From Chemistry Studies to a Passion for International Plant Engineering

From Zero to Sixty: Responsibility from Day One

“My start at thyssenkrupp Uhde was characterized by the opportunity to dive directly into the urea process group and contribute to bid preparation from the beginning,“ René explains. Just four months later, he was on international construction sites, gaining crucial experience as part of the team commissioning urea plants in the Netherlands and the USA.

In late 2015, René Marschner took on his first role as Lead Engineer for a new urea plant project in Brunei. “It was an intense but fun time, and colleagues quickly became friends,” René recalls of this challenging phase, which also included an ammonia plant and offsites and utilities for water treatment and product handling. During engineering, he took on the role of Process Engineering Lead for the entire plant complex. After a 16-month commissioning stay, the complex was successfully brought online in 2022.

Since August 2022, René has been working as Lead Engineer on an exciting project to revamp three urea plants in Egypt. In this role, he is responsible for increasing the plants’ capacities and reducing specific steam consumption. The integration of new equipment into existing structures is particularly challenging, requiring intense coordination with various departments, including layout planning, piping planning, construction engineers, equipment manufacturing, and the construction department. Due to the high costs of plant downtime, the revamp concepts must be planned so that new parts can be quickly integrated to minimize it.

Between Concept and Commissioning

In daily work, process engineering is essential throughout the entire plant lifecycle. “We support our customers from the first concepts through the bidding phase to commissioning and beyond,“ René explains. “Our work includes everything from process flow diagrams to energy and material balances to assisting with plant planning and optimization.“

What role does sustainability play? Sustainability is a central aspect of his work. “As process engineers, it is our job to maximize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact,“ René emphasizes. Efficient gas scrubbers and innovative recycling concepts play a key role in this. Plants built worldwide – in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia – show the versatility of the challenges and the international collaboration in teams from diverse cultural backgrounds, which René particularly appreciates. For him, team spirit and innovation at thyssenkrupp Uhde are crucial values that shape project success and the work environment. “Cohesion and mutual support, team spirit, and innovation are reflected in our current motto ’We create a livable planet’.“

Achieving Great Things Together

René Marschner’s career at thyssenkrupp Uhde shows how much scope for creativity and development plant engineering offers. With passion, expertise, and strong team spirit, he helps set the standards in the chemical industry worldwide and shape the future sustainably. For young professionals interested in a career in plant engineering, René has clear advice: “Teamwork and the willingness to face new challenges are essential. Plant engineering offers exciting opportunities to solve the most complex technical problems together and contribute to significant projects worldwide.”

More information can be found here.