• Award for environmentally compatible hazardous materials management
• Innovative process paves the way to pollutant-free products

Stuttgart/Heidenheim, Germany. Voith received the Dekra Award on November 11 for its special achievements in the environment category. In the presence of Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Employment and Social Affairs Katrin Altpeter, certification agency Dekra honored the Heidenheim-based technology group. The official awards ceremony took place in the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart. The award is bestowed annually by Dekra in association with Wirtschaftswoche (business week) magazine in the categories environment, health and safety to companies that have developed and implemented convincing solutions to current challenges in the respective area.

Voith received the Dekra Award 2014 for its innovative hazardous materials management scheme that paves the way for the company to manufacture pollutant-free products. To this end Voith introduced in the company a standardized worldwide approval process for hazardous materials. The key element of the system is a central hazardous material database that stores material-specific information including safety data sheets and other technical specifications. The data are automatically compared against various specification lists such as regulations applicable in regional markets or special customer requirements. From the results of the comparison the procurement of the respective material is either approved or prohibited.

Apart from the standardization and reduction of hazardous materials in the company, the new process enables product declarations to be done at the touch of a button. Together with its topicality, comprehensiveness and conformity with statutory and customer requirements, this innovation impressed the jury of the Dekra Award: ”The systematics and global uniformity of the process are exemplary and innovative”, said Prof. Dr. Raimund Klinkner, Chairman of the German Logistics Association (BVL) in his commendation.

Voith sets standards in the energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive markets. Founded in 1867, Voith today has more than 43,000 employees and earns 5.7 billion euros in sales. It has locations in over 50 countries in all regions of the world and is one of the large family-owned companies in Europe.