The HILGER & KERN GROUP is an employer of the future

Group receives award for digitalisation and sustainability

One of the future success factors of companies is to be at the forefront of the megatrends of digitalisation and sustainability. The HILGER & KERN GROUP has recognised this and has been working on corresponding projects for years. Now, the German Innovation Institute for Sustainability and Digitalisation has awarded the HILGER & KERN GROUP the "Employer of the Future" seal.

Digitalisation has already significantly changed mechanical engineering. Companies must therefore know exactly what is important in the digital future of mechanical engineering. In this context, it is particularly important to develop solutions that offer clear added value for customers, such as

  • improve plant availability (e.g. predictive maintenance)
  • increase product quality or reduce rejects (e.g. defect detection)
  • Reduce resource consumption (e.g. energy consumption)

Digitalisation as the engine of the future
As a globally active, medium-sized company, the HILGER & KERN GROUP has been using digital solutions for years to facilitate international cooperation. Among other things, a globally deployed ERP system is used to control the entire company. This includes processes in the areas of finance, human resources, production, supply chain, services and procurement. In addition, the international branches work with the customer relationship management system (CRM) Salesforce. Here, the focus is on the needs and requirements of the customers. From the first call to meeting results to commissioning and delivery of spare parts, all data is recorded here. In addition, the company operates individual online shops for three business areas. Here, customers worldwide can select their product from the extensive portfolio, query data, enquire about products and place orders. In addition to customer-oriented added value, the HILGER & KERN GROUP also has the user-friendliness of the applications firmly in mind.

Sustainable transformation
The HILGER & KERN GROUP contributes to a climate-neutral economy at all levels of the company. The metering and mixing systems that are sold worldwide are used, among other things, in the production of modern, environmentally friendly technologies. These include the manufacture of rotor blades for wind turbines, the production of batteries and control electronics for e-cars or the production of photovoltaic systems and solar panels.

The systems of the HILGER & KERN GROUP are designed to conserve resources so that they operate with as little energy consumption as possible. For example, systems are converted from pneumatic to electric drives. Already during product development, attention is paid to low energy consumption and low emissions. Sustainable use of energy and resources in the buildings and in the areas of purchasing and warehousing is a matter of course.

The company plans to be CO2-neutral by 2035. The radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is achieved through a whole package of measures: starting with the power supply through the company's own solar panels on the company roofs to the conversion of the company car fleet to e-cars to net-zero mobility concepts for employees at the company location. Where CO2 emissions cannot be reduced to zero, they are offset by appropriately certified activities to reduce CO2 - in particular by planting trees or reforesting forests in the region.