Chief Executive Officer, Dürr
"Energie zum Frühstück - Der Wake-up-Webcast" Folge 1 mit Dr. Jochen Weyrauch
Folge 1 mit Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Dürr AG.
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Der Webcast
Was können Unternehmen für mehr Energieeffizienz tun? Welche Anreize und Rahmenbedingungen sollte die Politik setzen? Was braucht es, um den Green Deal langfristig erfolgreich umzusetzen? Professor Alexander Sauer trifft Nachdenker und Vordenker, Anwender und Umsetzer, diskutiert anschaulich mit seinen Gästen über die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten, die heute und zukünftig möglich sind bzw. sein werden. Der Webcast i...
About Jochen Weyrauch
Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr AG, spoke at the #ERF2025 conference in Stuttgart on March 26, 2025. He discussed the company's upcoming groundbreaking ceremony for a new automotive paint shop in Silverfing, which he described as "the world most modern paint shop in the automotive industry with more than 100 robots." Weyrauch also highlighted Dürr's expansion into software, stating the company employs over 1,000 software engineers and generates roughly 100 million euros in turnover from software. He noted that Dürr is seeking talent in "electrics, electronics, software" in addition to traditional mechanical skills. In a January 2022 webcast, Weyrauch stated that Dürr commits to the 1.5-degree Celsius climate goal and aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70 percent by 2030. He also called for "a clear policy, and also coordinated at the European level, on how we deal with renewables," including "clear criteria, financial incentives for truly sustainable investments."
Transcript (29 segments)
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Host0:11
Good morning everyone. I welcome you all to the network for this event. The event is called 'Energy for Breakfast' – a new webcast we have designed for this year, starting exactly today. It's a new format in which we want to talk with different people responsible for industrial energy issues. We do this every second Tuesday of the month, so it's easy to remember. If you like it and are interested, feel free to mark it. The question is, what are we talking about in our morning conversations? It's about what companies do to increase their energy efficiency, what they can do to successfully shape the Green Deal in the long term, and what framework conditions policy could or should set to advance the whole topic. This webcast is a production of the Institute for Energy Efficiency in Production and of [Fraunhofer?] and [EEP?]. If you like, you can follow us under the hashtag #EnergyForBreakfast or via the EEP channel or the websites. During our short breakfast conversation, which will last a maximum of half an hour, you can also ask questions via the chat function, which we will gladly incorporate. We have developed a connecting element for our virtual breakfast – a small cup. It is meant not only to connect our two virtual conversation partners, but also to remind everyone every morning to do something to increase energy efficiency and reduce our CO₂ footprint. Today I am especially pleased to introduce the first guest with whom I will talk. Our first conversation partner is Dr. – since November of this year he is the CEO of Dürr AG. I also want to wish him a good new year and a good start in the year and in his new role, and I am glad he is taking the time despite many new topics he is now responsible for. Good morning, Dr. [Weyrauch].
Let's start warm. How did you get to work today? Or how do you think you will get to work today? Which means of transport?
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Jochen Weyrauch3:24
I am relatively confident that I come CO₂ neutral. I am currently at home because later I have a visit to an automotive customer nearby. I'm lucky to have a vehicle from a Californian manufacturer for customers. A good customer.
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Host3:50
Okay, super. That's already very good. That's the first step taken. Now it gets a bit more serious. You know our university institute. You also know our Energy Efficiency Index of German industry, with which we try to get a feel for the German economy's sentiment on the topic. The question is, of course, yes. And we look at the results with great interest. What was exciting for us recently was to see that so many companies now set very ambitious goals. So for us that's an interesting thing. I hope you also participate, because it's a participation index. If you don't deal with the internet... I hope you can still hear or see me. I see nothing anymore. Never mind. So if you don't deal with the internet, how many minutes per day do you personally spend on the topic of energy efficiency or the environmental impact of your company?
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Jochen Weyrauch5:05
Relatively a lot, because then we talk about securing, distributing, the three missions at our company, the things we do, especially in our automotive and wood industries businesses. With the customers I just have in mind, it actually takes a lot of time. Most of the time now goes into the topic of sustainability, energy efficiency, especially the big topic of electromobility and how we build complete paint shops, factories. So short question, long answer: it is currently the predominant theme.
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Host6:06
Okay, we've been speaking a bit abstractly. Maybe you can briefly describe what your company actually does and what its relation to energy and energy efficiency is, what measures you develop yourselves. You announced on December 12, 2021, at the Resource Efficiency Congress of the state of Baden-Württemberg that you would join the Climate Alliance of Baden-Württemberg. That was also interesting. What implications does that have for your daily work in the company?
