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CIRCO workshop series for mechanical and plant engineering

The workshop series of the Effizienz-Agentur NRW (efa) provides practical support for the NRW mechanical and plant engineering industry when entering into circular business models – this offers enormous potential even in times of crisis.

By switching to circular product design and circular business models, companies have the opportunity to make their own processes and products more resilient, even in times of crisis. Through the circular economy, companies can not only improve their resource efficiency, but also reduce their dependence on volatile commodity markets. At the same time, innovative approaches such as recycling, reuse and remanufacturing can lead to long-term cost savings. These strategies help to secure competitiveness and maintain stable value creation processes – even in economically challenging times. The overarching goal of the circular economy is to maximize the value and useful life of raw materials and products.

In mechanical and plant engineering in particular, the switch to circular product design and circular business models offers enormous opportunities. Many companies in the industry have already internalized the basic principles, such as durability and high product quality, which makes the transition easier. There are also numerous opportunities for technical innovations, new business areas and interfaces to digitalization. The industry also provides important technologies for the transformation in other sectors of the economy, giving it an important enabler role.

CIRCO workshop method for developing measures

To help companies get started in the circular economy, the Effizienz-Agentur NRW (efa), an independent service provider of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment, was the first CIRCO hub in Germany to adopt the CIRCO workshop method (https://www.ressourceneffizienz.de/leistung/circo-hub) from the Netherlands.

The aim is to develop a concrete action plan for the operational implementation of a circular product design and circular business models. The workshops offer an ideal combination of specialist knowledge from efa, independent work with online tools and intensive exchange with other participants. A CIRCO workshop series comprises four workshop days with a maximum of twelve companies, each with at least two participants per company – we offer such a workshop series specifically for the mechanical and plant engineering sector in NRW.

The CIRCO workshop series will take place virtually or in the Ruhr region with four consecutive workshops from October 30 to December 4, 2025. It is aimed at specialists and managers from the fields of environment, product development and lean as well as management in mechanical and plant engineering in NRW.

CIRCO workshop series dates

The registration deadline for participation in the complete workshop series is October 23, 2025. Participation in all four workshops is recommended and desirable.

Participation in the event is free of charge.

Organizer

The event is being organized by ProduktionNRW in cooperation with the Effizienz-Agentur NRW. ProduktionNRW is the cluster for mechanical engineering and production technology in North Rhine-Westphalia and is organized by VDMA NRW. ProduktionNRW sees itself as a platform for networking, informing and marketing companies, institutions and networks with each other and along the value chain. Significant parts of the services provided by ProduktionNRW are funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.