In June 2021, the Messer Award was presented in Spain for the ninth time. It was given to chemical engineering and food biotechnology students at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona (URV). The chemical engineering students who received the award submitted plans for an acetone production plant including sustainability study.the students studying food biotechnology designed a production facility for kefir-based ice cream.

Messer presented an award to the students who completed their Master in Business Administration and Management (MBA) at Rovira i Virgili University with the best academic performance of 2021. Presented for the ninth time, the individual award went to Xavier Carbonell Maté, Regional Mechanical Engineering Manager EU at Lear Corporation. The best project team was also recognized.

Messer in Spain awarded a grant for clinical research in radiosurgery to Dr. Silvia Tuna, radiation oncology specialist. It enables her to participate in a clinical research project in the field of cerebral and extracerebral radiosurgery in the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy at the Vithas Consuelo Hospital in Valencia. Messer has been working together with the Vithas Foundation for 12 years. Vithas is one of the largest private hospitals in Spain.

For the Messer Brazil team’s year-end charitable effort, employees donated around 300 new or semi-new toys to local non-government organizations (NGO) and other institutions. In addition, through a Solidarity Raffle, employees voluntarily donated cash to be split among four NGOs.

Employees at the offices, plants and branches of Messer in Canada support the Breakfast Club of Canada as its national charity. Messer colleagues participate in several internal campaigns throughout the year, raising funds that enable students to gain access to nutritious foods. The team donated close to $25,000 to the Breakfast Club of Canada in 2021.

Messer in Colombia donated laptops to six healthcare workers from its own organization, whose families previously had no computers of their own. The devices were provided to children who received online classroom instruction due to the pandemic.

Employees from Messer Colombia participated in the “Reading to our Patients” program at REMEO healthcare facilities. The program which encourages spending time with patients by reading to them provided much needed companionship. Employees also donated clothes to support women who are victims of violence and provided clothes and toys for their children through the Fundevida Foundation.

Two powerful earthquakes shook central Croatia at the end of December 2020. The quakes destroyed the small towns of Sisak, Petrinja and Glina. In Zaprešić alone, more than 100 families were forced to leave their inhabitable homes. To provide rapid support to the victims of the natural catastrophe, Messer initiated a fundraising drive.The entire workforce donated part of their December salary to help affected families make their homes habitable again.

In mid-July 2021, heavy rains triggered devastating flash flooding along several tributaries of the Rhine River. There were 184 deaths in Germany. To support aid efforts in the flooded areas, Messer provided protective clothing, buckets, tools, pumps and drying equipment, drinking water, batteries, disinfectant, insect repellent and headlamps.

Beekeeper, Messer’s in-house communications app, was used to organize the deployment of volunteers from the workforce. On July 21, Messer teams traveled to the heavily impacted Ahr Valley to help with the clean-up. Among other things, they removed heating oil-contaminated sludge and water from cellars and cleared away debris.

A short time later, Stefan Messer visited affected colleagues and their families in Sinzig and Ahrweiler and decided: We’ll keep on helping. Messer organized an international solidarity campaign. Donations from employees and from Messer SE & Co. KGaA provided financial support for three facilities affected by the flood: An elementary school, a kindergarten, and a home for disabled persons.

Messer in Hungary supported three relief efforts: One donation went to an organization that is helping a child who suffers from leukemia and whose family needs financial support. A local animal rescue station and an institution that promotes better education for children from the poorer regions of the country were also supported.

In the heart of Budapest, there’s a café named “Nem Adom Fel”, which means “never give up.” It is run by disabled people who kept the café-and-restaurant business going during the coronavirus pandemic by also delivering their delicacies to their customers’ doorstep. Messer in Hungary supported the café with a donation. It was collected through an initiative from within the team: everyone paid a little extra for their coffee capsules and the proceeds were collected.

Messer in Spain organized several activities to promote sports for children and adolescents and handed over donations to the Johan-Cruyff Foundation and the Costa Daurada soccer campus. The Cruyff Foundation develops sport projects for abused children and for children with disabilities. The Costa Daurada soccer campus is an association dedicated to the promotion of soccer sports for children and adolescents from 6 to 15 years old. Messer sponsors sportswear and accessories for the summer campus.

Messer donated eleven computers to the Red Cross of Tarragona. They will be distributed to the regional offices of the aid organization in support of training courses. This initiative seeks to narrow the digital gap for socially disadvantaged communities. Secondhand computers were also provided to the neighborhood association of the La Floresta district. It organizes refresher courses and computer training especially for middle-aged people to help them search for employment.

In Spain, the coronavirus pandemic triggered an unprecedented crisis affecting healthcare, the economy and social services. Many families depend on aid for their existence. The number of requests from the needy at the Spanish food bank “Banco de Alimentos” has increased by 40 percent since the outbreak of the pandemic. In view of this emergency, Messer in Spain decided once again to make a donation to support the food bank in Tarragona province.

The Vithas hospital chain and Messer in Spain implemented a special solution for younger patients: in Vithas Castellón Hospital, children get to ride to the operating room in a remote-controlled electric car. This calms the fears that children and their parents have when faced with pediatric operations, and facilitates preoperative procedures.

For many years now, Messer in Switzerland has been supporting the disabled sports association PluSport. In 2021, we received another certificate in recognition of our support of disabled sports in Switzerland.

For the holiday season, Messer in the Bridgewater, New Jersey, corporate office hosted clothing drives to benefit underserved communities. New winter clothing was donated to the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing community, an organization that provides supportive services to help veteran residents re-enter the workforce.

Additionally, the MEPS collected clothing and personal effects from employees in the Stewartsville, New Jersey and Naperville, Illinois sites. The clothing collected was donated to the WINGS program, the largest domestic violence service provider in the state of Illinois.

In July 2021, Messer donated 30,000 Covid-19 rapid antigen tests to Vietnam. Messer regularly provides support to communities in areas surrounding its Vietnamese production sites and has helped establish and upgrade several hospitals and schools there in recent years.

Our worldwide workforce is also committed to supporting Vietnam: the proceeds from an in-house solidarity campaign helped rebuild the apartments and homes of our Vietnamese workforce. They were damaged or destroyed by tropical storm Molave. The donations also procured a power generator for the medical facility of the municipality of Dung Quat and repaired a school.