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Jochen Weyrauch6:47
First of all, at the company – we are a global machine and plant builder. Today we are active mainly in two industrial sectors: one is the automotive industry, which I already touched on, and the other is the woodworking industry. And in both, the topics of energy efficiency and sustainability are big themes. In automotive, as I said, we supply paint shops for vehicles. Every third car produced worldwide goes through a paint shop from us. And the painting process in particular is very resource-intensive today. So anything we can do has direct effects on the companies, especially ours. In woodworking, under the Homag brand, the topic of sustainability is very strong right now with the trend toward solid wood. So when you look at us, we are not so different from other plant builders. The music plays in the scope 3 emissions, which account for over 90%.
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Host8:32
May I ask a bit provocatively? If you say the music plays in scope 3 emissions, does that mean you worry less about scope 1 and 2 and maybe neglect them?
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Jochen Weyrauch8:48
Of course not. Let me elaborate; my answer was not complete. You also asked about Baden-Württemberg. We clearly commit – we announced it in our strategy two months ago – that we commit to the Paris goals with everything that entails. Concretely, we will reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% by 2030, and for scope 3 we have set a somewhat clear target of 15%. But that is simply because how our customers act. The focus on scope 1 and 2 is very large, the potential for us is also large, but the absolute number relative to our total footprint is relatively small.
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Host9:48
Let's stay briefly with Baden-Württemberg. You have a large site in Baden-Württemberg. If you want to reduce 70% by 2030, that's also a question of the availability of CO₂-free electricity. Where do you get it?
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Jochen Weyrauch10:10
Well, first of all, we buy green electricity as far as we know. But we are increasingly going into our own energy generation. At our sites – Bietigheim and Horb am Neckar in the Black Forest – we are investing heavily in photovoltaics. It pays off to have our own energy generation. What we also increasingly do is use our own technology to convert waste heat from production back into electricity. These are things we are doing within our possibilities. But the big topic – which you probably want to address – is the sufficient availability of green electricity going forward.
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Host11:05
I'd like to ask again about the technology, because of course it's special for you that you deal intensively with this technology yourself. Does it have to be already economically viable for you, or do you go a step further and say, we want to use our own technology even where it might not yet be economical, just to see what is basically possible with the technology? Or are you relatively strict internally?
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Jochen Weyrauch11:41
No, of course there is always a business case logic for setting up a system. But I was surprised myself: just a few weeks ago I had an investment proposal on my table for an own system with a payback of about five years. I think that is quite justifiable. What we are trying with customers – and it is succeeding – is to move away from payback discussions and toward a basis of what it costs to save one tonne of CO₂. Then we discuss where we can get the best and fastest results. And we do that internally too. Surprisingly, a payback of five years is not a deal-breaker, and the internal rate of return is somewhat acceptable. So five years is a different number than what we used to hear for the topic of energy efficiency.
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Host12:53
How are you currently dealing with the comparatively high electricity prices? The issue is that high electricity prices are actually good conditions for every efficiency investment. But are you cautious that electricity prices remain high?
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Jochen Weyrauch13:23
How should I put it? It is a problem in the location comparison: prices at home in comparison to industry with a hedge fund depth – here at our sites in Germany it is a risk problem in competition. What I think will become more important – and we may come back to this – is a city's policy to ensure the availability of green electricity. More important than whether the price is four cents more or less.
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Host14:09
Okay, I'd like to move to a concrete point. What would be a specific highlight or lowlight on the topic of energy efficiency and climate neutrality that you have experienced in your company recently? The time span is up to you, but I'm looking for something striking where something went very well and where you really struggled.
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Jochen Weyrauch14:42
Well, I'd like to stick with the highlights. One highlight for us is definitely the quantum leap: we are about to revolutionize the painting process. I mentioned earlier that the painting process in automotive production is very resource- and energy-intensive. We are revolutionizing it now by moving away from classic spray application. We are starting with two-tone painting using what is called digital printing, also known as direct coating. It saves 70% energy, saves elaborate masking, and even eliminates it. And that is a technology we have developed over ten years, and now customers are increasingly interested. If you want a concrete example, type 'BMW M4 paint shop' into YouTube and you'll see what is now possible. That is a clear highlight. A lowlight doesn't come to mind right now because we work on many things and not much has gone wrong.
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Host16:20
Yes, but what was particularly difficult? For example, if you want to save energy at your own site, was there something that took longer or was more difficult?
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Jochen Weyrauch16:35
Well, I could dive a bit deeper. For example, at our standard sites we often run into the limitations of our own power grid when installing photovoltaics, and then we have to rewire everything, which makes it more expensive than planned. But nothing really critical for us.
