BENTELER apprentices win “Energy Scouts OWL 2016” - Accolade for pioneering approach to saving resources
Paderborn/Salzburg 29.11.2016 – In 2016 over 168 apprentices from 40 companies in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region (OWL), Germany, went on the hunt to uncover and exploit new energysaving potential within their organizations. The joint winners of the “Energy Scouts OWL 2016” competition and project have now been presented with their prize. They are third-year BENTELER apprentices David Flore, a process mechanic, and Maik Mainik, an electronics technician.
Again in 2016 the Energy Scouts OWL contest attracted an impressive variety of projects. A total of 24 teams of apprentices, from companies across the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region, were honored in this year´s award ceremony held in the Schüco Competence Center in Bielefeld. The first prize, of 1,000 euros, went to BENTELER apprentices David Flore and Maik Mainik for their idea of reducing the electricity consumption of a hydraulic pump in BENTELER Automotive´s Talle plant by up to 70 percent during idle times, by using intelligent controls. Maik Mainik explains: “By fitting an upstream frequency converter it is possible to reduce annual power consumption by 64 percent. That means a saving of 3,216 euros in electricity costs each year.” David Flore adds: “As well as savings in costs, this also reduces wear and tear on the pump and the drive system. The noise level is lower, too, which in turn helps create a better working environment.”
In total the Energy Scouts in Ostwestfalen-Lippe have uncovered over 200,000 euros worth of savings this year – that includes savings of around 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Thomas Koch, Head of Training at BENTELER, is very pleased with the pioneering role BENTELER is taking here: “Economic success is directly linked to corporate responsibility – responsibility towards not only the employees, but also to society and the environment. In the trainee programs at BENTELER we address this issue early on. We want to encourage our apprentices to take a proactive role and help save energy. Receiving an award for a project like this helps us in the company to further motivate our apprentices to play their part in future activities.”
Education at BENTELER
The BENTELER-Group is growing continuously and with it the variety of professional possibilities. We offer the best prospects, exciting challenges and diverse career opportunities for advancement. That is why we traditionally attach great importance to the training of young people and have steadily expanded our range of offers in recent years. In total, BENTELER currently employs more than 500 apprentices and trainees in the region Ostwestfalen Lippe (OWL), in Germany even 750 in total.