Media Releases

• Voith employee Hans-Peter Danner receives German and international prize
• Outstanding final project on "Hydraulic Balancing in the Hot Water System of Voith Dienstleistungen und Grundstücks GmbH"
• Top examination results as graduate of the IHK Akademie

Heidenheim. Hans-Peter Danner, Head of Network Operations at Voith, received the distinction of "EnergyManager of the Year 2017" in the large business category at national and European level. Danner had previously completed the "EnergieManager IHK" certificate course with distinction and had passed all his examinations with 100 percent. During their practical training, the participants gained extensive knowledge about all forms of energy and received advanced training on topics such as air conditioning, ventilation and heating technology, renewable energies, the management of energy data and economic efficiency calculation. With the award, the jury honored Danner's final project on "Hydraulic Balancing in the Hot Water System of Voith Dienstleistungen und Grundstücks GmbH". As soon as being fully implemented, the project will enable the plant in Heidenheim to save around 1,750,000 kilowatt hours per year. This is equivalent to the average annual heating requirements of about 125 households. The investment costs incurred with the project will thus be repaid within about a year of it running.

On presenting the national and international prize, the IHK organization and the European EnergyManager consortium commended the creativity and commitment of the energy managers, who set a positive example by implementing concrete measures to help reduce energy consumption and emissions. The German prize was awarded to Danner by the IHK Akademie Schwaben. The winner is not automatically the project that achieves the greatest savings or that pays for itself in the shortest time. Rather, projects that are especially innovative or that have been implemented despite supposedly higher costs are also acknowledged. The award is given in the categories small, medium-sized and large businesses.

This year’s prizewinner Danner completed an apprenticeship as an energy electronics engineer at Voith 26 years ago. After completing further studies to become a state-certified electrical engineer and technical business manager, Danner worked as Deputy Plant Manager at the operating company of the industrial cogeneration plant at the Voith premises in Heidenheim. Following restructuring within the plant, Danner took on the position of Head of Network Operations at technology group Voith. There he is responsible for guaranteeing the complete energy supply in the plant with 4,500 employees. “As a technology corporation with a global reach, Voith assumes responsibility for the efficient use of energy and resources at all its locations worldwide,” said Ulrich Weiße, Head of Sustainability and Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Protection at Voith on presentation of the certificate by the IHK Akademie Schwaben in Heidenheim. "We rely on the creative ideas of our staff to ensure we are constantly improving. We are delighted that Mr. Danner has now been honored for his fantastic project from outside our company too." Danner received the "European EnergyManager of the Year 2017" award at the prize-giving ceremony in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

About Voith
For 150 years, Voith’s technologies have been inspiring customers, business partners and employees worldwide. Founded in 1867, Voith today has around 19,000 employees, sales of €4.3 billion and locations in more than 60 countries worldwide and is thus one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe. Being a technology leader, Voith sets standards in the markets of energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive.