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Kamax sponsorship prizes awarded for the first time
As part of its cooperation with Clausthal University of Technology, the company has awarded prizes for outstanding theses in the fields of materials, production and manufacturing technology.
Two master's theses and one dissertation were awarded cash prizes totaling 11,000 euros. The award ceremony took place in mid-December as an online event in line with the current Covid-19 precautionary measures.
Dr. Stefan Wallmeier, Vice President Technology of the Kamax Group, congratulated the winners from the company headquarters in Homberg (Ohm) and explained: "An important part of our DNA is to always be innovative and future-oriented. This is the only way we can meet our high quality standards and be one of the best suppliers in the mobility industry. To do this, however, we also need the right and well-trained employees. We therefore see it as our duty to support and promote young people who have made a name for themselves through outstanding achievements in their training." It is particularly noteworthy that the relevance and suitability of all three award-winning projects for implementation in industrial production has been proven. Dr. Wilko Hinrichs-Stark, Plant Manager at the Kamax site in Osterode am Harz, was also one of the online congratulators.
5000 euros for the dissertation, 3000 euros each for the master's theses
The award ceremony was attended by Clausthal University of Technology President Professor Joachim Schachtner, Professor Wolfgang Maus-Friedrichs and Professor Volker Wesling from the Executive Board of the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology (CZM) and CZM Managing Director Dr. Henning Wiche. In addition to the fundamental willingness to set up a new sponsorship award in the current situation, the Clausthal representatives expressed their thanks for the amount of the prize money in particular (5000 euros for the dissertation, 3000 euros each for the master's theses). "On the other hand, it shows that we work on topics with high industrial relevance, especially at CZM," Professor Wesling continued.
Dr. Farzad Foadian's thesis, in which he developed a multi-scale simulation of the drawing process in the manufacture of tubes, was awarded the best doctorate. As a result, it is possible to predict the effects of the material, the initial conditions (residual stresses and textures) and the production parameters on the end product. Dr. Foadian completed his doctorate at the Clausthal Institute of Metallurgy and is currently a deputy professor at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
The new prize will be awarded in the winter semester
Two outstanding theses were awarded prizes in the Master's degree category: Maraike Gräbner dedicated her thesis to influencing the properties of arc-additively manufactured specimens, for example for use in forming tools. Philipp Moritz investigated how cold plasmas for surface activation can be used to increase the adhesive strength between polymer and steel, for example for cold-formable sandwich composites. The prize will be awarded in cooperation with the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology every year in the winter semester.
The Kamax Group employs around 3,350 people at 13 locations worldwide. Turnover reached a total of 774 million euros in 2019. For over 80 years, its core business has been the development and production of high-strength fasteners and complex cold-formed parts for the global automotive industry.
