He came to the kraftwerk to help. “After all, I am the only one here who really knows how to charge!”, the electronic engineer says, and laughs heartily. Well, that is not quite true, but as a person who is responsible for charge columns and who previously worked for Daimler; he is undisputedly the perfect tutor for Meshcrafts.
But let’s begin at the beginning. Klaus Haase-Kolb studied Electrical Engineering at the faculty for energy management. That was in Hamburg. But then, he never really wanted to do it. “I was always afraid to plan things that don’t work.” He laughs again. Finally, he ended up in automation. He programmed, travelled a lot on business, supervised the developing of a line at the automobile manufacturer Ford in Spain, he returned to Germany and worked mainly in maintenance in the Mercedes Benz Plant Bremen. “‘End of the line’ – a good job”, he says. Since 2009, he has been project engineer in the area of medium voltage at the swb. Working at the utility company, he has had many insights, he knows his way about the reconstruction of pumping stations, and he knows heat plants and the maintenance of photovoltaic plants. Plus, he is responsible for charge columns, as we already noted. “It was me who placed the columns here, now counting twenty-five, and I am always looking for new locations.” To be able to mark a suitable site, he always carries a spray can and a paint brush in his backpack. You just have to believe him. The lively inhabitant of Bremen still finds time to teach switching authorisation trainings. “This is where I can share some of my stories and enthuse people”, he says and smiles happily. You almost want to attend one of these trainings, although you can hardly spell switching authorisation, but listening to him you are sure that it would be great fun!
Alas, he says, there is nothing he can teach to the Meshcrafts team. “They are no beginners any more. They know exactly what they are doing.” All right – so what is his value for the start-up? “Well, what they have to do, first and foremost, is establishing contacts”, Klaus says. This is where he can be of help. Daimler cars, swb power – “kraftwerk, to them, means the opportunity to win cool partners so they can approach huge projects. Also, they can get a picture of the greater context.” Åsmund has gathered wonderful people to help Meshcrafts break into the German market. It is very clear that Klaus is convinced of their success. He sees the future in the Norwegians’ kind of technologies. “It is exciting to be a part of this.”
