Höchst Industrial Park and eurofunk – 25 Years of Partnership and Innovation
The industrial park’s emergency response control center has been modernized with state-of-the-art technology.
The Development of an Integrated Control Center Infrastructure
Twenty-five years ago, eurofunk was awarded the contract to equip the emergency response control center at the Höchst Industrial Park in Frankfurt with an integrated operations control and management system. The goal of the project was to fully integrate all systems required for the operation of a modern control center into a homogeneous and intuitive infrastructure.
“The contract was awarded to eurofunk in part due to the company’s comprehensive expertise as a full-service control center provider with notable references in the industrial sector,” explains Mr. Krüger, who was the head of the emergency response control center at the time.
Another key criterion was the integration of the site’s heterogeneous alarm and communication infrastructure. Interfaces to fire and hazard alarm systems, video surveillance systems, and elevator emergency call systems were implemented and integrated into the overarching eurofunk management system.
Even back then, the scope of services ranged from incident command computers and communication technology to control room consoles, radio systems, site-wide siren alarms, media technology, and security alerts for the plant fire department.
Security technology for one of Europe’s largest industrial parks
Today, more than 90 companies from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are based at the Höchst Industrial Park. Approximately 22,000 employees work on the 460-hectare site, which features 120 production facilities as well as 980 research, laboratory, and administrative buildings.
Since 2000, approximately 8.5 billion euros have been invested in the Höchst Industrial Park. In parallel, the technical equipment of the emergency response control center has also been continuously upgraded.
The focus was on innovative technologies and highly available control center solutions. Among other things, this involved migrating telephone and radio communications to IP technology. At the same time, the ELDIS operations control and management software was continuously adapted to new functional and procedural requirements.
Continuous development of control center and communication technology
Recent modernization measures include the integration of government digital radio for the plant fire department, a new alarm management system, and the implementation of a mission-critical communication system for PTT operational communication via 5G provider networks.
In addition, the IT infrastructure of the IP-based eurofunk IDDS UCiP communication system and the infrastructure components of the eurofunk ELDIS operations control and management system were recently upgraded. This ensures the long-term high availability of the technology required for the safe operation of the emergency response dispatch center.
Discover eurofunk’s modern control center, communications, and incident management solutions here.
25 Years of Trusted Collaboration
All of these initiatives have been significantly shaped over the years by Mr. Thomas Krüger. Mr. Krüger will be taking his well-deserved retirement at the end of the year. It was a matter close to his heart to hand over to his successor, Mr. Sven Handloser, an optimal working environment in the form of a modern and reliable technical control center infrastructure.
We at eurofunk would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Krüger for 25 years of consistently excellent and trusting cooperation and wish him all the best for his retirement! We wish Mr. Handloser the very best as he takes on this responsible role and look forward to continuing our partnership!
“Thanks to his extensive organizational and technical expertise, his keen sense of innovation, and his tireless personal dedication, the emergency response center has been continuously developed. The responsibilities of this facility, which is of enormous importance to the site, go far beyond mere emergency response.”
Dr. Markus Bauch, Head of the Plant Fire Department at Infraserv Höchst.
