Harder & Steenbeck

About Us

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Who we are - Harder & Steenbeck +

Mission statement

 

Environmental protection


We consider it important to make a contribution to the protection of our environment and the climate. Therefore we use exclusively high-quality European raw materials (brass, nickel silver, stainless steel and aluminum).

We recycle the surplus materials, created during the manufacturing processes of our airbrushes. Brass rods are primarily used for the production of bodies and paint cups. Chips and swarfs, created during the manufacturing process (e.g. turning, drilling and milling), are recycled, melted and used in fabrication of new brass rods.

The oil and grinding water, as a result of production, are recycled in an environmentally conscious manner. We ensure that water mixtures, which can no longer be used, including the water-miscible and water-immiscible coolants, are separated from each other and collected in containers suitable for this purpose. These are then disposed by the company authorized to recycle the materials, according to the compliance with the “Waste Recycling and Management” law.

We additionally ensure that all our printed material is produced in German companies, which print in a carbon-neutral manner. The CO2 amounts discharged during printing processes, are kept as low as possible. Unavoidable emissions are compensated by support and backing up of recognized climate projects and initiatives. We support established environmental protection projects and use recyclable paper to protect our forests. We also use certified paper types (e.g. FCS or PEFC) from sustainable forest managements and paper types manufactured in a carbon-neutral manner.

We refrains from using electric power generated by coal-fired and atomic power stations for our production. Instead, we exclusively procure green electricity from Northern Germany, generated from natural sustainable sources (e.g. energy gained from solar, hydro and wind power stations in the surrounding region).

 

Information on electrical and electronic equipment

The following information is aimed at end users of electrical and / or electronic equipment. Please observe these important information in the interests of environmentally friendly disposal of old devices and for your own safety.

Notes on the disposal of Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) and the meaning of the symbol in Annex IX  (Appendix 3)  of the EU Guideline 2012/19/EU (German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act  (“ElektroG”)

Electrical and electronic equipment must not be disposed together with residual waste. Owners of old devices must separate them from unsorted municipal waste for disposal. Tthese retired devices must be collected separately and disposed of via the local collection and return systems.

Owners of retired devices also have to separate old batteries and accumulators that are not build into the retired device before handing them in at a collection point.

Using the symbol according to Annex IX of EU Guideline 2012/19/EU, owners can identify devices that must be seperated from municipal waste. The symbol for the separate collection of electrical and electronic equipment represents a crossed-out wheeled bin as shown below:

Symbol for the separate collection of electrical and electronic devices

Notes on the options for returning old devices:

Owners of old devices can hand them in within the scope of the return or collection of old devices set up and available by public waste disposal authorities, so that proper recycling is ensured. You can obtain more detailed information on this from the respective collection or return point.

You can use the following link to view an online directory of the collection and return points for Germany: https://www.ear-system.de/ear-verzeichnis/sammel-und-ruecknahmestellen

For information in other countries please refer to your municipal waste disposal authority.

On the information platform of the European Environment Agency https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/ you can find information about the EU-wide Electrical and Electronic Equipment guidelines governing the EU. The website offers all stakeholders (manufacturers, distributors, citizens and waste disposal companies) a quick overview of the requirements, obligations and national collection points for the collections of electrical and electronic equipment.

Note on our WEEE registration number

We are  registered at the Stiftung Elektro-Altgeraete Register, Nordostpark 72, 90411 Nuremberg, Germany as a manufacturer of electrical and / or electronic devices under the following registration number (WEEE Reg.-No. DE): DE 50502653



Employee philosophy 


Hand in hand teamwork and social equality are very important to us. For that reason we currently employ 28 full-time employees, including two individuals with severe handicaps. Our working premises, including all operational plant, machinery and equipment, are designed to facilitate the handicapped workers, so none of the staff members feels at disadvantage during work.


Trade association 


We strive to maintain and promote the art of airbrushing, to set quality standards and bring representatives from different sectors and countries together. For this reason we are a founding member of the Airbrush-Fachverband e.V. (Airbrush Association), which is the central contact point of inquiries from industry, retailers, artists, users, journalists and further interested parties.