Socially committed

Regional and international

In times of political disenchantment, apathy and extremism, we want to take responsibility and set an example through social commitment. Together with schools, associations and community centres in the region, we support projects of various kinds in order to open up new perspectives for the next generation or simply to enable children to have wonderful experiences that they will remember with pleasure. We also support families in need who are new to our country in order to facilitate their integration and improve their quality of life.

But it is not only people who need our help, but also our planet. That's why we are committed to climate protection and rely on clean electric mobility. All in all, we want to experience our surroundings consciously and actively help shape our environment.

On the road with Lottchen on Dresden's rail network...

The children's choir of the Heidenauer Singekreis explored the capital of Saxony with the children's streetcar in October 2023. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the children's choir and thanks to the company 1st Mould, the little sparrows could enjoy the ride and learn a lot about Erich Kästner and his book "Das doppelte Lottchen" - from where the streetcar also got its name.

Winter can come!

1st Mould donates a new wooden shower to EMMERS Children's and Youth House in September 2019.

Up to America!

In 2018, the Funky ARROWS from the Pirna Cheerleading Club became German Champions and qualified for the World Team Championships in Orlando/USA in May 2019.

A dream for every cheerleader... to compete with the best teams in the world in the motherland of cheerleading.

1st Mould supported the ARROWS financially with this great project, so that the girls could start the journey with the support of many helpers. Highly motivated, they achieved an excellent 4th place - congratulations - and returned home with lots of fantastic impressions in their luggage.

Fundraising campaign: Initial reception facility for refugees in Heidenau

From August 2015 to September 2016, 1st Mould supported the association Aktion Zivilcourage e.V. Pirna in its activities with the German Red Cross to set up an initial reception facility in a former Praktiker DIY store and to coordinate the volunteer helpers.

To make the residents' stay easier, the donations were used to build a covered playground and to buy large curtains for the infirmary. A separately furnished children's room gave the little ones the opportunity to play and let them forget their worries and fears for a while. A new mobile bicycle workshop for repairing and maintaining the donated bicycles enabled the refugees to get involved in a meaningful, practical and independent way.

For the Welcome Library of the Heidenau Municipal Library, there were also books for learning and consolidating the German language, as well as non-fiction literature about the refugees' countries of origin, in order to bring the situation in the individual countries closer to the local citizens and thus to promote more understanding and tolerance. Managing Director Max Stauß saw for himself on site how the asylum seekers are accommodated and took the opportunity to find out about the current situation from the DRK staff. Thanks to the commitment of many helpers, the initial reception centre in Heidenau has developed into a showcase project in Saxony, despite negative press.

In the meantime, the refugees are living in provided flats and other accommodation, so that the object is now used by the German Red Cross as a base or camp.

»Christuskirche Community Centre« project: A house for everyone in the centre of Heidenau

If you are looking for a space for events and festivities in Heidenau, there has been another place available since September 2018 - the Christuskirche Community Centre. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the town hall and was originally a factory for photographic paper before it was converted into a church by the Christuskirche congregation in 1927. Then, about 5 years ago, the idea arose to create an open community centre with much more possibilities for use in the course of renovation and modernisation - not only for the church congregation, but also for all residents and visitors to the city of Heidenau.

From January 2016 to August 218, the entire building was a construction site. Soon the construction work should be completed. Then, in addition to a refurbished organ and new building services, the community centre will also have a modern recreational meeting place for children and young people as well as flexible seating, which 1st Mould helped to finance.

»Rock am Damm«

If you like it rocky, come to »Rock am Damm« on the Festwiese in Heidenau in the summer.

Organised by the Heidenau Musicians’ Association, the concert took place for the eighth time in 2017 with several live bands and gets bigger and better every year.

Managing director Max Stauß, a musician himself in his spare time, is happy to support the association.

NASA Moonbuggy Race: »The air is out …!«

... sounds dramatic, but in this case it means progress, because at the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2016 in America, the moonbuggies were only allowed to roll through the competition on self-designed, non-pneumatic wheels. For each of the 74 participating international teams, this meant tinkering, testing and training.

But let's take a brief look back: on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission, the first moon buggy race took place in 1994 and has been held on the grounds of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama since 1996. Similar to the way engineers developed the first Lunar Roving Vehicle for the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, today young, talented students construct their own moon vehicles in teams and try to conquer the competition course, a kind of simulated lunar landscape with hills, craters and other obstacles, with their innovative ideas. If the material is right, the set-up on site works and the two pilots have enough muscle power to drive fast, then victory is within reach.

The international teams of the ISEI (International Space Education Institute) from Leipzig under the direction of Ralf Heckel have already won first places, world championship titles so to speak, several times in the last 10 years. 1st Mould supported the Leipzig institute as early as 2013 with the development and production of a high-quality plastic part especially for the gearbox. In the same year, "our" moon buggy could be admired at the International Space Exhibition in Moscow and even made a guest appearance in the US movie "Space Kids - Adventures at Space Camp".

