Fabric for emergencies
The specialist for medical textiles produces over 1.5 million first aid kits and boxes every year. These are not only used in an emergency in the event of a car accident, but also for first aid at work.
Almost everyone has the product in their car, but hardly anyone knows the company behind it: The company Hans Hepp GmbH & Co. KG in Hamburg has been producing first aid kits and bags for almost 90 years. They are mainly sold to the automotive industry, but also to the automotive accessories trade, drugstores and pharmacies. Many companies also use the first aid equipment from Hamburg in an emergency.
The bestseller is the classic first aid kit for cars in accordance with DIN 13164, of which HEPP produces over 1.5 million units per year! The family-run company also produces emergency kits especially for motorcyclists, cyclists and sailors. The secret of the Hamburg-based company’s success? ‘We deliver exactly what the customer needs at extremely short notice and with absolute reliability,’ explains Managing Partner Christian Beckmann. Because sterile products only have a shelf life of five years, the dressing material is not stored for long. And new vehicles cannot be delivered without a first aid kit: This is why HEPP delivers exactly as many sets as are needed on the delivery date of the cars.
This is possible because the company produces most of the bandage material itself. The backing material is produced on the automatic weaving machines in widths of six, eight or ten centimetres. Brief heating in the heat-setting machine makes the material elastic. Compresses are then applied to the carrier material by machine, the bandage packs are wrapped and packed in special paper. Finally, they are passed through a steam steriliser at around 130 degrees Celsius.
The plastic boxes are produced on an injection moulding machine
Even though the contents of most first aid kits are standardised, individuality is the key when it comes to packaging. Whether it’s a break-proof plastic box or a soft pocket cover, simple lettering or brightly coloured images, with a customer logo or neutral: ‘The packaging is produced in small batches exactly as the customer imagines it,’ says Beckmann during the visit to aktiv.
The Hamburg-based company also produces the first-aid boxes itself on a plastic injection moulding machine, including printing with the desired motifs. The bag covers, made of special material that is free of harmful substances and in some cases flame-retardant, are bought in.
Are the sealed seams really tight? Does the dressing pack remain sterile even in a hot summer car? ‘We have zero tolerance for errors,’ says quality inspector Tanja Hochsprung. Together with her colleague Svetlana Morasch, she carries out strict checks in the in-house laboratory.
The employees contribute to the safety of all of us
‘Our customers can therefore rest assured that the quality standards for medical products are strictly adhered to,’ says Hochsprung. If everything is in order, the first aid kits are assembled, packed and then delivered by hand by Magdalene Panusch and her colleagues.
Delays? There are none! ‘I can fully rely on my employees,’ says Beckmann. And many of the almost 40 employees have been with the company for decades. Probably also because they know: What they produce here makes an important contribution to the safety of us all. In cars, for sport and leisure – and also in many businesses.
Author: Silke Becker
Photos: aktiv/Jan Braukmeier
https://www.aktiv-online.de/news/erste-hilfe-verbandmaterial-von-hepp-aus-hamburg-faehrt-in-vielen-autos-mit-18723
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
New vehicle first-aid kit standard supplemented by medical face masks. No obligation to replace existing first aid kits
The German standardisation institute DIN has now included face masks in the new first aid kit standard DIN 13164. These are two medical face masks. The German Medical Technology Association (BVMed) provides information on this. The new standard has been in force since 1 February 2022, but first-aid kits according to the previous standard may still be purchased without restriction until 31 January 2023, as they are of equivalent quality. In addition, there is no obligation to replace or retrofit existing first aid kits, BVMed informs. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs is now promptly preparing the amendment to the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO), which regulates the obligation to carry first aid kits. An information flyer on the new motor vehicle first-aid kit standard can be downloaded at www.bvmed.de/flyer-verbandkasten (https://www.bvmed.de/download/bvmed-infoflyer-kfz-verbandkasten-din-13164).
BVMed generally considers it sensible to carry medical face masks in the car. ‘We know from experience that wearing masks lowers the inhibition threshold when providing assistance, similar to gloves. This is about the mutual protection of the accident victim and the first aider,’ says BVMed’s deputy managing director, regulatory expert Dr. Christina Ziegenberg.
The Federal Ministry of Transport had originally proposed introducing a legal obligation to carry masks. BVMed and the DIN standardisation committee NA 06 (dressing materials and containers) suggested regulating this via the first-aid kit standard. The Ministry welcomed this proposal. In recent months, the DIN standardisation committee has developed and intensively discussed an amended standard with the active involvement of BVMed’s ‘First Aid’ department. The revision of the standard took into account the suggestions of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) based on the evaluation of accidents in companies and authorities as well as the current experience of emergency physicians and the current challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The most important innovations in the new first-aid kit standard:
– Inclusion of type I face masks in accordance with DIN EN 14683: On the initiative of the legislator and at the suggestion of various associations and organisations, the DIN committee responsible for the ‘First Aid’ sector has included face masks as additional hygiene protection.
– Elimination of a triangular cloth DIN 13168 D: Based on the recommendations of the DGUV and emergency physicians, the standardisation committee has decided that in future only one triangular cloth needs to be included in the first aid kit.
– Discontinuation of the dressing cloth DIN 13152 BR: Based on the recommendations of the DGUV and emergency physicians, the standardisation committee has decided that in future only a triangular cloth must be included in the first aid kit.
