In 2020, Friedhelm Loh Group employees gave hope in especially hard times – through their support for charities Caritas-Werkstätten Westerwald-Rhein-Lahn, Oberlausitz Kinderhilfe, Debora Foundation India and eight further non-profits. Their contributions were made within the scope of the Friedhelm Loh Group’s traditional annual donation – and this past year, the initiative was more important than ever. FLG employees, together with members of management, raised a record sum of 220,000 euros.

It is April 1, 1961, when an international success story begins in a small weaving mill in central Hesse - the standardization of enclosures. Rudolf Loh founds the Rittal company and changes the industry with one idea. What was initially smiled at is now a phenomenon: The standard enclosure is used in millions of product solutions in over 90 percent of all industries worldwide. Rittal is the innovation and world market leader for enclosure technology and IT infrastructure. 10,000 employees worldwide work on new innovations, industry solutions and business models. A small steel manufacturing company has become a global digital enterprise. What hasn't changed: Rittal is a family business - responsibility, solidarity and social commitment have always been a top priority.

Rittal and Stulz have announced the immediate launch of a worldwide partnership for the provision of made-to-measure data centre infrastructure, consulting, support and services. Customers will benefit from one-stop IT infrastructure solutions and from an expanded portfolio of premium and precision cooling systems for mid-size and large data centres.

A significant milestone on life’s journey: Twenty-one bachelor students on the Friedhelm Loh Group co-operative education programme are celebrating their successful degree results and crowning their three-and-a-half years of work and study with impressive certificates. Grateful congratulations, personal profiles and reliving the time spent studying together made the digital graduation ceremony a personal celebration for all graduates despite their physical distance from each other.

Effective February 1, 2021, Professor Friedhelm Loh, Owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group, appointed Markus Asch (49) as CEO of Rittal International Stiftung & Co. KG and Chairman of the Management Board of Rittal GmbH & Co. He is therefore responsible for all the Business Units of the world's leading provider of solutions for enclosures, power distribution, climate control, IT infrastructure, software and service with 9,700 employees. Asch also assumes overall responsibility for Rittal Software & Service (RSS) International with the Eplan and Cideon units and 1,400 employees. With software solutions, system technology and machines for automation, the three companies of the Friedhelm Loh Group optimize the processes of their customers in control and switchgear engineering across the board and drive future business areas.

The rapid and straightforward implementation of data-driven shop floor applications with simultaneous data sovereignty is currently one of the most significant challenges facing manufacturing industry. ONCITE industrial edge appliance from German Edge Cloud (GEC) has been expanded to include components from the IBM Cloud Paks, which is built on Red Hat’s “OpenShift” Kubernetes platform for enterprises. Even if they have few resources and little expertise, production companies, OEM manufacturers and the supply industry can quickly benefit from digitalisation in manufacturing through hybrid cloud deployment with this package that consists of hardware, software and application management services.

With a tablet computer instead of a blackboard: In schools, the future is a digital one. The coronavirus situation makes this quite clear. Since the start of the 2020/21 academic year, Hesse's school portal has been used as a digital educational learning and working platform for teachers and students. German Edge Cloud (GEC) provides services such as a cloud architecture based on the requirements for scalability and the special features of educational activities. GEC’s services permit high usage figures and make the portal easy to use. This was crucial at the start of the year as Hesse’s school portal experienced an enormous demand on the first day of school and – unlike other federal states – coped without any problems. Hesse expects up to about 2.5 million users in the future.

Three companies in the Friedhelm Loh Group – German Edge Cloud, IoTOS and iNNOVO Cloud – have now become one. The expertise of the companies in the IIoT, cloud and edge computing markets, is now being powerfully combined in German Edge Cloud (GEC). The merger has two main focuses: Customers in the manufacturing industry will gain significant efficiency advantages from the company’s edge cloud solutions, for example through data analytics and will maintain full data sovereignty. Secondly, as a cloud automation partner, GEC permits the migration and automation of customer applications in multi-cloud environments, as well as enabling secure, Gaia-X compliant and highly available operation.

There has been a change in the management of Cideon Software & Services: Dr Clemens Weis took over the operational management of Cideon Software & Services on 1 November 2020. With his experience and expertise in digital transformation processes and the latest platform technologies, he will be maintaining the company’s steady development.

Ready for the future! This summer, fifty-seven young men and women began either a vocational training or a bachelor degree course combining study and work experience at the Friedhelm Loh Group. In the first few weeks, the 40 trainees and the 17 cooperative-education students got to know the Group, gaining an insight into Industry 4.0 production, and having a “hands-on” introduction to digitisation and team building with their new colleagues.

