News from QUBUS

At the joint Christmas party organised by the IFO Institute for Surface Technology and QUBUS Planning and Consulting for Surface Technology GmbH, Nicole Kässer and Jörg Bihlmaier were honoured for 10 years’ service. Agnes Schmidt was recognised for 18 years’ service and bid farewell as she entered her well-deserved retirement. The management honoured the long-serving employees for their many years of support and loyalty to the company and expressed their heartfelt thanks for their dedication.

They are quite large, colourful and highly sought-after collector’s items – once again this year, the management is handing out Ritzenhoff’s colourful designer coffee mugs to the staff at QUBUS and IFO in Schwäbisch Gmünd. For several years now, staff have been delighted by this lovely gesture at Christmas time, and every year there is great anticipation as to which of the many mug designs is hidden inside the decorative box.

SF China, the successful international trade fair for the coatings industry, took place in Shanghai from 15 to 17 November.
Companies from the fields of surface technology, corrosion protection, powder technology, robotics and environmental protection showcased their expertise to an industry audience. Once again this year, the IFO Institute and QUBUS were represented at the joint stand of the GSTC (German Surface Technology Centre), the one-stop shop for surface technology. Marc Holz, Managing Director of IFO Germany, who was on site during the trade fair, looks back on three successful and exciting days at the event together with his colleagues from IFO and QUBUS in China. Together with the companies Munk, Linhoff and Harter Drying Solutions, the event provided an opportunity to maintain and strengthen existing business relationships with customers and partners, as well as to forge many new contacts.

Once again this year, QUBUS Planung und Beratung Oberflächentechnik GmbH and the IFO Institute for Surface Technology will be exhibiting at the ZVO Surface Technology Days in Berlin. Please visit us at stand no. 45 or attend the presentations on 14 September 2017:

Environment and Health and Safety, REACH: Case study – Impact of the implementation of the new Major Accidents Regulation (Frank Schüle/Head of the Environment, Health and Safety, and Fire Safety Division)

Energy efficiency, material efficiency and sustainability strategies in electroplating: Efficient and comprehensive material flow and plant planning for electroplating operations in the era of "Industry 4.0" (Kolja Berg/Management, PL Engineering, and Christian Deyhle/Managing Partner, QUBUS)

At the joint summer party organised by the partner companies IFO Institut für Oberflächentechnik GmbH and QUBUS Planung und Beratung Oberflächentechnik GmbH on 23 June 2017, the moment had finally arrived: the second laboratory extension to the IFO’s now completed Laboratory Competence Centre was officially opened. IFO – Institut für Oberflächentechnik GmbH, based in Schwäbisch Gmünd, is expanding its premises with this 350-square-metre extension, following the completion of the first extension – featuring a modern corrosion laboratory and an electroplating test facility – at the end of 2013. Laboratory 2 now also houses facilities for determining residual contamination on components, coating tests for gas and oil pipelines, corrosion testing and climatic testing. A 3,000-litre test chamber will also enable the testing of particularly large components and assemblies there. „With this expansion, we will in future be able to offer our customers increased capacity in the field of climatic cycling and corrosion protection testing,“ said Marc Holz, IFO Managing Director. In his opening speech, he expressed his gratitude for the smooth completion of the second expansion and looked back on the company’s successful 22-year history, during which the affiliated companies IFO and QUBUS have operated worldwide as leading service providers for businesses in the surface technology and metalworking sectors.

The Ordinance on Installations for the Handling of Water-Polluting Substances (AwSV) was published in the Federal Law Gazette, 2017, Part 1, No. 22, dated 21 April 2017. This federal regulation supersedes all 16 state regulations (VAwS) and, with immediate effect, governs the handling of water-polluting substances in installations on a uniform basis throughout Germany. This includes storage, filling, transhipment, manufacturing, treatment and use facilities.

All surface-level operations are affected by this statutory order. In addition to technical requirements such as floor coatings, containment systems and expert inspections, aspects relating to fire safety and the retention of fire-fighting water are also regulated.

Another new feature of this federal regulation is the classification of substances and mixtures into water hazard classes.

The new year is off to an interesting start in the field of environmental protection. Two new key regulations under the Federal Immission Control Act have been amended:

4. BImSchV (Federal Immission Control Ordinance), Installations requiring authorisation:
The definition of ‘storage facility’ has now been broadened, meaning that, in future, a greater number of storage facilities are likely to be subject to authorisation.

12. BImSchV, Major Accidents Ordinance:
The long-overdue transposition of the Seveso III Directive into German law. This introduces new terms (what were previously known as "basic obligations" will in future be referred to as "lower-class establishment", and what were previously known as "extended obligations" will be referred to as "upper-class establishment"). In addition, the legislation is being brought into line with the GHS/CLP Regulation. This will result in changes for all establishments using chromium trioxide; in some cases, these will fall below the quantity threshold set out in Annex I and will therefore no longer be covered by the Major Accidents Ordinance. Consequently, there are further obligations and deadlines to be met.

The advanced training seminar for in-house care coordinators took place at the Qubus and IFO premises. The training course on in-house care expertise was organised by the familyNET corporate network, which is supported by the employers" association Südwestmetall. During the half-day training session, the participating care coordinators received important guidance and inspiration for their future work. "Through the regular seminars offered to care coordinators, the topics of care and family-friendly corporate structures are firmly embedded within the organisation,” said Nicole Kässer, commercial director and trained care coordinator at IFO and QUBUS. The care coordinators act as points of contact for staff providing care, offering help and support in balancing care responsibilities with their jobs. Further information on the care coordinator model is available at www.familynet-bw.de

Pupils at the Technical College for Electroplating and Printed Circuit Board Technology in Schwäbisch Gmünd attended an afternoon seminar on the approval process and building regulations relating to the construction and conversion of electroplating plants. Mr Ulrich Mäule, Managing Director of QUBUS Planning and Consultancy for Surface Technology in Schwäbisch Gmünd, gave a presentation on building regulations, approval procedures, technical requirements such as Best Available Techniques (BAT) and state-of-the-art standards, and issues relating to municipal wastewater discharge.

During this afternoon event, the current environmental legislation requirements were clearly presented to the future technicians using practical examples and case studies.

Construction work on the new laboratory extension to the Qubus and IFO office building is already well advanced and progressing smoothly, meaning that there are no obstacles to it becoming operational in early 2017. Some rooms in the main building, which adjoin the new extension and have been refurbished to accommodate the expanded laboratory administration, have already been completed and occupied. Work is proceeding at full speed on the new extension itself and on the external façade so that the new laboratories for residual contamination analysis on components, coating tests for gas and oil pipelines, and corrosion and climatic testing can begin operations on schedule.