Social responsibility

NORRES Schlauchtechnik has a long history of responsible behaviour towards the society we live in. We frequently participate in activities that benefit charitable organisations. We are extremely keen to support projects that help the socially disadvantaged, especially when they involve children. We also make an active contribution towards environmental protection.

NORRES Schlauchtechnik makes regular donations to “Noah's Ark”, a charity that describes itself as “a children’s hospice in the region and for the region”. The Ark’s concept, which is the only one of its kind anywhere in Germany, defines two main functions: to offer a haven for incurably ill children and to act as a short-term care centre for youngsters with severe disabilities. The aim is to assist the families concerned by providing professional care and respite for children and teenagers in the Noah's Ark centre. NORRES traditionally makes a donation to this deserving cause at Christmas.

At NORRES, all people are equal. All our staff benefit from the same opportunities. Their ethnic origin, religion, social background, age, sex or disabilities are considered to be irrelevant. NORRES maintains close links with a centre for handicapped people. Disabled staff carry out their work directly on the NORRES site and are therefore fully integrated in the life of the company.

The sustainable use of natural resources is firmly entrenched in NORRRES Schlauchtechnik's daily work processes. The move to our new “Am Stadthafen” facility coincided with extensive investments in eco-friendly production and HVAC technologies. Efficient insulation, double glazing, centrally controlled air conditioning with water chillers and production utilising heat recovery mean optimal protection for the environment. Since taking possession of the new and completely refurbished plant at the port of Gelsenkirchen in 2009, NORRES has succeeded in reducing the consumption of water, electricity and heating fuel dramatically – despite an almost fourfold increase in floor space.

Read the latest news about our social commitment and responsibility!

NORRES Schlauchtechnik’s PUR-AS hose family was recently voted of the Innovation Award

Permanently antistatic hose family impresses in the "Environmental and safety ... "

The PUR-AS hose family manufactured by NORRES Schlauchtechnik (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) was recently voted one of the top three innovations in the “Environmental and safety technology/explosion protection” category of the Vogel Business Media Innovation Award at “POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2010”. The permanently antistatic hose types in the PUR-AS family with electrostatic discharge capability were originally unveiled by NORRES last September.

This year’s Innovation Awards – sponsored by PROCESS, PharmaTEC and Schüttgut, three trade journals published by Vogel Business Media – were presented at the “POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2010” exhibition on April 27. The organisers were looking for the most innovative apparatus and processes in seven different categories in the chemical, pharmaceutical and process industries. Entries were submitted to the three magazines by a large number of exhibitors upfront of POWTECH/TechnoPharm 2010. Once again, the novel products competing for the Award were judged according to their degree of innovativeness, quality, efficiency and commercial benefit for users.

The permanently antistatic hoses in the NORRES PUR-AS series were shortlisted as one of the top three innovations in the Innovation Award’s “Environmental and safety technology/explosion protection” category. All products in the innovative NORRES AIRDUC®, PROTAPE® and BARDUC® PUR-AS family are made from a special wall material: hoses manufactured in this way impress with a permanent electrostatic discharge capability < 109 Ω as well as a milky transparent surface through which the delivered material is clearly visible. Conventional, conductive transport hoses or hose types capable of electrostatic discharge often only achieve these specifications with the help of migrating antistatic material and carbon blacks. It is a well-known problem of antistatic material that its effect is exclusively attributable to its migration to the hose surface, leading to an accumulation of moisture from the ambient air. However, when solids are conveyed, the antistatic material that migrates to the inner surface is continuously abraded, with the result that the antistatic is “leached out” and the discharge effect is gradually weakened. Moreover, the antistatic material can also be absorbed by the product being conveyed. The fact that hoses whose conductivity is achieved by adding carbon blacks are – not surprisingly – also coloured black is a further drawback. On the one hand, this obscures the user’s view of the product being pumped while on the other, the conveyed material may be contaminated due to wear. Since the mechanism of action that is responsible for the electrostatic discharge capability is not linked to migration, there is no contamination of the conveyed material and no deterioration in the electrostatic discharge effect. The permanently antistatic hoses in the PUR-AS series meet the requirements of TRBS 2153, the new technical rule applicable throughout Germany which superseded BGR 132 in May 2009. The exclusive use of wall materials that are conductive or capable of electrostatic discharge is recommended by TRBS 2153 for transport hoses in hazardous areas.