Doing something big through many small individual donations is what drives the Friedhelm Loh Group’s annual charitable donation. This year, the employees of the family-run business, along with proprietor Professor Friedhelm Loh, donated the considerable sum of €215,000. In doing so, they are supporting eleven regional non-profit organisations at the group’s locations, as well as the international organisation “Aktion Deutschland hilft” (Germany’s Relief Coalition).

GAIA-X, the major European digital project aimed at strengthening Europe’s position in international competition, is to become an organisation with the capacity to act and with legal capacity. The goal is to establish a European data infrastructure for the secure digitisation and networking of industry, finance and healthcare, and as a basis for the use of new applications with artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Friedhelm Loh was one of the co-founders of this major European project, which was launched last autumn by Peter Altmaier, Germany’s Federal Minister of Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. The Friedhelm Loh Group with its German Edge Cloud subsidiary will be a founding member of the new GAIA-X Foundation.

Rittal is one of the first industrial players to receive a 5G frequency allocation. Before the end of the year, a private 5G mobile communications network will be installed in the new Haiger plant. The first pilot projects, for example in production monitoring and analysis, have already been defined.

First place for the Friedhelm Loh Group in “2020 Innovation Champions Award”. The award-winning ONCITE solution is the first real-time capable, data sovereign and AI-based edge cloud data centre for the future industrial processing of manufacturing data. The award, presented by the “WirtschaftsWoche” business magazine, the University of St. Gallen and the Academy of German World Market Leaders (ADWM), honours the most innovative companies in Germany.

The 2019 Rittal Cup was able to boast a record result: No less than €10,400 was raised for charitable purposes. The “Charlie und Lotte” grief counselling service, the German Red Cross’s Dietzhölztal branch, the church-run care centre in Eschenburg and the SG Dietzhölztal, a local sports club, all benefited from the donations.

Streamlining the production of air suspension components as safety and comfort-relevant chassis parts ensures injection moulder LKH a place in the top league of plastics processors. The German Association of Plastics Converters (GKV), which awarded LKH the renowned TecPart-Innovation Prize at the 2019 plastics trade fair, agrees.

“Stagnation means decline and I won’t have it!” That was the motto of this year’s "Trainee Days" event for Friedhelm Loh Group apprentices, held at the Gnadenthal monastery. The future was the issue under discussion at a town steeped in tradition near Bad Camberg. Trainees asked themselves how can they can continue to develop – personally, technically and professionally? The time spent in the monastery represented the green light for several months of project work in teams. The results were then presented to a jury of top management. Prof. Friedhelm Loh awarded the prizes to the winners.

The continuing technological development of electric drive systems will make steel service centres capable of reliably and economically fabricating high strength and ultra-high strength steel more important for the automotive industry. Stahlo Stahlservice is perfectly prepared these demands. At the upcoming Blechexpo international trade fair for sheet metal working from 5 to 8 November 2019, the Friedhelm Loh Group company presents its capabilities when working with high strength and ultra-high-strength steel.

Rittal’s drive for ever-greater digital connectivity has been recognised by the judges of the Besser Lackieren (“Better Painting”) awards, a highly coveted accolade in the German painting industry. The business received the newly created special prize for digital transformation at its advanced paint shop at its plant in Haiger, Germany. The Besser Lackieren awards are an annual competition organised by Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and the editorial team of industry magazine Besser Lackieren.

Three Friedhelm Loh Group companies will be working together even more closely in the future: Rittal, German Edge Cloud and IoTOS, along with Bosch Connected Industry will be offering the first complete solution for integrating, harmonising and analysing industrial production data. Following the acquisition of German Edge Cloud, the IoTOS start-up now also belongs to the group. The Friedhelm Loh Group has now announced the 100% takeover.

German Edge Cloud, part of the Friedhelm Loh Group of companies, is presenting the “ONCITE” industrial edge cloud appliance together with Bosch Connected Industry, IoTOS and Rittal. With this all-in-one solution, manufacturing companies can now extract concrete added value from their production data. Some specifications already exist, e. g. car manufacturers such as Volkswagen or BMW have launched digital platforms such as the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud or the Open Manufacturing Platform.

A change at the top of Stahlo Stahlservice: effective on 1 October, Oliver Sonst is to assume executive management of one of the largest and most advanced steel service centres in Europe. His appointment reflects the new strategic focus on future goals – technology leadership in high-tech steel processing, strong partnerships in the automotive industry, and expansion in eastern European markets.

The increasingly digital nature of factories is transforming manufacturers into service providers who make products. The huge volume of data generated in these facilities is the basis for new value creation models – provided these data are captured, saved, processed and intelligently analysed in a timely, local manner. This is because low latency is essential to the implementation of many Industry 4.0 use cases – such as forms of real-time industrial artificial intelligence (AI) that give companies full control over their data. The key to rapid availability and processing is edge computing.

