The Freudenberg Sealing Technologies plant in Reichelsheim (Germany) is surrounded by the hills of the Odenwald. If you want to commute to work on a bicycle here, you had better press down hard on the pedals. Or climb aboard an e-bike.
Employees have been able to park their bicycles safely in a fenced-in area that is protected from bad weather for a while. More recently, they have also been able to charge their electric-bike batteries during their working hours, giving them enough power to commute back home after work.
On behalf of the site’s management, Thomas Eisenhauer, Manager, Electric Service, has put a charging cabinet with nine stations into operation there. Metal shop employees and other staff have helped out by building a base for the cabinet and an aluminum shield to protect it from spraying water.
Each charging station is in its own locker into which the bicycle battery and a charging device are placed, and connected to a conventional Schuko socket equipped with a protective cover. The compartments can be secured with a padlock. Incidentally, four parking spots right next to the “bicycle filling station” are reserved for charging electric cars. Two E-Load charging poles have been providing electricity for sustainable commuting for several years.
Weather permitting, Eisenhauer rides his bike to work as well – in the conventional way, without help from an electric motor. Muscle power has already carried him across the Alps on a bicycle, so the hills around Reichelsheim won’t be scaring him off.
