It's the baby of the fleet of the Henkel Plant Fire Department: the new environmental protection equipment truck with radio call name Florian Henkel 01 GW-U-01. In terms of type, this is a rescue vehicle in accordance with DIN 14555-3: 2016-12, with extended crew capacity executed in Advanced Technology (AT), the Rosenbauer premium quality. The vehicle is realized on a 2-axle chassis from MAN with a 4,500 mm wheelbase and a permissible total weight of 18 tons.
Space beneath the superstructure
This configuration primarily offers a lot of space beneath the superstructure, which, as the photos show, has allowed utilization of space down to the last nook and cranny. Four spacious equipment compartments are loaded with extensive standard and special equipment on either side of the vehicle. Two roll-on-roll-off containers, which hold heavier equipment such as hazardous goods pumps, are situated at the rear.
These can be lowered to ground level using a tail lift with a load capacity of 1,500 kg. Another electrical lowering device for hazardous goods hoses (8 x 5 m, DN50) in liquid-tight pipe housings is mounted on the roof. A third lowering device enables the removal of the SCBA equipment stored in equipment compartment 4.
Special pumps on board
In the fire station, the vehicle is hooked up to a Rettbox®-Air, which is released automatically when it is started up
Hazardous goods pumps (diaphragm pumps) are free from the risk of contamination by the conveyed material and are, therefore, also suitable for suctioning or pumping with and around hazardous media such as sludges, alkalis, solvents or fuels.
The pumps in the GW-U are powered by a rotary air compressor installed in the vehicle, which is designed for an operating capacity of 3,000 l/min at 8 bar. The compressed air is either delivered directly from the vehicle or via a quick-action reel with a length of 60 m and a special end coupling to which three compressed air consumers can be directly connected.
Sufficient energy
The Henkel Plant Fire Department in Düsseldorf operates a number of other vehicles from the Rosenbauer Group
The compressor is driven by one of the vehicle's two power takeoffs. The second drives a built-in generator (Rosenbauer EPS XS) with an output of 8 kW, which supplies electrical tools, lighting devices and other electrical consumers required at the operation site. In the fire station, the vehicle is hooked up to a Rettbox®-Air, which is released automatically when it is started up.
This ensures that the vehicle battery is charged before leaving the station, and that the vehicle's brake system has sufficient compressed air (10 bar feed pressure) whenever an alert is given.
Henkel Plant Fire Department
In addition to the new GW-U, the Henkel Plant Fire Department in Düsseldorf operates a number of other vehicles from the Rosenbauer Group, including two universal fire engines on 6x4 chassis, an HLF 20 and an aerial rescue platform with a 42 m rescue height, to name but the most important. But the plant fire brigade doesn't only serve Henkel AG & Co.
KgaA (around 5,800 employees at the location). It is also responsible for numerous neighboring companies across the approximately 1.4 km2 factory site in the Düsseldorf district of Holthausen, which comprises almost 400 buildings and provides employment for around 10,000 people.
Around 90 employees have been individually trained for fire service operations. Two shifts are on duty 24 hours a day, with 40 firefighters each, including seven fire safety inspectors and firefighting engineers. In addition, there is an electrical workshop with ten employees, who are involved in operations on a daily basis. If major events occur either on or off the company premises, the plant fire department works closely with the professional fire brigades of Düsseldorf and the surrounding area.
Henkel in Düsseldorf
It's impossible not to notice Henkel when in Düsseldorf: anyone approaching the district of Holthausen on the motorway from the south will see the logo shining from afar. The Düsseldorf site is not only the group's headquarters, but also a large production location of the globally active group.
Detergents and cleaning agents, products for beauty care, and adhesives are manufactured at the plant, among other things. The best-known brands are Persil, Pril, Weißer Riese, Perwoll, Fewa and Dixan; Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Fa, Bac, Schauma, Taft, Gliss Kur and Diadermine; Loctite, Bonderite, Technomelt, Teroson, Pritt and Pattex. Henkel is one of the world's consumer goods industry manufacturers, with more than 52,000 employees in 78 countries around the world.