The Friedhelm Loh Group has officially congratulated 19 cooperative-education students – 16 in bachelor’s and 3 in master’s programmes – and 30 apprentices on their outstanding achievements and successful completion of their studies/training. Managing Directors Uwe Scharf and Dr Thomas Steffen awarded certificates to the delighted graduates at two ceremonies, and highlighted future opportunities.

“betop” has received the highest honour at the 25th Communicator Awards. The international programme is one of the world’s leading creative competitions, receiving approximately 6000 entries each season. The Friedhelm Loh Group’s magazine was placed first in the Design and Print category. In addition, “betop” has received the silver 2019 BCM (Best of Content Marketing) Award.

Rittal received the coveted Bosch Global Supplier Award, granted every two years. From a total of some 43,000 suppliers around the world, Bosch honoured 47 companies from 15 countries.

Premiere in Gera: Stahlo gives customers their first insights into its new plant, even before its completion in late 2019. One of Europe’s most technically advanced steel service centres is currently being built on a 43,000 square metre site. Stahlo is continuing to expand its machining expertise and technological leadership in the high-end steel service for high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels for the automotive industry.

He was appointed to the Rittal Management Board with effect from 1 June 2019. He is responsible for sales in the regions of Europe, North and South America, Asia-Pacific, as well as the Middle East and Africa. In addition, he is in charge of Service, Internal Sales, as well as Operations.

Together for the customers: Rittal and Eplan, two companies of the Friedhelm Loh Group, officially inaugurated their new location in Pioltello, northern Italy, on 17 May 2019. This way, the two affiliated companies are supporting their cooperation in Italy so that they can increasingly offer their solutions along the entire value chain of panel building and switchgear manufacturing. The state-of-the-art new building with an investment sum of €7.2 million euros is marked by its low energy consumption in accordance with the NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) criteria.

The VX25 large enclosure system from Rittal has won the 2019 German Innovation Award. The German Design Council honoured the innovative large enclosure system on May 28 as the winner in the “Excellence in Business to Business/Machines & Engineering” category.

Edge and cloud computing are converging to create intelligent infrastructure. At the Hanover Trade Fair (Hannover Messe), Innovo Cloud and Rittal are jointly showcasing digital twins and the corresponding infrastructure ecosystem for connected Industry 4.0 scenarios.

• At Hanover Messe (Hannover Trade Fair), Rittal is presenting product solutions for the rapid development of an infrastructure for e-mobility
• Years of experience in constructing outdoor stations have gone into the solution for a 350-kW fast charger
• Manufacturer Tritium (IONITY charging stations) and the energy supplier ENERCON are among the first companies to make use of Rittal technologies

• Rittal, SICP and WestfalenWIND IT win first prize at German Data Center Award 2019
• They won the top prize in the “Ideas and research in relation to data centres” category for high-density IT rooms for colocation operation mode
• Sustainable solution geared towards standardisation and cost-efficient operation

05.02.2019. One common misconception is that digitization is a good thing – as long we are not talking about jobs. But what does digitization actually mean for the employees of a company that is changing, realigning itself, networking and digitising? For Rittal, one thing is clear: When it comes to machines, it’s people who matter! That is why the company is investing in training and further education measures for its employees.

18.01.2019. There has been a change in the executive management of Rittal. Effective from 1 January 2019, Uwe Scharf (55) has been appointed Managing Director of the IT and Industry Business Units and for Marketing.

08.01.2019. “Digitalization means networks, not islands. This broader perspective is essential to seizing the best opportunities for continuing competitiveness,” says Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO of Rittal International. Nature shows how it’s done – organised systems are more successful. The algorithm of the forest shows how important the networking of actors, processes and information is. The new edition of “be top” looks in depth at this kind of relationship. It is now also available as an online magazine for mobile reading and with exclusive additional content.

28.11.2018. “Be curious – stay on the ball” was the motto of this year’s “Trainee Days” event for Friedhelm Loh Group apprentices, held at the Gnadenthal Monastery near the town of Bad Camberg. The trainees covered the topic of curiosity and distraction in the age of digital transformation. The projects were presented to a jury of top management members. Professor Friedhelm Loh awarded the prizes to the winners.

10.10.2018. At this year’s EuroBLECH, the world’s largest exhibition for the sheet metal industry (23 to 26 October in Hanover), Stahlo is offering an exclusive first look at its new plant in Gera, Germany. Visitors to the company’s stand (E78 in hall 17) can view a physical 3D model of the facility and its state-of-the-art production logistics and IT technologies. The focus is on high-quality machining and processing of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels.