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Host17:12
Okay, let's move to the political level. If you had a magic wand and could say one spell for your industry – for production and industry to become CO₂ neutral – what would be the most important framework conditions? And what do you expect from our Minister of Economics and Climate Protection, Habeck, when he announces his strategy today? What will come out of it and what impact will it have for industry?
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Jochen Weyrauch17:56
That's a fascinating topic. We want to dig deeper into politics. What we are seeing now is the difference between various external positions that can be easily acquired and the reality when you actually sit down. And I have to say, I am not curious; it is the litmus test with the newly created super-ministry under Mr. Habeck. However, I don't expect anything revolutionary that will knock us off our chairs. We will perhaps bring wind turbines closer together and advance grid expansion. What I would wish for is a clear, coordinated policy at the European level – clear criteria for how we deal with renewables, financial incentives for truly sustainable investments. The big shock a few days ago that nuclear energy and also gas are now being seen as sustainable – that was a technical decision, not surprising. And one could have a long discussion about nuclear energy. I wonder how big the excitement is in Germany – we brought it on ourselves, we painted ourselves into a corner, and now we have to face it. So long story short: clear criteria, a clear agreement that one can rely on, to then be able to act at the business level.
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Host20:15
Okay, great. I'm also watching the clock – we've already done 20 minutes. I'd like to move on to the tips and tricks section for companies that want to get involved in energy efficiency and CO₂ neutrality. Do you have a tip for companies that have been at it for a while – something that could also give them a boost if they've already done a lot? And what would you say to companies that haven't really started yet?
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Jochen Weyrauch20:57
For those who have already come a long way, they can first be proud of what they have achieved. My recommendation – since we all live in a connected world – is to report on it, share with other companies what has been achieved, and simply continue. We have declared our ambition of what we want to achieve in the next eight years, and we start with measures that naturally have a big effect first, and later we move on to more fine-grained measures. So just keep going. For companies that maybe aren't that far yet, don't overextend yourselves: set two or three quick-win projects at the beginning that you can achieve and celebrate. Because in the end, it's also a change project. The employees are already very different, but there are also some who need to be taken along. Communicate clearly and understandably, and you'll achieve a mindset change in the company. I think that's very, very important.
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Host22:33
Okay, super. So: get started, don't take on too much, and celebrate successes. Stick with it. Great. I should maybe mention that this is our man in the technology who is watching the chat. My screen is black – I don't see anything – but I'm glad you can hear me. Are there questions in the chat that we can briefly address in the last few minutes?
Because technology always surprises me. I have the feeling that Mr. Beckmann not only has a black screen but perhaps no audio anymore. So I'm standing here speaking, but hopefully you can hear me. So there are two interesting questions. The first question: what value in euros does the Dürr company achieve for saving one ton of CO₂? And the second question: what role does sustainability play in acquisitions, given the group is steadily growing?
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Jochen Weyrauch24:06
I can maybe answer them. For the first question, I have to submit the answer later – I simply don't know it off the top of my head. The second question I can answer: sustainability plays a very large role. Besides many functions, I am also responsible for this entire topic. Before acquiring a company, first we look for the industry we want to acquire in. For example, at the beginning of the year we bought a company called Team Kräft, which is very active in the real estate sector – that alone shows their product program goes in the direction of sustainability. Second, we look very closely at the footprint of the companies we plan to acquire and the ones we are evaluating. So it's a huge topic this year, because in the end everything has to fit our already known strategies.
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Host25:40
Very interesting – both on the product side and on the production side with acquisitions. That means if you want to achieve a good selling price when selling a company, you have to bring a good sustainability strategy. So it's hard to find a new home in your group without it. I think the management consultancy [situation] – it's clear to us, I bring exactly the topic of what is planned with taxonomy. I am a bit critical about that – that will be its own topic. But the idea is that companies that work sustainably are ultimately worth more than comparable companies that don't. And that applies of course also for the small companies we take in.
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Jochen Weyrauch26:13
Yes, that's true. I also remember that. But perhaps we should schedule a second appointment to discuss more – the euro value and also the fact that you as a group are already active in financing with green bonds and similar instruments, and want to use these comparatively new financial instruments in the future. But we won't manage to discuss that in the last two minutes.
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Host26:44
So I would like to thank you very much for the conversation, for your willingness to be available early in the morning for a brief public conversation, and to conclude. I wish you much success, a good start in your new role, into the week, into the year, and thank you very much for the conversation. I would also like to mention that we have recorded this conversation and will make it available online in a few days via the EEP and other channels, so you can listen again if you missed anything. And remember, if you liked it, in one month – on the second Tuesday in February – it's on again with 'Energy for Breakfast' and a new exciting conversation partner. For now, many thanks to everyone for being here, especially to you for being part of it. Have a nice day. All the best.