Enterprise Medal Awarded to Hans-Joachim Bender

On Oct. 21, 2009, Hans-Joachim Bender was awarded the Enterprise Medal (Wirtschaftsmedaille) of the federal state. Dr. Hans Freudenberg, head of the ministry department of the Department of Trade and Industry of Baden-Württemberg, highly valued the corporate merits of the managing partner of Robert Bürkle GmbH on the headquarters in Freudenstadt.

The medal was awarded to Bender, born in Hanau, for his corporate and professional achievements. He has been managing director of Robert Bürkle GmbH since 1993, and since 1997, he has been co-partner and speaker of the company management of Robert Bürkle GmbH.

Led by Bender, the company specialized in the manufacture of press lines and fluid coating lines for the wood industry and printed circuit boards industry, and opened up the photovoltaic market as a new business sector.

With a lamination technology especially advanced for this sector, Bürkle lines can manufacture solar modules on several openings. With this development step the plant manufacturer succeeded in establishing their selves as a pioneer and leading plant manufacturer in the photovoltaic sector within two years – besides their market leadership in the wood and electronics segment.

Bender studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe in the 1960s. His first job as an economisation engineer was at Degussa (today Evonik) in Frankfurt. In the 1970s, he worked in Dossenheim and Schwäbisch-Gmünd for the chemical company. The engineer worked as a plant manager and started up, among others, several productions.

In 1976, Bender changed to the Badische Maschinenfabrik Durlach GmbH (BMD) in Karlsruhe, where he managed and expanded different sectors. In 1989, he was designated sole manager and was responsible for a turnover of €60 million and 500 staff members.

For many years, the enthusiastic skier, sailor and tennis player has been active in the company board of the VDMA association (woodworking machines) and in the association of the metal and electronics industry Südwestmetall (southwest metal). Moreover, Bender is a member of the plenary meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce of the North Black Forest (IHK Nordschwarzwald).