14.05.2018. Watch. Listen. Learn: The idea for a perfect enclosure was not born at the drawing board or in the lab – but rather in the workshops of Rittal’s international customers. The question “How can we make the best even better?” served as the starting point for a scientific field study conducted on three continents before development of the new large enclosure began. The cover story of the latest issue of “be top” tells of the eye-opening knowledge which Rittal gained from an intensive dialogue with customers. The magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group also shows how the sister companies LKH and Stahlo are equipping themselves for the future.

26.02.2018. Refugees with no certificates or qualifications and very limited German don’t stand much of a chance on the employment market. They are unlikely to find more than the odd casual or temporary job here and there. The new pilot project run by the Friedhelm Loh Group shows that even these candidates can be integrated in the workplace. The family-owned enterprise has offered two refugees direct entry into employment – because nothing motivates people better than work.

19.12.2017. The past and future gathered in one room as Profes-sor Loh honoured 222 employees for their long-standing loyalty to the Group. Amongst them, they have notched up 10, 25 or 40 years on the factory floor or in administration, in sales or marketing. As Prof. Loh pointed out, they have helped to write the success story of the Friedhelm Loh Group. During the celebrations in the German town of Herborn, the owner and CEO of the Group also presented awards to the seven best apprentices and student interns.

18.09.2017. Seventy-nine young people are getting ready to face the future in the Friedhelm Loh Group. The companies of the family-run group have now welcomed 59 new apprentices and 20 students to their ranks. These young people, ranging from office clerks and IT specialists to industrial engineers, have set themselves some very different goals. They include international perspectives and exciting Industry 4.0 (IoT) projects. The social responsibility of the region’s biggest employer also impresses young people. Being successful worldwide and yet remaining true to its roots – that provides motivation.

11.09.2017. Educating a new generation of professionals is a key part of the Friedhelm Loh Group’s philosophy. This year alone, a total of 110 young people have completed their training, studies, or post-school qualifications at the Group. The graduates of StudiumPlus, and the Rittal and Loh Services training programmes, recently received their certificates at a special ceremony. This young talent also includes two refugees, who are now certified machine operators.

14.07.2017. Forging technological progress in the Middle Hesse region of Germany is a top priority for Rittal. This is why the world’s leading provider of industrial enclosures and climate control systems is now co-endowing a chair to focus research into Industry 4.0 at Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences. Eight companies are investing a total of €800,000 over five years to promote practice-based research and teaching in this field.

13.07.2017. In an independent selection process, Rittal has secured a place among Germanys hundred most innovative companies. The world’s leading provider of industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure has been honoured by leading innovation researchers for developing ground-breaking technologies. German TV host Ranga Yogeshwar acknowledged the innovative power of the family business and awarded it the prestigious “Top 100” medal.

07.07.2017. Rittal has been recognised by trade magazine “Elektronikpraxis” as a “Milestone in Electronics”. In the context of the magazine’s 50th anniversary, the world’s provider of industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure won the award in the category of enclosures and climate control. The jury praised Rittal’s decisive influence on Germany as an industrial location and its groundbreaking technologies.

28.05.2017. The fact that classic male professions are becoming increasingly exciting for young women is reflected year after year in Germany’s “Girls’ Day” event. Every year, around 100,000 schoolgirls make use of the day to get a taste of professions that are still dominated by men. In the Friedhelm Loh Group, 37 girls were able to gain an insight into technical and IT careers again this year. The aim of the project is for them to get to know potential training occupations so that they could make their career choices as impartially as possible.

24.05.2017 To make a new start in life, Robi Brömel often had to ask for help, find a great deal of strength and never lose faith in himself. The young man had a long struggle to leave behind a daily life of drugs, crime and hopelessness. The “Neustart” (“New Start”) project brought the turnaround. The Rittal Foundation has been supporting the project for years and it has now donated a further €5,000. Robi's life proves just what being given a chance can do. Now the 22-year-old goes to work every day, has a girlfriend and is optimistic about the future.

02.05.2017. Stahlo is investing €45 million in its plans for a new 22,000 square-metre production hall in Gera-Langenberg. By purchasing neighbouring property from the city authorities, one of the biggest manufacturer-independent steel service centres in Germany has seized the opportunity to pursue its growth strategy and stay at its Gera site. Plans for the future at Stahlo include doubling both the number of plants and the volume of steel processed to 300,000 metric tons per year.

31.03.2017. The Top Employers Institute has declared the Friedhelm Loh Group a “Top German Employer” for the ninth year running. The Group passed a rigorous selection process and received this honour in 2017 thanks to its various skills development programmes, highly effective communications with employees, and value-driven corporate culture.

02.03.2017. The employees of the Friedhelm Loh Group were well aware that Christmas could be a particularly difficult time for many people in the region and across the globe. At the end of last year, they therefore once again made a joint donation to help those in need. This was doubled by owner and CEO Dr Friedhelm Loh, and the impressive sum of €180,000 has now been handed out to both regional and international institutions.

