In connection with the traditional employer conference of the employers’ association in the district of Olpe which took place on 8 August 2023, Mona Neubaur, the Minister for Economic Affairs, Climate Action, Industry and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, made a visit to local ‘hidden champions’ Mennekes and KEMPER. One particular area of focus of the discussion was the current energy price situation and the need for prompt, long-term solutions for medium-sized industrial enterprises.
Our senior management seized the opportunity to show what strengths the family company has managed to foster so successfully over almost 160 years. Neubaur was able to see these strengths for herself: sustainable management, a firm commitment to Olpe as a production location and the long-standing loyalty of the company and its workforce.
KEMPER products for a healthy and sustainable future
After the official greeting by chairperson Tessa Bertram, CEOs Christian Küster, Dr Michael Rehse and Martin Thiel presented the wide range of products from the three divisions of the company to the minister in an informative tour of the premises. Highlights of this journey through the world of KEMPER products: The innovative system solutions from building technology that maintain drinking water hygiene in a sustainable and resource-friendly way and protect consumers from health hazards caused by bacteria growth in the drinking water installation, the newly developed, lead-free gunmetal material Rg+ in casting technology and the high-performance alloys from which rolled products are produced that are used around the globe in electromobility, decarbonisation, digitalisation, etc. In the rolled products division, KEMPER has recently made considerable investments, specifically 50 million euros for the new final strip production.
Uncertainty at companies and consumers must end
As an industrial metal-processing company, KEMPER finds itself faced with enormous challenges with regards to sharply increasing energy prices. This clearly raised the issue of the currently highly adverse political environment in a subsequent company discussion. “Investments in the future need clear prospects and locational factors which enable Germany to also compete economically on the global stage,” senior management stressed, making a clear case for a transformation electricity rate to enable energy-intensive companies such as ours to reliably plan and implement important and urgent future projects.
Even today, energy-intensive companies such as KEMPER are making an important contribution within the circular economy through the extensive use of scrap metal in the production of products. This aspect is all the more important when considering the fact that the availability of the copper needed for transformation will continue to decrease in the future. Furthermore, senior management stated that it is not about giving out subsidies to everyone, as this distorts markets and creates artificial needs. Instead, it is much more important to proceed in a targeted way, ensuring that future-oriented companies are able to ride out the transformation into carbon neutrality This would not just safeguard jobs but also the availability of products that are key to a sustainable society domestically.
Neubaur took this message with her into the political world of Düsseldorf – let’s hope she makes the voices of the local industry heard.