TK

The future begins in the present. The innovations of ThyssenKrupp employees serve their children and many people across the globe. magazine ThyssenKrupp works sustainably - in the present, for the future Steel Automotive Elevator Technologies Materials Serv

Jessica Sternke, 7 “My mom makes steel outsides for buildings.”

Jessica’s mother works for ThyssenKrupp developing bespoke stainless steel cladding for buildings. ThyssenKrupp is world no. 1 in the growing stainless market.

Stainless more popular than ever. By cladding entire facades in stainless steel, Andrea Sternke and her colleagues at Thys- senKrupp put a very special shine on buildings. But stainless has other uses, too, from kitchen equipment and automobile components to chemical plants and offshore installa-

Neuer Zollhof, Düsseldorf. Architekt: Frank O. Gehry tions. Gradually being used to replace more and more materials, stainless steel has a very bright future. Technology leaders in steel development and production. Key to our market position are state-of-the-art production facilities that give us the edge in quality, productivity and competitiveness. Like our new compact strip production line in Duisburg, the first in the world in an integrated steel mill, or our groundbreaking strip caster in Krefeld, both milestones in steelmaking technology. On the sales side, too, we set new standards: We were the first European company in the industry to sell our pro- ducts online. ThyssenKrupp – an attractive investment. Globally active, ThyssenKrupp holds excellent technology and market positions in its three main businesses steel, capital goods and services. With our all-round know-how we are an innovative company with outstanding prospects in many growth markets. All of which makes ThyssenKrupp a stock with potential.

Developing the future. TK

Visit us on the Internet: www.thyssenkrupp.com TK Magazine 1 | 2003 Contents

4 Daily challenge: ThyssenKrupp is committed to sustainability By Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz

6 Creative element: Hydropressure can transform even the hardest steel

12 Sustainable use: Carl von Carlowitz invented sustainability

14 Fast rescue: A desmoking system helps prevent tunnel catastrophes

20 Whispering arrow: The Transrapid is the ideal means of transport Interview with Prof. Dr. Eckhard Rohkamm

24 Award-winning achievement: Thomas Heller invented a steel frame which his son now promotes

28 Intelligent solution: TubPAS steers cars electronically

34 Common future: Changing companies

42 Long-term cooperation: ThyssenKrupp lures young academics

46 High-quality knowledge transfer: A state-of-the-art stainless steel plant is being built in Shanghai

54 European strategy: Sustainability helps create a fairer society

58 New dimension: FR 30 steel withstands fire for up to half an hour

66 Closed cycle: A shaft furnace produces crude iron from residual material

68 Balanced image: A Solartec plant seeks harmony with nature

74 Unbreakable technology: Sheet piles stabilize dikes for the long term

76 Custom-made assistance: Stair lifts improve the quality of life for elderly people

84 Sustainable importance: Corporate governance raises a company’s long-term value Interview with Dr. Gerhard Cromme

86 Visible vision: The TWIN elevator revolutionizes elevator technology

90 Imprint

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 3 ustainable development. There is no way around this concept these days, even though it is an abstract term whose meaning is ThyssenKrupp Sfamiliar to just 10 percent of the German population, according to opinion surveys. Even those who deal with sustainability on a professional basis is committed to have so far been unable to agree on a clear-cut definition of the con- cept, and very few will know that it actually originated in the context of sustainability forestry, being first used in 1713 by the mining supervisor Hannß Carl von Carlowitz in the Freiberg district of Saxony. Introduction by Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, Chairman of the Executive Board SUSTAINABILITY IS ABOUT THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE of ThyssenKrupp AG In fact, the concept itself has not changed, since it held that one may only cut as much wood as is harvested from new trees grown else- where. What is true for forestry applies to any other area of life, and sus- tainability means restoring and maintaining an optimal and durable bal- ance between economics, ecology and social responsibility. The Brundtland Report, released in 1987 by the World Environ- ment and Development Commission, defined sustainability as “A form of development that meets the needs of the present without compro- mising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” ThyssenKrupp is wholly committed to this concept of sustainabil- ity, and for this reason has joined the “ecosense” forum on sustain- ability, though for us the concept is far more than an object of debate in an in-house council. To document our commitment to sustainability, we have made it the theme of this latest issue of our company magazine. We have deliberately decided not to compile a sustainability re- port, since such reports risk digressing into the realm of the theoretical Sustainability means a balance between or abstract – or into graveyards of data. ThyssenKrupp is instead seek- economy, ecology and ing to give sustainability a face, figuratively speaking, and as a high- social responsibility. technology company we are opening our doors to show how our em- Being true to this principle is a daily challenge for the ployees develop new, sophisticated products in line with sustainability employees of ThyssenKrupp, criteria. which they take up wherever they may be working. It is our answer to the prophesies of global collapse and doom that have been making the rounds for 30 years now. It was three decades ago that Dennis Meadows published his report on the limits to growth, and its computer-modeled crisis scenarios certainly alarmed many people, raising as they did the specter of the end of mankind. Only a year later, Konrad Lorenz, the behavioral scientist and Nobel Prize winner, spoke of “the eight deadly sins of civilized mankind.” Tak- ing on the role of preacher, he formulated his “call on mankind to re- pent and shed its vices,” warning that otherwise not only culture but the very existence of the human race as a species would be threatened. Meadows has remained true to his gloomy theory, arguing in 2000 that “It is now too late for sustainable development; we have to

fight to secure our survival.” We explicitly disagree with such a pes- Bartsch Photo Werner

4 simistic outlook, and believe that while it is important to write about sus- cially just and ecologically sound development not only today, but also tainability we above all have to live it. This magazine offers a variety of in the future.” All our innovations are future-oriented; they serve people examples proving that human knowledge and its practical application today and are designed to serve at least another generation, as well. can play a decisive role here. The only question is whether this is enough. As Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations, re- cently noted, “Knowledge has always been the key to human develop- SUSTAINABILITY PRESUPPOSES SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ment. It will also be the key to sustainability.” Some experts such as the British sociologist Anthony Giddens complain ThyssenKrupp lives this concept of sustainability. We make sub- that today’s society is “obsessed with the future,” and designing that stantial investments in the training and further education of our em- future is clearly increasingly complex in a global world with interna- ployees and, in cooperation with universities in Germany and abroad, in tionally active investors and companies. This is true also for Thyssen the promotion of knowledge and science – with tangible results. Only Krupp, and that is exactly why we need to gain an understanding of the because our employees make full use of their knowledge to arrive at roots of our company. One essay in this magazine looks at these basics new, creative and innovative ideas is it possible to arrive at the kinds of and takes a historical look at the principles which were common to the stories and reports that you can read in this magazine. former competitors Thyssen, Krupp and Hoesch, and ultimately helped We use the materials that nature offers us while saving energy, re- bring them together under one roof and one brand name. sources and aiming for maximum recycling quotas. Society has doubt- Social responsibility toward our employees has long been, and re- less made great progress in this respect over the past three decades, mains, important to us. At the same time, transparency plays an in- learning along the way that resource-efficient production processes are creasingly important role, especially in the light of the demands of the not only environmentally responsible but in most cases reduce costs German Corporate Governance Code. ThyssenKrupp complies with and help to improve value creation. most of the Code’s recommendations in the hope of strengthening trust Take steel, a material whose reusability is unsurpassed by any in the company among shareholders, customers, employees and in- other material. Thanks to new technologies, we have managed to use vestors. This is no tribute to analysts or an attempt to gain entry to the the characteristics of water as a medium for the transfer of pressure to Swiss-born “Dow Jones Sustainability World Index,” but part of our cor- remold steel for its use in automotive engineering, thereby saving en- porate culture and hence our view of ourselves. ergy (and money). Similarly, our new Solartec line uses not only the roof We see ourselves as a technology company that takes into ac- of a house but also its walls as a source of energy, so that no conven- count the entire spectrum of technical requirements – for example, with tional roof and facade covering is required. home elevators that greatly enhance the quality of life for the growing number of elderly people. ThyssenKrupp is not guided by short-term SUSTAINABILITY AIMS FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP expectations. The strategy of our Group, which now stands for far more An important thing to remember is that, in today’s world, reducing cost than steel production and steel processing, takes a sustainable – and does not have to mean lessening quality. To the contrary, newly devel- by that we mean a medium-to-long-term – view. oped steering systems such as “TubPAS” for cars – which in its func- All this is highlighted in this magazine. Let us tell you about our tion as an active steering system replaces the hydraulic steering system activities in words and pictures, and you will discover the world of while maintaining the optimal steering experience – not only save ThyssenKrupp from a new perspective. space, but also work better while increasing driver safety. Or take our recently presented concept for the elevators of the fu- ture: We have turned an idea that was registered as a patent in 1931 into a product. The principle of “one shaft, two elevators” will likely rev- olutionize the operation of elevators in high-rise buildings because peo- ple will waste considerably less time waiting around. Or turn to the re- port on our new fire-resistant steels, which can withstand fire for 90 minutes – this, too, will have an impact on future building technology. Such technological advances correspond exactly to the ambitious Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz, requirements of sustainability. In its preamble, the United Nations’ Chairman of the Executive Board Agenda 21 calls for a “global partnership for economically feasible, so- of ThyssenKrupp AG

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 5

Creative element Hydropressure can transform even the hardest steel

By Michael Jakob | Photos Markus Dlouhy

nd the water prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered skin presses against the box’s inner sides and finally takes their shape. all the high mountains which were under the heaven. And there The balloon becomes square.” Adied all flesh that moved upon the earth, of flying creatures and The IHP process is quite similar. Initially, a tube that can be given cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, and an approximate shape through conventional forming or mechanical every man.” transforming is put into a lower forming die half, Mr. Fischer explains. This is the description of the Great Flood in Genesis, and it is only “The upper and lower part each contain half of the negative engraving one example of the destructive power of water. Flood myths exist from of the later component. It’s basically the same as with casting – only nearly all times and cultures, and recount how the life-giving element that hydroforming is about expanding, not about casting.” can turn into an all-devouring torrent. Everything happens very quickly once the blank has been insert- But as with other elements, the impact of water depends on the ed: The die is closed by moving down the upper forming die half, the amount. When it is fully unleashed, water can bring death and destruc- tube ends are closed with punches, and a massive stream of water tion, but when it is channeled and reined in by technology, man can use flows into the work piece while the other sealing punch remains slight- it for his own purposes, whether to generate energy, mill grain, or run ly open. “This ensures that all air can flow out of the work piece while it turbines. is being filled up,” Mr. Fischer says. Or to form metal. Since water, unlike air, hardly changes its vol- Once the tube is filled with water, the actual forming process be- ume even under severe pressure, it is an excellent medium for the gins. The punches close, and through the punch openings a continu- transfer of pressure onto other objects in order to change their shape. ous stream of water flows into the sealed tube, pushed in by a high-per- Just how this works can be seen in the southern German city of Heil- formance pressure intensifier. With a pressure of several thousand bar, bronn, where ThyssenKrupp Drauz GmbH, a subsidiary of Thyssen the water presses the side of the tube against the die cavity – until the Krupp Automotive, specializes in a technology with which steel, alu- tube is fully pressed into the negative engraving. minum and other metals can be turned into nearly any shape through water pressure. This technology, which has increasingly been used in POWERFUL PRESSES FOR HUGE PRESSURES automotive engineering over the past 10 years, is called hydroforming. Huge presses are required to master such pressures, and the machines Among the mainstream hydroforming processes, interior high- that monitor the IHP process at ThyssenKrupp Drauz almost reach the pressure forming (IHP) has proven particularly advantageous, allowing ceiling of the production hall. “These machines have a break strength for the precise manufacturing of such complex components as engine of up to 54,000 kilo Newton, corresponding to the weight impact of carriers or car body frames. about 5,000 small cars,” says Mr. Fischer. “You need this force to pre- “The principle is really quite simple,” explains Sven Fischer, head vent the two parts of the mold from being pushed apart during the form- of development and method plan hydroforming at ThyssenKrupp ing process.” Drauz. “Imagine you’re blowing up a balloon which you press into a box ThyssenKrupp Drauz is among the pioneers in applying hydro- while you're filling it: While the balloon is being blown up, the rubber forming to automotive engineering. The company, which was founded

Less weight, same thickness

Side roof rails for the Audi A8 or subframes for the VW Phaeton – with hydroforming, even complex parts can be formed precisely. Hydraulic cylinders serve to seal components.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 9

Interior high-pressure forming creates pressures of several thousand bar. Only high-performance presses are able to manage these forces. Following the IHP process, the component is equipped with additional parts.

Maintaining the volume despite high pressure

in 1900 as a “vehicle manufacturing workshop” and designed the first but also render it more stable, and hence safer. “Components that are self-supporting bus body, among other things, detected very early on made from two half forms almost always have welding flanges, sacri- the enormous potential of so-called pressure transfer, medium-based ficing space and supporting capacity; more components are needed, forming, a process in which liquid media such as water assume the thus raising the car’s weight,” says Mr. Fischer. “IHP components, how- function of tension force components. ever, display more strength and deliver higher static and dynamic re- It all began in the early 1990s with the in-house development of sistance. This allows for a reduction of wall thickness and weight even a special IHP process; today, ThyssenKrupp Drauz is the European with the external measurements unchanged – while also improving the technology leader in hydroforming, with customers that include such car’s crash resistance.” global players as Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, Volkswagen and PSA (Peugeot), as well as a large number of automotive suppliers. LITTLE SPACE, LOTS OF FUNCTIONALITY The subframe for the Volkswagen Phaeton is produced in Heilbronn, as Mr. Fischer cites a simple calculation to outline the overall effect of are the front axle carrier for the Touareg, Volkswagen’s new sports util- these positive characteristics of hydroforming: “As a rule of thumb, you ity vehicle, and its premium relative, the Porsche Cayenne, as well as save 0.6 liters (0.15 U.S. gallon) of fuel per 100 kilometers (62 miles) roughly half of the body structure parts of the new Audi A8 – from the driven for each 100 kilograms (220 lbs.) of reduced weight. A car body side roof rail and the door sills to different crossbars. made out of IHP components may weigh about 10 to 20 kilograms less All these parts are subject to the highest standards in terms of than a conventionally manufactured body, which may not appear all space utilization, wall thickness minimization, functionality and crash that exciting at a first glance, but you have to see it in the overall con- resistance. It is here that hydroforming comes into its own. “It’s not as text. If you reduce the weight of the car body, you no longer need an though hydroforming was slowly gaining ground because automotive equally powerful engine to accelerate it, meaning the engine will use producers are trying to promote a new technology – to the contrary, hy- less gasoline, which means that you can build a smaller tank, a lighter droforming is coming to the fore because it helps solve a technical chassis and lighter wheels. Hydroforming thus contributes to a sub- problem,” said Mr. Birkert. stantial reduction in overall vehicle weight, and not only with regard to “The problem is that all technology that goes into a car – from the those components manufactured via hydroforming.” electric motor for raising and lowering the windows to the navigation sys- And hydroforming harbors considerable additional potential. Its tem and other things – raises the car’s weight. But the heavier a car, the key benefit – to accommodate a lot of functionality in relatively little more fuel it consumes, meaning that car makers have to try to save the space and at relatively low cost – has proven particularly beneficial in added weight somewhere else – without, of course, compromising on the automotive industry, but other sectors as diverse as furniture and passenger safety. This is why so-called lightweight manufacturing has bicycle manufacturing should also reap benefits from this economical established itself in automotive engineering. And in lightweight manu- and efficient technology. facturing, hydroforming has proven to be a suitable forming process.” A lot can be done with water – or as the German poet Goethe com- Thanks to production “out of one cast,” IHP components not only mented, well ahead of his time, “Water is a friendly element to whom- markedly reduce the car’s weight – and hence its fuel consumption – ever is familiar with it and knows how to treat it.”

