NRW Economics Minister Pinkwart visits BENTELER plant in Paderborn

Paderborn, April 5, 2022. The Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, visited the BENTELER plant 'An der Talle' in Paderborn yesterday. During his visit, the minister informed himself about trends in mobility, digital production methods (Industry 4.0), and the economic consequences of the current conflict in Ukraine, among other things.

Andreas Pinkwart said on the occasion of his visit: "New, innovative technologies in vehicle construction, production and engineering are crucial building blocks on the road to zero-emission mobility. With many leading companies, North Rhine-Westphalia is ideally positioned in this area to help shape the future of e-mobility as an innovation driver. BENTELER is leading the way here not only in vehicle construction, but also in digitalization within the company, in production, and in the topic of Industry 4.0. In this way, the company is making an important contribution – also far beyond the economic region of East Westphalia-Lippe."

"It was a special pleasure for us to welcome Mr. Pinkwart, Minister of Economics, to our site 'An der Talle'," said Ralf Göttel, CEO of the BENTELER Group. "The dominant topics of our exchange were, of course, the war in Ukraine, the geopolitical situation in Europe, and the concrete consequences for the economy in Germany and NRW. We continue to consistently pursue our mission: to make mobility of the future easier, safer and more sustainable. Specifically, for example, through our extensive product and service portfolio for e-mobility and our leading role in the global market for lightweight solutions.”

Another focus of the visit by Minister of Economics Pinkwart was the exchange on the topics of automation and digitalization. BENTELER has been investing in its innovation management and the company's own Industry 4.0 strategy for years. Here, state-of-the-art digital technologies are already being used in production today. These include networked machines and robots, machine learning for predictive maintenance, and autonomous intelligent vehicles. The topic of IT security is also playing an increasingly important role in this context.

As a metal process specialist, BENTELER is active worldwide for customers in the automotive technology, energy and mechanical engineering sectors. Around 4,300 people work for BENTELER in Paderborn and around 25,000 worldwide.