DEHN is embarking on a transformation, focusing strongly on ESG principles and aiming to set new standards for protecting humanity, the environment and companies. The family-owned company explains with its Sustainability Report how it is embracing the energy revolution and decarbonisation while encouraging customers and partners to do the same, with efficient energy management and use of renewable energy sources at the heart of the company’s strategy. As Dr Philipp Dehn, CEO of DEHN SE, says: “Sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ve been proving we have the stamina since 1910”.

DEHN is looking forward to participating in the 37th International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP) 2024. The prestigious conference in Dresden from 1 to 7 September brings together experts and specialists from all over the world to discuss the latest developments and research results in the field of lightning protection. With a total of nine technical contributions, DEHN helps to create a specialist platform where international scientific and technological experts can exchange ideas and address the challenges of the future together.

DEHN, a leading company in the field of lightning and surge protection, has further expanded its successful collaboration with the non-profit organisation AfB gGmbH, ‘Work for people with disabilities.’ This cooperation between DEHN and AfB to recycle and reuse decommissioned IT equipment was recently awarded a certificate for socio-ecological impact with IT hardware.

Over the last year, DEHN handed over 555 decommissioned IT devices such as PCs, notebooks, monitors, printers and tablets to the largest non-profit IT company in Europe, AfB. Around 48 per cent of the 660-strong workforce at AfB are disabled, some of them severely.

AfB takes care of the whole refurbishing process, from collecting the devices to classifying and remarketing them. Often the hardware is still good enough for private use, but no longer for business purposes. The high rate of reuse is impressive: more than 72 percent of the devices collected were resold. In the case of tablets, the figure was as high as 98 percent. Any defective hardware is salvaged for spare parts or recycled for its raw materials.

This partnership allows DEHN to protect the environment and conserves resources and, at the same time, back a socially committed company. To date, the cooperation has saved 119,906 kWh of energy, 452,138 litres of water and 45,405 kg of CO₂ equivalents.

For many years, DEHN has been deeply concerned with the issue of sustainability, successfully integrating a wide range of measures at all levels and in all areas of the company. The family-owned company reconciles ecological, social and economic considerations with legal requirements and societal demands. “It is our corporate obligation to take responsibility for our own actions. We want to do our bit and hand over a planet on which life is worth living to future generations.” says Dr Philipp Dehn (CEO of DEHN SE). “For us, this means: economic growth must go hand in hand with the protection of resources and people. Joining the UN Global Compact is the next step towards a consistently sustainable corporate focus." 

After a construction phase of around two years, DEHN is opening its new and ultra-modern main plant in Mühlhausen. At over 50 million euros, the building represents the largest single investment in the company's 114-year history. The capacity expansion was urgently needed to meet the rapidly increasing global demand for DEHN products. The investment decision at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic is not only a forward-looking milestone in the continuation of DEHN's success story, but also a clear and long-term commitment to the Neumarkt region.

The Supervisory Board of DEHN SE has appointed Boris Wolff (51) as the new CSO of DEHN SE with effect from 1 January 2024. Prior to this, Boris Wolff was Executive Vice President (EVP) Global Sales, Service & Marketing for SMA Solar Technology AG, one of the world's leading photovoltaic system technology specialists. In his new role, he will report to CEO Dr Philipp Dehn. Boris Wolff succeeds Helmut Pusch (53), who left the company by mutual agreement in July 2023.

Persons working on or in the vicinity of live electrical equipment are, in principle, exposed to hazards associated with electric arc faults. Arc faults are rare but can never be completely ruled out when working on electrical equipment. Reliable protection is therefore required. DEHN provides holistic solutions aimed to minimise the risk of injury and accidents for employees. DEHNcare ArcFit comprises protective clothing against the thermal effects of electric arc faults which offers both protection and comfort. It is robust and meets the required standards for work on electrical installations. The multinorm protective clothing was developed to protect the wearer against the thermal effects of an arc fault – when worn in combination with the necessary accessories – with additional advantages for the customer. DEHN offers a comprehensive collection for women as well as special sizes for men. The new DEHNcare ArcFit HLP 63 comes into its own when working on systems with higher energies. DEHNcare ArcFit is sporty, comfortable, customisable and, above all, safe.