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 11 ustainability n 1) a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” SThat’s what a contemporary dictionary tells us, but the definition is abstract, with no hint of where the word originates – whether it was simply invented by environmentalists, or found somewhere by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. In fact, the word can be found in a 1713 book by Hannß Carl von Carlowitz, who was in charge of supervising mines in the Freiberg area of Saxony and came to be more concerned about what development was doing to the region’s forests.

THOSE WHO CUT THE WOOD HAVE TO PLANT IT AS WELL His Sylvicultura oeconomica – Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht (The Economics of Sylviculture – Directions for the Growth of Wild Forests) is considered the first work of its kind, addressing as it did the idea that natural resources needed to be actively protected if they were to continue to thrive – and provide raw materials for people – over the long term. Von Carlowitz had been born into an old family of knights not far from the eastern German city of Chemnitz at one of the darkest mo- ments of German history – the year 1645, when the Thirty Years War was nearing its grim conclusion after years of indescribable cruelties in the battles of Wallenstein, especially during the Saxony military The man campaign. Von Carlowitz knew what he was writing about because he was who invented observing substantial changes in nature. Deforested woods and barren land were particularly common, and his study, a 410-page tome, re- sustainability peatedly returned to the same thesis: The shortage of wood entails poverty. Not only in Germany, by the way, the country which used to be Hannß Carl von Carlowitz, covered by forests – although Carlowitz quoted Tacitus’s description in mining supervisor in Freiberg, Saxony his first chapter of how in only a few years more woodland had been de-

By Sebastian Groß

12 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | forested “than had grown in several centuries.” And that it had been al- played a significant role in explaining the growing impoverishment of lowed to happen even though “a large part of a country’s welfare de- European populations. His conclusion: Wood is no less important than pends on wood things.” our daily bread, and only a balanced relationship between plantation The result, summed up by the poet Ovid, was that “the land looks and deforesting can reap rewards when its use is “continuous.” In other dismal.” People have for centuries worried about shortages of wood. In words, sustainable. the reprint of the booklet, “Lesson on Lignite, Its Uses for All Types of Fire,” translated from French and printed in Dresden in 1780, the ex- THOSE WHO PLANT WOOD RECEIVE A PRIZE ample of France’s Languedoc province is used to show that the wood It was the words of Von Carlowitz, this stern former state councillor, that supply “is decreasing from one day to the next. It is well-known that the had a sustained impact in a progressive, forward-looking town and at a already severe shortage of firewood in Languedoc is becoming so time when another man had a sustained impact: The organ maker Gott- much more serious each year that wood supplies may soon be erod- fried Silbermann, whose mighty organ in Freiberg Cathedral was fin- ed.” It was recommended that the country urgently “plant firewood and ished in 1714 and has maintained its warm, full and rounded sound to even reward such plantation.” this day. It was inaugurated with the words, “He is called Silbermann Von Carlowitz had the same idea and, probably because they (Silverman), he could be a Goldmann (Goldman).” were so temperate and reasoned, his comments have outlasted the These lines reflect the confidence of this town’s outstanding per- centuries and remained current. Forestry historians agree that the word sonalities. Silbermann told the city council that he could say of himself “sustainable” became part of the language, and in 1780 a forestry, “that the organ would be unrivaled in Saxony and anywhere else.” fisheries and hunting dictionary authored by Johann Friedrich Stahl ex- Those who study Carlowitz’s book will sense the same sort of confi- plained that “sustainable deforesting” meant “far more than the divi- dence as was exhibited by the organ maker Silbermann. sion of a forest into certain annual cuts; nature does not work accord- Yet it was no end in itself. Freiberg was a silver town and was to ing to our design.” remain so. It was here that wood as a renewable raw material was in- Heinrich Cotta, the founder of the forestry academy in Tharandt, dispensable. Carl von Carlowitz pointed this out in numerous delibera- near Freiberg, wrote in his “Instructions on Forestry” in 1817 that tions on the same topic, describing the indicators of sustainability long “Forests should be treated in a way that ensures the greatest possible before anyone could even dream of the Rio Summit or the 2002 world sustainable use.” summit on sustainable development. The journalist Ulrich Grober has followed Von Carlowitz’s tracks. Von Carlowitz was in many ways an educated man, wrote Grober, citing In the 17th and 18th centuries, the lack of wood contributed to his extensive travels across Europe into countries such as the Nether- the growing impoverishment of lands, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, France and Italy between 1665 and European populations. Hannß Carl von Carlowitz observed this – and 1669, interrupted only by studies at the universities of Leiden and in 1713 wrote a treatise on the subject, Utrecht. After that, Von Carlowitz was convinced that wood shortages calling for sustainable thinking.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 13 Once the tunnel is filled with thick smoke, help often arrives too late for many people. The new vortex hood system with intake sockets saves human lives because desmoking starts within 90 seconds. Death trap tunnel: Rescue through vortex hoods ThyssenKrupp HiServ’s new desmoking system helps prevent catastrophes in tunnel fires Help through fast smoke elimination The desmoking system, which was developed by Dr. Volkhard Nobis, ensures that toxic gases are speedily sucked out of tunnels. Small water particles, which can be injected into the vortex hoods, contribute to lowering the temperature of the toxic gases.

ou learn from experience. At least that’s what you’d think. But tunnel ceiling, and are opened at about a 90 degree angle. Intake sock- looking back at the horrible fires in the Tauern, Montblanc or Saint ets are installed inside the vortex hoods at regular intervals. When these YGotthard tunnels, you may doubt this dictum. Despite the fatal are activated, air rotation begins in the vortex hood. At its center along outcome, with many dead and injured, there has been no major the cylinder axis a low pressure zone forms, akin to the eye of the storm. progress in fighting fires in tunnels. These catastrophes have unfortu- The gases that flow toward the ceiling are sucked up and flow into ex- nately shown that safety standards are insufficient to protect human life haust ducts behind the intake sockets. Depending on the extent of the in such extreme situations. fire, the sockets can be activated along a specific stretch, thus forming But what are the reasons? The extreme temperature is one of the a longer or shorter “eye of the storm.” biggest problems in tunnel fires. Much more dangerous, however, are the toxic gases. “The first order of business has to be pumping out the MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE IN 90 SECONDS smoke quickly and precisely,” stresses Dr. Volkhard Nobis, deputy di- Speed is of essence when things get serious. As soon as a fire breaks rector of research and development at ThyssenKrupp HiServ in Gießen. out, the system must be activated. “These gases often contain such Among this company’s specializations are climate technology and fluid high toxic concentrations that they are even very dangerous after they dynamics. Burning vehicles cause toxic gases to spread within seconds have been diluted with normal air,” Nobis explains. Lives can only be – often undetected initially. The result: People fall into a stupor and then saved if the tunnel is cleared of smoke quickly. Nobis proposes in- lose consciousness. Once smoke fills the tunnel, rescue teams lack vis- stalling induction loops on the road that detect traffic congestion. At ibility – a horror scenario is preprogrammed. these points, the vortex hood system is activated at a low level – the- Volkhard Nobis has succeeded in developing a system with the oretically it may just be a “normal” car that has broken down. Howev- potential to prevent such horrible incidents. His desmoking system is er, if sensors in the vacuum pipes detect an above-average concen- modeled after nature, more precisely after the natural phenomenon of tration of smoke or gas, the system is immediately activated at full the whirlwind. Cylinder-shaped vortex hoods are installed along the force. Within around 90 seconds, maximum desmoking sets in that is

By Jan Voosen | Photos Michael Kerstgens

18 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | capable of dealing with extreme temperatures. This could enable hun- heat. Steel, on the other hand, is highly heat resistant and only de- dreds of people to flee even in a serious fire, and rescue personnel forms. After a fire, it merely needs to be exchanged. This doesn’t take could reach the scene of an accident with good visibility. In addition, much time, since the hoods come in preassembled components. Re- firefighters wouldn’t need breathing devices, which require breaks pairing cement takes much longer, making it impossible to reopen a every 15 minutes. tunnel in a timely manner. The desmoking system developed by ThyssenKrupp HiServ can be optimized with an additional feature. Developer Nobis calls this fea- EFFICIENT SYSTEM FOR LONG TUNNELS ture the “turbo:” the injection of small water particles into the vortex ThyssenKrupp HiServ’s patented desmoking system can save lives in hood. This cools the toxic gases and increases the pressure, allowing tunnels as short as 600 meters. “In shorter tunnels, the side exits are the system to suck up greater amounts of toxic gases. At the same sufficient to remove toxic gases quickly,” says Nobis. Although his sys- time, the cold toxic gases cool the ceiling pipes and create greater sta- tem isn’t up and running in any tunnels yet, the developer is optimistic. bility against the high flame temperatures inside the tunnel. Once the “Many tunnel construction projects are planned several years in ad- tunnel has been evacuated, the operating mode can be changed: Air vance. Our system has only been on the market for two years, so the that has been cooled with water particles is directed to the fire site and chances of developing this market segment are still completely open.” sucked up on the other side. The toxic gases no longer endanger peo- His optimism is well-founded. After all, his vortex hood system has al- ple, and the fire is contained more quickly because of the liquid drops. ready proved itself in many other contexts. Diverse steel factories are Nobis says that a vortex hood made of stainless steel allows for the equipped with it, as is Nuremberg’s main train station, the Dresdner greatest possible efficiency. Because of its thin walls, this material of- Bank skyscraper in Frankfurt and parts of the Düsseldorf airport. A few fers the best-possible duct cross-section to suck up a lot of smoke in a years ago, there was a horrible fire at the airport. Those responsible re- short period of time. In addition, there is another advantage: The ce- acted: The new desmoking system is much more effective. An example ment ceilings commonly used to build air ducts can collapse from the that experience can make you smarter.

Model-based emergency testing

Volkhard Nobis simulates tunnel fires in the Gießen laboratory. This is the only way to research the optimal effect of his desmoking system. If required, the intake sockets in the vortex hood can be activated along a specific stretch.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 19 The Transrapid is the first fundamental innovation in track-bound trans- traveling at around 300 km/h need new tracks. The costs are extreme- port since the invention of the railway. Why did it take nearly 70 years ly high, but receive little public attention. from the initial invention by Hermann Kemper until the first Transrapid started running? Are the costs for these new connections higher or lower than for Trans- rapid links? There are several reasons for this. The past 50 years’ developments in transportation have been driven mostly by individual and air transport. It depends on the case in question. Under standard calculations, the There have been no real technological innovations in railroad opera- costs per double-kilometer for newly built rail tracks suitable for speeds tions, no doubt partly because of the rather conservative mentality around 250 km/h roughly match those of a Transrapid connection – among railroad managers. For many people, traveling by rail now has about 15 million to 20 million euros per double-kilometer. The ICE 3, a somewhat nostalgic air. After all, one should not forget that most of however, requires a solid, concrete track, which raises the cost per today’s railroad infrastructure was built during the 19th and early 20th double-kilometer to 30 million euros. Compared to this, the Transrapid century. Yet each alternative solution, which requires new infrastruc- connection is, of course, much cheaper. Due to the Transrapid’s higher ture, causes new costs. ascendability (up to 10 percent, wheel/track up to 4 percent), its tracks require fewer tunnels and bridges. But even conventional railways require investments in new infrastruc- ture, such as for the high-speed connection between Frankfurt and Isn’t the Transrapid’s drive, which is located in the tracks, an addition- Cologne. al cost factor?

That’s right. You need new tracks when you opt for high speed trains. That’s true, but you have to consider the full cost in sustainability terms. An ICE 3 train can’t travel on conventional tracks at high speed. Trains Even if the investment costs for the ICE and the Transrapid are roughly

The Transrapid is known as the “whispering arrow.” Thanks to its magnetic levitation technology, it boasts numerous advantages: Operating costs are lower than for the ICE 3 train; the touch- free operation means there is no mechanical erosion, and energy consumption per seat is lower.

20 ‘The Transrapid is the ideal means of transport’ Interview with Prof. Dr. Eckhard Rohkamm the same, the Transrapid’s operating costs are about two to three We have informed the public comprehensively and correctly about the times cheaper. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the technology. Perhaps we focused too much on the argument of high maintenance costs for a wheel-track high-speed link rise almost ex- speed until the 1980s. This prompted the conclusion that the Trans- ponentially above 250 kilometers per hour. Here, the track system, rapid was only good for long distances, but that its energy consump- which is typically also still used by freight trains, and the rolling ma- tion and noise level were too high for that. That’s when the Transrapid terial undergo substantial erosion. Thanks to its touch-free operation, got nicknamed “low-flying aircraft on stilts.” In view of years of discus- the levitation technology in turn undergoes no mechanical erosion. sion about low-flying aircraft in the 1980s, this was poison for the new And the Transrapid offers other advantages on the operating cost transportation technology, even if both the comparison and the re- side: Higher turnover rates mean that fewer vehicles are required. proaches did not hold water in technical terms. It took us nearly 10 Specific energy consumption per seat is lower than for other trans- years to get rid of this negative phrase. After that, the Transrapid was portation systems. called the “whispering arrow.”

Those are all wonderful arguments in favor of the Transrapid – so why But the whispering arrow still prompts noisy criticism today. Is it above the resistance and avalanche of critical commentary regarding Trans- all Deutsche Bahn Chairman Hartmut Mehdorn who is ruining your rapid connections in our own country? business?

Our argumentation is as follows: If politicians are interested in solving a Mr. Mehdorn himself stressed how important the Metrorapid is for the transportation problem and keeping a substantial share of value cre- Ruhr valley. Two years ago, he said at a public event in the Ems region ation in magnetic levitation technology in Germany, we will also need that there was one decisive argument in favor of the Metrorapid: If we connections here in the foreseeable future. As a company, we can and were really serious about our goal of moving a large part of the still fast will continue to advance the Transrapid in China; our considerations growing traffic in the Ruhr region onto the rail, we would need a quan- don’t stop at the national border. We can also take this technology as a tum leap in transportation capacity. In his opinion – and I agree with him whole to China or to the United States. We would be reluctant to do so, on this point – this cannot be achieved on the existing rail network and but if there are no plans for construction in Germany, we have no with the existing wheel-track technology. Not because there are no fast choice. trains, but because this traffic is already running at extremely tight in- tervals. You can let an ICE 3 train run through the Ruhr valley in 10- A few years ago, a study by the Wuppertal Institut came to the conclu- minute intervals – but then you won’t be able to also operate local or sion that the Transrapid is the “most economical” means of transport. freight trains in between. A substantial increase in capacity on existing Have you perhaps failed to present the Transrapid’s environmental tracks is no longer possible. Additional passenger transport therefore benefits in the past? presupposes new tracks for wheel-track transportation. I’m only sur-

Illustrations Tobias Wandres prised that Mr. Mehdorn’s realization has played no role whatsoever in the current debate.

From the perspective of legal planning procedures, is it at all possible to start Metrorapid operations by 2006?

The key tasks should have been completed by then if a decision is made quickly and serious efforts ensue. Our advantage is that 95 per- cent of the connection runs across existing tracks. Things would look different if we had to buy the property first.

The manufacturing consortium reportedly doesn’t only want to supply the operating system, but also share in the operating proceeds. Is that your intention?

