates us tremendously when it comes to actively driving our own development work forward,” emphasises Carsten Plänker, operations manager at Hauser. Since 2008, the business has been active in project-based committees in various IGF projects, which are coordinated by the AiF members IUTA (Institute for Energy and Environmental Technology) and FKT (Textile Research Advisory Board). At the moment, Hauser Umwelt-Service GmbH is involved in three IGF projects, and more are at the planning stage.
Dr.-Ing. Stefan Haep, managing director of the AiF member IUTA, praised the benefits of the AiF innovation network and the benefits of the IGF projects in which the company was and is involved. “The IGF is an outstanding promotional instrument that brings together experts from business and science, and which leads to fruitful synergy effects. It is often the case, such as with the Hauser company, that the results of the IGF projects form the basis for successful ZIM projects.”
Dr Klaus Jansen, managing director of AiF member FKT added that the pre-competitive IGF businesses enable direct participation in research projects and access to the latest research findings. “The IGF projects therefore have an enormous impact in the sectors, and stimulate further innovations in the companies,” he concluded.
Encouraged by development successes in the framework of the IGF, the Krefeld-based company has also gradually become involved in larger scale research projects. A first step in this direction was the development of the Sansoro room air system. Among other features, the Sansoro’s four-stage filter system also includes a special filter medium that was the result of an IGF project at the DTNW. “Without the inspiration from, and partners in, the AiF projects’ research network, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the proven innovations of the Sansoro technology,” underlines Stephan Hauser, managing director of Hauser Umwelt-Service GmbH & Co. KG.
With an ‘intelligent gas filter’, the company’s research work moves to the next phase: Last year, in cooperation with the IUTA and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the ZIM project ‘BESMART’ was successfully launched. This project will see the development of an ‘intelligent’ gas filter for protective ventilation systems and other air filtration devices. The filter will emit an alert when its capacity for absorbing harmful gases has been exhausted, therefore reliably protecting the user against harmful environmental influences.
“As a businesswoman I know how well the IGF and ZIM’s support of medium-sized enterprises works. And as president of the AiF, I’m delighted to see how effectively the BMWi’s funds work in medium-sized enterprises, and how efficiently they are used,” sums up Yvonne Karmann-Proppert after her visit to Hauser Umwelt Service GmbH.
Regarding her visit, Bundestag member Kerstin Radomski says approvingly: “Our medium-sized businesses are not only world leaders in many sectors thanks to the outstanding quality of their products, but also because they recognise the importance of joint research and development activities when it comes to competitiveness. The German economy wouldn’t be able to flourish to the extent it does were it not for this backbone of medium-sized enterprises in the country.
Photos: AiF
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