28.02.2017. The readers have decided – Blue e+ from Rittal is one of the best products in 2017. Industry magazine MaschinenMarkt has honoured this generation of cooling units with the 2017 Best of Industry Award in the Automation category. The Vogel Business Media publishing group presents the award for solutions that have already won an industry award or have met with an outstanding market response. Voting was by a panel of experts and online readers.

11.11.2016. A total of 1,500 entries and 8,000 votes: A photograph from Rittal, the enclosure and system provider based in central Hesse, Germany, has won has the PR image award from the dpa subsidiary “news aktuell”. Most votes for an image in the “Corporate Communications” category went to Rittal’s Global Distribution Center in Haiger. The photograph was taken by Michael Koch from “Digital Photo Group”.

26.10.2016. The Vogel Business Media publishing house has presented Dr Friedhelm Loh with the “Connected World” Leadership Award in Würzburg, Germany. In awarding this prize, the publisher has recognised the owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group as, according to the jury, one of ten “remarkable figures” setting the course for an increasingly networked future.

20.09.2016. University studies, work experience abroad, leadership tasks – successful trainees of the Friedhelm Loh Group have the world at their fingertips. The 43 new trainees who make up this year’s intake can look forward to an exciting time of learning and work with a top employer. Vocational training is one of the most formative phases for the individual’s personality development, was the message passed on to them by company owner Dr. Friedhelm Loh. A fruitful traineeship is decisive in shaping our career future.

30.08.2016. The Rittal Foundation is an established presence in the region, actively working for good causes and repeatedly drawing attention to the less fortunate in society. The Foundation has been involved in social and cultural institutions in the region for five years – around 150 projects have already been funded to the tune of over € 650,000. To mark its anniversary, the Foundation pulled off a very special fundraising event with the employees of the Friedhelm Loh Group. At the Group’s family-friendly festival, they collectively raised € 30,000 for long-term projects in the region.

26.08.2016. Today’s young professionals are fascinated by electronic media and software, while manufacturers are increasingly digitizing their processes. For the Friedhelm Loh Group, the one phenomenon dove-tails perfectly with the other, and its training programs addresses both. In all, 96 apprentices and students have just completed their programs at the Group. Their final presentations highlighted the convergence of IT and manufacturing, a trend which they have clearly embraced.

19.08.2016. To display innovations, to make them tangible and to develop them further – that is the aim of the new Rittal Innovation Center in Haiger. The centre provides a very special insight into the value chains of control and switchgear manufacturing. In the 1,200-m² building, the enclosure and system provider is emulating an actual manufacturing operation. It is a place that brings together customers and developers from Rittal and Eplan, giving them the opportunity to discuss all process steps directly at stations that are outfitted with machinery and tools, based on specific everyday situations. They can then develop solutions ranging from engineering, material delivery, component preparation and processing and right through to the finished product.

19.08.2016. Rittal plans to build the world’s most advanced production plant for compact enclosures, with completion scheduled for 2018 in Haiger in the German State of Hesse. The company also intends to upgrade factories in nearby Rittershausen and Hof. The projects will prepare Rittal, a world-leading provider of industrial enclosure systems, for future challenges. Moreover, a further plant will be built in the area in the near future. At the ceremony to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the facility in Haiger, the Premier of the State of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, praised the commitment of the Friedhelm Loh Group to the region and to Germany as a whole.

16.08.2016. The Friedhelm Loh Group’s success story is inextrica-bly linked with its owner, and not only in terms of its name. It is the story of a passionate entrepreneur who has inspired his industry, motivated his employees and committed himself to the people in the region. The family entrepreneur’s trademark and aim is to be ahead of his time and to influence the times he lives in. Today, Dr. Friedhelm Loh is 70 years old, and it is fitting to celebrate and look back.

19.07.2016. On a sunny summer day and in almost 30°C heat, more than 200 Friedhelm Loh Group employees – from Germany and further afield – gathered for the Rittal Cup football tournament at the Burbach Stadium in Ewersbach in central Hesse. Participants were not just competing for a trophy, but also raising funds for a good cause. And their efforts underlined that whether at the workplace or on the pitch, they are very much team players.

05.07.2016. The Friedhelm Loh Group has now welcomed its new students on dual work/study programmes during a tour of a special kind. Seventeen young people quickly learned to pull together and achieve their own and common goals at the Wetzlar climbing park. To this end, they had to overcome their own limits – a good foundation for their studies of business administration, engineering or industrial engineering.