Definitely not. We’re a manufacturer, not an operator of industrial goods and systems. Unfortunately, though, this is also often conveyed wrongly in the public debate.

But you have to admit that the consortium is risk-averse and reluctant to make a sizeable investment?

Here, too, I beg to differ. You see, we have invested about 200 million euros in the development of the Transrapid over the past 20 years, al- ways to the detriment of our results. Even an initial contract in Germany Prof. Dr. Eckhard Rohkamm, who was born in will nowhere near reimburse us for these development costs. Nonethe- 1942, studied and obtained a doctorate in mechanical engineering. In 1991 he joined less, we will continue to invest in this project because we believe in the the board of management of Thyssen AG. long-term success of the Transrapid. Since the merger of Thyssen and Krupp he has been responsible for the ThyssenKrupp Technologies segment on the Executive Board The interview was conducted by Heribert Klein. of ThyssenKrupp.

‘We believe in the Transrapid’ The man who sees through things Understanding steel opens up new opportunities, as Thomas Heller discovered

By Inken Heeb | Photos Claudia Kempf, Hubertus Hamm

The ironworking expert Dr. Thomas Heller is an engineer in the research department of ThyssenKrupp Stahl in Duisburg. His domain is hot-rolled products, with which he develops new ideas. One of these ideas recently won him ThyssenKrupp’s Innovation Prize: a special steel frame for modern flat-screen monitors.

24 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 25 Thomas Heller did not face an easy task: He was supposed to develop a frame that was tailored optimally to the customer’s requirements as well as being low-weight and resource-efficient.

From the desk to serial production

f course, he doesn’t talk about sustainability as such, but 12- In the beginning, the development engineer had little more to year-old Martin knows that his Dad has invented something im- work with than a lot of unanswered questions posed by the customer’s Oportant. What it’s about? “It’s so hard,” says Martin, adding requirements: The steel frame was to be no thicker than 4 millimeters somewhat apologetically, “My Dad has already explained it to me twice, (0.16 inches), highly solid, and exhibit the same characteristics in fur- but I just can’t remember the really difficult things.” ther processing and operation as the shadow mask material which was Indeed it’s little surprise that Martin has a hard time understand- to be attached to it. ing his father’s work, since the research conducted by Dr. Thomas “The frame had to be fully aligned to the shadow mask system,” Heller and his engineering colleagues at ThyssenKrupp Stahl’s Re- explains Dr. Heller, because if it was not, the frame and the shadow search & Development, Quality Engineering and Materials Testing de- mask, which is made from a different steel, would bend out of shape. partment in Duisburg is highly complex. In fact, it is so complex and un- Through this shadow mask the electron ray creates an image on the usual that Heller’s latest research result was awarded ThyssenKrupp’s screen, and if the mask is bent the image becomes blurred. Innovation Prize for 2002. The award-winning product is a special kind The steel frame’s form stability was hence of prime importance. of steel used in the frame of a state-of-the-art flat-screen monitor, On the one hand, the manufacture of this frame presupposes a certain which is now being featured in ThyssenKrupp’s communication cam- flexibility, known in the profession as remoldability, but on the other, the paign under the motto, “My Dad ensures the right framework condi- frame may not yield more than is desired to the tension of the shadow tions on the stock market.” mask – and this tension is very high. The mask, which is just 0.2 mil- limeters (0.008 inches) thick, is stretched onto the frame, which must ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE IDEAL STEEL keep its shape under a weight impact roughly corresponding to that of Heller, the father of two sons, spent a year researching this product, a ton. In short, Thomas Heller faced a tricky task, but one that he would drawing on knowledge and experience developed over his 18 years of be able to solve with steel, a material with which he is very familiar from research work. In February 2000, Panasonic had approached his work and his studies in steel mill operation. ThyssenKrupp with an order to develop the ideal steel for the frame of flat-screen TV monitors with a diagonal of 70 to 84 centimeters (27.5 WITH A FEELING FOR THE RIGHT ALLOY to 33 inches), and by the spring of 2001 the deed was done: A proto- He chose a micro alloyed multi-phase steel as the basic material, which type of the desired steel frame was ready to go into serial production. he was already familiar with from the automotive area. For the past few In between those dates, however, Dr. Heller – who laughingly calls years, this type of steel has been used in automotive engineering to himself a “pure desk department” – had to repeatedly think through dif- manufacture side impact intrusion beams for passenger protection, ferent alloys, calculate the materials’ characteristics, analyze the pro- among other things. This steel alloy promised to have the right funda- duction options and test them in the laboratory and with the customer. mental characteristics, since, just like Panasonic, car makers require

26 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | highly solid steels that can be processed as thinly as possible. This not only reduces weight, but also saves material and thus resources. The frame was supposed to be created from a multi-phase or, more precisely, a complex-phase steel whose micro structure consists of hard and soft phases. Or, in the words of Dr. Heller, “As the basic mate- rial one chooses a steel with a bainitic basic structure.” This steel, which Martin Heller, a proud son: “My Dad researches metal sheets for cars and, consists of an alloy of the basic material iron with carbon, manganese, with his flat-screen monitors, ensures the right framework conditions.” silicon, chrome, titanium, nitrogen and aluminum, allows for a combi- nation of flexibility and solidity – but it all depends on the right mix. the production process to deliberately increase the material’s solidity “Even if the different steels later look the same, the structures are while saving alloying costs at the same time.” In addition, the sophisti- totally different,” notes Dr. Heller. The steel’s specific characteristics cated process technology eliminates the need for an additional heat vary, depending on the chemical composition and later processing, he treatment in the rolling train, thus reducing energy consumption. adds, which can make it more solid or easier to form, depending on the Once the optimally customized steel thus produced had success- customer’s wishes. fully passed all tests, it could go into serial production, being turned into frames and then turned over to Panasonic where the shadow mask is FROM THE SLAB TO THE RAZOR-THIN MATERIAL stretched onto it before it is integrated into the television in subsequent Once Dr. Heller had selected a particular complex-phase steel, he had process steps – et voilà! the ultra-modern flat-screen monitor. Or, as to determine the exact manufacturing conditions for the further pro- young Martin Heller put it, “My Dad researches sheet metal for cars and cessing. Only one thing was clear initially: The steel would run through things like that at ThyssenKrupp. He just won first prize for a large flat- a hot, wide-strip rolling mill because Dr. Heller specializes in hot-rolled screen monitor.” products and is very familiar with the different production processes. He That’s how simple difficult things can be, and the 12-year-old is then had to decide on the exact rolling temperatures at which the steel, determined that he “will definitely become a researcher,” though he is which had been cast into slabs in the steel works, was to be hot-rolled. not so sure whether it has to be steel. Although, like his brother Markus, In several closely aligned steps, the slabs – 250 millimeters (9.8 inch- he has taken a collection of iron ore and steel scrap to school and es) thick and 10 meters (32.8 feet) long – are heated to 1,300 degrees learned about steel in his class, he also thinks that medicine could be Celsius (2,370 degrees Fahrenheit) in the rolling mill, rolled down to interesting. their final thickness, and subsequently sprayed with water and coiled Whatever he ultimately decides, Martin was proud to hold up his up. “Rolling at different temperatures and the speed of cooling down father’s finished frame for the advertising photo shoot. His Dad, mean- after rolling determine the characteristics,” explains Dr. Heller. “We use while, ensured the right framework conditions.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 27

TubPAS stands for “tube” and “power assisted steering” – and for an entirely new automotive steering system, which is far more energy- efficient than any of the currently known and used systems. ThyssenKrupp Presta AG in Eschen, Liechtenstein, produces this state-of-the-art technology for the future

Steering a car electronically By Sybille Wilhelm | Photos Frank Meyl, Claudia Kempf

iving directions is a great thing, at least for the engineers of it isn’t particularly warm here, for a simple reason: The steel bolts are ThyssenKrupp Presta in Liechtenstein: The researchers have de- cold-worked, rather than being processed red-hot, as a layperson Gveloped a tubular steering system that is more intelligent than might assume. In addition to steering systems, camshafts and axles, present automotive steering systems. And the greatest beneficiary of among other things, are also produced here. the clever steering mechanism is the environment because the innova- tive instrument consumes about two to three percent less fuel than con- ELECTRONIC-BASED DYNAMICS ventional hydraulic systems, where a considerable share of fuel is Moving from the manufacturing hall to the development department, wasted through the hydraulic steering aid that runs regardless of one enters a whole different world. While movement and noise prevail whether the driver is actually steering or not. in production, the development floor is much quieter. “This is where we It was this waste that prompted engineers at ThyssenKrupp Pres- make our patterns,” explains Daniel Brunnschweiler. And this is also ta, an automotive supply subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Automotive, to where the system undergoes innumerous tests: The key characteristic start thinking about a new approach: “We were looking for a power-on- of any automotive steering system is its absolute reliability. And a steer- demand solution, that is a support system that only becomes active ing system has to function consistently because “The steering system when it is actually needed,” explains Daniel Brunnschweiler, the “fa- and the brakes are the components that have the greatest impact on ther” of the intelligent steering system. “And then you’re almost auto- the driver’s safety,” confirms Brunnschweiler – an opinion which any matically looking at an electronic solution.” driver will share intuitively. The result was a highly talented steering system called “TubPAS” But what if electronics fail despite all possible check-ups? The en- – for “tube” and “power assisted steering.” In Germany alone, this gineer dismisses this driver’s nightmare: “Then the system functions electronic steering aid could save more than 11 million liters of fuel a like a normal mechanical steering system without support.” year if it were installed in all motor vehicles in this country. So: If TubPAS is at least as safe as conventional steering systems, ThyssenKrupp Presta AG is based in Eschen, a small town in and does not take up too much space, there’s only one question left: Liechtenstein. Visitors to the factory halls in Eschen are surprised that Does the driver notice that “something down there” is different? How

Daniel Brunnschweiler is something like the “father” of electronic steering. The new system boasts many advantages: It saves two to three percent fuel, makes steering easier and ensures a pleasant driving sensation.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 29 Walking on new terrain

ThyssenKrupp Presta is a manufacturer of camshafts and axles, but its research department is also looking into how an electronic steering system can make driving easier without compromising on safety.

Heading toward the future

does it feel to use such an electronic steering system? When it comes while, have the highest fuel consumption on fast roads because al- to feelings, ThyssenKrupp Presta does not leave anything up to chance. though little steering support is needed here, pumps continue to run. If About 10 Presta engineers, who are based in Budapest, ensure that one only drove on highways, TubPAS would reduce fuel consumption by steering feels good. “While we thought about the mechanical functions about 5 percent, rather than the average 2-3 percent. of TubPAS, our colleagues in Budapest took care of the drive software,” TubPAS is intelligent, not only because it only supports the steer- recounts Daniel Brunnschweiler. ing system when support is needed, thereby ending the unnecessary The specialists from Budapest were chosen to research the right constant operation of conventional hydraulic systems. The sensitive driving sensation because Daniel Brunnschweiler’s team of engineers electronic system is also intelligent because it understands the driver: needed software specialists: “In the end, we’re only suppliers for me- A sensor measures how heavily a driver steers, how much force he chanics and have ventured into completely new territory with this de- uses. And the electronic steering system knows how the driver really velopment,” Brunnschweiler reports. Another advantage of the Liecht- wants to use the steering wheel. enstein-Hungarian relationship is the test terrain near Budapest: Here, Initially, customers – which include nearly all big automotive play- the university’s software specialists can test their applications quickly ers – smiled at Brunnschweiler’s ideas, as if they were saying, “Suppli- and without great effort. After all, since most cars these days boast er, stick to your business.” These days carmakers take him seriously comparable safety features, the driving sensation is becoming an in- and express strong interest. Today, the Liechtenstein company’s suc- creasingly important factor in purchasing decisions. Drivers of a BMW, cess is also reflected in its financial statements: Quietly, ThyssenKrupp for example, will expect a sporty drive, while those who drive a Mer- Presta is sporting continuous growth. cedes S-Class prefer a calm, rounded driving experience. Sensitive For Daniel Brunnschweiler, the business success of Thyssen electronics are ideally suited to ensuring just the right driving sensation. Krupp Presta is as much the result of sustainability as a benefit for the environment: “The products of ThyssenKrupp Presta are a good exam- FUEL-SAVING ELECTRONICS ple of how man and the environment can both profit from innovative In addition, the driving sensation, which “comes across” within frac- technology,” the engineer says. Brunnschweiler is particularly proud tions of a second, has to please the driver: Steering has to be reserved that his own and his team’s research efforts have helped build entirely to curves, and especially on highways drivers steer much less than is new business in Liechtenstein: “Who would have thought that a steel commonly thought. Conventional hydraulic steering systems, mean- processor is interested in news from California’s Silicon Valley?”

The engineers of ThyssenKrupp Presta make sure that even the feeling is just right – with a sensitive electronic system that leaves nothing to be desired and ensures a natural driving experience.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 33 Those who don’t know the past cannot shape the future. Thyssen, Krupp and Hoesch were rivals for many decades. Yet today they all work under the same roof, with common goals which were already formulated by the company founders and their descendants

ith Thyssen and Krupp, two long-standing competitors have ture,” and upholds sustainability as the guiding principle: “A sustain- ended up joining forces. This alone is hardly surprising be- able development is one that answers the needs of the present gener- Wcause, especially in the Ruhr valley, competition has never ation without threatening the ability of future generations to satisfy their prevented anyone from talking to others or linking up with others, own needs and choose their own lifestyles.” whether they were called Thyssen, Krupp or Hoesch. It is an abstract formula that becomes tangible only when it is ac- Once upon a time, Jacob Mayer, a trained clockmaker, invented a tually applied, for example, by motivating entrepreneurial activities. manufacturing process for the production of cast steel. In 1839, Mayer These days, German politicians have thought up the “Ich-AG” (“Me, offered this process to the miner Eberhard Hoesch from Düren. A new Inc.”), a type of company founded only to increase one’s personal cast steel factory was to be built in Stolberg near Aachen, but the two advantage. argued about the location. Mayer was in favor of a factory in the Ruhr In the end, it is visible proof that such companies aim for that valley, which Hoesch thought was too far away. The liaison came to which Karl Marx established at the end of his book, “The misery of phi- nothing, Mayer retreated from the plan and in 1842 founded a cast steel losophy,” as early as 1847: “History is nothing but a battle between the factory in Bochum with Kühne. classes. A battle between those who exploit and those who are exploit- That’s how it goes: At some point there comes a time when com- ed.” Producers join forces and their power to halt any type of produc- petition is no longer fruitful and a company is faced with the life-or- tion. “All wheels stand still if your mighty arm wills it.” death question. The realization that economic rationality demands a merger gains the upper hand. It is carried by the hope that the expect- COURAGEOUS AND FAR-SIGHTED ENTREPRENEURS ed benefits will not force the company to also throw overboard its last Little of this applies to today’s situation. Globalization, summed remaining traditions, its corporate culture, its social or ethical benefits up in the catch phrase “World, Inc.,” counters any regionally organized – in the sense of social justice, one of the key pillars of any sustainabil- power. Production takes place anywhere, and when producing in one ity theory. location becomes a problem, companies simply relocate their produc- The document that focuses on this concept of sustainability calls tion elsewhere. Against this background, a company that, starting with for unity rather than division. Named after the former Norwegian pre- its name, recalls tradition, may appear old-fashioned – and probably mier, Gro Harlem Brundtland, in 1987, it is entitled, “Our common fu- not without reason because tradition means culture, a corporate culture that has evolved over the course of decades or even centuries. Let us ask, then, about the first entrepreneurs and company founders who were called Friedrich Krupp, Eberhard Hoesch, Leopold, Albert Hoesch (he was a co-founder in 1871 and headed the Dortmund plant), August and Fritz Thyssen, Alfred Krupp, Bertha, Gustav and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach.

