A new building again?
People might be surprised to see construction machinery at the premises of BWF Group Offingen again. It’s indeed astonishing: Only six years ago, the new production hall of BWF Profiles had been taken into operation. In the past six years the company has continued to grow considerably. 2007 has been a very successful business year. More business requires more production capacity. And thus, the construction works for a new production hall of 5.000 sqm have started on Monday, December 3, 2007. The new hall, which is being built in the attractive, well proven shedroof style, will give way for new machinery, social rooms and an optimum flow of the goods. It is due to be finished by the end of 2008.

A biomass incineration plant is due to be taken into operation by the end of september 2007 in Günzburg. Operated by the administrative district and the municipality, it will ensure the heating of nine municipal institutions.

BWF Group has made an important contribution to the reduction of the emissions of this plant to the technically feasible minimum and, thus, also to the protection of the environment and the public health in this region:

The filtration system of this plant is equipped with PTFE (also known as „Teflon“) filter bags made by BWF Envirotec. On July 9, 2007, the BWF Management handed over 130 pieces of these filter bags to the operators of this plant, a donation at the amount of 10.000 Euro.

Initially, the plant was designed to have an electric filter system. This would have led to a dust emission of 2.500 kg per year. Doing more than 50 % of its business in environmental technology, it goes without saying that BWF Group is very interested in having the best possible technology applied in its near surroundings. Therefore, BWF Envirotec has informed the officials of the administrative district and the municipality of Günzburg about the latest filtration technology and could achieve a redesign of the filtration system. The bag filter plant, which is being constructed now, reduces the dust emissions to less than 250 kg per year and can be upgraded at any time in the case of stricter emission laws in the future.
On the photo from left:
Ernst Rohner (Head of BWF Envirotec application technology), Thomas Hilligardt (Managing Director BWF Envirotec), Stefan Offermann (Managing Partner BWF Group), Hubert Hafner (District Administrator), Gerhard Jauernig (Mayor), Dr. Wolfgang Schmid (Managing Partner BWF Group) and Hans Mader (Managing Director BWF Envirotec)

BWF Profiles (Wuxi) will be represented at the “Light + Building” in Guangzhou, China - the biggest lighting fair in Asia - from 8th to 11th June 2007.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at our booth E36, exhibition hall 1C - Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Guangzhou, China.


Contact:

Franz Endres: franz.endres@bwf-wuxi.com.cn
Cathy Yan: cathy.yan@bwf-wuxi.com.cn

The second factory of BWF Protec was officially opened in the industrial park "Pole Position" in Hof/Gattendorf in the presence of official representatives of the Bavarian Ministry of Commerce and of Labour on 29 September 2006. The whole production started already on 28 August 2006.

Although it was a very hard - almost Sibirian - winter here in Hof, the construction works for the new production hall of 6.000 m² plus office and social rooms of another 675 m² have been finished within only one year. The total investment amounts to 5,6 million Euro.

After the greeting messages, 225 official guests, employees and customers from Germany and abroad enjoyed the excellent catering service as well as the musical entertainment by the accordion quintett of the Symphony Orchestra of Hof.

BWF Profiles will exhibit for the first time together with BWF Protec from the 19th to the 22nd of September 2006 at the international trade fair for transport technology, InnoTrans, in Berlin.

Products from BWF Profiles are also often used in the field of bus and train lighting. Our different types of Polycarbonate fulfil almost every common international fire rating and classification.
Clear or coloured according to your specification - we can supply you with pre-finished, fully machined parts which are already to be found in trains in Madrid, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Vienna, Zurich and many other places worldwide.

We are looking forward to meeting you at our stand in hall 6.2 / Stand 142.

Contact:

Katrin Baur
Tel.: +49-8224-71-650
Fax: +49-8224-71-91-650
Email: katrin.baur@bwf-group.de

and/or

Ruth Keck
Tel.: +49-8224-71-603
Fax: +49-8224-71-91-603
Email: ruth.keck@bwf-group.de

For further information regarding the fair please see: www.innotrans.de

Gerhard Baader has completed the final examinations of his vocational training at BWF Group with an excellent average grade of 1.09.
On September 1, 2003, he began his professional education at BWF. He has always achieved highest grades and thus, made his instructors very proud of him.
As a prove of their appreciation of this excellent result, the Managing Partners, Stefan Offermann and Dr. Wolfgang Schmid, handed him over a checque amounting to 1.000,-- Euro in the presence of his instructing master, Martin Wiedenmann.
Mr. Baader will begin an additional education in electronics within the company.

We congratulate him and wish him pleasure and motivation for his future learning and working!

On the photo from left: Stefan Offermann, Gerhard Baader, Martin Wiedenmann, Dr. Wolfgang Schmid

BWF Profiles had five successful days on the TOP Lighting Fair. We were very happy to present our company. We hope that our products of different innovative materials, shapes and colours have given you some new impulses for the concept of your new lighting design.
The presented highlights

 Acrylic and Polycarbonate tubes
 Acryl-Satiné tubes and sheets
 Satiné-Blend tubes and sheets
 Technical lighting profiles
 Satlite sheets and many more

were very much welcomed by the numerous visitors from all over the world and the fair team of BWF Profiles was able to gain many interesting new contacts.

We would like to thank all guests for their visit to out stand!

