During a visit to the Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich in Hardheim, Germany, the Interceram spoke to Stephan Eirich, one of the two managing directors of the company, about the role of the Maschinenfabrik in e-mobility and why ceramists are skilled professionals.

Interceram: How do you personally assess the situation of young talents in the industry and what do you think about the lack of skilled professionals?

Stephan Eirich: This should be considered in combination with our geographical location. We’re not exactly at the center of the world, where everyone wants to be. Although it is a beautiful area in the Odenwald in Germany, young people are often drawn to the cities first. We offer high technology and a very interesting and diversified work environment, but both aspects have to fit. This also applies to young professionals. And we have to go with time. It is important to know how you are perceived as an employer and we place great importance on the digital media presence.

What qualities do you look for in applicants?

No corporate thinking. We are a family business where the personality of the applicant and the collaboration here in the team should fit. You should also be flexible. We are not a company where you can do exactly the same thing every day. I believe that the tasks you tackle here on a daily basis are much more diverse than in some other companies. This is due to our broad positioning in many sectors, which differ significantly in their demands, but also due to our internationality. I have to deal with problems from China quite differently than with issues from the USA. This always requires great flexibility from the employees.

Especially when it comes to process engineering, ceramists are our favorites. They have the most extensive range of expertise in materials science, process engineering and the treatment possibilities of various materials.

As a company, you are represented at 17 locations worldwide and in a wide variety of industries. Where do you see the greatest potential for growth?

You have to distinguish: There are always short-term boom phases, at the moment China is number one in terms of incoming orders. We have been very strong there for a year in the metallurgy sector, but the end is in sight. The reason for this are the CO2 reduction programs in China, which stipulate that in five years the steel production must be continued on the electric route. Then the companies in China will have to restructure. Right now we are benefiting from the fact that we can produce the electrodes that operate the electric arc furnace with our machines. The boom will continue for another six to twelve months until everyone is equipped and the projects in this industry are up and running. Then the order intake drops again.

In general, China, India and Southeast Asia are the major growth regions. In terms of industries, we expect a lot of growth from megatrends such as electric mobility with the production of lithium-ion batteries. Until a few years ago, two of our large mixers could have handled the world’ s production volume of lithium-ion batteries. With throughput volumes like these, you have to look at the machine sizes you sell in. But for us, the smaller mixers are also important for finer and technically more demanding products, as are the mixers with large volumes.

On the subject of research and development: Can you tell us something about projects that you have successfully implemented in recent years in cooperation with universities and research institutes?

We regularly work on projects together with universities. These are dozens of projects running in parallel, most of them relatively long, from an initial process idea to product development and testing in a wide variety of areas. We are working on processes such as microgranulation and are trying to replace spray towers. Of course, with today’s energy prices this is not quite so interesting, but as soon as energy prices start to rise again, this will become a big issue. It is important that we can then offer an alternative to the spray tower, both in ceramics and in other industries.

Link to original publication in English: http://bit.ly/3cyjwOK

Download the entire interview in Germany, here.