Since then, Managing Director Max Stauß has been in close contact with Ralf Heckel and was immediately on fire when it came to designing a wheel made of plastic for the race that could manage without air in the tyres. 1st Mould accepted the challenge and built moulds for the wheel segments for a 2-component injection moulding, a combination of polycarbonate and TPE. Time flew by and the competition date in April was just around the corner. Employee Steve did 1st Mould, also known as the "injection moulding fire brigade", all honour and brought the first urgently needed parts to Leipzig on Good Friday night. And the second optimised load, still warm from the machine, was also delivered by Christian a week later to its destination in time for departure.

Unfortunately, it was not quite enough for the winner's podium this year. But as Henry Ford said, "Failure is merely the opportunity to start again smarter." That's why ISEI and its young engineers will be back again next year to drive progress with new ideas. Until then, Ralf Heckel and this year's participants will each go on a promotional tour around the globe with a moon buggy kit - as ambassadors for the further development of space travel. Because as Apollo engineer Al Reisz, a fan of the ISEI teams and a long-time companion, said just the other day: "We need space travel and the opportunity to develop elsewhere...".

The team presented him, a pioneer of space travel, with two autographed wheel segments during a visit to Huntsville Hospital. Sadly, he embarked on his final journey in July this year. We wish him a safe flight to the stars.

Video-Support bei der E-Mobil-Rallye: »WAVE – Let’s move the world!«

The WAVE, one of the largest e-mobile rallies in the world, makes the hearts of all electric motor lovers beat faster. Because whether it's a converted classic car, an e-bike or the latest Tesla model, anyone can take part and thus promote more environmental awareness and renewable energies.  The race, organised by initiator Louis Palmer, is attracting more and more supporters every year. Representatives of well-known companies, universities and also from the private sector take part in the tour, which runs through Europe over 8 days and offers a new route with spectacular routes every year - including interesting meetings with schools, companies and public institutions.

Managing Director Max Stauß was on site this year as video support and captured the highlights with his videocopter. The highlight of 2016 was the big meeting on the Square of Nations in front of the UN building in Geneva. With a special permit, almost 70 vehicles were allowed to park on this venerable square and set an example for stopping global warming. In doing so, they pointed out that the goal of a maximum global warming of 1.5 degrees can only be achieved with the consistent promotion and introduction of electric mobility.

At the same time, the WAVE EARTH climate campaign drew attention to itself. Thousands of cards with wishes for climate protection, written by students from all over the world, were laid out on the "Place des Nations". In November, WAVE created the largest greeting card mosaic with over 40,000 climate pledges for the UN World Climate Conference in Marrakech. And in the penalty shootout with the car or in the slalom reverse, the Wave Trophy also proved once again that commitment to climate protection can also go hand in hand with an enormous fun factor, whereby, similar to environmental protection, team spirit is the best of all prerequisites.

»1st-Mould-Cup«

Created by model aircraft fan Max Stauß, this competition has been held annually on the launch field of the Modellflugclub Rossendorf e.V. since autumn 2014. Regardless of the type of plane, the participants have to collect as many points as possible within ten minutes through long uninterrupted flying and exact landing. This requires skill.

The pilots, including many young people, receive a special incentive in the form of sponsored prizes and fancy 1st mould trophies.

Aeromodelling and leisure club Zerbst e.V.

Every year, the Flugmodellsport und Freizeitclub Zerbst association organises a model flying week for children and young people in Steutz, in addition to many other events.

Max Stauß, himself an enthusiastic hobby pilot, has been supporting the club for several years.

With the help of the volunteers and a financial donation, this week always becomes an unforgettable experience.

Szilvia Szarvas: Strongest Ambassador

Probably only a few companies can claim to have a world champion in their team - we do it with pride and right. Strength athlete Szilvia Szarvas, a permanent member of the 1st Mould Crew since September 2015, won the world championship title in the bench press in May 2016 and was crowned the best woman in the world in the weight category up to 84 kg bodyweight. In the process, the team at home also kept the bench and all available fingers crossed at the public viewing in the conference room - during the live broadcast from Potchefstrom in South Africa.

A long way... not only on the map. Szilvia has been training powerlifting (bench press, squats and deadlift) at the TU Dresden university sports club at least three times a week for years, and with passion and ambition. »It’s no longer a hobby,« she says, »it’s a way of life«. Such enthusiasm is infectious. That’s why 1st Mould sponsored the flight and provided her with a representative suit including T-shirt and backpack.

Now it's time to train again - for the 2017 World Championships in Texas! Szilvia has set herself the goal of adding two and a half kilos to her personal best of 115 kilograms. We wish her success and will keep our fingers crossed again.

What a circus!

It was »Manege frei!« for the pupils of the Astrid Lindgren Primary School at the beginning of September 2016 in Heidenau. In the circus tent, with the help of Projektcircus Hein, the girls and boys from grades 1 to 4 became great magicians, graceful tightrope walkers, fearless animal tamers, acrobats, jugglers, fakirs and, of course, funny clowns who brought smiles to the faces of more than just their parents. For two hours, the audience was transported into a world of magic and witnessed how the children surpassed themselves and beamed with joy when their own performance succeeded.

Thanks to a donation from 1st Mould, all first graders were able to participate in the circus project.