SPIE is the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications Our 55,000 employees are committed to achieving the energy transition and responsible digital transformation alongside our customers SPIE aims to contribute to a more sustainable Do you want to use your skills to contribute to projects that help society a key player in the energy transition and digital transformation We are committed to the fight against climate change and mobilised for a responsible digital transformation intall and maintain energy-efficient and environmentaly-friendly facilities Find in this section all the useful information you can access SPIE's profile and key figures Would you like to interview an SPIE spokesperson 14 December 2023 – SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications is responsible for industrial maintenance at the powertrain car factory in Mettingen and is also supplying production utilities The multi-technical service provider is working in areas relating very closely to the car manufacturer’s production process Lightning-fast response times are therefore essential when it comes to troubleshooting as is being on 24-hour on-call duty to prevent any production stoppage Maximum plant availability in three-shift operation SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa carries out industrial maintenance work on facilities in the production buildings of the Mercedes-Benz Group which improve air quality in the production areas SPIE also supplies the site with production utilities and is responsible for technical building management in the production buildings Branch Manager for Automotive Stuttgart in the Efficient Facilities operational division of SPIE which entails a lot of responsibility and requires particularly precise coordination with the customer “To make sure that we can preserve the value of the facilities and ensure plant availability in excess of 99% and keep in touch with customer needs at all times,” explains Jürgen Schmid This particular project presented an extra challenge in the form of the three-month start-up and ramp-up phase we have such highly skilled specialists with extensive experience in a number of areas so that we were able to handle the transition to standard service with aplomb,” adds Jürgen Schmid Energy efficiency subject to ongoing review SPIE has more than 30 employees managing a total gross floor area of around 500,000 square metres at the Mettingen the multi-technical service provider will continuously review the site’s energy consumption in the context of an agreed continuous improvement process (CIP) “We are constantly checking whether and how we could make our services even more bespoke and what tools we have at our disposal to cut down on faults and disruption increase plant availability and reduce energy consumption. Using digital solutions and analyses is one of the ways we achieve this,” says Patrick Brommer Member of the Management Board of SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa and Managing Director of SPIE Efficient Facilities GmbH “We’re delighted that we are able to bring our considerable expertise and wide range of in-house services to bear in order to ensure that production runs smoothly This project is another successful application of our strategic orientation focusing on energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. The internationally renowned German curator Kasper König, a co-founder of Skulptur Projekte Münster and one of the most influential contemporary art exhibition-makers of his era, has died at the age of 80 in Berlin, the Museum Ludwig said in a press announcement. It did not give the cause of death. König “shaped the art discourse of the last five decades like no other", according to the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, where he served as director from 2000 to 2012. The museum said it mourns “the loss of a generous, independent, humorous, energetic person who always carried us away with his enthusiasm for art". Born in Mettingen, northwest Germany, in 1943, König started his career at the Galerie Rudolf Zwirner in Cologne as an intern. He met artists in the Rhineland including Joseph Beuys, Sigmar Polke, and Gerhard Richter—who later served as a witness at König’s wedding. In 1963, he went to London to work in commercial galleries and attended lectures at the Courtauld Institute. The first Skulptur Projekte Münster, which König and Klaus Bussmann conceived as a way of familiarising the city’s population with modern and contemporary art, took place in 1977. Artists were invited to choose a spot in the city to install a sculpture. It has since taken place every 10 years, becoming an important facet of the cathedral city’s identity and international profile. König returned to Germany to live full-time in 1978 and taught—first at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1984, then, from 1988, as a professor at the Städel art school in Frankfurt, which he led as the rector from 1989. In 1987, he founded Portikus in Frankfurt, a