A colourful and diverse set of tasks

The phrase “stainless-steel treatment and processing” tends to conjure up, for most people, a vision of shiny, smoothly polished items, or perhaps even the orange-red glow of molten metal. The eye-catching aspects of the process at Kuhn Special Steel involve far more than just these areas of activity however; they offer a whole set of colourful performances likely to captivate the casual observer. Dirk Breuer, the firm’s former head of shipping, improvement manager and then staff trainer, has managed to capture just such a moment on his wanderings around the site, always with camera in hand. As a colleague from the maintenance department cuts fixing brackets to size, the glowing rain of sparks from the rotating cutting disc illuminates the welding booth with an atmospheric light. Dirk Breuer’s steady, perfectly timed finger on the shutter release thus captured this fleeting and colourful moment of fascination, now immortalised with the title Anton in his Element.

The colourful variation of the tasks performed at Kuhn Special Steel reflects the diverse range of jobs carried out by the people in each of the company’s departments. The mission of the maintenance team is also likely to change from one day to the next, with a combination of routine activities such as the cutting of fixing brackets, as shown in the photo, and unforeseen demands like urgent repairs. This calls on the personal initiative of those involved and requires an ability to spot what is essential and decide how to deal with it in the most effective way.

The Kuhn calendar initiative, a creative project carried out jointly with the painter Cindy Kuhn-Chuang and employees of Kuhn Special Steel, aims to capture photographic impressions of our working environment.

Photos: lessingtiede