NIRO has gained a new member: CARL BECHEM GMBH from Hagen enriches the circle of our members as a manufacturer of high-quality specialty lubricants. NIRO extends a warm welcome.
Carl Bechem founded the first German oil factory Bechem & Middelmann in Hagen back in 1834. This marked the beginning of BECHEM’s history. The initial focus was on trading in vegetable and animal oils as well as greases.
As the oldest German industrial lubricant manufacturer, our new member is now one of the leading international producers of high-performance lubricants, special industrial lubricants, metalworking fluids and coatings.
With almost 200 years of experience, BECHEM combines technological expertise with the highest quality standards and a clear strategic focus on future topics such as innovation, sustainability, digitalization and internationalization.
BECHEM’s particular strength lies in the development of customized solutions for a wide range of industries and applications. Customers worldwide benefit from the high level of application expertise and the close cooperation, which is based on long-term partnerships.
With its own companies and a global partner network, BECHEM has a broad international base and can address specific market requirements in a targeted manner and provide tailor-made solutions.
Sustainability is a central element of our new member’s corporate strategy. With its innovative product developments, BECHEM makes a significant contribution to increasing efficiency and reducing emissions in industrial processes. By minimizing friction and wear, the lubricant solutions make an important contribution to conserving resources and extending the life cycles of technical components.
BECHEM Nexus Technology completely dispenses with the additive of solid lubricants PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, known under the brand name Teflon™). This is just one example of how the highest technical performance can be combined with ecological responsibility and clearly shows that BECHEM knows how to develop sustainable and future-proof solutions for the industry.
With its combination of tradition, innovative strength and international orientation, CARL BECHEM GMBH is a valuable addition to our network.
We look forward to exchanging ideas and working together!
5 questions for Mr. Christoph Hundertmark, Managing Director CARL BECHEM GMBH
NIRO: Mr. Hundertmark, welcome as a new member of the Industrie RuhrOst network!
Your company is now joining our network. What convinced you to become a member of NIRO?
Christoph Hundertmark: We were particularly impressed by the fact that NIRO had already been recommended to us in advance by three existing member companies. That was a strong signal for us. At the same time, we appreciate the fact that NIRO brings industrial companies in the region together in a very concrete way and offers practical formats for exchange, cooperation and joint learning.
For BECHEM, this combination of regional roots and international future orientation is particularly attractive. As a family business with a long tradition, we are deeply rooted in the industrial region and see great added value in personal exchange with other companies. From our point of view, NIRO offers a very suitable framework for this.
NIRO: Which topics are particularly topical in your company? Which issues would you like to find out more about in our network?
Christoph Hundertmark: We are currently focusing on three main areas: firstly, sustainable innovations in tribology and in the field of speciality lubricants; secondly, the further digitalization of processes and services; and thirdly, the question of how we can shape growth, internationalization and the transition from a medium-sized company to a group in an economical and sustainable way. This development is shaping us in many ways, as we now supply customers in around 80 countries and have our own production facilities in China, the USA and India in addition to Germany.
One concrete example for us is the development of PFAS-free solutions with BECHEM Nexus Technology. Within the network, we are particularly interested in best practices relating to sustainable transformation, securing skilled workers, digitalization, resilient value chains and cross-industry innovation management.
NIRO: As a regional network, NIRO promotes good relationships between its members. Could your company’s products or services also be of interest to other members?
Christoph Hundertmark: Even if this is not the decisive reason for our membership, BECHEM’s products and services can of course also be of interest to other NIRO members. We develop high-performance lubricants for various industrial applications and consciously see ourselves as a development partner for our customers.
Our aim is to develop solutions specifically for the respective application in order to create the greatest possible added value in practice. In addition, we provide support with technical expertise in the areas of tribology, analysis, process optimization and maintenance. Our range of services also extends beyond the traditional lubricant business and includes, for example, smart monitoring systems for lubricants. Long-term partnerships are particularly important to us, because we believe that sustainable added value is created primarily through close cooperation and joint further development.
NIRO: What challenges are you currently facing? What issues could the network help you with?
Christoph Hundertmark: Like many industrial companies, we are under great pressure to change. Our key challenges include regulatory requirements, increasing expectations for sustainable and cost-effective solutions, faster innovation cycles, securing skilled workers as well as digitalization and automation. In the area of digitalization and automation, we are addressing these challenges with a new CRM system, a new ERP system and the gradual integration of AI into our day-to-day business.
At the same time, we are focusing on employer branding, personnel development, the reduction of PFAS in our products and the reduction of our carbon footprint. Added to this are growth, internationalization and the transition from a medium-sized company to a corporate group.
For all of these topics, sharing experiences, best practices, solutions and collaborations with other companies is particularly valuable to us.
NIRO: We offer our members different spaces: “Sharing knowledge”, “Working together” and “Shopping together”. In which space are we most likely to meet you?
Christoph Hundertmark: All three areas of opportunity are of interest to us. BECHEM thrives on technical know-how, application experience and innovative strength. That is why we are happy to contribute to a network like NIRO, share our experience, are open to cooperation and also see interesting points of contact in the area of joint procurement. At the same time, networking itself is of great importance to us, because sustainable relationships are often the basis for good ideas and successful collaborations. It is always crucial that the chemistry is right – and we are convinced that this is exactly what a network like NIRO provides. After all, we believe that working together in a spirit of partnership and commitment is one of the particular strengths of the companies in our region. We are delighted to be part of the NIRO community.
NIRO: Thank you very much and here’s to good cooperation!