“The purpose of work has to be the common good. Then work brings blessings.” Alfred Krupp made this statement in 1873, in the early phase of advanced industrialization. At the time, the Krupp family moved into its new home, the “Villa Hügel” in Essen.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | From our individual past to our common future By Heribert Klein

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 35 We talk about sustainability and turn to historic awareness be- sonal benefits, not even a carefree retirement. Without fear of over- cause this was common to them all: seeing the present against past statement, I do believe that the community will have benefited more backgrounds. from my life’s work than I myself. After all, what I have created and Take August Thyssen. In 1922, the editors of Mülheim’s news- worked for will be left to the community since I cannot take anything paper asked him about his memories of the previous 50 years, starting with me into the afterlife.” with the year 1871, the year in which Thyssen & Co. was founded as a company (and which was followed in 1891 by the actual founding when SPENDTHRIFT APPROACH TO OPERATIONS the steel plant started operations). Naturally, Thyssen saw himself as What, then, motivates entrepreneurial efforts? Perhaps Adam an entrepreneur who set out with a handful of people only to take the Smith was right after all: Man’s selfishness serves the common good. company to ever new heights through synergetic activities and many August Thyssen, for one, realized quickly that the infrastructure in Mül- business alliances over the following few years – as though he was in- heim-Styrum did not suffice for his expansion plans. He needed access tent on proving the opposite of the thesis that became a catch phrase to the Rhine river, and he bought crude iron plants and coal mines – in the United States: “Pioneering does not pay.” where possible, without depending excessively on banks, savings No doubt, he was a sober, hardly emotional man. Yet while striv- banks and private persons. As he pointed out explicitly, “Thanks to a ing for personal prosperity (not to be mistaken for boastful private spendthrift approach to operations, purchasing and sales, the new wealth), he also committed publicly to what today’s Rio “Agenda 21” company made money and was able to retain its earnings and use regards as the second goal of sustainable development: social justice. them to strengthen its operating assets; this made it possible to save The historian Thomas Nipperdey coined the phrase “paternalistic money and obtain the necessary means to enlarge the existing plants entrepreneur” to describe relentless and authoritarian managers like and build new plants.” Thyssen. According to Nipperdey, people like him tried to “organize the This is the source of part of the success of the “Thyssen system.” strong dependence of workers in a general living environment, includ- Thyssen pursued a strategic concept in selecting the company’s loca- ing housing, consumption and leisure.” Admittedly, they remained tions, in crude iron and coal provisions and in the use of the Rhine river rather exceptional in this respect. as a means of transport. All the while, he contributed to the industrial- Doubtless, Thyssen, too, was a paternalistic entrepreneur. But he ization of the Ruhr valley, which benefited everyone, above all those also proved one thing: That it is not enough for an entrepreneur to sim- who were working for Thyssen. In 1871, he established a workers’ ply provide capital in the belief that economic processes will take care health fund, a social support fund, a pension fund and accident insur- of the rest (as David Ricardo, the second founding father of Manches- ance for civil servants, as well as building housing for civil servants, ter Liberalism, believed). The capital giver, the capitalist, bears the risk, master craftsmen and workers. His logistical system was no less cost- and it remains with him. In the said report dated 1922, August Thyssen efficient and in the strictest sense sustainable: The trade and trans- wrote, “The capitalist and company owner hardly reaps durable per- portation network at the beginning of the 20th century was so sophisti- cated that return freight and triangular business ensured optimal capacity use for the ships. Let us turn to the Hoesch dynasty. From today’s perspective, it appears particularly interesting that a woman, Maria Johanna Hoesch (wife of Albert Hoesch, the first head of the Dortmund plant and a son of the nephew of founder Eberhard), set up a number of social institu-

“The capitalist and company owner hardly reaps durable per- sonal benefits, not even a care- free retirement.” This is what August Thyssen wrote in 1922. Schloss Landsberg became his home. Yet he remained a simple “economic citizen” who was never boastful about his personal wealth.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | ‘What I have created and worked for will be left to the community’

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 37 tions, including works housing (1872), a company health fund (1874), larger factories. The creation of a corporate culture was an attempt to an “invalids’ fund” (founded in 1883, it became the “Invalids, Widows counter this anonymization. Nobody got rich on account of it, and exis- and Orphans Support Fund for Workers”) and schools for the wives and tential concerns remained, but those who had work in one of the Ruhr daughters of workers. When her husband died at 51, she donated a industrial companies were at least as far removed from poverty as from sizeable 50,000 marks from her personal fortune to the Albert Hoesch Marx’ “Capital.” Foundation, which was created in 1896. The leap may seem huge, crossing two world wars in which all German steel makers helped provide the military with sufficient arma- GROWING OPERATIONS WITH OWN CULTURES ment to conduct its destructive war. Fritz Thyssen, Gustav and Bertha How about the Krupp dynasty? “The purpose of work has to be Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach all gained their own first-hand experi- the common good. Then work brings blessings, then work is a prayer.” ence with the Hitler regime, with sometimes close and sometimes more It sounds exaggerated: At that time, life meant work, and little else be- distant relations. Their companies had to pay for this when they subse- sides work. And that was supposed to be a blessing? This is how Alfred quently collapsed and were broken up. Krupp described his entrepreneurial ideas in February 1873, in the One man, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, paid a symbol- early phase of advanced industrialization. Yet he did not stop at this ic price. He spent several years in prison in Landsberg am Lech, statement, but acted in line with his idea of an added value, which dif- Bavaria. Despite his time in prison, his determination to rebuild and fered from that of Marx, and in the tradition of his predecessor Friedrich continue the company as a unitary group was unbroken. According to Krupp, who offered monetary support to sick workers from 1813, as the historian Lothar Gall, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was well as paying their medical bills. driven by the desire to give employees the impression of being part of Alfred Krupp, in turn, developed a comprehensive social system a solidarity community: “He strengthened the inherent community spir- for his company. In 1835/36 he founded his company’s first support it, added a moral element to efforts to regain the corporate unity while health fund and introduced sick pay amounting to about half of regu- linking up the individual, now separate operations by distributing duties lar average pay. In 1853, the “Sickness and Death Fund for the Work- among them so that a clear-cut separation would prevent additional ers of the Cast Steel Factory” was created. He ordered the construc- problems. It was here, in particular, that the past and the hopes arising tion of housing, sponsored a hospital – from 1872 it was known as the from this past were linked up very closely.” Kruppsche Krankenanstalten – and set up industrial schools for women and girls. COMBINING ENTREPRENEURIALISM AND PHILANTHROPY What emerged as a result were milieus and a corporate culture It was as though he wanted to revive Alfred Krupp’s 1873 state- that were important in shaping the identity of workers who were part of ment in the sense of sustainability: On April 1, 1967, the Fried. Krupp an ever larger operation. Admittedly, it was a unique culture at a time in group’s last sole owner announced, “I have decided to turn the com- which individuals were submerged in the anonymous masses of ever pany into a stock corporation with the help of a foundation that reflects the Krupp tradition of serving the common good.” Earnings that the foundation received from the company were henceforth used only for social purposes. Was it an act of social redistribution and social justice? It is true that, in this respect, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach saw himself as part of the family tradition. For example, he rebuilt both the Krupp’-

“The revolutions in Vienna and Berlin have ended rail fabrication. Never in my life have I been more discouraged than at that time.” Eberhard Hoesch remembered the rail production in Eschweiler, near Düren, as he lay in his sick bed in December 1851, writing down memories of his eventful life, which began in 1790 and ended in 1852.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Venturing down new avenues without forgetting the past

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 39 What was started by company founder Friedrich Krupp was continued by Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. His goal was to ensure the company’s unity. Josef Thyssen, the brother of company founder August Thyssen, was his closest advisor. The Fritz Thyssen Foundation is named after his oldest son. Like the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, it supports above all academic research.

Possessions which also serve the community

sche Krankenanstalten and the workers’ residences, which had been owner’s social duties. And I confess openly that I am proud of this.” The destroyed during World War II. Nonetheless, he was mostly concerned man whom he chose to manage and protect his donated heritage in about the corporate unity of his company, whose long-term existence line with his intentions has felt committed to these principles to this he sought to ensure – just as the Foundation’s guiding principles state day: Berthold Beitz, who has acted as general manager of the last that “The purpose of the Foundation is to guarantee the unity of the Krupp owner since 1953. Whatever the Foundation as the owner of the Fried. Krupp company over the long term and promote its future devel- Krupp group and as the major stakeholder in today’s ThyssenKrupp opment in line with the intentions of our forefathers.” group may have done – Berthold Beitz acts on the lasting assignment The sustainability aspect lay in the link-up of entrepreneurial striv- from the founder, as written down in the Foundation’s mission state- ing for profit and the redistribution of profits for philanthropic purposes ment: “to ensure the long-term unity of the Fried. Krupp group in line such as the promotion of research and teaching, education and sports, with the intentions of its forefathers and to promote its future develop- literature, music and the arts. ment.” This is where the idea of working for the common good reemerged, which had been upheld by Krupp and Thyssen 100 years earlier. And it ETHICS OF RESPONSIBILITY became more than an idea: The Fritz Thyssen Foundation was founded Looking far ahead, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach thus opened in 1959 as post-war Germany’s first notable private academic founda- up a scope of action for the Kuratorium that does not break with tradition tion. Fritz Thyssen’s heirs, his wife Amélie Thyssen and his daughter but will promote the group’s future development. Otherwise things would Countess Zichy-Thyssen, brought a substantial share of their wealth, a not have turned out the way they did, for example, with respect to the nominal 100 million marks in shares of August Thyssen-Hütte AG, into mergers with Hoesch and Thyssen. The assignment was to protect the the foundation. During this phase, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Hal- corporate unity, “if possible.” But what if markets develop differently? bach was also already considering establishing a foundation. Merger proposals had been tabled years or even decades earlier. In the meantime, Germany had obtained a constitution which, in Ar- The so-called steel moderators – Günter Vogelsang, Marcus Bierich, Al- ticle 14, listed the social duties of owners. Yet Alfried Krupp von Bohlen fred Herrhausen – were charged with restructuring the crisis-ridden und Halbach’s quote of April 1, 1967 is of fundamental importance: “It is western German steel landscape in 1983. The steel divisions of part of the Krupp tradition never to separate economic considerations – Thyssen and Krupp nearly came together then. Retrospectively, the de- albeit important – from the personal owner’s social duties. Today as in the cision-makers say that the determination to pool human and strategic past, our company has made considerable sacrifices on behalf of the resources was not as strong at the time. Judging by subsequent devel-

40 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Leopold Hoesch (middle) assumed the management of the company that his uncle Eberhard had founded in 1852 and relocated the plant to Dort- mund, closer to the raw material coal. In 1871, Albert Hoesch founded and headed the Dort- mund plant. He died in 1898.

opments, however, it would certainly have saved costs. What did ensue would have been blatant disregard of his ethics: “When a company is were far-reaching changes within the companies, with works closures, facing insolvency, social responsibility means rescuing as much of the staff cuts and times of trial that temporarily shook up the entire Ruhr val- company as possible.” For there was no way around the “reality of fig- ley region. Kriwet, Cromme and Schulz shared ethical principles in the ures,” despite all moral and ethical appeals. sense of sustainable business processes. Without economic efficiency ThyssenKrupp’s present management board chairman, Ekkehard there can be no social justice and, finally, no existence at all. This is the D. Schulz, also admits that socially responsible staff cuts are “an in- fine difference between peer ethics and an ethics of responsibility, which credibly difficult process.” But he too upholds the tenets that are valued do not have to be fully aligned in all marginal areas. by the entire ThyssenKrupp management: to address the company’s In his now famous speech, “Should a Christian be allowed to employees openly and explain motives and necessary changes hon- close down Hattingen?”, Heinz Kriwet gave a clear answer after weigh- estly while “walking about with transparent pockets” (Ekkehard D. ing all the relevant aspects: “A necessary plant closure isn’t a question Schulz), thinking through all possible solutions, being able to mentally of Christian or non-Christian behavior, but a question of sober consid- take seat on a different person’s chair – so as to arrive at a clear and eration of economic facts if it is ensured that the affected people are comprehensible decision. cared for as much as is possible – although, of course, views of what is Accusing decision-makers of immoral behavior disregards the possible may differ. In certain situations, such a measure is necessary complexity of the problems at hand. The German literary Bertolt because it serves the community or because it is in the interest of the Brecht’s statement, “First the grub, then the morals,” reflects the sim- workforce as a whole and thus also fulfills high moral standards.” plistic belief that all entrepreneurs are capitalists and scoundrels rather What else could he have done with the Henrichshütte plant with than people who, in the words of sociologist Götz Briefs, have to keep all its locational disadvantages (for example, the high transport costs) prices and costs in check and in the right proportions. and in the midst of a steel crisis characterized by overcapacity? Social justice cannot be brought about any other way. Nor can that which any company needs: an idea of its culture, its origins, its ‘WALKING ABOUT WITH TRANSPARENT POCKETS’ traditions, its idiosyncrasies. The oft-cited historian’s quote, “Those And how about Gerhard Cromme, the man about whom it was written who do not know the past cannot shape the future,” may appear old- in April 1987 that he wanted “to polish the crude diamond Rhein- fashioned. But it hits the truth. Corporate culture does not mean solid- hausen” – with the consequence that local operations were shut down ifying the status quo. What it does mean is the continued development for months, accompanied by major demonstrations, protest vigils and of core ideas on which one has agreed and which one is not willing personal threats? Cromme, too, stood up for his decision. Anything else to relinquish.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 41 The employees’ knowledge is the company’s capital

An academic cooperation scheme ax Planck, one of the most influential researchers in theoretical aims to instill enthusiasm for ThyssenKrupp physics, came up with a simple formula: “Energy x time = ele- Mmentary quantum of action.” Aside from its direct application in in graduates. The direct exchange between entropy, this constant also applies to other areas of life: Anybody who academia, research and professional practice makes a specifically durable investment reaps a sustainable effect. forms the basis for innovative ideas which Gerd Galonska, head of personnel marketing/Group labor market the company needs as it moves on at ThyssenKrupp AG, used similar words. The view from his window at the Düsseldorf head office has a symbolic character: Only the distance view, beyond the city and the Rhine, creates a perspective that lets one see things in their entirety. “This is why we have long engaged in in- tensive cooperation with several universities to aid the exchange be- tween teaching, research and practice. Of course, we thus also want to ensure a sustained interest in ThyssenKrupp on the part of potential academic recruits.” The company thus has opted against aesthetic pa- By Sebastian Groß | Photos Mareike Föcking tronage. Instead it is trying to use long-term cooperation with schools

42 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Ready to assume responsibility: Gunter Köb is head of production for Transrapid assembly; Dagmar Euler-Schreiter manages highly complex projects; Jan Bender works on the automation of business processes with the help of electronic media, across country and company borders.

