The RUD Center for Chain Knowledge

Competence with Consequences

RUD opens a modern training and educational institution on the Friedensinsel

No less a person than Horst Köhler, the German President, felt it appropriate to give the RUD Group his highest praise and congratulations in person. RUD is a long-standing member of the "Swabian High-Tech Network". Under the RUD name, the "Center for Chain Knowledge" (CCK) is dedicated to sector-related chain competence. With this investment in its own first-class education and training facility, the RUD Group has set itself a remarkably far-reaching goal. RUD has created a modern, interactive forum for exchanging knowledge and experience in its fields of core competence. It will also provide cross-sector professional training services in the fields of material development and other basic innovations, as well as possible application techniques. Its focus of attention is placed not only on specialized metallurgical knowledge but also on process-oriented manufacturing know-how for industry-wide and cross-sector fields of application in wire processing and forming, welding, heat treatment and surface technology. The broad target group on which the RUD Center for Chain Knowledge would like to concentrate consists of all current and potential employees of the RUD Group, the national and international customer sectors, partners on the supplier side, external specialists and experts for theory and practice, as well as product users, and managers in external training and administrative organizations.

For some considerable time, RUD had the idea of setting up such a completely new type of institution for practicing professional knowledge management in the form of its own internally and industry-wide oriented educational and training center. Dr. Hansjörg Rieger, senior director, said that the entry of sons, Jörg, Johannes and Benjamin Rieger into the family business had now enabled the construction of a competence center for chain technology to be realized. It is now an important element in the family-based "pool of ideas".

According to RUD, all areas of the company had recognized that the range of services provided by modern "knowledge management" techniques was as important a factor as any other in the production cycle. The orchestration and integration of multi-disciplinary knowledge, extending beyond a specific sector in an interactive forum such as the CCK was a major challenge, and a key requirement in the contexts of creativity, communication, and the ability to handle conflict situations. As the world market leader in the round steel chain sector, RUD would like to meet this challenge from its technological base in Germany, especially in view of globalization and increasingly tough competition.

The creation of the "CCK" training and education institution at RUD's headquarters on the Friedensinsel in Unterkochen has produced a modern training and media center in a central location. The range of services it offers includes information and training for employees and customers, theme-oriented technical conferences, and courses. These are oriented on the target groups, for example: safe lifting of heavy loads in an industrial environment, and securing loads and traction aids in the field of transport. Finally, this educational facility also provides an "open house" for university-related, practically-oriented seminars and for an on-going, interactive exchange of information and knowledge in the field of private-public partnerships. This has already been realized within the scope of cooperation agreements with suitable, selected universities, other research and educational institutions, professional and public sector related institutions and organizations, such as chambers of commerce and professional associations. The new RUD Center for Chain Knowledge is thus a consequence of first-class technical competence and also a clear expression of RUD's long-term claim to leadership in the field of international round steel chain systems and components.