14.06.2016. Breathtaking city visits, trips on boats or steamers – a tour with the Friedhelm Loh Group’s “Senioren-Club” is a highlight in the calendar of every former employee’s year. Not only because an there is always a fascinating excursion, but also because their volunteer work is rewarded through relaxing together. This year was a special one for the pensioners, because their club has now been in existence for 15 years. They have been active in the region since 2001, keeping in touch with and taking care of each other.

25.05.2016. As part of the restructuring of production in Germany, Rittal’s management team and group works council have concluded a reconciliation of interests. The company is planning to gradually close four plants by 2018, to extend two others and to build a completely new one in Haiger. Over the next few years, the family-run business will be investing 250 million euros in the region to restructure production – and gear up for the future.

20.05.2016. Girls’ Day is a Germany-wide event offering insight into professions traditionally dominated by men. The Friedhelm Loh Group opened its doors to 33 young women at various sites, giving them first-hand experience of mechanical and electrical engineering. With a mixture of curiosity and enthusiasm, the girls literally got to grips with the world of manufacturing.

09.05.2016. Employees of the Friedhelm Loh Group teamed up with members of the Group’s Seniors’ Club to give back to the community. The volunteers came together to help complete the new wooden lodges at Oberndorf Youth Retreat. This unique centre is supported by the Rittal Foundation. Current and former employees of the Friedhelm Loh Group provided their time and skills free of charge, but took great pride in their efforts.

22.04.2016. The Friedhelm Loh Group performed very well in a nationwide study commissioned by “Deutschland Test” and “Focus Money”. The study revealed that the family-run business in Central Hesse, which employs more than 11,500 people worldwide, is one of the best companies in Germany when it comes to training. The 2,000 businesses with most employees in 22 different sectors were examined.

13.04.2016. Twenty-eight apprentices have completed their training at the Friedhelm Loh Group, and now have the skills they need for an increasingly digitized business world. For their final projects, the apprentices improved the performance of robots, developed methods to increase productivity and made digital processes more efficient. They were praised by both the head of the training program and top executives of the family-owned company, which is headquartered in Herborn, Germany.

30.03.2016. This tops it all: For the eighth time in a row, the Top Employers Institute has voted the Friedhelm Loh Group one of the best employers in Germany. The family-owned company excels by promoting young talent at an early stage, by having passionate managers and a value-oriented corporate culture. That is why the Friedhelm Loh Group has again received a "Top German Employer" award in 2016.

24.03.2016. The Technische Universität Chemnitz has awarded the Hessian entrepreneur Friedhelm Loh an honorary doctorate for his outstanding contributions to science and technology. Representatives of research institutions and universities and from the worlds of politics, industry and trade associations honoured the industrialist as a resolute man of action and visionary. Friedhelm Loh is a driving force behind the networking of business and science, is actively helping to shape industrial digitalisation, and is thus inspiring future generations to think in new ways and to act responsibly.

17.03.2016. New appointment to the Rittal Management Board: Owner Friedhelm Loh has appointed the manager Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler to become CEO of Rittal International Stiftung & Co. KG, as well as the Chairman of the Management Board of Rittal GmbH & Co. KG on 1 July 2016. He will thus assume responsibility for all the business divisions of the world's leading system provider for control and switchgear manufacturing and for the roughly 10,000 employees of the largest company of the Friedhelm Loh Group.

16.12.2015. Two-hundred and thirty-seven employees who had reached personal milestones in their working lives were honoured at this year’s traditional acknowledgement ceremony, held at the Rittal’s headquarters on Stützelberg, Herborn. A lot has happened in the last 40 years: The Friedhelm Loh Group has grown in Germany and internationally, new markets have been opened up and new products developed. All this not only links these long-serving employees closely to their workplace, but also to their employer.

30.11.2015. The Friedhelm Loh Group is committed to adding an international dimension to its cooperative education (Duales Studium) offering – for example, as a partner to the Central Hesse European Industrial Experience (EIEM) exchange programme. EIEM is a new joint initiative of Central Hesse Technical University (THM) and the StudiumPlus programme. It enables students from across the world to gain work experience in Germany – and it sends young Germans out into the wider world for similar internships. This summer, Piotr Guzik, an engineering student from Poland, became the first to spend a semester with the Friedhelm Loh Group.

23.11.2015. Enclosure and systems provider Rittal continues to invest in East Asia: Rittal owner and CEO, Friedhelm Loh, has now unveiled the new administration and logistics building in South Korea’s free-trade zone of Incheon Songdo. With this €10 million investment, the family-owned company is aiming to pave the way for further growth in South Korea. Eplan, a leading provider of CAE software for electrical design and – like Rittal – member of the Friedhelm Loh Group shares this new site.

16.11.2015. Every year, Friedhelm Loh Group sends its second-year trainees to a monastery, where they form teams tasked with developing, planning and executing their own projects. This year’s theme was “Working together for the future of our region”. It challenged the young people to improve conditions in their own back yard. The founder and senior executives of the family-owned company have now awarded prizes for the best projects.