and universities to show young, qualified people that ThyssenKrupp of- technology company? Galonska is a rather quiet, thoughtful man who fers a great variety of future-oriented careers. Initial comprehensive co- over the course of his nearly 25-year working life has learned to com- operation agreements have been concluded with the RWTH University bine theory and practice. The personnel expert completed manage- in Aachen, the Ruhr University in Bochum, Dortmund University, and ment training in evening courses and, a few years ago, was put in Dresden’s and Hamburg-Harburg’s technical colleges. charge of setting up the Group labor market and subsequently coordi- nating the Group’s university marketing. Today, he says, the path he HIGH TECH AS A PROFESSIONAL CALLING took is hardly common. Students and graduates therefore increasingly Galonska explains that the Executive Board itself is in charge of this pro- seek personal exchanges of opinion about possible professions with ex- ject. “Each focus university is assigned a board member who acts as perienced professionals. “Often, students have only a vague idea of the university representative as well as a university coordinator who or- their own professional aims, and cannot answer questions such as ganizes the day-to-day business.” “What does a career mean, how important is professional fulfillment?” It is an initiative born out of necessity. A technology-averse youth, This is why we try to offer them a combination of helpful, personal in- listless “ego-tacticians,” who want to make as much money as possi- formation and experience reports. Smelling, tasting and touching is key ble by working as little as possible while caring little about society – to our concept of cooperation with schools and universities.” The latest such individuals are supposed to seek their professional calling in a surveys offer some hope. The 14th Shell Youth Study, “Youth 2002,”

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 43 found that youngsters were placing increasing emphasis on achieve- needs new engineers,” also affects ThyssenKrupp. According to Ga- ment. The study uses the concept of pragmatization, which holds “that lonska, it is important to counter the widespread view that anyone who youngsters’ priorities are shifting away from the overriding goal of so- doesn’t obtain at least a grade of 2 (on the German scale from 1 to 6) cial reform toward solving concrete and practical personal problems. in mathematics should not even consider taking up an engineering de- Achievement becomes markedly more acceptable.” gree. “You get very positive reactions from pupils who talk to experi- Projects such as “do-camp-ing 2002,” which was staged last enced engineers. The prospect of an engineering degree becomes less summer, come just at the right time, and Galonska also does not hide scary,” Galonska says. his joy over the project and event week with senior high-school pupils Sustainability as the activation of knowledge potential – this is that was organized jointly with the University of Dortmund. The event how university marketing can be summed up. Galonska points out that week, which comprised informative events, goal-oriented project work, his team does not exploit the universities’ financial straits to establish plant visits, leisure and sport programs, obtained positive ratings from contacts with universities that may prove lucrative for the group. “We both participants and the specialized departments. Above all, it gave have never defined our promotions in financial terms, but always ex- participants a realistic idea of what an engineering degree implies. After clusively based on content. We want to work together to reach our all, the phrase that applies to the whole of Germany, “The country goals, something that is also reflected in our first common mentor pro-

Activating knowledge potential

Committed to team spirit: Ralf Kusche develops innovative components for automotive customers; sponsored student Daniel Cremer wants to take a step toward the future as a business engineer.

44 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | gram. Fortunately, we found that young professors and academics, in “Public awareness of the range of innovative occupations offered by a particular, are increasingly willing to integrate industry into their work.” company like ThyssenKrupp is still too limited. All too often, outsiders only associate the steel worker in the asbestos suit with our name WHEN A COMPANY OFFERS INNOVATIVE VARIETY when, in reality, we offer a multitude of innovative technological solu- On a personal level, the exchange of information helps promote Galon- tions at the highest level.” ska’s ideal of “smelling, tasting and touching.” In a short autobiogra- Galonska believes ThyssenKrupp is headed in the right direction. phy, Max Planck explained that his enthusiasm for physics theory was The cycle has to be closed, he says. Early contact with senior high- also sparked by his research topics (which were still of no interest to school pupils, mentoring and similar promotional measures accompa- many renowned professors at the time), but mostly by his encounters nying university studies should help attain the ultimate goal: Graduates with such famous personalities as Hermann von Helmholtz. Group labor choose a career with ThyssenKrupp. market director Galonska, too, is sure of one thing: If we manage to es- That’s how easy it is. And yet so difficult because this sort of Planck- tablish such personal contacts, we can instill enthusiasm for a compa- type quantum of action takes time and energy. But it’s worth it, since any ny like ThyssenKrupp in young people. ThyssenKrupp’s study support company lives from the creativity, ideas and innovative thoughts of its scheme, with its strong focus on mentoring, serves the same purpose. employees, wherever they may be working within the company.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 45

Setting a good example A state-of-the-art stainless steel plant is being built on former mudland in Shanghai – an examplary German-Chinese project

By Inken Heeb | Photos Marc Darchinger Foto Corbis Access to a multi-billion market An ideal location: Shanghai is not only the country’s most important trade and port city; it is also the new financial center of the People’s Republic of China. Steel and textiles industry, mechanical, naval and automotive engineering, publishing houses and oil refineries – business and industry dominate life in the buzzing metropolis on the Huangpu River. t is a cooperation based on tradition and experience: The world’s old- Experience brings est and biggest producer of stainless steel and a country which can Icite scientific advances dating back millenniums have joined forces to advance an exemplary technological and economic project. Together, you back to tradition ThyssenKrupp Stainless and Shanghai Pudong Iron & Steel, a sub- sidiary of Shanghai’s Baosteel group, are setting up an integrated plant for the production of stainless flat steel products in Shanghai’s Pudong district. The plant promises China state-of-the-art technology, while the German company will receive direct access to the market of the world’s most populous country. With a population of 1.3 billion, China offers im- mense sales potential, and is one of the fastest-growing stainless steel markets in the world. Currently, 60 percent of its stainless flat steel products are imported. With a total cost of 1.4 billion dollars (including operating capital), the project is the biggest foreign investment in ThyssenKrupp’s history. The German group holds a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, and its Chinese partner the other 40 percent. The company’s name is Shanghai Krupp Stainless, though it is soon to be called Shanghai ThyssenKrupp Stainless. It all started very low-key, at a luncheon eight years ago. By the time the two high-profile guests – Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Dr. Gerhard Cromme, then chair- were laid in October 1998, three years and a month after the letter of man of Fried. Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp – left, they had an agreement intent was signed and 10 months after the joint venture was sealed in for the joint building of a stainless steel plant in the People’s Republic, a ceremony in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. The topping-out cere- thus beginning a new chapter in the already more than 100-year-old re- mony was celebrated in December 2000, and 11 months later, on No- lationship between China and the Group, which opened its first repre- vember 2, 2001, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder attended the sentation in Beijing in 1870. plant’s official opening ceremony, which kick-started commercial pro- President Jiang came to Germany in 1995 to open an exhibit of duction. The first phase was thus completed two months ahead of discoveries from ancient China in Essen’s Villa Hügel museum, and his schedule and within the budget of 295 million dollars. The second of host had already spent some time thinking about a corporate base in the project’s four phases could begin. China. In the facilities completed in the first phase, 359 employees – in- cluding only about eight from Germany – are now at work, producing ACTING GLOBALLY AND PRODUCING REGIONALLY mostly thin, bright-annealed steel strips and sheets in chromium and “We move our production where the market is,” explains Ralf M. chromium-nickel alloyed qualities. These high-quality stainless steels Kreuser, project manager and Senior Vice President International Pro- can be used for various purposes, for example solar plants, medical de- jects at ThyssenKrupp Stainless. “If our customer so wishes, a plant vices and facade coverings. They are also needed for the production of engineer who speaks the customer’s language and knows the cus- cars and household appliances, especially washing machines and tomer has to be available the next day. That is not possible across large dishwashers. distances.” Act globally, produce locally is a strategic tenet that the new The cold-rolling mill’s annual capacity is 72,000 metric tons, and steel plant in China fulfills. Work has been in full progress on the former in the project’s second construction phase two other cold-rolling mills mudflat near the Huangpu River since the foundations for the plant and an annealing and pickling line are added. The plan is to complete

High-quality stainless steels: Following completion of the first construction phase, stainless steel for sophisticated applications, for example in households and archi- tectural design, has been produced in Pudong since November 2001. The second construction phase has now started.

51 the entire plant – with a capacity of nearly 400,000 tons of cold-rolled the annealing process after the stainless steel strips have been cold- strips – and to build a steel plant with hot-rolling production by the end rolled. In another contribution to environmental protection, all water is of 2006. It will provide about 1,500 jobs. used between 30 and 40 times, thanks to an advanced circulation sys- tem. In addition, oil fumes from the rolling mill are kept in check by con- MODERN TECHNOLOGY, HIGH QUALITY tainment or clean-up. The German partner’s key contribution to this immense project is the The conditions on the building site are also exemplary. To prepare expertise that is flowing into the set-up of the stainless steel plant’s pro- the alluvial soil for construction, more than 8,000 concrete pillars vary- duction and distribution processes, and key positions from technology ing in length between 20 and 50 meters (66 and 164 feet) had to be to controlling and sales are held by experienced employees who know forced into the ground. More than 1,000 workers were working on the and ensure the high ThyssenKrupp standard. building site at any given time, yet there have been just three accidents “Nothing that has not been checked by our engineers will be requiring medical treatment in 4.7 million working hours. done,” Mr. Kreuser says reassuringly. This knowledge transfer not only “The safety conditions were top-notch,” Mr. Kreuser stresses, benefits the Chinese employees, but also the environment, and Mr. pointing out that Gerhard Mairhofer, the head of Shanghai Krupp Stain- Kreuser adds that while China has greatly improved environmental less nominated by ThyssenKrupp as general manager, was awarded safeguards since Mao’s time, the ThyssenKrupp plant is exemplary in the order of the city of Shanghai in recognition of this achievement. this regard. “Aside from state-of-the-art technology, we are offering Meanwhile, World Bank guidelines were followed for the resettle- tried and tested methods and creating a product that meets the highest ment of the 3,500 people who had previously lived as farmers in small quality standards,” says Manfred Grein, the director of Corporate De- villages on the alluvial soil along the river. All were provided with new velopment at ThyssenKrupp Stainless. He adds that the project also apartments and jobs. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), represented an investment in sustainability in every possible way. Nat- which is part of the World Bank Group, and the German government fi- ural gas was selected as the cleanest source of energy, and efficient nancing agency Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) together con- burner technology and exhaust gas purification prevent emissions from tributed 60 percent of the financing of the first project phase. In accor-

Global knowledge transfer: The Chinese employees were prepared for their work in special training sessions in Germany and Italy. Their curriculum included both technical training and operational and cultural issues.

52 dance with their respective shares, ThyssenKrupp and Shanghai Pudong Iron & Steel provided the remaining 40 percent. In phase 2, the Creating trust construction of which is just starting, Chinese banks and the KfW are providing the necessary external capital. and understanding CULTURAL EXCHANGE, WORLDWIDE TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE To bring the local team at Shanghai Krupp Stainless up to speed, Chinese employees were sent on an intensive training course at ThyssenKrupp Stainless’s German and Italian sites before the first con- struction phase had been completed. It was not only about technical know-how, but a lesson in cultural differences; as Mr. Kreuser points out, based on his experience from months-long negotiations with his Chinese partners, dealing with the ways of a different culture and ulti- mately achieving cultural integration is essential for a global venture. Understanding important features of life in China, from the fixed lunch hour through to the overriding importance of saving face, are im- portant for companies like ThyssenKrupp Stainless and their non-Chi- nese employees to understand. Because, ultimately, it is not just a question of passing on technology and skills but of exchanging mutual respect and understanding. As they say at ThyssenKrupp Stainless, “It’s all about building trust.” Sustainability for a fairer society By Dr. Herbert Aichinger, Head of the “Industry and Implementation” Department, Directorate General Environment, European Commission

n March 2000, the European Council in Lisbon defined the new strate- economic growth has to advance social progress and respect our envi- gic goal of turning the European Union into “the world’s most compet- ronment, while social policy has to support economic performance and Iitive knowledge-based economic area – an economic area that is ca- environmental policy has to be cost-efficient. pable of achieving durable economic growth with more and better jobs To bridge the gap between ambitious goals and political mea- and greater social cohesion.” The European Council in Stockholm sub- sures, the EU Commission proposes concentrating on those problems sequently decided to extend the Lisbon strategy by adding the environ- that seriously or irreversibly threaten the future well-being of European mental aspect from the EU’s sustainable development strategy. The society. The following areas were identified as focus areas for the EU’s Union thus takes into account that economic growth, social cohesion sustainability strategy: and environmental protection must go hand in hand in the long term.

•CO2 emissions and global warming SUSTAINABLE TRENDS ARE NOTHING NEW • Public health hazards through new antibiotic-resistant The competitiveness of the manufacturing industry and other European strains of certain bacteria and the potential long-term effects economic sectors is a key pillar of the EU’s sustainable development of numerous chemicals that are being used on a daily basis strategy. Sustainability has three dimensions: environmental, social • Poverty and economic. Progress toward sustainable development must ob- • An aging population and related problems in pension serve minimum requirements in each of these three areas as well as provisions and public health care aiming for a balance between the three dimensions at a high level. Ne- • A decline in Europe’s biological variety glecting one dimension would jeopardize the common goal of sustain- • Traffic overload ability. This is why a strong economy is a crucial part of the EU’s sus- tainable development strategy. Only very few of these unsustainable trends are actually new, and at- By ensuring sustainable developments, the EU hopes to achieve tempts to tackle them have been made both by governments and by in- a wealthier and fairer society in the long term. Sustainability promises dustry and society. To push through change at a local level, initiatives a cleaner, safer and healthier environment – a society that offers us, our such as the locally based Agenda 21 have proven to be an efficient con- children and our grandchildren a better quality of life. To attain this goal, sensus-building instrument. However, the impact of these efforts has

Sustainability promises a wealthier and fairer society that offers us, our children and our grandchildren a better quality of life.

54 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 |

Partnership for sustainability

been relatively limited so far because it proved difficult to change es- EMAS does not foresee this at the moment. At a time when the tempta- tablished policies and behavioral patterns as well as coordinate the tion is strong to return to a unilateral approach, the international com- necessary measures. What is needed to halt these unsustainable munity in Johannesburg last year expressed its willingness to tackle the trends and pave the way for sustainable development is immediate ac- common challenge of sustainable development. What was achieved in tion, committed political and industrial leaders with a vision, a new po- Johannesburg? The EU consistently called for ambitious, practice-ori- litical approach, comprehensive involvement and international respon- ented goals and measurable results. The following are some of the re- sibility. sults that affect European industry: Although it proved impossible to agree on a concrete goal regarding the use of alternative energy SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH MARKETING INSTRUMENTS sources, the consensus was that the share of these energy sources had The European Union has already developed a management tool target- to be raised urgently and substantially at a global level. In addition, ed specially at the needs of companies that want to improve and per- agreement was reached on a number of goals related to the production fect their environmental performance: the Eco-Management and Audit and use of chemicals. To improve the management of economic global- Scheme (EMAS). ization, concrete measures were agreed to strengthen the role in world Instead of laying down specific environmental goals for compa- trade of environmentally friendly products from developing countries. In nies, this voluntary system calls for a continuous improvement in com- addition, more than 200 cooperations between governments, industry, panies’ environmental performance and adherence to certain principles non-governmental organizations and other involved parties were of environmental management such as environmental policy guidelines launched in such areas as water, energy, health, agriculture and biodi- and an environmental program, the inclusion of employees in environ- versity. These joint ventures provide an excellent opportunity for indus- mental management, in-house and external environmental check-ups try to support concrete measures in the area of sustainable develop- and the publication of the results. EMAS’ management principles can ment. Here, the systematic introduction of environmental management easily be applied to the management of other areas of sustainable de- systems, in particular EMAS, can contribute decisively to practical and

velopment, such as social aspects of corporate activities, although speedy measures in all of the above-mentioned environmental areas. Photos Adelman/Cohen Taxi

Sustainability requires concrete action. The EU countries are convinced that economic growth, social cohe- sion and environmental protection have to go hand in hand in the long term.

