REHAU manufactures many different products. From garden hoses to bumpers to window profiles. "This is naturally reflected in our work," says Uwe Schneider, who heads the central laboratory at REHAU in Rehau. His team consists of 17 employees, two of whom are trainees. Each employee focuses on one main area. How resilient is a material? What chemical compounds does it contain? How well does a surface withstand the weather? When does a coating scratch? The team around Uwe clarifies such questions – and thus contributes significantly to the development, optimization and quality of REHAU products. The laboratory technicians use around 500 methods for this purpose. One of them is classical microscopy. Under the microscope, the experts examine, for example, cases of damage, such as cracks and fractures. Chemical analysis is also often used to examine materials in great detail and determine their composition.

Glasses clatter, liquids steam - gowns, gloves, safety goggles. That's how you imagine working in a laboratory. And quite often that's true. "But what many people don't know: Lab work is also a lot of office work," says Uwe. Documenting, reading technical literature, writing test reports. That's part of it, too. "The best thing about the lab job is how varied it is." In the lab, as in many workplaces, a lot has changed over the years in the wake of modernization and digitization. But there are still a few things that have always accompanied the employees there: the white coat and the glass flasks, for example.