Making companies fireproof - KFT presentation
KFT Kraus relies on the latest technology for “Fire Protection 4.0” and is energetically pushing forward digitalization in various fields.
It was founded more than 50 years ago as a small craft business on Herdweg in Echterdingen: KFT Kraus Feuerschutztechnik. A family business that took care of fire protection in the surrounding companies. Today the company, which got a new owner in Marc Hornickel in 2013 and moved to Echterdinger Friedrich-List-Straße, has become a forge of modern and digital fire protection. Hornickel likes to talk about “Fire Protection 4.0” and relies on targeted digitalization and state-of-the-art technology. Hornickel is what you could call a dynamic entrepreneur. Constantly active, proud of his company, hands-on, full of ideas and plans. Someone who is not prematurely satisfied with what has been achieved. When he talks about it, your head quickly starts to spin with all the new offers and tasks, with changes and start-ups. So let's take it one at a time: First of all, KFT Kraus makes companies fireproof. The company designs, supplies, installs, controls and maintains everything for fire protection: smoke alarms, fire barriers, fire alarm systems that automatically open escape doors in an emergency, smoke exhaust systems, hydrants and much more. The spectrum ranges from fire extinguishers in the basement to complete fire protection concepts for companies or sprinkler systems in large properties.
When it comes to large companies, fire protection becomes a significant budget item. In a shopping center like the Gerber in Stuttgart, around 500 fire extinguishers have to be provided, while elsewhere more than a hundred fire doors have to be installed and maintained. In order not to lose track here, KFT works with the latest technology and also makes it available to its customers. For example, the current status of all fire protection-relevant elements can be mapped and monitored down to the smallest detail via online access. The company's fire protection officers are always informed about what needs to be fixed, where and how quickly. Or: KFT can update its digital escape and rescue plan, which even shows employees the correct escape route outside via video preview, via “remote maintenance” and adapt it to the current circumstances - and is increasingly relying on drones. The drone detects the condition or serial numbers of fire protection systems in just a few minutes, saving the customer time and money – fire protection 4.0. Hornickel led his company into the digital future long before the times of Corona and home offices. The laptop has long been a natural and indispensable “tool” for KFT employees. Digitalization enables the company to handle the volume of orders efficiently with around 25 employees and to cover everything needed for fire protection - from system planning and installation to maintenance and advice. If Hornickel has his way, there could well be a few more employees, “but the job market simply isn’t there anymore.”
The work of fire protection experts has not become easier in recent years: New, stricter regulations are constantly being introduced, and the demands placed on companies and fire protection are constantly growing. It is often necessary to act as an intermediary and, in dialogue with the authorities, to seek regulations that do not overwhelm a company - including financially. For example, when it is initially stipulated that the water supply for the sprinkler system must last for at least an hour, even though the fire department is “around the corner” and will be on site in a few minutes. A smaller water storage tank will also do the trick. Fire protection has a lot to do with learning and further training: it is important to train fire protection officers and helpers, to give the legally required safety instructions, and to regularly instruct and train employees. And of course the question quickly arises as to why the topic of training and further education should be limited to fire protection and not also offered for other industries and topics. This is how “Bildungsgrad” was created, which has its training rooms in the nearby Stadionstrasse and offers the optimal setting for seminars or team building measures. But e-learning units are also being produced more and more frequently and can then be accessed by any employee at any time, in any place and as often as desired. This makes training and further education flexible, eliminating the need for entire seminar days with travel and overnight stays. Hybrid events are also possible in the “level of education” in which half of the participants receive further training on site, while the other half join in from their home office. “Membarium”, an e-learning platform that provides digital learning modules for all areas and industries, was also added not long ago. For example, to put it more concretely, a kind of electronic campus was created that provides doctors in the country with videos and extensive illustrative material for further training and specialization. Exams can also be taken on campus, and the results go directly to the State Medical Association. A new learning world, the medical profession goes digital. Since someone like Marc Hornickel always has new ideas, a fourth company was recently founded - for fire protection, educational levels and membarium: KFT Security Technology GmbH, based in Heidelberg. Security and burglary systems are their topic. A four-leaf clover. The modest craft business has finally become a successful, future-proof company.