56 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 |

Visible steel that withstands fire FR 30 sets sustainable standards through new characteristics

Going down new avenues: FR 30 not only withstands fire for half an hour; this steel is also a coveted mater- ial among architects because the slim profiles with large support widths can do without fire-resistant coating.

Slim steel that pleases the eye Altered alloy: FR 30 can do without complex coating with uninflammable material, but doesn’t lose its support strength as quickly as conventional steel at higher temperatures. Shiny steel that reaches for the sky Different dimensions: The profile factor is the ratio of area to volume of the respective profile. In hall construction, for example, the profile factor of FR 30 allows for the bridging of greater stretches than with uncoated steel. Unprotected steel with potential

By Sebastian Groß | Photos Claudia Kempf

ho wouldn’t remember the Expo world fair in Hanover? The the scientist. They are reminiscent of far-away times, of the old porce- Christ Pavilion, the only clerical building, loomed sky-high. But lain makers who made a unique secret of this. Nobody knew about the Wthe effortlessly floating, bright building was carried by slim, composition of “white gold,” which brought riches and glory. Things are bare steel pillars, whose no-frills elegance would have filled any disci- probably similar with FR 30 – or, then again, not. Well, says Kern, the ple of Gropius or the Bauhaus style with sentimentality, but also with new material enjoys patent protection, but each metal expert can guess amazement. Gropius’ ideal of the new unity of art and technology be- that the well-known heat resistance enhancing elements, chromium came visible again, in a type of all-encompassing work of art on the and molybdenum, are involved. In short, the improved characteristics Expo fairground. are due to the altered composition of the steel. That the appearance of Andreas Kern, a professor for material sci- ence and head of quality assurance in the heavy plate division at AN INNOVATIVE MATERIAL WITH NUMEROUS ADVANTAGES ThyssenKrupp Stahl in Duisburg, comes pretty close to the image of This is the chemical problematic, which, however, is only one element of slim, high-rising steel profiles is pure coincidence. This tall man has the total complex faced by Andreas Kern. Of course, it is possible to worked with the company for the past 18 years, as an expert who is to- imagine steels (even stainless steels) with higher fire resistance, but at tally committed to steel and its characteristics – although he is less like- what cost and under what circumstances in steel building? It is here that ly to be enthralled by the sight of heavy slabs than of such slim profiles sustainability comes in, a concept to which the newly created FR 30 steel whose support strength amazes any observer. When such construction does particular justice. Considerable savings accrue if steel constructs steel is fire-resistant to boot, satisfaction with the new material is writ- no longer have to be covered with complex coatings of uninflammable ten all over Kern’s face. material. Construction time is reduced, coatings and coverings aren’t needed, nor are repeated check-ups of fire protection measures and IMPROVED AND HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE STEEL subsequent improvements through the construction company. Finally, With calm, consistently precise words, Kern outlines the details of this the architect can exploit the full aesthetic potential of steel profiles. fire-resistant steel, which opens up new possibilities for architects of in- Turning to the practical results of this development, Kern explains dustrial buildings. “FR 30” is the magic word, which stands for nothing that the new steel is manufactured in the shape of heavy plate and hot- but a construction steel in the fire-resistance class F30 (meaning the rolled strips, in thicknesses of between five and 50 millimeters, as a steel withstands fire for 30 minutes). And it’s not what makes this ex- pre-product for steel construction, which uses it to weld profiles, in a citing: The fact that FR 30 is used without fire protection coatings or process similar to that for conventional construction steel, largely with- claddings makes it so attractive. Kern explains that, when it came to fire out preheating or subsequent heat treatment. There seems to be no resistance, conventional construction steels showed a limited high- limit to the possible types of profiles. Broad or slim I-girders, hollow pro- temperature strength and thus a relatively fast loss of support strength files in rectangular, square or round shape: Kern and the employees in at rising temperatures. “With the FR 30 construction steel we have the heavy plate division seem to be prepared to do almost anything: managed to develop a better material and turn it into a serial product “Architects and construction engineers should finally have recourse to which takes account of this problematic.” Those are the words of Kern, the full design spectrum and should be able to create an economical

64 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Sustainable effect: FR 30 saves costs, reduces the construction time, does without repeat check-ups of fire protection measures and repair – and yet it is a material that openly exhibits the unity of art and technology.

building with visual elements.” According to Kern, this does not ques- tion the limits of nature or the laws of physics. For the committed sci- entist, the mere idea is unthinkable. But the heavy plate division will continue to work on altering existing dimensions. Take the profile fac- tor, that is the ratio of area to volume of the respective profile. It is log- ical that the profile factor sets the limit for slim profiles, which, for ex- ample, in hall construction, have to bridge wide distances. “We are working on profiles that are as slim as possible and have the highest possible support strength, at minimum fire protection effort,” is how Kern outlines future goals. Here, too, there is room for visions. For steel of the FR 30 brand, the upper limit for complying with fire resistance class F30 in the un- protected stage is a profile factor of 100 m-1. By combining this with a thin F90 coating, the same can be achieved up to a profile factor of 200 m-1, says Kern. In other words, such profiles withstand fire for 90 min- utes, even if they are not hidden away behind heat protection material. Kern sees this as a real alternative to steel-concrete combinations: “To- gether with Rütgers Organics we are advancing this development in the context of a joint development project. The first tests have yielded promising results.”

A NEW, AESTHETICALLY ATTRACTIVE TYPE OF STEEL It was a compromise, sums up the division head. The newly created material has better characteristics, and a higher high-temperature strength and failure temperature, its manufacturing processes are com- parable to conventional construction steel – and the architects should find it aesthetically pleasing. The Christ Pavilion in Hanover showed that dreams and visions can grow ever slimmer and ever higher into the sky without breaking – as long as they are professionally grounded. In view of these prospects, who would be surprised that the heavy plate divi- sion, whose quality assurance is supervised by Andreas Kern, has been operating as a “profit center” since January 2003?

Das TK Magazin | 1 | 2003 | A furnace for the dust How a new recycling system in Duisburg-Hamborn turns residues into steel

By Alexander Schneider | Illustration Tobias Wandres

he old industrial landscape that was for so long characteristic of has to be poured into the furnace to obtain the right firing temperature? the Ruhr valley – one marked by coal, iron and steel and the giant “We have made steady progress with the development of this plant, Tmachines and structures used to produce them – has largely dis- step by step,” Mr. Kesseler says. “But it wasn’t always easy. We had to appeared from this important industrial region of Germany. clean the shaft furnace manually several times because the firing Even in Duisburg-Hamborn, on the site of steelmaker Thyssen process didn’t run as planned.” Krupp Stahl AG, appearances deceive: Historic facades conceal a high Eighty metric tons of agglomerate stones and “skulls,” the large technology industry that has brought forth numerous important inno- pieces of iron that are another byproduct of steel production but which vations. One of them is a prototype, the “OxiCup” Shaft Furnace, now cannot be melted in a traditional blast furnace, make up a furnace load, in the advanced testing phase. along with the coke, and this all goes into the “OxiCup.” Mr. Kesseler With a pioneering group of 35 employees, plant director Klaus makes no secret of his satisfaction that all of his and his team’s hard Kesseler, an engineer specializing in chemical process technology, is work has paid off; any innovation carries with it the risk of failure, but designing what is in effect one of the world’s most modern recycling this time, the engineer said, even the government agencies were excit- plants. The team aims to use the “OxiCup” furnace to generate crude ed, and environmental officials in particular helped secure the neces- iron from residues left over from the plant's iron and steel production – sary approvals for the plant with a total investment of 25 million euros. mostly ferrous dusts and sludges, scrap and slags. Dr. Gunnar Still, the head of the department, and Jutta Möller, the “These residues, which we previously had to discard, now serve engineer in charge of recycling, point to other benefits of the shaft fur- to produce even high-quality crude iron which we can then feed back nace, noting that the “OxiCup” also produces gas which can be direct- into our work processes,” Mr. Kesseler explains. “This way, we achieve ed to ThyssenKrupp Stahl’s new power plant, while the slag resulting a recycling ratio of 99 percent for iron, which also means that we have from the process can be used in road construction. to buy less ore overseas.” The new technology also reduces carbon-dioxide emissions, and the more crude iron that is produced in the “OxiCup” the less that has DUSTS ARE TURNED INTO VALUABLE RAW MATERIALS to be produced in “classic” blast furnaces. “As a result, CO2 emissions The “OxiCup,” which started test operations in 1999, is gradually being can be reduced by as much as 20,000 metric tons a year,” Mr. Still developed into a proper operating plant. The test phase has been suc- says. cessful so far, and the shaft furnace fits into ThyssenKrupp Stahl’s re- Duisburg-Hamborn is the world’s second-largest steel production cycling and waste avoidance concept. Mr. Kesseler points to large piles site, and ThyssenKrupp Stahl produces 30,000 metric tons of crude of hexagon-shaped black stones reminiscent of the kind used in some iron here per day. When the “OxiCup” is completed at the beginning of driveways, explaining, “This is our raw material – and, at the same 2004 it will boast daily production of 1,500 tons of crude iron, or 5 per- time, one of the key innovations produced by this project.” cent of current output – and all from material that is already available The stones are produced from various coarse flue and steel-mak- but until recently disappeared from the internal cycle because it could ing dusts, which result from the air-filtering processes in crude iron and not be processed further. steel production. Although these dusts contain considerable amounts Although the problem was recognized in the late 1980s, new in- of iron, they can only be used to fabricate crude iron when they are ag- vestments in the steel industry tend to be a lengthy affair. “For one glomerated and fed into the shaft furnace, a fact that encouraged the thing, it can take years until new production processes reach their full “OxiCup” team, working with other engineers, to develop a process that capacity,” Dr. Gunnar Still explains. “In addition, new plants are only uses a binding material to produce so-called agglomerated stones from amortized after a very long time. For example, we’re currently building these dusts. a new coking plant here at this works, which will cost 800 million euros Naturally, new processes cannot be invented solely with but will only turn a profit after 18 years.” deskwork, which is why the “OxiCup” team interpreted the term “test The fact that the test plant required an initial investment of only 5 phase” literally. How large and firm do the stones have to be to melt op- million euros because it could employ mostly used components was a timally in the shaft furnace without breaking? And how much oxygen strong argument for the test of this modern recycling system.

66 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | However, the construction of the recycling shaft furnace also pre- New use for a tried and tested supposed a certain rethinking within the company. “It took a while be- technology: The shaft furnace was redesigned to process residues so fore the recognition gained ground that we’ll always be responsible for that it can easily turn dusts and our residues and that disposal is just as important as output,” com- other residues into iron. It thus makes an important contribution ments Wolfgang Volkhausen, the divisional head for environmental pro- to resource efficiency and waste tection at ThyssenKrupp Stahl. “And by recycling our residues our- avoidance. selves we become less dependent on external providers, thereby reducing our risk.”

DUST LEAVES THE PLANT AS STEEL Very few materials are as well suited for recycling as iron, since crude iron made from recycled dusts and slags has the same quality as crude iron produced in conventional blast furnaces, whereas the quality of plastics and glass deteriorates with each recycling process. The cycle is complete when the furnace is tapped and crude iron flows from the “OxiCup” into the “torpedo ladles,” which are large oval containers on rails. Since the ladles are intended for the tapping vol- umes of bigger blast furnaces, they subsequently move straight to the blast furnace, where they are filled up. Recycling as a closed system in the ThyssenKrupp Stahl works: in the end, what used to be waste dust now leaves our facility pressed into new shapes and rolled into steel. On its way to meet the world in the shape of cars, computers, kitchenware and other products.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 67

His ideal is “ecology that pleases the eye.” To this end, designer Friedrich Ernst von Garnier has developed his own color dramaturgy. This is why the hot strip slitting plant in Duisburg-Beeckerwerth does not look like an industrial building, but a building that brings light and color to nature with modern photovoltaic elements.

By Heribert Klein | Photos Claudia Kempf

he sun is shining weakly on the slowly gliding waters of the Rhine back and forth across the plant’s site on its own locomotives. Several river as it makes its way past Duisburg, past the Bruckhausen and dictums come together in the Beeckerwerth plant. The famous archi- TBeeckerwerth districts. How eager, in contrast, does the proces- tectural imperative “form follows function” – which can be seen in other sion of cars appear on Route A 42. Those drivers lucky enough to be parts of the giant company works in Duisburg – is complemented by a caught in a traffic jam there are drawn to the powerful facade of an in- new aesthetic category, new at least for such large industrial complex- dustrial complex, parts of which are 24 meters high, in green-violet. A es. second glance reveals the architectural sophistication: Shaped like Synonymous with this category is the color designer Friedrich waves, the dark stretches are embedded in the green surroundings, Ernst von Garnier, who generated such concepts as “constructed pub- suggesting soft movement. lic relations work,” or “ecology for the eye.” His approach: “Somehow Those who have time for a third look into the inside of the impos- the goal is to bundle the very different parts of man governing his body- ing industrial plant find a tower-high hot strip slitting plant. Ullrich Fin- soul-mind connections in such a way that the overall aesthetic picture ger, managing director of ThyssenKrupp Bausysteme GmbH, makes no does not disturb man or the landscape. With the consequence that attempt to hide his pride in what he describes as Europe’s largest solar people, especially those who work there, are not rejecting of or hostile technology project. He stands in front of the plant with visitors, eyes to industrial plants. Instead, the colors should be “music for the eye.” shining, explaining time and again how modern, how aesthetic, how Von Garnier sees himself as an artist, not as a dreamer. This helps him sustainable this new development is. And not only that: The light steel make his way back from construction aesthetics to reality with its nec- plates that carry the photovoltaic elements are further proof of steel’s essary economic determinants. “If a sensitive handling of colors is seen undreamed of potential, far beyond its implementation in the heavy as art, then only under the condition that artistic activity must also serve black-gray slabs, each weighing several tons, which are transported in a number of contexts, domination is not enough.”

Meeting the sun colorfully The Solartec plant in Duisburg-Beeckerwerth

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 69 The facade becomes a source Nothing dominates the earth more than the sun. Compared to of energy. Thin-layer solar cells, which fossil fuels, it is still and in the imaginable future will probably be the are integrated into the facade, ensure that daylight is used more than most lasting source of energy. According to Managing Director Finger, before to generate electricity. The the solar energy that reaches the surface of Germany in the form of dif- measurable result: nanocrystalline silicon supplies 20 percent more than fuse sunbeams is equal to eight times the country’s requirements for conventional crystalline modules. primary energy. An area of four square meters to capture sun beams is theoretically enough (in light of 4,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy) to supply an average household with a year’s worth of electricity. Modern nanocrystalline photovoltaic systems are currently able to transform 8 percent of this solar energy into electricity. So it would take a roof with a surface of 50-60 square meters covered with solar-technology ele- ments to generate most of the electricity that a household consumes in a year. Finger does not tire of stressing the synthetic approach. This be- gins with the resource-efficient production of thin-film solar modules; amorphous silicon is applied to a carrier substrate at just 300 degrees Celsius. The thickness of the silicon structure is less than 1 microme- ter, meaning 200 times less silicon is needed than for comparable crys- talline modules. In the end, the solar laminate comprises three stacked transparent solar cells which are each receptive to a different light spectrum and thus react to different light wave lengths.

