HOBUM News February 2023
Dear friends and business partners,
2022 was a very moving year for all of us and the current year will continue to challenge us. A terrible war has been raging in Ukraine for over a year and our thoughts are with the brave people there in Eastern Europe.
Due to its high energy dependence the chemical industry has been affected by Russian aggression like hardly any other industry. Early last summer, we decided to optionally provide our steam generation with heating oil. Since December, we have implemented this objective and can now produce completely gas-independent at any time. We continuously rely on green hydrogen and plan to integrate this into the Hamburg Hydrogen Industrial Network (HHWIN) by 2028.
We would like to thank our staff, who in site of all circumstances, performed exceptionally well last year and maintained our ability to deliver at all times.We are looking forward to continuously support you on the path of transformation into a sustainable future!
Sincerely,
Arnold G. Mergell
Managing Director
Every drop counts
At HOBUM, we are committed to sustainability and are always looking for new ways to make our impact on the environment as positive as possible.
Our tanker trucking company invited us to take part in a pilot project, thereby saving water and CO₂
Nord-Spedition supplies us and our customers with tank goods consisting mainly of technical vegetable oils in the incoming goods and their epoxidized end products Merginate ESBO (in different qualities), Merginate ELO as well as our product group of isomeric acids.
The lack of time, which affects the forwarding business almost permanently, there were repeated requests whether the tanker train, which is delivered to us one evening with soy oil, could not be loaded again the next day without the time-consuming and costly cleaning the next morning.
In addition, the freight forwarder noticed that we often have supposedly identical products loaded after an intermediate cleaning. The differentiation of the product qualities was only known in the beginning. After many clarifying discussions for both sides and an elaborate analysis of load-trip combinations, we were able to create a matrix that serves as a basis for uncleaned transports.Here it is determined which precursors an uncleaned load can be queried.As soon as, according to the dispatching system of the forwarding company, an uncleaned load could be possible, the employees of the forwarding company examine the proposal and send to our internal purchasing and sales department a pre-product certificate with the request for inspection for an uncleaned load.
By means of the technical examination of the disposition system and the human examination according to the 4-eye principle, we ensure that no unwanted contamination can take place.
Why did we decide to do this?
We can save 2,500 litres of water for cleaning per unpurified load and approx. 12 kg CO₂ for heating the water that would otherwise be used. In addition, there is approximately 3 hours of time, which the TKW does not spend on the road or in line at the cleaning plant, thereby burning diesel and burdening traffic.
Every drop counts…
Shortly before closing in mid-July, we carried out the first uncleaned transport. Since then, we have been able to pollute the environment by the end of October with around 3.5 billion drops of water (approx. 235 m³) and almost 1,116 kg less CO₂. What a success!We will continue to work to make our lives more sustainable with smaller and larger steps.
We are: Natural.Innovative.HOBUM
Changes in our team
John-Philip Mergell, Petra Knolle and Arnold G. Mergell
In our administration our esteemed colleague Petra Knolle, certainly known to many of our clients and partners as the Assistant to the Management retired after 45 years at HOBUM We thank her for the excellent cooperation and wish her all the best for the new phase of her life!
Our administrative team continues to grow and Trixi Irmscher actively supports us.
“I have been working as an Inside Sales Manager at HOBUM since October last year and feel very comfortable in the team. I am responsible for order processing, among other things. So if you have any questions about your order, please do not hesitate to contact me,” says Ms. Irmscher.
Contact:
Trixi Irmscher
Email: tirmscher@hobum.de
Tel.: +49 40 76 62 55-12
In our laboratory we welcome the chemical technician Mani Blanck.
He ist part of our team since November last year. Welcome!
Our Inside Sales Manager Trixi Irmscher and our Chemical Technician Mani Blanck
European Coating Show
We are ready for our participation at the leading exhibition for the international coating and paint industry in Nuremberg.
Visit us at our booth 3-635 in hall 3 from 28.03.23 to 30.03.23 !
Feel free to book your 1:1 appointment at the European Coating Show.
We look forward to a personal exchange with you!
Would you like to arrange your 1:1 meeting already? Feel free to book your appointment online at the following link:
>> Book appointment <<
SWOT – A great tool!
In our changing world, we are seeking for security and reliability. It begins with the interpersonal: Do we keep our promises in private life? What influences the security of the undertaking?
In the context of quality management, the SWOT analysis mentioned above provides us with an opportunity to gain an overview of positive and negative influences on a procedural level.
What makes us strong? What sets our approach apart from others?
What weaknesses do we have to face? Can we use our strengths to counterbalance these?
What treasures of opportunities do we have to raise? What does a view outside the box offer?
Which risks lurk and have the potential to shake our reliability? By what means do we oppose them?
In addition to the classic issues, we asked ourselves these and other questions in an internal audit.
We took advantage of a great opportunity: new employees have a fresh look at possibly collapsed structures and questions them. As a result, new, more efficient work processes have emerged, and familiar ones have proven their worth.
These discussions have resulted in numerous QM-To-Do’s, which is why we are continuously improving. Even the smallest changes ensure a low-friction workflow.
At the end of October last year, our second monitoring audit for our certification according to ISO 9001:2015 by TÜV Nord took place. The auditor’s recommendation to maintain our certificate was expressed with appreciation for the work described above.
Next autumn the recertification will take place for the next 3 years. We look forward to presenting our results to an external source and to having them audited. As a result, we achieve a continuous improvement!
Follow us on Instagram!
We recently opened our Instagram channel. Become one of our first 100 Followers and get insights “Behind the Scenes”! 🙂
Do you have any questions about our products?
From now on, you can book an online appointment with us here.
We look forward to the exchange with you!
Newsletter Coordination
Eliane Aspiazu de la Vega
Marketing Assistentin
Email: easpiazu@hobum.de
Would you like to find the next newsletter directly in your email inbox? Register here.