Date: 01.10.2021
Innovation Day at BEULCO
On Thursday, September 30, 2021, BEULCO GmbH & Co KG hosted the first Innovation Day in Attendorn. The occasion was the award as TOP 100 Innovator in Germany 2020, which could now be made up for in a small festive setting. Among others, Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, addressed his greetings to the company in a pre-recorded interview. He praised the company's outstanding achievements, which are exemplary for the South Westphalia region and its family businesses.
An extensive program awaited the visitors, starting with the welcome address by owner Axel Beul, who began with a short journey into the past and took the visitors on a very emotional and personal journey.
Under the moderation of Gisbert Baltes, Managing Director Jürgen Christian Schütz answered questions about the development and future of the company. "We describe ourselves as a start-up with a history," explained Schütz.
In his laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Michael Henke, Director of the Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund, described the successful collaboration between BEULCO and the Fraunhofer Institute. Starting with the digitalization of production and processes in the sense of Industry 4.0, through the development of digital products and the establishment of new business models in the platform economy, to the digital transformation and the cultural change of the company, in which BEULCO puts its own employees at the center".
Herbert Schulte, Managing Director of the BVMW (Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft), then emphasized once again the challenge, but also the importance of integrating digital strategies and components in German SMEs, but is certain that the "backbone of the SME sector" is up to these challenges. He also referred to the virtues of the honorable businessman, which must be cultivated and which are a living culture at BEULCO.
Subsequently, all visitors had the opportunity to gain an insight into the practical application of the theory during a brief tour of the company. BEULCO presented innovations in the field of digitizing water management, which contribute to making water supply more efficient, safer, and more affordable. The company also places a strong emphasis on international markets such as Singapore, South Africa, and India. Since the beginning of 2021, an office with software developers in India has also been part of the team.
In production itself, the focus was on 3D printing and driverless transport systems. The 3D printing of robot grippers, which the company has been using for some time, was demonstrated live. To conclude the tour, the visitors were once again taken on an excursion into new, agile working environments to understand, for example, what is behind a "dual operating system" and how an agile organization can function in a production company in reality.
"I am impressed by the company's development and willingness to change, as well as the tremendous speed at which new topics are addressed and implemented with great dynamism," said one of the numerous guests.
In the final panel discussion, Prof. Dr. Henke, Herbert Schulte, Prof. Dr. Karin Schnitker, and Managing Director Jürgen Chr. Schütz once again addressed the global water supply situation - around 2.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. BEULCO has set itself the goal of tackling precisely this problem. In doing so, BEULCO is in a "frontrunner position," according to Henke. The developed systems and solutions are the basis for how we will handle the drinking water in the future, which we still partly take for granted.