05.11.2015. The new generation of Blue e+ cooling units from Rittal has received German industry’s Innovation Award for the best product. The jury from “Produktion” magazine and Staufen AG management consultancy, who awarded the prize for the first time this year, was impressed by the high energy efficiency, intuitive operation and the Industry 4.0 readiness of the cooling units. The German Industry Innovation Award acknowledges outstanding developments that boost Germany’s Mittelstand of medium-sized companies in particular.

20.10.2015. This summer, the Friedhelm Loh Group joined forces with the Region of Lahn-Dill to run a unique pilot project. Its aim was to equip refugees for the labour market. Building on their existing knowledge, they received basic vocational skills training that opens the door to new opportunities. The State of Hesse has now approved funding to extend the initiative.

09.09.2015. A group of 55 new trainees has started a new chapter in their lives at the Friedhelm Loh Group. They were welcomed by Dr. Thomas Steffen, Managing Director Research and Development, who gave them their first top tips for a successful traineeship.

11.08.2015. The number of refugees arriving in Germany is at a 20-year record high. They are seeking to escape political persecution, terrorism, war and hunger. They wish to live and work in Germany, but face considerable obstacles. They generally do not speak the language, their qualifications are often not recognized, and they struggle to cut a path through bureaucratic red tape. Against this backdrop, the Friedhelm Loh Group has joined forces with the Region of Lahn-Dill (where the company is headquartered) to launch a unique initiative – with the aim of creating opportunities for refugees by helping them to acquire marketable skills.

29.07.2015. For the second time so far, “be top”, the company magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group, has been proud to receive the renowned Fox Award. The 2/2014 issue of “be top” won the gold medal for a customer magazine published both in printed and digital form.

24.07.2015. The Rittal Foundation is donating 10,000 euros to the German Caritas Association in the Wetzlar/Lahn-Dill-Eder region for the purchase of a minibus. The vehicle will be available to refugees and their aid workers, enabling them to attend appointments at local government offices or doctors’ surgeries when there is no sufficient public transport infrastructure.

10.06.2015. The situation in Nepal is still disastrous around one month after the devastating earthquake in the South Asian country. The staff of the Friedhelm Loh Group responded immediately, collecting a sum of €170,000. The donation will go now to international relief organizations providing important support on site.

07.04.2015. The Friedhelm Loh Group continues to be one of Germany’s top employers. This year, the "Top Employers Institute", has honoured the Group for the seventh year in a row for its forwardlooking personnel concepts, and praised its enthusiastic management, social commitment and innovative ideas.

18.06.2014. Kiesling Maschinentechnik will launch Averex, the world’s first robotic wiring centre, in the second half of 2014. After a five-year development period, this automation solution for machinery, control enclosure and switchgear manufacturing is now all but production-ready. But first, two to three real-world field tests will be conducted. Averex saves valuable time by eliminating the need to wire mounting plates manually. Now, connections between devices are made automatically and meet all applicable standards and safety requirements. This reduces the number of working hours per enclosure by up to 15 hours. Additional features, such as push-in connections and automatic wire-changing and labelling increase the degree of automation even further.

20.06.2013. Kuttig Computeranwendungen GmbH, Troisdorf, one of the biggest Autodesk partners in Germany, is now part of the Haiger-based Friedhelm Loh Group. This will create Germany's first centre of excellence for mechatronic CAD (computer-aided design) and PLM (product lifecycle management) solutions within the Eplan – Rittal – Kiesling alliance.

25.02.2013. Kiesling Maschinentechnik is joining Rittal International. In this way, the international corporate group is expanding its expertise in the fields of switching systems and control system engineering. Kiesling, a family-owned company headquartered in Dietzenbach in the German state of Hesse, is a sought-after specialist for automation solutions in the area of switching system engineering.

29.01.2013. Solution-provider EPLAN's new website is now online to mark the new year. The website ties in with the consistent look and feel of the Friedhelm Loh Group and includes plenty of additional content, for example, new industry pages. The idea was to allow content to be found more quickly - which involved creating new filter options and optimising the search function.

24.01.2013. Rittal's management team is proud to welcome Mr Guido Stannek on board. Since the start of the year, Mr Stannek has been promoted to President, with worldwide responsibility for purchasing, procurement, and logistics at the leading enclosure and system provider.

23.01.2013. Over 320 Rittal managers from 52 countries attended a conference in the Rittal Arena in Wetzlar to map out the road to global growth for the company in 2013. A total of more than 500 million euros is to be invested in worldwide production and logistics over the next five years.

