20 years of Umicore in Hanau – conclusion of the anniversary year 2023

An eventful year lies behind Umicore employees at the Hanau site. Under the motto “Always on the move,” numerous activities and events took place in 2023 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the circular materials technology company. Umicore has achieved a great deal over the past two decades. The company has developed new sustainable technologies, supported its employees in their development, and played an important role for Hanau and the region as a donation and sponsorship partner.

“We have achieved great things as a company over the past two decades and are proud to play a leading role in the field of clean mobility and recycling. However, our success would not have been possible without the commitment of our employees and cooperation partners,” says Dr. Bernhard Fuchs, CEO of Umicore AG & Co. KG.

We move people, technologies, and the region

One of the highlights of the anniversary year was the Umicore Family Day on May 13, 2023, for all employees and their families. Around 1,900 visitors enjoyed celebrating together, taking part in exciting tours, and enjoying numerous other attractions. Many of the employees present had already been there in 2003 when the Belgian company Umicore took over the precious metals activities of the former Degussa in Hanau. The Family Day was a welcome opportunity to show families and accompanying persons what activities Umicore carries out at the site and what the workplaces look like. The tours of various production and laboratory areas were therefore particularly popular.

The portrait series “We move people” was launched to find out how employees have experienced their career at Umicore so far. These interviews show how diverse the people who work at the circular materials technology company are. Some of them have been with the company for many years, others only recently joined. They all have one thing in common: stories from their everyday working lives at Umicore that they want to share.

In 2003, the foundation stone for Umicore's history in Hanau was laid. Since then, Hanau has become Umicore's largest German site with seven business units operating worldwide from here. Hanau is also one of Umicore's main research sites, with a focus on clean technologies. Employees research, develop, and work on automotive exhaust catalysts and particulate filters, catalysts for fuel cells and green hydrogen, battery materials, metal-based materials for sustainable chemistry, and technical platinum products. In 20 years of Umicore at the Hanau site, there has been no standstill. This is also shown in the film about Umicore in Hanau, which was produced for the anniversary year.

It was also important to Umicore to show what its donation and sponsorship partners are achieving in the region through their social commitment. To this end, the vlog series #wirbewegendieregion was created, in which representatives of these Hanau institutions explained why donations are so important and how they use donated funds to help people and support the region in the long term. To allow employees, interested parties, and visitors to participate in the numerous activities, Umicore's German social media channels on Instagram and Facebook were launched on May 1, 2023.

A highlight of the celebration of the 20th anniversary with guests from politics and partner companies, as well as cooperation partners from the city of Hanau and local initiatives on September 26, 2023, was the presentation of a donation totaling €20,000 to two organizations from the region. €10,000 each went to StrassenEngel e.V., an initiative that works tirelessly to help homeless people and those affected by poverty in old age, and to the children's and youth hospice, which supports children, young people, and their families in the most difficult of times. This commitment was complemented at the end of the year by the traditional Umicore Christmas donation, which amounted to over €24,000 and benefited several charitable initiatives in Hanau.