Anyone who reads the term advanced ceramics knows exactly: specialists are at work here. Nevertheless, the spectrum of high-performance ceramics produced at the Hermsdorf site is enormously diverse if you look at the material specifications and the fields of application. This can be well illustrated by the example of the Hermsdorf porcelain factory. It is the oldest company on the Tridelta Campus.
Originally, the "delta bell" was invented as a ceramic insulator for high-voltage electrical lines. Today, the main product is ceramic honeycombs that function as heat exchangers and heat accumulators. While the porcelain factory helped drive the electrification of the world at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, today it is involved in solving completely different global challenges: environmental protection and the energy transition. Ceramic honeycombs from Hermsdorf clean exhaust gases in industrial processes and are integrated into the ventilation technology of low-energy houses. Then as now, ceramic materials are the basis for all products.
In addition, the porcelain factory manufactures over 1,000 other very innovative niche products made of ceramics. There are no limits to the joint development of special new applications and new materials with customers and research institutes. The innovations that have been driven forward here at the site since 1895 have been followed by a unique diversification in ceramics and applications. From the nucleus of the Hermsdorf porcelain factory, 130 companies and institutes have developed, spun off and relocated over the decades. The common basis of all companies was and is technical ceramics. High-tech aspirations, competence in finding solutions and innovative spirit are common values that unite the Hermsdorf companies despite their high degree of specialisation.
Highech location in the middle of Europe
Traditional products and existing materials can always be further developed. Building on a basic ceramic, incorporating scientific findings for modification, specifying with refined manufacturing technologies: This is the path of success at the Tridelta Campus, always opening up new areas of application for technical advanced ceramics.
One of the foundations of success is the active human resources policy for recruiting skilled and junior staff at the location. This applies to the entire spectrum of professions, both in the area of academic education and industrial vocational training. Traditionally, industrial ceramists are trained in Hermsdorf: firstly in the field of plant engineering (e.g. operation of kilns and robots), secondly in the field of process engineering (e.g. materials production) and thirdly in the field of pattern making (e.g. moulds). Other occupational profiles in demand are mechatronics technicians, mechanics and commercial clerks.
Many companies on the Tridelta Campus not only recruit already qualified engineers and materials scientists from universities, but also pursue their own in-house strategies for young academics: skilled workers trained in their own companies are delegated to study at universities of applied sciences and company academies. This demand-oriented personnel development of the companies is perfectly compatible with the individual career planning of the employees. The Tridelta Campus has a unique working atmosphere, which is characterised by the synergy of entrepreneurial spirit, personal development and team spirit.