The new factory of BWF Environmental and Industrial Technology Ltd. has been opened in the course of an official ceremony in Wuxi, a city with 4,5 million inhabitants, 2 hours western of Shanghai. A lot of customers and business partners joined the celebration.
BWF Group had acquired a 100.000 sqm area on which production, office and maintenance buildings of total 22.000 sqm have been built in only 16 months from the building permission to the conclusion of the construction works. Furthermore, the company constructed a separate canteen building for the employees which can also be used for seminars.
Together with the representative of the local authorities, Mr. Rui Cho Jun, the Managing Partners, Stefan Offermann and Dr. Wolfgang Schmid (2nd and 3rd person from left on the photo), the Managing Director of the Envirotec Division, Hans Mader (2nd from right) and the Managing Director of BWF Wuxi, Christoph Tasotti, cutted the “Red Ribbon”. After that, “bad ghosts” were driven away with loud fireworks, which is - according to Chinese believe - the prerequisite for successful business.
Particularly for the Chinese market, BWF Group produces and sells textile filter media for industrial dedusting and waste gas cleaning. The most important sales markets are the cement, steel and power station industries. Thus, BWF makes an important contribution to the environmental protection of China, a country which faces huge environmental problems due to its high economic growth and further industrialization.
BWF headquarters in Offingen, Germany, also shares the success story of BWF Wuxi in China by the delivery of special high-tech products.

In the presence of the Bavarian Minister of Economy, Dr. Otto Wiesheu, and the former Bavarian Minister of Finance, Dr. Georg Freiherr von Waldenfels, the official start for the construction of plant II of BWF Protec took place in the industrial park Hof/Gattendorf. On an area of 23.000 m² a new production site of 6.000 m² will be built by sommer 2006.

From left:
Alfred Jahn, Dr. Wolfgang Schmid (Managing Partner), Dr. Georg Freiherr von Waldenfels, Minister Dr. Otto Wiesheu, Stefan Offermann (Managing Partner), Bernd Hering (Head of District Authority), Robert Gnida, Hans-Juergen Wittig (architect)

at the Industrial Park APP in Haidt

Since more than 100 years, BWF Protec has been located in Hof, between the river „Saale“ and the railway. Apart from woolfelts for isolation, absorbation and polishing, the Protec division has been continuously specializing in the production of high-tech needle felts for mechanic and thermal strain, e. g. in the automotive and aerospace business, for aluminium extrusion and protective clothing. The present turnover amounts to 15 million Euro per year.

The continous growth of the needle felt division demands further expansion, both with respect to buildings as well as machinery. This is no longer possible at the present production site.

One of the most important reasons to stay and even expand in the region of Hof is the team of app. 100 experienced, higly specialised and skilled employees, who are well adjusted to working togehter. The attractive conditions of the APP Industrial Park led to the decision to build up the second factory for BWF Protec there.
After the acquisition of 23.000 sqm ground from the APP Management, the first phase of the construction - a production hall of 5.700 sqm - is due for this year.

The local architect company "Wittig" has been charged with the planning and the supervision of the construction works. The production start is due for the third quarter 2006. The investments for this first construction phase amount to 5,5 million Euro.

The present production site will remain for the production of technical woolfelts, a division which is also permanently growing.

„Chances by education“, this was the design scheme for the BWF booth on the „Günzburger Berufsinformationsbörse 2004“, a local job information fair attracting more than 1.500 visitors - mainly pupils and their parents - this year.

Supported by our vocational trainees Sandra Jehle and Ruth Keck (both industrial clerks), Roman Kolenda (industrial mechanic) and Christoph Rösch (process mechanic), Training Manager Daniela Jedelhauser had built up a professional booth.

A number of visitors took the opportunity and informed themselves about the different professions, the course of the education, training possibilities etc. Flyer for each professional education were handed out to the visitors on the BWF booth.

Managing Partner Stefan Offermann, Human Resource Manager Günter Reitmayer and Training Manager Daniela Jedelhauser were pleased to see the high interest in BWF Group and its education programme.

BWF Profiles (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., a member of BWF Group in Offingen, celebrated its official opening with a number of customers and representatives of the local authorities. The production hall of more than 6.000 sqm and the office building have been built in only 6 months’ time. BWF Profiles supplies customers in the Asian region with high quality thermoplastic profiles. The company is located in Wuxi, a city with 4 million inhabitants, 2 driving hours western from Shanghai. 700 companies have settled in the industrial park “Wuxi New District", on an area of 10 x 10 km. The customer service for investors was excellent according to BWF. Problems, e. g. official permissions, were solved by the One-Stop-Service-Agency within a very short period of time. Together with the Management Team, Dietmar Winkler, leader of the factory working committee in Offingen, travelled to China in order to get an impression of the rapid development and the living and working conditions of this country which is competing with the worldwide business.
(on the photo from left: Dietmar Winkler, Fritz Klaiber (Managing Director), Franz Endres (Project Manager), Stefan Offermann and Dr. Wolfgang Schmid (Managing Partners).

In September, 11 vocational trainees and 2 students of the public college of advanced vocational studies (BA) have started their professional education at the BWF Group in Offingen.

Including the "new ones", 43 young boys and girls are being educated in Offingen at present. Thus, the rate of education at the BWF Group amounts to 8% of all employees in Offingen and exceeds the average rate 3% of German industrial companies considerably. Due to the local critical employment situation of vocational trainees, BWF has signed two more contracts than last year.

23 Industrial masters textile of 6 companies celebrated the successful completion of their master course at BWF Group in Offingen.

This further professional education course has been organized by the Academy of the Chamber of Commerce Augsburg in cooperation with the companies Ackermann Nähgarne, Göggingen, BWF Group, Offingen, Freudenberg Haushaltsprodukte Augsburg GmbH, Hof Garn GmbH, Nördlingen, Trevira GmbH, Bobingen und Vatter GmbH, Schongau.

Over a period of two years, the master students have spent 115 Saturdays at the Academy of the Chamber of Commerce Augsburg. Stefan Offermann, Managing Partner of the BWF Group, expressed in his speech his appreciation of the high motivation and personal commitment of the participants of the master course which was necessary to complete this education in addition to their normal working hours.