Aurubis gives safety vests to all preschool and primary school children in Beerse

At the start of the new school year, Aurubis is putting the spotlight on road safety with a literally “eye-catching” initiative. The multi-metal company from Beerse is giving safety vests to all preschool and primary school children in Beerse. In doing so, Aurubis joins forces with the 7 local schools to emphasize safety on the way to and from school. In total, more than 2,000 vests will be distributed.

The initiative is in line with the safety measures already in place within the company. “Safety is the way to go – at Aurubis, we agree. On the shop floor, we continuously focus on safety and safety awareness, for example through specialized workwear and training for our employees. By making all schoolchildren in Beerse highly visible in traffic, we contribute to a safe school start and strengthen our connection with local families and schools,” says Karel Docker, Sustainability Director at Aurubis Beerse.

In the run-up to the first day of school, the reflective safety vests were personally handed out by several Aurubis colleagues. Each vest features the logo of the school and of Aurubis. The teachers of Municipal Primary School De Singel, Municipal Primary School Schransdries, Municipal Primary School BAB, Primary School ’t Locomotiefje, GIBLO Municipal Special Primary Education, and the Catholic Primary School Triangel gladly accepted the safety vests with a smile. “Starting the school year safely – that’s something we’re committed to together. At our school, safety is central throughout the entire year, and we want to emphasize that right from September 1. Thanks to the safety vests from Aurubis Beerse, we literally and figuratively highlight that vision, and our pupils are extra visible in traffic,” says Inge Van Ammel, principal of Primary School Schransdries in Beerse. There was also enthusiastic feedback at Primary School BAB: “We are very proud that BABke, our school mascot, was also given a place on the safety vests. This way, our boys and girls are in good hands, and we can head out with confidence and the necessary visibility,” adds principal Annelies Nuyens.

“The new high-visibility vests literally make our students shine on their way to and from school. Safety and visibility come first, and this donation from Aurubis helps with that in a wonderful way.” Liesbeth Danneels, ’t Locomotiefje Beerse

“At GIBLO (a school for special education), we often cycle and walk around Beerse and the surrounding area—to the library, to the swimming pool, … Since our students come to school by bus, we also want them to be visible when they are waiting for the bus or getting off it. We think it’s very important to do this safely, and we teach our students this from a very young age. Thanks to the Aurubis high-visibility vests, we can provide a vest for every student and teacher, and we are extremely happy about that!” Inge Deswert, GIBLO Beerse

Two Aurubis sites in the Kempen

In Olen, home to Aurubis’ second Kempen-based site, the company is organizing the same giveaway in all local preschool and primary schools. “As an employer in these regions, we feel strongly connected to the community. Many colleagues have children attending these schools themselves. That makes an initiative like this even more meaningful,” emphasizes Hans Van de Water, Managing Director of Aurubis Olen and Aurubis Beerse. “With this project, Aurubis is addressing an important concern: ensuring children can travel to school safely and raising safety awareness from a young age. It fits perfectly with our safety vision as well as our social engagement program ‘together we care’,” concludes Van de Water.

Aurubis Beerse and Aurubis Olen are part of the Aurubis Group, a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recycling companies in the world. Caring for each other and the environment is a core value at Aurubis.

Aurubis Olen operates as a high-performance metal recycling plant within the Aurubis smelter network, processing blister, copper, and multi-metal recycling materials. The company employs more than 700 people and produces copper cathodes, copper wire rod (Rod), oxygen-free copper rod (Foxrod), and busbars and profiles (Bars & Profiles) through electrorefining. The Beerse site also operates an electrorefining division and processes complex recycling materials, ranging from highly complex residues to high-grade scrap types. From these, the company produces metals, metal products, and minerals. Aurubis Beerse employs more than 500 people.