SUNNY ROAD TO SUCCESS Passersby who – in the mild winter sun – stop to take a close look at the exterior of the Beeckerwerth plant identifiy slight shadows on the vertically running solar panels. The plant is aligned to the south-west, which lessens the sun’s impact compared to a pure southern align- ment. But the new solar laminate technology that was used also helps. It makes the three-layer solar laminate largely independent of the angle of incidence of the sun. Finger doesn’t forget to mention the high

Colorful art that serves production

energy production of thin-film technology with nanocrystalline silicon: It delivers up to 20 percent more electricity than conventional crystalline modules. Finger and his employees thus see themselves on the road to suc- cess. The number of interested visitor groups continues to grow, inter- est from abroad – especially in Asia, Southeast Asia and in emerging markets – rises continually. Finger sees this kind of technology as a sort of “stone of the wise.” As a means of designing roofs, and more re- cently exterior walls, this resource-efficient form of energy production is no longer an obstacle to the requirements of architects and construc- tion companies.

BRINGING COLOR INTO INDUSTRIAL PLANTS Which brings us back to the color designer von Garnier. This man, who has a long-term working relationship with ThyssenKrupp, is likely to leave lasting marks in many places. In a kind of transformation princi- ple that turns the adjective “stahlhart” (hard as steel) into the concept of “steelArt,” he literally brings color into industrial plants. It is as if he were attempting to transpose the tonal color of the composer Alexan- der Skrjabin into spacious buildings with a kind of color piano. This is the purpose of the palette of colors from his collection “ReflectionsOne,” which aims to give steel a colorful, warm appear- ance. Pipelines thus are no longer rusty brown against the backdrop of the more-or-less blue Rhine waters, but – befitting the natural environ- ment – azure. But Garnier does not produce bright, iridescent colors. As he says himself, his colors aim to help the onlooker interpret the active and passive, light and dark, warm and cool “building moods, making fair neighboring relationships possible.” The hot strip slitting plant in Beeckerwerth is among the reference projects. Others will follow, including the new coking plant in Schwel- gern, which will also radiate von Garnier’s color concept. More so than many other projects, the Solartec exterior in Beeckerwerth lives up to the claim of sustainable planning and building. It thus appeals to the owners of private homes, of whom some have already dared to reequip their roofs with Solartec elements. Tituskirche in Hanover, the oceanography museum in Stralsund – both get most of their energy from this mixture of light modules that generates energy and improves insulation and in addition offers archi- He strives for harmony between tects and designers a welcome material for their work. man and landscape. The mind behind the concept of sustainability, Saxony mining su- Friedrich Ernst von Garnier sees his artwork on industrial pervisor Hannß Carl von Carlowitz, would have been pleased with the plants as “public relations construc- result. tion” through the music of color.

72 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 |

iles of sand bags, desperate people, immense floods: The pic- Steel walls help tures shown on television during last August’s flood catastrophe Pappeared almost archaic. The message seemed to be that even in the 21st century technology doesn’t help when natural forces come strengthen soft to the fore. Then the motto is, plug the holes, pray and hope. Of course, the equally old and simple sand bag method isn’t ex- dikes actly good for the environment because the sand with which these bags are filled absorbs all those hazardous substances which the floods pour into the rivers – swept out of cellars, cars and factories. When the lev- els have fallen again, the highly contaminated sand has to be discard- ed at special waste disposal sites. And that’s not only cumbersome, it’s expensive too.

FLOODS OF THE CENTURY PROMPT RETHINKING ThyssenKrupp thought of one possible solution to this problem, which carries the rather unspectacular name “sheet pile wall.” Sheet piles have been known for over 100 years and are used above all in port con- struction. They are also a common feature on construction sites where they provide side support. Depending on the size of the dike, the indi- vidual elements are between six and 12 meters long, with a thickness of six to 10 millimeters. The sheet piles are driven into the soil with spe- cial machines and locked together so that they form a dense steel wall – the sheet pile wall. “Although this technology is particularly suited to flood protec- tion, sheet piles were rarely used in dike construction until a few years ago,” reports Christian Walter, head of the construction technology di- By Alexander Schneider vision at ThyssenKrupp GfT Gesellschaft für Technik mbH in Essen.

74 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | The catastrophic floods of August 2002 made plain that flood protection in Germany urgently needs new concepts. Sheet piles provide one means of ensuring lasting protection: They can stabilize dikes for far more than 100 years – and, if necessary, can be extended fast and effortlessly.

Dikes with a view: Thanks to the aluminum-glass constructs, riverside residents get to keep their view – and their cellars stay dry.

“The dikes were strong enough – in the Oderbruch region, for example, so that the sheet piles sink into the ground. Meanwhile, consulting has they held up from the times of Frederick the Great until the great flood become a key occupation for the Essen-based company. Especially in in 1997.” Only now are people gradually beginning to rethink their use: eastern Germany, the company is working closely with local communi- Many dikes along the Elbe and Oder rivers have become soft, while oth- ties to find the right solutions. Many post-war dikes, for example, con- ers proved too low or are having to be moved back. sist of piled up, unsuitable types of soil. When used on such fragile Walter is convinced that basically nothing is better suited to the up- dikes, the sheet pile walls are driven straight into the soil with so-called coming work than sheet piles: “You drive them into the dike, thus seal- sheet pile wall presses with pressure of up to 150 tons. And the experts ing it up and stabilizing it. The elements are stuck two to three meters from Essen also join authorities in debating the right location for the into the soil underneath the dike – meaning that the sheet pile wall holds dikes. Or they develop “see-through” dikes for residential areas: “When up even if the entire dike is washed away on the river side.” And that’s houses are located behind a dike, which is too low, we strengthen it with not the only advantage speaking in favor of sheet piles: The steel walls unbreakable aluminum-glass constructs,” explains Walter. “This way can last far longer than 100 years and are fully recyclable. And if the dike people can keep their view, and their cellars stay dry.” has to be shifted, they can simply accompany it. “In that case, you pull out the sheet pile walls and drive them into the new dike,” says Walter. EMERGENCY RESCUE: THE SHEET PILE WALL “This is not possible with dikes secured with concrete.” ThyssenKrupp During the Elbe flood last August, ThyssenKrupp GfT was able to wit- GfT’s latest development is a modular system: Specially developed ness first-hand the effects of insufficient flood protection: Its own modules can be added without great effort to dikes which are already branch in Magdeburg was under acute threat from the flood. Thankfully, equipped with sheet pile walls if the river rises higher than expected. the Magdeburg employees escaped that fate and were able to help With its sheet piles, ThyssenKrupp GfT has become a sought- quickly when the village of Dannenberg on the Elbe river had to be sup- after consultant and supplier, not only in Germany. The company from ported with a sheet pile wall. In record time, they joined forces with a Essen has already been asked to also strengthen dikes with its innov- construction company to block the Jeetzel inlet into the Elbe river, thus ative technology in Russia, the Czech Republic and Spain. The rough- preventing the Elbe from pushing in and flooding the low Jeetzel dikes. ly 230 engineers, fitters, mechanics and salespeople always offer Naturally, such emergency solutions cannot be sustained. Many local comprehensive solutions. communities in northern and eastern Germany now face the task of set- In Alsfeld, near Frankfurt, ThyssenKrupp GfT also produces spe- ting up an effective protection against floods – to make sure that last cial machinery with which the sheet piles can be driven vertically into year’s catastrophe isn’t repeated. the ground. These machines, which weigh between 1.5 and 20 tons, are called vibrators because they cause vibrations which soften the soil

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 75 Effortless independence

By Inken Heeb | Photos Dieter Rüchel

76 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Stair lift production is based on technically refined and closely coordinated work processes. Even in old age a spiral staircase is no longer an insurmountable obstacle

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 77

zzzzz. With an even hum Raimund Garbe glides up the stairs at an scrapers. The family has lived here for almost 40 years. Raimund and average of 15 centimeters per second. The stair lift effortlessly Dorothea Garbe were present at the laying of the foundation stone in Bovercomes the steep and narrow stairway up to the second floor 1963 and have raised their seven children there. This is were they call of the quaint one-family home. Ever since the stair lift, which brings her home. Without the stair lift they would have had to give it all up: the husband safely up and down the stairs, was installed, Dorothea Garbe kitchen with the comfortable sitting area next to it, the spacious living doesn’t have to be afraid anymore that her 86-year-old husband will fall room with the heavy, dark desk and the cozy armchair. The idea of leav- down the stairs. Due to several strokes and heart attacks as well as an ing it all doesn’t appeal to Raimund Garbe at all, and nor to his wife, who old war wound, the former teacher is now partially paralyzed and for a says: “We like it best here in our home. We have our own rhythm here.” fairly long time was only able to get around the house with the help of his wife. The question, “what if his weight gets too much for her?” was STEADY INCREASE IN PRODUCTION FIGURES ever dominant. “Now I don’t have to be afraid anymore that the two of Customers’ positive experiences with the stair lifts are also reflected in us will fall down the stairs,” Dorothea Garbe says with relief. The 76- the continually rising production numbers. Some 7,000 stair lifts of the year-old, too, has discovered the advantages of the stair lift. “Whenev- model “Flow” have left the factory of ThyssenKrupp Accessibility BV in er I have problems with my leg and it really hurts, I use the stair lift, too the Dutch town of Krimpen aan den IJssel in 2002 alone. That’s almost – at least on the way up,” she says. twice as many as the year before. “Flow” is the current model from the In order to follow the 180-degree angle of the narrow staircase, the Krimpen factory, where stair lifts have been produced since 1957. The stair lift for the Garbe family’s home in Schwanheim, a district of Frank- production in the Netherlands forms only one part of ThyssenKrupp’s furt, was custom-made. The house lies in the middle of a quaint area total stair lift production site. The 120 employees in Krimpen are exclu- with yards and small one-and two-family homes that don’t at all corre- sively specialized in the production of stair lifts for winding staircases. spond to Frankfurt’s image of financial center with dominating sky- Stair lifts for straight stair cases are produced in the UK, Sweden and

Easy climb upstairs

Even the steepest staircase no longer looks threatening: 76-year-old Dorothea Garbe and her husband Raimund have discovered the “Flow” stair lift. Now they can stay in their familiar home in the Frankfurt district of Schwanheim.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 79 the U.S. ThyssenKrupp is the world’s market leader for stair lifts. Espe- data is more exact and at the same time faster than conventional mea- cially in the UK and the Netherlands moving chairs are in greater de- surements made by hand. mand than ever before, partly because the respective health care sys- Based on the customer’s data, the rail on which the lift will later tems subsidize the purchase of stair lifts. Demand is smaller in glide up and down is custom-made with the help of a CAD program at Germany. As a rule there is none or very little financial support for the the factory in Krimpen. What took three days 20 years ago, is designed private user, and an investment of on average 10,000 euros needs to to fit exactly in one hour today. Every angle of the rail, every bracing for be well considered. The trend is gaining momentum though in Ger- the supports on the steps is determined. And then production can many, too, and the expected demographic developments, which will re- begin. sult in more and more older people, open up further growth potential. Stair lifts are a growth market. CUSTOMIZED PRODUCTION To allow stair lift “Flow” to manage every inclination and curve, With a special bending machine a customized rail is made out of an 80- the inconspicuous chair is mounted on a drive with up-to-date technol- millimeter-thick steel tube. In a two-hour procedure the rail is then col- ogy. A technically refined production process is behind the stair lift as ored with a powder coating according to the customer’s wishes in one of well. Customers’ stairs are measured with a system conceived by six colors. Residual powder is re-used in an ecologically friendly manner. ThyssenKrupp especially for the production of stair lifts, the Electronic Should the rail one day fall out of use, the steel can be recycled. Survey System (ESS). Varying step heights as well as the angle of incli- While the rails have to be custom-made for every single customer, nation and step are precisely calculated. With ESS, the collection of the chairs are mass-produced. This doesn’t just save time during pro-

80 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | ... and downstairs

Usage is easy: A slight touch of the hand suffices to get the stair lift moving with a quiet hum.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 81 Around the corner

Customized to meet the requirements of each individual customer: The rail is custom-made in the Dutch Krimpen plant, bent to fit the respective staircase and colored.

duction, but it saves resources, too. As a chair can be in use for many and can take inclinations of up to 70 percent. The stair lifts can either years, it can also be used second-hand. This also has advantages for be installed inside or outside the stairway. Spiral staircases are the customers because used chairs are less expensive to buy. greatest challenge for the stair lift builders in Krimpen. A great deal of technology and forethought was put into the chairs while the stair lifts were being designed and constructed, so that only the A DIFFICULT DECISION rails now really have to be customized. Christian Fröhlich, managing di- For the customer, on the other hand, the greatest challenge isn’t tech- rector at Thyssen Treppenlifte in Neuss, sums it up: “The intelligence is nical, but psychological. Before deciding to install a stair lift a lot of in the chair and not the rail.” Under the chair with its red, black or tan emotions have to be worked through. That was also the case with cover is a complex drive with two engines that run on rechargeable bat- Dorothea and Raimund Garbe. It took quite a bit of persuasion from teries. One of the engines is for driving, a second one is in charge of their five daughters and two sons before they reached their decision. As keeping the chair in a horizontal position – no matter how steep the practical and sensible the purchase of a stair lift may be in retrospect, curve. Three sensors constantly measure the angle of the chair to the many prejudices need to be overcome before actually purchasing. ground during the ride and guarantee the horizontal position of the chair. On average five years pass from the moment a customer thinks The electronic control system consists of two microprocessors, with one about acquiring a stair lift for the first time and when they buy one. “It monitoring the other. The control system also makes sure that the is the fear of having to admit to yourself that you can’t go on without it,” rechargeable batteries are automatically recharged after 10 to 15 rides. explains lift specialist Fröhlich. And so many customers wait until they On average it takes two to four weeks from the time measurement can’t climb the stairs anymore. Subconsciously the idea of being hand- at the customer’s home begins to actual installation. Firmly mounted on icapped, of losing one’s self-reliance, plays a large role. The installation the steps of the stairs, the stair lift can be used right away. And should of the stair lift creates the exact opposite: It cancels out physical dis- the chair be on the upper floor, but is needed on the ground floor, it can abilities and maintains autonomy. And probably the most important ad- be called via radio remote control. The stair lift can transport up to 125 vantage is that people can stay in their familiar surroundings. The qual- kilograms with a top speed of 15 centimeters per second up and down, ity of life that this brings is great.

82 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 83 Dr. Cromme, we are talking about sustainability and corporate gover- Photo Werner Bartsch nance at the same time. Isn’t this contradictory?

No, I see no contradiction here. The concept of sustainability stands for continuity and a long-term approach. Corporate governance also aims for a sustained increase in the company’s value, and it recommends adequate rules of the game for all those who influence corporate deci- sions.

These days, however, many shareholders are not looking for long-term prosperity, but quick gains. So where does corporate governance come in?

That is only partly correct. Naturally, fund managers in particular are forced to take short-term actions to boost the value of their funds as quickly as possible, partly because this determines their individual re- muneration. It’s true that a company’s long-term development is often pushed into the background then. But, particularly in continental Euro- pean countries, the consensus is that companies do not consist only of shareholders. The shareholders’ long-term interests are best served when a company also keeps its customers, suppliers, employees and other business and social partners happy.