Air-termination rods are part of an air-termination system, and thus essential elements for the external lightning protection of roof-mounted structures or buildings. Their size and dimensions depend on the building in question. The telescopic air-termination rods from DEHN are quick to install, do not take up much space when stored and are convenient to transport. The latching mechanism automatically stops the respective segment part of the air-termination rod, thus preventing it from slipping back uncontrolledly.

The earth-termination system is the basis for safe and future-proof electrical installation. All new buildings in Germany must therefore be equipped with an earthing system in accordance with the national standard DIN 18014. Photovoltaics, heat pumps or, for instance, the infrastructure for electric mobility have an impact on the planning of new buildings as well as on refurbishments and retrofits. Consequently, protection concepts must stay abreast of the times.
The DEHN earthing kit with earth rods enables simple, standard-compliant, and future-proof protection of residential buildings with a floor area of up to 120 m² while offering additional advantages.

The climate crisis and soaring energy costs are fuelling the growth of renewable energies in all sectors, commercial and private. Intelligent and sustainable generation, distribution and use of energy are key to the sustainable management of resources. From 14 - 16 June, you can find DEHN at Europe’s most important platform for the energy industry - The smarter E Europe in Munich, Hall B5, Stand 420. The immense increase in renewable energies presents us with new challenges. For example, how to provide protection against the effects of lightning or surges caused by switching operations, both now and in the future. DEHN can respond to these challenges with its protection solutions, a combination of proven and new innovative products with comprehensive services. For a continuous supply of energy - DEHN protects investments around the globe against disruptions caused by lightning currents and surges.

Even under difficult conditions. planning engineers and installers of lightning protection systems must maintain separation distances in order to prevent lightning current flashover into a building. 
Not only metal and electrical roof superstructures, but also retrofitted PV and mobile radio systems are in a highly exposed position. They must be protected from lightning strikes whilst maintaining the separation distance. The modern continuation of Benjamin Franklin style lightning protection is HVI light plus from DEHN. The high-voltage-resistant, insulated down conductor discharges lightning current from the air-termination system safely to the earth-termination system. It is system-tested and offers numerous advantages for installation and planning.

In order for rail technology to work reliably, many highly sensitive electrical and electronic systems must do so too. The continuous availability of these systems is at risk, however. Lightning strikes or electromagnetic interference fields damage or destroy conductors, control devices, modules or computer systems. Lightning currents and surges can thus quickly cause costly downtimes and disruptions. Train delays, a lot of extra hassle and extremely high costs are the consequence. Comprehensive lightning and surge protection is therefore an essential component in rendering installations and systems safer and more reliable, and thus more efficient. DEHN is presenting its comprehensive portfolio for this industry at this year's InnoTrans from 20 to 23 September in Berlin.

Irrespective of whether it’s a single- or multi-family dwelling or an old or new building, a power supply that meets the latest technical requirements and safety standards for each of these cases is important and recommended. If you are diligent during retrofitting or redesigning buildings, you will ultimately have the required reliability of supply. An essential component here is protection against surges. As the latest product of the established DEHNguard surge protection device range, DEHN – the lightning and surge protection specialist – presents the DEHNguard MP type 2 + type 3 with push-in double terminals for quicker and easier installation.

The family-owned company is strengthening its Executive Board and has appointed Florian Bohlmann as the Chief Financial Officer of DEHN SE as of 1 January 2022. The 45-year-old has been a commercial manager at DEHN since 2016.

Modern power grids consist of an increasing proportion of electronics and therefore have many components with a low dielectric strength. They are also highly interconnected. Added to this is the shift from centralised power generation to a volatile power grid supplemented by a multitude of decentralised renewable energy generators and non-linear power consumers. 

With the new arc-fault-tested DEHNcare ArcFit protective clothing and the corresponding online configurator, DEHN offers more individuality and comfort during the highly demanding task of working on electrical installations. With the new, user-friendly configurator, you are only a few clicks away from the desired protective clothing.