On Saint Nick's Day - 6 December - the RWTÜV (German Technical Supervision Unit) came to EHR in Essen. Right from the Saint's gift bag: The successful audit on the EC Pressure Equipment Directive, with the highest quality module successfully accomplished. With immediate effect, we are now permitted to design, calculate, build and sell pressure equipment without the explicit participation of the Technical Supervision Unit. Instead, we have established an independent technical supervision department inside EHR. The process principles and the in-house responsibilities are codified in the guidelines for Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC.

The new EHR warehouse in Wolbeckstrasse 25 is going to provide space for more than 15,000 pieces of fitting and assembly tools. The building is 45 metres in width, 18 metres in depth and 7 metres in height. It has been built in a modular steelframe construction and will be fitted with a thermally insulated sandwich facade.

The topping-out ceremony was held on 8 October 2004. As early as of December, the assembly and fitting tools of the European-wide operating assembly teams of EHR are to be stored and serviced at that location. Moreover, even external customers will be able to rent special tools ranging from pneumatic hammers to Mercedes Unimogs. Quick and ample availability ensure flexibility, time saving and on-schedule work.

Plant mechanic for supply engineering – this is the official name of the apprenticeship to be commenced by five new apprentices at EHR as of September 2004. Prior to getting to the core of their work in training facilities and workshops in the EHR locations in Dortmund and Essen, they attended the traditional workshop seminar “Starting up your career.” They spent three days in a small hotel on a seminar themed “Meeting”; getting to know each other, the services, objectives and corporate philosophy of EHR, team work and communication channels, organisation and work safety, works council and juvenile representation as well as topics such as self-esteem and drug education. “A good start, now we know where the ropes are, “ the five “newbies” and trainer Frank Bastkowski commented after the successful introduction.

“Art is fun.” Not only the organisers but also the local press and especially the employees and students of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Garching think that way. With playful delight, they use the sculpture “Parabola” created by the artists Brunner and Ritz in the hall of the mathematics and computer science department day after day. The two tubes of the slide lead from the third floor downstairs and can be used instead of lifts and stairs.

And what has EHR contributed to this fun? Well, firstly they accomplished the welding seams and secondly they supplied and welded the fittings. The demanding materials L 485 MB and S 355J 2G3 as well as the complex geometry proved a successfully met challenge for our specialist at the EHR subsidiary in Dortmund.

Ansprechpartner: Dipl.-Ing. Alfred Hoffmann

More than 800 experts attended a conference on „Maintenance in Power Plants 2004“ in Essen, hosted by Germany’s VGB (“Association of Power and Heat Generating Utilities”). Many attendants also paid a visit to the complementing trade fair and EHR's information booth. Visitors were generally impressed with EHR’s competence and wide range of services. They showed marked interest in EHR’s ability to offer wholly integrated services around implementation and assessment of “Recurring Tests of High-Pressure Pipes in Power Stations and Chemical Plants” according to VGB standards 509L and TRD508.

EHR will actively take part in the 19. Rohrleitungstechnische Tagung (Conference on Pipe Engineering), which is organized, as every year, by FDBR (“Trade Association for Steam Boiler, Tank, and Pipeline Construction”). The conference will take place on March 9 and 10 in Gelsenkirchen’s Technical College. “Pipes in power plants and chemical plants - long distance pipelines” will be the main topic.

Eight trainees at EHR passed their final exams in January. Not only did the new office and industrial sales clerks and system mechanics show talent and interest; their success also proves our instructors’ great skills in passing on their knowledge and experience to young colleagues. Good training has a long tradition at EHR. Many of those in leading positions today once received their basic training at EHR, and they all remember how being in a constant dialog with their instructors encouraged independent action. Trainees are like a tonic for every company: thanks to their presence both structures and communications stay lively, and existing knowledge is developed and adapted to modern needs. So - welcome to EHR, dear ex-trainees! All of them will get proper, albeit temporary employment contracts and will start their new jobs in Dortmund, Leuna or Frankfurt.

Are customers happy with EHR's service? We really wanted to know, so we started a customer poll. Many have answered our questions - thank you very much. And here are the results:

To 84 percent of our customers, EHR's long-standing know-how was paramount in their decision to do business with us. Another 82 per cent said they built on previous good relationships with EHR when they made the decision to choose us again.

When it comes to carrying out an order, 95 per cent of our customers rated EHR’s work safety as “good” or “very good”. And 86 per cent pointed out the good quality EHR achieved.

92 per cent of our customers felt that EHR was very responsive to their special needs, and 94 per cent found that their partners at EHR were well accessible