The history of the first-aid kit standard:
For 50 years, German lawmakers have made it compulsory to carry a first-aid kit in motor vehicles. The corresponding regulation came into force on 1 August 1969, making it compulsory to carry standardised first aid materials. It has applied to all vehicles since 1 January 1972.
In order to ensure the best possible first aid for injured persons, the equipment in the vehicle first aid kit has been repeatedly modernised and supplemented, for example with disposable gloves and an aluminium-coated rescue blanket. Since 1 July 2000, new vehicle first-aid kits must contain an aluminium-coated rescue blanket.
Contents of the vehicle first aid kit: according to DIN 13164:2022
Note to the media:
Download eines Info-Flyers zur neuen KFZ-Verbandkasten-Norm (https://www.bvmed.de/download/bvmed-infoflyer-kfz-verbandkasten-din-13164)
Download von BVMed-Bildern zum Thema Verbandkasten (https://www.bvmed.de/de/bvmed/mediathek/bilder-medizinprodukte?t=107282)
BVMed represents over 240 manufacturers, distributors and suppliers in the medical technology industry as well as providers of medical aids and homecare providers. The medical device industry employs over 235,000 people in Germany and invests around 9 per cent of its turnover in research and development. The industry’s total turnover is over 34 billion euros, with an export ratio of 66 per cent. And 93 per cent of medtech companies are SMEs. BVMed is the voice of the German MedTech industry and, in particular, of small and medium-sized MedTech companies.
Communication/Press Department:
BVMed – Bundesverband Medizintechnologie e.V.
Reinhardtstraße 29b
D – 10117 Berlin
Tel. +49 (0)30 246 255-19 / -20
Fax +49 (0)30 246 255-99
E-Mail: info@bvmed.de
www.bvmed.de
Hans Hepp integrates people with disabilities into everyday working life.
Cooperation between HANS HEPP and the sheltered workshops Elbe-Werkstätten.
Christian Beckmann, Managing Director of Hans Hepp GmbH & Co KG, is delighted with the good partnership with the Elbe-Werkstätten: ‘As a company, we have been using the services offered by the Elbe-Werkstätten Hamburg and the workshops for the disabled run by the DRK Rostock and DRK Stade for over 20 years. Until now, the goods have always been assembled at the locations of the workshops. Now, for the first time, we are taking a new approach and integrating physically and mentally disabled people into our day-to-day work.’
According to Christian Beckmann, this new form of cooperation is a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone involved. ‘Our long-standing employees have already learnt to appreciate their new colleagues and have experienced how important it is for the self-esteem of disabled people to be needed and to do something good.’ According to Beckmann, the time factor for transporting goods from one location to another and order throughput times would also be significantly reduced. This enables the company to react even more flexibly and just-in-time to current customer requirements.
Read the full article in German here.
If you have any questions, please contact
Christian Beckmann
General manager Hans Hepp GmbH & Co.KG
Tel: 040 / 780 468 – 0
On 1 May 2014, the new obligations to carry first aid materials in motor vehicles came into force. This means that anyone carrying first aid material that complies with the DIN 13164 standard is in compliance with the law. Since 1 January 2014, there has been a new version of the standard, which adapts the contents of the first aid kit to the latest emergency medical findings. From 1 July 2014, it will also be compulsory to carry high-visibility waistcoats. The German Medical Technology Association (BVMed) points this out. More information is available at www.bvmed.de/erstehilfe.
BVMed suggests that every car driver should regularly check their first-aid kit and replenish it accordingly. A number of contents are labelled with an expiry date: Once this date has passed, the manufacturer’s guarantee for the sterility of the compresses and bandages expires. All expired products in the first aid kit should therefore be replaced with ‘fresh’ ones. As a result of the change to the standard that came into force in January 2014, it may be cheaper to purchase a new, up-to-date first aid kit than to replace all new or expired materials.
A plaster set and skin cleansing wipes were added to the new standard that came into force in January 2014. The 14-piece plaster set includes ready-to-use, pre-cut plaster strips, finger strips and fingertip bandages. The two skin cleansing wipes are individually packaged for cleansing uninjured areas of skin, which means that the new standard takes account of the public’s increased need for hygiene. A child-sized dressing pack has also been added to the mandatory list of items in the first aid kit.
The ‘Tenth Ordinance amending the Driving Licence Ordinance and other road traffic regulations’ also amends Section 35h (3) sentence 1 of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO). With regard to the obligation to carry first aid material, it states: ‘In (…) motor vehicles (…) first aid material must be carried which, in terms of type, quantity and quality, corresponds at least to the standard sheet DIN 13 164, January 1998 edition or January 2014 edition.’ The high-visibility waistcoats to be carried are specified in Section 53a (1) as follows: ‘High-visibility waistcoats must comply with the standard DIN EN 471:2003+A1:2007, March 2008 edition or the standard EN ISO 20471:2013’.
Note to the media:
The press photo illustrating this article can (or could) be downloaded from www.bvmed.de/verbandkasten2014.
BVMed – Bundesverband Medizintechnologie e.V.
Reinhardtstraße 29b
D – 10117 Berlin
Tel. +49 (0)30 246 255-19 / -20
Fax +49 (0)30 246 255-99
E-Mail: info@bvmed.de
www.bvmed.de
