The processes used are the classic ones of mechanical engineering and custom vehicle manufacturing, and of metalworking and plastics processing. This enables the environmental impact to be kept within relatively limited bounds. Resource conservation, energy efficiency and comprehensive environmental management are all deeply ingrained in the corporate culture. The company regularly invests in environmental protection measures. These endeavors to unite environmental and economic efficiency are not an end in themselves, but help the Group put itself on a sustainable long-term business footing.

Continuous improvement of the Group’s “environmental balance sheet” is another explicit corporate objective. The ISO 14001:2004 certified environmental management system is, in turn, part-and-parcel of the Integrated Management System. By expressing all the relevant processes of an environmental and safety management system in terms of a uniform system of key metrics, it gives us the framework for continual improvement of the Group’s overall environmental footprint.

Emissions reduction from new paint-shop
Fire fighting vehicles still need to be painted with solvent-based paint systems. Water-based paints have only limited usability, because foam-based extinguishants contain substances that can dissolve water-based paint finishes. The new paint shop that has been built at the Neidling plant has permitted significant reductions in solvent content.