20.02.2012. The Rittal Foundation has now started its work with an initial meeting of the Board and Council. The foundation's purpose is to support social and cultural institutions located close to Rittal sites worldwide. Friedhelm Loh announced the plan to establish the foundation last year to mark Rittal's 50th anniversary.

18.01.2012. Employees of the Friedhelm Loh Group and Friedhelm Loh himself, the Group's owner and Chairman, joined forces again last year for their traditional end of the year donation. Social and charitable institutions near the group's locations are being supported to the tune of € 150,000.

17.01.2012. Hermann Tetzner, a 55-year-old industrial engineer, has been responsible for the financial affairs of the internationally active group of companies since the beginning of the year. "The Friedhelm Loh group is consistently expanding its global business and will be able to finance organic growth on its own in future too", Mr. Tetzner explained.

05.12.2011. Around 60 young people attended an info fair organised by the Loh Academy at Rittal in Herborn under the banner "Training and 'StudiumPlus' with the Friedhelm Loh Group (F.L.G.)". This great response was once more proof that the companies forming the group are attractive potential employers for many school-leavers. The F.L.G. group is currently still able to offer a number of vacancies.

05.12.2011. Yet another jubilee has given Rittal plenty to reflect: On 1st December 2011, the Friedhelm Loh Group (F.L.G.), of which Rittal is a member, invited 409 employees celebrating a personal jubilee to the Stadthalle civic centre in Haiger, the birthplace of the internationally active company group. At this festive gathering, Friedhelm Loh thanked the employees who had already been contributing to the F.L.G. success story for 10, 25 or even 40 years.

01.11.2011. Training from a different perspective: During a workshop in Gnadenthal, the trainees of the Friedhelm Loh Group devoted their attention to the subject of “Disability and disadvantage”. Subsequently, they organised project days with affected youth groups. Friedhelm Loh, owner and board chairman of the Friedhelm Loh Group, praised this commitment and awarded prizes to the three best trainee projects.

26.10.2011. A total of 92 young men and women began their vocational training at companies of the Friedhelm Loh Group in August. The group companies Eplan, LKH, Loh Services, Rittal and Stahlo thus defended their title as the largest vocational training provider in the region in 2011, too.

28.09.2011. Just four months after donating 160,000 euros for earthquake victims in Japan, the Friedhelm Loh Group has given a further 260,000 euros to various aid organisations. This time round, the money is intended for people affected by the famine in East Africa. Employees donated more than 79,000 euros. Friedhelm Loh, owner and Chairman of the group of companies headquartered in the German town of Haiger, increased this amount to 160,000 euros and added a further 100,000 euros to mark Rittal's 50th anniversary.

20.09.2011. These days, saving resources is more important than ever. Rittal is a good example of a company that makes the best of the energy efficiency technology available to industrial companies today. The world’s leading provider of enclosure technology systems has established a successful practice of implementing the ideas of its own staff. Over the past five years, Rittal’s largest plant in Rittershausen has cut its consumption of electricity, gas and water by up to 30 percent.

13.09.2011. Rittal has extended its contract and will remain the sponsor of the arena in Wetzlar that bears its name for the next five years. The enclosure and system supplier is also carrying on as a co-sponsor of HSG Wetzlar. In this way, Rittal is continuing its long-term support for the region of Middle Hesse.

09.09.2011. "The power of the past and the present is the start-ing point for our bold vision of the future." That's how Friedhelm Loh, proprietor and CEO of Rittal reflected on the company's status after 50 years of success. "We plan to have an annual turnover of € 3 billion by 2015. This goes hand in hand with rapidly growing staffing needs, representing career opportunities all over the world", continued Mr. Loh at the "50 Years Rittal. Power and Vision" anniversary press conference.

06.09.2011. Friedhelm Loh had a big surprise in store for a group of cyclists raising money for charity. They were expecting a donation of 5,000 euros, but when the Menschen für Kinder e.V. charity bike ride stopped off at Rittal, the group's owner handed over ten times that amount. The organisation will use the 50,000 euro donation to help children with cancer.

16.08.2011. 23 Rittal in commercial and technical vocations at Rittal have now made the leap into the world of work. On Tuesday 9 August, a ceremony was held at the company headquarters in Herborn to present them with their certificates. The trainers explicitly praised the high standard of exam results.

05.07.2011. On 29 June, the children’s charity "Förderverein Kinderzuhause" in Burbach was delighted to receive a donation of 9,500 Euros raised by Rittal employees and the company's owner, Friedhelm Loh. Some of the money had been raised by the Rittal Cup football tournament.

27.01.2011. According to Accenture, the Friedhelm Loh Group is one of only six German companies that in the last five years have not only had above-average sales growth in their sectors but also exceed the average of the 2000 corporations with the highest sales. The study was prepared by Accenture exclusively for the daily newspaper "Die Welt" and was published in January.