Chemical accident at electroplating company Heinrich Schnarr

On the evening of October 7, 2025, an unintentional chemical reaction caused a gas leak in the Heinrich Schnarr GmbH building in Mainaschaff. The existing safety systems enabled the gas to be discharged via the corresponding outlet. Once the chemical reaction had been detected, the established and regularly checked process mechanisms were immediately initiated. The employees of Heinrich Schnarr GmbH worked professionally hand in hand with the emergency services. In addition to many different measures, the chemical process in particular was stopped by draining the acid bath in a controlled manner, thus preventing further gas development.

The electroplating company's emergency plans worked

The Managing Director of Heinrich Schnarr, Stefan Schröder, explains: "The most important thing for us is that, as far as we know at present, there were no personal injuries. This means that our emergency plans have worked. We would like to expressly thank the emergency services for their quick and professional response." Various measurements have shown that the results were unremarkable, so that the all-clear could be given at short notice. As a result, production can be resumed at short notice. The company regrets the excitement and inconvenience for the population, but emphasizes that Heinrich Schnarr GmbH is a traditional company that has existed since 1926 and that comparable incidents are a regrettable exception. Schnarr Oberflächentechnik has been represented at the Mainaschaff site since 1958 with an area of around 30,000 square meters of plant technology for chemical, galvanic and mechanical surface finishing. At the Mainaschaff plant, industrial products are coated with nickel or chrome by chemical nickel plating and galvanic hard chrome plating.