Leppe overflows its banks

Lindlar, 15.07.2021. The heavy rainfall of the past hours also had consequences for the Lindlar-based stainless steel specialist Schmidt + Clemens (S+C). Already in the early evening, the first cellars on the factory premises in Kaiserau were filled with water. At around 7:45 p.m., the river Leppe overflowed its banks in the west of the plant after debris and trees had blocked the access to the Leppe canal. As a result, the water found its way through the factory premises. Some of the water also penetrated the production halls. For safety reasons, production was shut down and the production halls were gradually disconnected from the power grid.

The district government in Cologne was also informed, but apparently no leaks could be detected, so it can be assumed that no environmentally harmful substances leaked out.

Clean-up work is currently underway at the plant. The amount of property damage cannot be estimated at this time.

Addendum to the media release of 15.07.2021, 09:00 a.m.

Lindlar, 15.07.2021, 12:00 h: After clean-up work had started at the Lindlar stainless steel plant S+C in the early morning, it is now clear that production could not restart as expected.

"Before we can restart production, machines have to be repaired or undergo a safety check", said Martin Schmidt, head of the crisis team at S+C. "As a result, although we were able to start production in some areas, it may take a few more days before we have sufficient production capacity again.

In the meantime, employees of the family-owned company have been working hand in hand to tackle the clean-up. "Our thanks go to all our colleagues who helped clean up the halls and offices in the last few hours", says Schmidt.

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