So the recommendations and suggestions of Germany’s corporate gov- ernance code aid sustainability? ‘Corporate

That’s how I see it. In this era of global financial markets, investors can choose from attractive assets around the world. National financial mar- governance enhances kets are becoming increasingly less important. Companies, in turn, are using the capital of investors who buy stakes in these companies in the transparency’ hope of achieving a good return. To protect individual shareholders who provide their capital, and in the interest of customers, suppliers and Interview with Dr. Gerhard Cromme, employees, sound corporate governance is indispensable. This is what Chairman of the Supervisory Board the code is about. It has a sustainable impact because it promotes of ThyssenKrupp AG companies’ long-term existence.

A core part of the code is the call for transparency across the whole company. Does this contribute to securing a company’s long-term competitiveness?

Good and transparent corporate leadership and control strengthen a Dr. Gerhard Cromme, who was born in 1943, company and make it attractive for investors. Empirical studies have studied law and economics at the universities of shown that companies with inadequate corporate governance and poor Münster, Lausanne and Paris. He obtained a doctorate transparency are punished with share price discounts. The German in law. In 1986, he became chairman of the manage- ment board of Krupp Stahl AG, and in 1989 chairman Corporate Governance Code seeks to eliminate these shortcomings, in of Fried. Krupp GmbH. After the merger of Thyssen particular through more transparent corporate decision-making, in the and Krupp he co-chaired the new company, Thyssen Krupp AG, together with Prof. Dr. Ekkehard D. Schulz. case of possible conflicts of interest among board members or auditors, He has been chairman of the supervisory board of and with regard to questions of remuneration. Each manager’s deci- ThyssenKrupp AG since October 2001.

84 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | sions have to measure up against the transparency requirement: If he ternationally speaking, even five mandates for active board members cannot cite good reasons for a decision he should not make that deci- are considered excessive because they take up too much of their time. sion. But if he has good reasons, he has to make this decision even if it won’t boost his popularity ratings. Sustainability also means greater efficiency. The question of co-deter- mination and outsized supervisory boards was purposely avoided by Asked ironically, is the publication of management salaries and other the German Corporate Governance Code Commission, over which you remuneration an attempt to contribute to social justice and an impor- preside. Given that efficiency had to be improved with regard to these tant element of the concept of sustainability? Or, more seriously, won’t aspects, when will you start a broader discussion on these issues? this fuel the German affinity to social envy? First of all, it should be noted that lawmakers have consistently raised No, I believe the opposite is the case. The public debate in Germany con- the requirements of supervisory board members since the Co-determi- cerns mostly board members and their salaries. But it is not the absolute nation Act of 1976 came into force (see also the recent Law on Corpo- level of salaries that I consider to be decisive. If a company has dispro- rate Control and Transparency, the Fourth Financial Market Promotion portionate business success, its managers and others who contributed Act and the Transparency and Disclosure Act). At the same time, su- to this success should be allowed to share in it accordingly. There can be pervisory board structures have remained unchanged since 1976 – no doubt about that. But it shouldn’t be done secretly. Transparency can hence the increasing debate over the size and structure of supervisory help avoid or at least rationalize unnecessary discussions. boards and the future of co-determination. The Code Commission works on the basis of existing laws, which means that these issues do The code does not have legal status, but merely builds on existing laws. not feature in its activities. Irrespective of all legal parameters, howev- It pins its hopes on the normative impact of self-commitment. Will the er, there can be no doubt that German supervisory boards are too big code affect all German companies? to work efficiently and fulfill their growing responsibilities. This is why the Code Commission recommends the increased use of supervisory Yes, I’m convinced of that. And one shouldn’t underestimate the fact board committees. Supervisory board meetings attended by up to 30 that the management and supervisory boards of all listed German com- persons – supervisory board members, management board members, panies have to state whether their company complies with the code’s protocol writers – make efficient and discreet discussions all but im- recommendations. Deviations have to be explained. ThyssenKrupp has possible. The size of the board has to be reduced, regardless of the co- set a positive precedent here by making its first compliance statement determination debate. on Oct. 1, 2002 and publishing it on the Internet. With regard to the so- called “shall” rules (recommendations), the code is already a great suc- How do you see Germany as a place to do business? Have the key play- cess. With regard to the “should” rules (suggestions), we’re currently ers in business, politics and society ensured sustainability for future witnessing a habituation process, which, however, is pointing in the generations? right direction. Companies are increasingly acting in line with economic, ecological and Corporate governance also relates to companies’ management com- social interests. Today a company cannot sustain its economic pros- mittees and their efficiency. The efficiency of supervisory boards has perity and future competitiveness without also paying heed to the other been controversial for a while. Do German companies need profes- two aspects. But politicians have to provide the necessary parameters sional supervisors? – from tax, health care and pension policy to subsidiary wage costs. Sustainable labor market and social reforms are urgently needed. The times in which – as some caricatures will still have it – a board ThyssenKrupp is a company that is internationally active and invests member selected the supervisory board member, supplied him with around the world. We directly feel the advantages and disadvantages of sparse information and could then sit back and relax are definitely over. Germany as a place to do business when we draw on international com- These days, lawmakers and financial markets set much higher quality parisons for our investment decisions. Nearly half of our roughly requirements for the work of supervisory board members. They now 191,000 employees now work outside of Germany. All employees have face an expanded range of tasks and duties that is far more time-con- the right to demand that our investment decisions are made according suming than before, and their responsibility and personal risk have to the same transparent criteria anywhere in the world. And wherever grown enormously. Partly because of this, the code recommends that we do business we want to be a responsible corporate citizen. the management board members of listed companies take on no more than five external supervisory board mandates. Admittedly, though, in- The interview was conducted by Heribert Klein.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 85 n a way, scientists always were and still are the real visionaries – not up to one of the 11 floors above as quickly as possible. But on closer in the mystical sense, but quite practically. “Give me a fixed point and inspection it is not just another bank of elevators, as can be seen by the Ia lever and I shall lift the earth,” is one of the most famous quotes of small, gray touch-screen monitor that serves as a central steering ele- Archimedes, the mathematician, physician and engineer. What the man ment for the entire group of elevators. from Syracuse (where he lived between 287 and 212 B.C.) had done Whoever wants to take an elevator in this building has to type in was discover the law of leverage, and since then many have remem- his or her floor before stepping into the cabin, Mr. Thumm explains. bered Archimedes mainly as the man who invented the pulley and thus “This is called Destination Selection Control. The steering mechanism made life much easier – not least by laying the foundation for the mod- chooses the ideal elevator for each trip, which is indicated to the user ern industry of elevator and conveyor technology. on the touch screen. Inside the elevator cabin there are no buttons with Put very simply, a state-of-the-art elevator still relies on the same which to choose a destination.” principle of pulley and leverage, explains an intellectual descendant of The benefit? The elevators no longer arrive and depart randomly, Archimedes, a man of around 50 from the Swabian region near the but are filled and dispatched optimally by computer, raising capacity by southwestern German city of Stuttgart. For nearly 30 years, elevators about 20 percent – a sustainable concept, thanks to the energy and have been the focal point of Gerhard Thumm’s work. time savings, not to mention the reduced stress on people’s nerves. Mr. Thumm is a member of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Granted, it is an intelligent and convenient concept, but is it worth the Aufzugswerke (elevator works) GmbH in Neuhausen, south of Stuttgart. technological effort and cost? He is convinced that his latest project will revolutionize the use of ele- vators. CHOOSING AND GETTING THERE FASTER A view into this future can be seen in a lecture building at the Uni- The answer to this question brings us closer to a novelty which versity of Stuttgart, where, amid the lunchtime rush, students jostle in Archimedes himself would no doubt have been proud of: The vision that front of the five elevators on the ground floor, all of them eager to get two elevators can run in one shaft. These are not double-deckers,

The two-in-one shaft The TWIN elevator at Stuttgart University

By Heribert Klein | Illustrations Tobias Wandres

86 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | which already operate in the United States and Asia, generally serving as express elevators that commute directly between a two-story en- trance area and a “sky lobby,” helping to prevent bottlenecks.

THINKING AND MAKING A SAFE BET At this point, Mr. Thumm fetches the chart showing what the engineer J. N. Anderson registered as a patent on March 28, 1931: Two eleva- tors, one above the other, but running independently from each other. Like many ideas developed by Archimedes and his predecessors, this was a vision that was never realized – until January 2003, that is, in the middle of Stuttgart, in the lecture building of the local university. There, one elevator shaft is now equipped with the “TWIN” con- veyor system. Anyone who wants to see this vision-turned-reality with their own eyes has to follow every one of Gerhard Thumm’s steps. The engine room in the top of the building provides room for the elevator drives, which, Mr. Thumm explains, are using ever less space due to technical improvements that also allow them to be lighter, work more effectively, and be steered with greater precision. Frequency-regulated synchronous engines, without reduction gears, known in the industry as gearless machines, increasingly domi-

The TWIN principle: Two elevators run in one shaft independently of each other. To avoid havoc, a four-phase safety concept prevents the collision of the two cabins.

87 nate elevator technology. The appearance of the slowly revolving drive That’s how Günter Meermann must have felt. He is the responsi- pulleys of TWIN elevators gives no indication of the great weight at- ble official in the University of Stuttgart’s construction authority, a man tached below in the form of elevator cabins and counterweights; the who likes to say that he grew up with elevators and will retire with ele- steel cabins which house the elevator steering equipment appear solid, vators. When Gerhard Thumm told him about his idea of the TWIN ele- but in no way spectacular. vators about a year ago, Mr. Meermann replied that it would never work. Only when Mr. Thumm steps into the shaft with the TWIN eleva- But it did work, not least because Mr. Meermann’s boss thought that tors does this impression change. Slowly, he pushes apart the door and such a bold idea could only be realized in Stuttgart, which is known climbs on to the roof of the lower elevator cabin, from where a glance even in other parts of Germany, with its tradition of mechanical and into the vertiginously high shaft reveals that further up there is a sec- technical industry, as a center of innovation. ond elevator cabin. It is an image that takes some getting used to, and They were joined by the architects Heinle, Wischer and Partner the latent suspicion remains that the upper cabin is about to plummet. and now, when their project manager, Mo Horn, steps into the elevator And what if both start moving at the same time? Long-forgotten horror shaft to explain the challenges they faced, their faces light up, as scenarios from Hollywood catastrophe movies, where people are though they cannot quite grasp why nobody before them thought of re- trapped in high-rise shafts, suddenly come to mind. alizing Anderson’s patent in a building. Heading toward a quantum leap

Sustainability wherever you turn: In existing buildings, the num- safety feature is activated – a wedge between cutter jaws and guard ber of shafts remains the same, but the elevator capacity is raised by rail, the so-called catch mechanism. Mr. Thumm, not content to leave up to 15 percent. Alternatively, one shaft can be used for a different it at the theoretical level, steps on to the lower TWIN elevator to show purpose (for air conditioning systems or cables, for example) without how the above-mentioned safety features work. The elevator comes reducing the elevators’ overall capacity. In newly constructed buildings, dangerously close to the upper cabin, and we witness each of the se- this saves space (one elevator requires about three square meters, or quences he has described, but in the end, a few meters away from a 32 square feet, of floor space per floor) and increases usable space. collision, the elevator stops abruptly. There has been no damage. Another important aspect on the cost side is the need for fewer elevator doors, with their complex technology and necessary safety DEVELOPING AND THINKING OF EVERYTHING features. Mr. Thumm, generally an understated man, does not hesi- It is the combination of electronic surveillance and, as a last resort, me- tate to use the term “quantum leap” to describe the principle of “two chanical intervention that Mr. Thumm considers to be the strong point cabins, one shaft” and compares its implementation to the simi- of his safety concept. Bar codes, which are fixed to the entire guard rail larly revolutionary invention presented by the American Elisha in the shaft and are read by a broad electronic ray; the thin tube that is Graves Otis in 1853: the catch mechanism for plummeting ele- only a few meters long and, attached to a rope, automatically moves in vators. sync with the cabin and (in the case of danger) activates a safety relay; His call, “All safe, Gentlemen, all safe!” is now taken two independent elevator drive pulleys, each with their own counter- mostly for granted amid the tens of thousands of elevators weight: The array of partly redundant safety features gives the impres- racing up and down in the world’s high-rises, and certainly sion that the engineers thought of even the most unlikely eventuality applies to TWIN. Mr. Thumm says the four-sequence safety and installed a counter-mechanism. system on which the TWIN concept is based prevents all In ancient Greece, the deus ex machina appeared in tragedies possible collisions and, thanks to automated destination se- when danger loomed. It wasn’t magic, but a simple hydraulic elevator lection, driving instructions are given so that the cabins do system that was designed and operated by humans. Despite its vision- not obstruct each other. Minimum distances are observed, ary air, today’s TWIN system also is not moved by magic, but by an and if the cabins still approach each other too fast speeds can elaborate idea that, 72 years after its publication, will doubtless receive be reduced so that they can stop at any time. Sequence 3 ensures considerable attention, given the estimated 825 million elevator trips an automatic emergency stop, and if all else fails, the final, redundant that are made everyday in Europe alone.

The TWIN precondition: The destination selection system allocates the calls. Once an individual has stepped into the elevator, he cannot choose a different floor.

TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | 89 Online and print The world of ThyssenKrupp

Internet - Homepage www.thyssenkrupp.com DVD – the corporate film

Forum. Technical news Image brochure Annual report

The above publications can be ordered at www.thyssenkrupp.com in the service navigation under “Publications.”

Imprint Publisher: ThyssenKrupp AG, Dr. Jürgen Claassen, August-Thyssen-Straße 1, 40211 Düsseldorf, Telephone: +49 211-824-0

Project Management: Dr. Heribert Klein (responsible for editorial content) • Art Director: Peter Breul Authors: Sebastian Groß, Dr. Inken Heeb, Michael Jakob, Alexander Schneider, Jan Voosen, Sybille Wilhelm Picture Editor: Alexander Schneider • Layout: Esther Rodriguez Publishing House and Editorial Address: F.A.Z.-Institut für Management-, Markt- und Medieninformationen GmbH, Mainzer Landstraße 195, 60326 Frankfurt am Main, Telephone: +49 69–75 91-0, Facsimile: +49 69–75 91-1966 Managing Directors: Dr. Gero Kalt, Volker Sach, Peter Steinke Project Management at ThyssenKrupp: Barbara Scholten Lithography: Goldbeck Sytem-Litho, Frankfurt am Main Printing: SocietätsDruck, Mörfelden Title Photo: Anja Peek The editorial content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the publisher’s opinion. The reproduction in whole or in part of this publication is only permitted when stating the source and providing a specimen copy.

90 TK Magazine | 1 | 2003 | Elevators Escalators Passenger Boarding Bridges Accessibility

You don’t need to fly to get closer to the sky.

Mobility is the mantra of the age. And it’s no longer just about getting from A to B – speed and above all comfort are increasingly important.

One of the most impressive projects reflecting this spirit of times is the reconstruction of Düsseldorf Airport in Germany. For all the new ground it breaks, however, safety and reliability remain paramount, which is one of the reasons the contract for all the airport’s elevators and esca- lators went to a global market leader: ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG.

In conjunction with innovative technology, the glass and stainless steel design of the 50 elevators and 27 escalators blends in perfectly with the bright, open architecture of the new airport buildings. So now all passengers can travel first class, at least until they check in.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator

ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG, August-Thyssen-Strasse 1, 40221 Düsseldorf/Germany, Tel.: +49 211 824-38414, Fax: +49 211 824-36839 www.thyssen-aufzuege.com, www.thyssenkrupp-fahrtreppen.com TK M i S t i bilit