Special visit to Magirus in Ulm: The new President of the German Firefighters Association (DFV), Karl-Heinz Banse, and the Deputy Federal Managing Director, Rudolf Römer, visited the site in the Danube Valley on September 7 and met with the new CEO of Magirus, Thomas Hilse, for their first exchange of ideas.
They discussed the significantly increased needs and requirements of fire departments and the resulting new progress in firefighting technologies. Thomas Hilse, who took over as CEO at Magirus on August 1, 2021, was pleased with the meetings and emphasised the importance of the DFV: “The German Firefighters Association gives us essential impulses about the development of practical specifications in firefighting. Only those with a thorough understanding of the growing challenges in firefighting and rescue operations can provide technological relief and maximum support to the emergency services.”
During the talks, it became clear how fire departments face growing problems due to global changes. The increasing complications in disaster management were discussed intensively, using the current flood disaster as an example, as well as drastically escalating difficulties in fighting forest fires. In the future, emergency responders can only handle these massive tasks effectively aided by innovative, digitally networked technologies and more robot-assisted technologies. In this context, Thomas Hilse presented Magirus’s new, innovative product generation “Next Generation Firefighting”, which sets new standards in firefighting and rescue operations.
At the core of these new, digitally networked product developments are the new turntable ladder with SmartControl, Magirus FleetConnect, which ensures permanent vehicle readiness, and Magirus’s TacticNet for tactical mission support, especially during complex firefighting operations. These digitally networked product innovations give operational commanders an optimal overview of dynamic situations and complex deployment sites in real time. This enables maximum transparency and allows fast, targeted decisions.
Karl-Heinz Banse and Rudolf Römer thus gained initial insights into how the new Magirus product developments will continue to provide the best possible support to emergency forces in the future via digital networking, robot-supported technologies, and increasingly, new drive technologies.