space affiliated with the Städelschule and dedicated to exhibiting young and emerging contemporary artists. His son Johann König described growing up with his parents in Cologne in the 1980s in his autobiography: “Dan Graham lived with us for a while. We went on holiday with On Kawara. After a ‘Fluxus baptism', Nam June Paik was my godfather… I played football between an Andy Warhol Brillo Box, a Concetto spaziale bronze by Lucio Fontana and a Franz West sofa.” König’s 12-year tenure at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne came at a critical time for the city, which was ceding its decades-long status as Germany’s art-world hub to Berlin. “With his knowledge, his judgment and his incorruptibility, he raised the Museum Ludwig to a world-class level again,” said Yilmaz Dziewior, the present director of the museum. In 2003, König curated the Austrian pavilion for the Venice Biennale. Among the dozens of solo exhibitions he curated were shows devoted to Donald Judd, A.R. Penck, On Kawara, Richter, Gregor Schneider, Isa Genzken and Wolfgang Tillmans. In 2014, he curated the controversial Manifesta 10 exhibition in St Petersburg and in 2017 took over the artistic direction of Skulptur Projekte Münster. In 2009, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum honoured König’s career with a lifetime achievement award. He did not consider himself a classic collector, but rather bought spontaneously or received gifts. He donated 50 works to the Museum Ludwig last year, including pieces by Pawel Althamer, Maria Eichhorn, Genzken, Graham, Thomas Hirschhorn, Jenny Holzer, Richard Long and Jeremy Deller. The Cologne auction house Van Ham last month announced it will offer 400 works from König’s collection at auction on 1-2 October. Among the artists whose works feature in the sale are On Kawara, Nicole Eisenman, Maria Lassnig and Polke. König was married four times; to Ilka Schellenberg, with whom he had two daughters and one son; then to Edda Köchl, an actress and illustrator and mother of his younger son; to Barbara Weiss, a Berlin art dealer who died in 2016; and finally to Heidi Specker, a Berlin-based artist. König’s sons Leo and Johann are both art dealers—Leo in New York, and Johann in Berlin. feature23 August 2024An infinite conversation: Hans Ulrich Obrist's personal memoir of Kasper König, curator, publisher, teacher, museum director, and friend to artistsThe artistic director of Serpentine recalls 35 years of friendship and collaboration with the cultural impresario who was one of the most important curators of the second half of the 20th century news13 June 2017Kasper König: in praise of an artists’ curatorThe artistic director of Skulptur Projekte will be in conversation at Art Basel celebrating five decades as a champion of public art the electric models EQE and EQS will be among the first Mercedes-Benz equipped with aluminium with almost 70 per cent CO2 reduction compared with the European average It will be supplied by the company’s partner Hydro According to Mercedes, the tested aluminium has an ecological footprint of 2.8 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram. The carmaker and the aluminium manufacturer concluded a corresponding technology partnership in December 2022. Mercedes-Benz announced that the aluminium with a CO2 reduction of almost 70 per cent compared to the European average and at least 25 per cent recycled content passed the validation test for sophisticated structural castings It is not yet known with which electric compact model the new platform will debut Hydro will supply the CO2-reduced aluminium produced by electrolysis from renewable energies to the Mercedes main plant in Untertürkheim The material makes up about 60 per cent of the total aluminium for this alloy type in the Mettingen foundry and contains a scrap content of at least 25 per cent the aforementioned structural components are then cast from the material the Stuttgart-based carmaker wants to use aluminium in its vehicles with a carbon footprint decreased by 90 per cent compared with the European average Mercedes will use CO2-optimised aluminium oxide and reductions of CO2 emissions resulting from the electrolysis process by using green electricity and innovative technologies For the aluminium manufacturer Hydro, this is not the only cooperation with an automaker from Stuttgart: Porsche also cooperates with Hydro to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint of aluminium in the automotive supply chain mercedes-benz.com I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013 we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology The Brenninkmeijers owe their wealth to the C&A fashion business is now expanding into new business areas such as solar energy and sustainable food production It’s also looking for external investors to help 9 min Share The properties of the C&A stores form an important part of the Brenninkmeijer family's assets (Berlin which runs from Toronto to Detroit and connects Canada with the United States a building