Trainees at RAIL.ONE and EUROPOLES win first place at the Bavarian State Competition “Youth Research”

Munich and Neumarkt, Germany, 4 April 2008 – Under the motto “VIVA CURIOSITY,” the Bavarian State government reached its decision in the rooms of the German Museum in Munich on the winners of the annual Bavarian State Competition entitled “Youth Research 2008.” The RAIL.ONE trainee Dominik Rupp and the former trainee at Europoles, Bernhard Strobl (now at wodego), won the Bavarian State Competition in the category “Our World of Work.”

The project of the two winners, with the name “Thread Master,” is a tool that assures the perfectly straight onset of cutting of male (outside) threads. In their invention, Rupp and Strobl applied guides that enclose the work piece and that can be shifted upward out of the way as required. This enables absolutely straight cutting of the threads. Their Thread Master can be used for conventionally applied threading dies, and is especially suited for points with difficult accessibility.

Under the sponsorship of the company Wacker Chemie AG in Munich, Rupp and Strobl presented their ideas and projects and won out over their competition throughout the ten Bavarian Regional Competitions. A total of 5 young women and 14 young men won prizes in the Bavarian State Competition held this year. Now, after the young winners have already been congratulated by Siegfried Schneider, Bavarian State Minister for Education and Culture, and by Dr. Fridolin Stary, Director of Central Group Research at Wacker Chemie AG, an additional ceremony in their honour will be held in the coming week: Bavarian Governor Dr. Günther Beckstein will conduct a reception for the winners and their ideas in Prince Carl Palace, on 9 April 2008.

Between 22 and 25 May 2008, the award-winners will take part in the German National Competition in Bremerhaven, and will present their research work there.

A total of 89 young researchers – including 15 young women and 74 young men – took part with 55 research projects in the 43rd Annual Bavarian State Competition for “Youth Research” in Munich. Ten trainees from the Pfleiderer subsidiary wodego, and from the affiliated companies Europoles and RAIL.ONE, submitted projects for the competition.

For further information, please consult: www.jugend-forscht-bayern.de

From left to right: Dr. Fridolin Stary (Director of Central Group Research at Wacker Chemie AG) and Dr. Monika Christl (State Competition Director for “Youth Research”) congratulate the two prize-winners Bernhard Strobl (from wodego) und Dominik Rupp (from RAIL.ONE)

About the PCM RAILONE Group

The PCM RAILONE Group has been manufacturing concrete sleepers and track systems for urban transit and long-distance rail transportation for over 60 years. The technology leader also offers its expertise in the fields of engineering and plant construction. Its customer-driven innovations fulfill the highest quality standards and are installed around the world

The PCM RAILONE Group is comprised of several companies and eleven production facilities with a presence in Germany, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Hungary, Turkey, the United States, Canada and lndia. lt maintains annual capacities of over 5 million track sleepers and 840,000 linear meters of turnout sleepers. RAILONE produces optimized products and custom solutions with over 550 employees around the world.