State Parliament Member Visits HIFFICIENCY®
Tour of our production and coating technology
Marten Gäde, a member of the Lower Saxony state parliament from the SPD party, had the opportunity to visit HIFFICIENCY® and its parent company , acs Coating Systems, in Wilhelmshaven. The visit was extremely interesting and offered an intensive exchange on various topics, with a focus on PFAS-free coatings.
During his visit, Marten Gäde had the opportunity to experience a comprehensive company tour and gain insights into the production and coating technology of acs Hifficiency. It was also interesting to learn that the company has been operating on a four-day work week in production for the past four years. This results in slightly longer daily working hours, but in return, employees have three days off from Friday to Sunday. It's a win-win situation because the machines are utilized more efficiently, and any necessary maintenance and repair work can be carried out on Fridays.
Acs produces approximately 50% non-stick, food-contact products for bakeries, restaurants, and private customers, while the other 50% are industrial products, mostly with sliding coatings or for electrical insulation. It was impressive to see how the company develops innovative solutions to produce forward-looking , environmentally friendly coatings without toxic additives, PFAS, PTFE, or solvents. During the company tour, Managing Director Dr. Christoph Stecher provided a fantastic opportunity to experience the practical application of PFAS-free coatings and understand their advantages.
During the exchange, further aspects of sustainability and environmental protection were also discussed. Marten Gäde showed great interest in acs Hifficiency's efforts to implement environmentally friendly practices in all areas of production. It became clear that both policymakers and companies like acs Hifficiency must work together to promote and find sustainable solutions and to reduce and completely prohibit the use of harmful substances such as PFAS. "It's clear that many things need to change," said Dr. Stecher. "Policymakers must set reliable targets with deadlines that are sufficient but not too long. Without legal regulations, nothing will change regarding climate change and environmental pollution." Mr. Stecher also demonstrated how much energy and CO2 his company has already saved in the last five years—more than 60%. Furthermore, he sees realistic possibilities for his company to reduce energy consumption in the future with new technologies to such an extent that the self-generated solar power will be sufficient for production.
Dr. Stecher expressed his sincere thanks to the member of parliament Marten Gäde for his visit and his interest in the company ACS Coating Systems and HIFFICIENCY®.