of impressive dimensions is being built – a greenhouse the size of 33 football fields The company Ontario Plants Propagation will one day grow 34 million seedlings per year here for vegetable and berry growers in North America a greenhouse constructor from the Netherlands The surprising thing about the two companies is the owner Both Ontario Plants Propagation and Dalsem are owned by Cofra Holding This is the corporate entity through which the Brenninkmeijer family This empire has long included much more than clothing stores Boudewijn Beerkens has been CEO of Cofra since 2019 His job is to preserve and expand the assets that the Brenninkmeijer family has built up over more than 180 years The greenhouse in Canada is part of a new business segment that Cofra is developing «Global warming is a threat to food production,» says Beerkens «Technologies that enable agriculture in a controlled environment are an attractive investment.» Such processes would allow sufficient food to be produced with less water and pesticides under changed conditions In the early days of their business, the forebearers of today's Brenninkmeijers carried out their business in rural areas. As cloth merchants, they set out from Mettingen in what is now the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and sold their goods in villages and on farms. Mettingen is still an important place in the Brenninkmeijer cosmos, as the family still meets and maintains a museum here Another important place for the company's history is the Dutch city of Sneek It was there in 1841 that Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer opened their first clothing store The C&A stores still bear the initials of their first names today the nerve center for the Brenninkmeijer empire is located neither in Germany nor in the Netherlands family members founded a company in the canton of Glarus – a popular address for shell companies at the time – whose main purpose was the tax-efficient management of investments in German and British C&A affiliates Behind the company’s odd official corporate name of Öl- und Fett-Industrie AG (Oils and Fats Industry Corporation) historian Mark Spoerer suspects «a mixture of wit and an intention to disguise.»1 Cofra manages its holdings from the Swiss canton of Zug One of the few figures that Beerkens is willing to disclose offers an idea of the size of the business: He estimates the firm's total assets under management at over 30 billion euros ($32.6 billion.) Most of this value (17 billion euros) is accounted for by investments of the private equity company Bregal alone and around a third (9.7 billion euros) by the Redevco real estate subsidiary The latter was created when the C&A properties were spun off into a separate company Redevco handles a portfolio that goes well beyond this inventory Cofra also owns the subsidiary Anthos Fund & Asset Management – which should not be confused with the Brenninkmeijers' Anthos family office The traditional clothing business is therefore only one of several pillars of income. Nevertheless, Beerkens emphasizes: «C&A is a crucial part of the group, and will remain so.» He has high expectations that the management team will get the retail business back on track after a weak period the company recently announced plans to open 100 new stores in Europe The once very international clothing company which maintained stores in the United States and China a remnant of C&A can be found only in Latin America The sale of the Mexico business has just been completed For the further development of the company and the establishment of new business areas the Brenninkmeijers also want to be «a force for good,» as stated in the company's basic principles And all «in a world that changes every 30 seconds,» Beerkens says The company’s activities must conform with guidelines provided by the owners Cofra's shareholders are a group of between 50 and 60 family members In reference to its beginnings in the town of Sneek the group is also known as the «Sneeker kring» – with «kring» being Dutch for circle Only those who have a parent who was also part of this committee can be accepted into the select Sneeker kring circle «These are not ‹just› owners,» says Beerkens «All our shareholders have to take on a leadership role in one of our companies.» the rules of the largely Catholic family only allowed male Brenninkmeijers to become members of the circle women have also become part of the group of owners which includes members from the sixth generation of the family How many women are now involved remains a secret members of a certain age are expected to leave and make way for younger Brenninkmeijers but today many shareholders are still active well beyond this age the Brenninkmeijer family shareholders have to subordinate themselves to an external manager who does not have a personal ownership stake in the company Does this create tensions in the day-to-day operations «We make a strict distinction between the two roles,» says Beerkens he adds: «In a meeting you are my colleague – at a shareholders' meeting Beerkens may not be a Cofra shareholder himself but he is part of the wider Brenninkmeijer family circle «That has helped me to understand certain things,» he says he has largely made his career outside of Cofra including as a partner at the auditing firm PwC and as chief financial officer at SHV Holdings a conglomerate owned by the Dutch Fentener van Vlissingen family When asked what the owners expect in terms of dividends Beerkens answers tersely: «The distribution is not the main focus.» Building up a business of this size requires very significant levels of reinvestment An unspecified portion of the group's income has always gone to charity. In fact, over the decades, an impressive network of foundations has emerged, with which the family donates money to social and ecological causes as well as Catholic organizations. The family shareholders also got involved when it came to realigning Cofra. The CEO recalls intensive, «lengthy» discussions and workshops, including with family members, in the search for new business areas. How profitable is this area? How viable over the long term? What benefits does it have for society? The process took about a year, he says. Over the course of 2019, the areas of clean energy and sustainable food were jointly identified. The family already had experience with renewable energies, albeit these had been mixed. Members recognized the potential of solar energy early on, invested, earned money – and lost it again. When prices for solar cells collapsed in 2011 due to global overcapacity, the value of the Brenninkmeijers' stake in Qcells, a manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, dropped to millions from billions within a very short space of time. Now Cofra is trying again in the solar industry. Sunrock, which was acquired in 2021, describes itself as one of the largest investors, developers and owners of large photovoltaic solar roof systems in Europe. «We like real assets, and things that can be scaled up,» says Beerkens, explaining the choice. This also applies to investments in the food sector such as greenhouses and plant cultivation, he adds. Meat from a laboratory might also qualify as climate-friendly nutrition. But Beerkens waves this suggestion off: «Countless attempts for one product, of which maybe one or two will work? It's not us! If something is too volatile, it doesn't fit in with the group's culture.» Cofra prefers to avoid investing in early development stages, where the risks involved are too high. In general, the holding company wants to cushion strong fluctuations in its business. The diversification of its activities, which began with the founding of the real estate company and continued with new business areas, is now set to reach a new level with the entry of external investors. A few Cofra investments already have nonfamily investors on board. What they are now looking for is a larger number of «like-minded investors,» as Beerkens puts it, who want to invest alongside the Brenninkmeijers. In addition to the right mindset, interested parties must above all have enough money. Institutional investors such as pension funds or insurance companies, but also family businesses or university investment funds, are therefore eligible. The Brenninkmeijer family will continue to hold ownership of Cofra itself close. However, third parties will be able to invest in the development of the new energy and food sectors, in Redevco's real estate projects, or in a Bregal private equity fund. These latter are mainly invested in Europe and North America. Beerkens justifies Cofra's openness to third-party funding by noting it will allow for greater impact: With more capital, he says, the holding company will more quickly be able to achieve substantial progress in terms of sustainability and the fight against climate change, as the Brenninkmeijers have set themselves the goal of doing. He says his job performance evaluations partially depend on the improvements achieved in this area. However, the inflow of new funds is also reducing the risks for Cofra and helping to diversify the family's assets. Beerkens offers a hypothetical example: «Instead of owning six properties in one country outright, why shouldn't we have a half-interest in 12 properties?» When asked how much external capital is required, Beerkens says: «We would have no difficulty doubling the size of the group in the next five to 10 years.» If this were to happen, the investments managed by Cofra would one day be worth around 60 billion euros instead of around 30 billion – with the difference that around half of the shares might then be in the hands of external investors. Such a transformation would change the character of Cofra, as well as the self-image of the family, which for almost two centuries has worked in a close circle to preserve its prosperity. This change may be just as challenging as improving the world. 1 M. Spoerer, C&A – ein Familienunternehmen in Deutschland, den Niederlanden und Grossbritannien 1911–196; C.H.Beck, 2016.