For Increased Safety in Gas Supply Systems

TU Chemnitz graduate Tilo Beyer headed overseas projects for years in the field of chemical plant construction and recently took over the EVD GaswarnAnlagen GmbH

Gas is indispensable not only as a source of energy for industry, but it also continues to be one of the most popular fuels in private households. According to the German Association of En-ergy and Water Industries, in Germany alone, natural gas sales reached 818 billion kilowatt hours last year. Although accidents caused by gas explosions are relatively rare, proper maintenance and continuous monitoring of gas supply systems is essential. TUC graduate Tilo Beyer took over the management of the EVD GaswarnAnlagen GmbH in 2014 and since that time has overseen many companies in Central and Eastern Germany- with a particular focus on Saxony. With the help of complex systems, the air is tested for certain gases. The GaswarnAn-lagen reports especially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, carbon- and nitrogen dioxide or ammonia.

The EVD Company supervises many properties, including numerous research institutes such as the Max-Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Tech-nology IWU as well as several parking garages in Chemnitz, and also the Technische Universi-tät Chemnitz. “As a former student of the TU Chemnitz, I am glad I haven’t lost contact with the university even after decades of working professionally“, says the 41-year-old. From 1992 until 2002, Beyer studied Business Administration and subsequently Electrical Engineering at the TU Chemnitz. He wrote his thesis at the Robert Bosch GmbH in Reutlingen in the field of Microsystems Technology, thereby laying the foundation for his later work. While still a stu-dent, he built international relations and learned basic knowledge of the Arabic language as part of a six-month internship in Saudi Arabia. This benefitted him after graduation during his supervision of the first projects of a plant manufacturer from Kassel, Wintershall Holding GmbH, in Libya. Beyer worked almost ten years on numerous international projects for the expansion of oil and gas processing facilities and the construction of pipelines and power plants for the power supply of industrial equipment on site.

“When the civil war broke out in Libya in early 2011, I returned to Chemnitz and searched for new challenges. I wanted to continue to develop myself and applied for a position at the tech-nology group Linde Engineering in Dresden. Shortly thereafter, I was hired as a project man-ager and led the construction of chemical plants in South Africa and Saudi Arabia“, said the Burgstadt native. At the same time, the idea of self-employment was growing, which he al-ready carried with him since graduation. “At some point I had enough of traveling and I be-gan to want more consistency“, remembers Beyer and adds: “I wanted more freedom in my decisions and because of my years of experience in chemical plant construction, I was ready to take the next step.“

Via the Germany-wide corporate succession exchange “Nexxt Change”, the Dresden Chamber of Industry and Commerce, as well as the entrepreneur and corporate succession network “Ex-ist” of the TU Dresden, Beyer came into contact with the EVD GaswarnAnlagen GmbH in 2013. As Manfred Grießing, who founded the company in 1990, searched for a successor for his business due to his age, Beyer decided then and there to buy the company. “I had enough seed capital and saw a welcome challenge in the takeover of the EVD. My goal for 2015 is to finish off the acquisition, and to continue satisfactory customer and supplier relationships“, Beyer explains. He has no long-term plans for the future yet. Would he do something else, if he had another chance? “I regret nothing so far. If you want to achieve something, you just have to take certain risks.“

(Author: Katharina Preuß, Translation: Nataliia Boiko and Sarah Wilson)

Katharina Thehos
17.08.2015

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