IIn August 1996, software was installed for the first time at the Borsigstraße waste-to-energy plant in Hamburg—software that, at the time, no one would have predicted would have a thirty-year future: EWP, the weighing software from ESSMANN. It has been used in more than 1,000 customer projects since then. Many of these installations continue to weigh and record data day after day to this very day.
When I took over a 160-year-old company in 2021 together with Dr.-Ing. Fabian Ehmke and Dr.-Ing. Gregor Graßl, the EWP software—which was already 25 years old at the time—was part of the deal. At the time, I never would have thought that we’d be able to continue using it successfully for our customers for another five years. However, I quickly learned otherwise: EWP was one of the most flexible weighing applications on the market, built on such a solid foundation that it couldn’t simply be replaced on a whim.
The first reason for this is our close connection to the scale. We develop both the software and the weighing technology in-house. Everything—from the load cell to the finished weigh ticket—is perfectly coordinated. The second reason is compliance with calibration regulations as a fundamental design principle: interim receipts are printed automatically, corrections are made exclusively through traceable reversals, and nothing is deleted. Anyone who has ever had to deal with a dispute over a “missing” weighing result knows how important this is.
The third reason is perhaps the most important: EWP never intended to be more than what each business needed. Those who just wanted to weigh their goods got EWPsmart and could get started right away without any prior knowledge. Those who needed invoicing, freight cost calculation, quota management, or card payments chose EWP and added exactly the features they actually used. No one likes to pay for features they never use.
Meanwhile, the software continued to be developed throughout this time. The old waste code catalog became the European Waste Catalog, which in turn became the Waste Catalog Regulation—both were incorporated into the program. Even the Point-of-Sale Security Regulation, with its requirement for digital signatures, found its way into a software system that had evolved over nearly thirty years and was constantly being revised. Over the years, well over a thousand documented changes were made. This is a software system that has been quietly but continuously maintained and further developed.
30 Years of EWP · 1996–2026
EWP – The Journey of a Weighing Software Program
From the development of a custom system for a single facility in Hamburg to a modular weighing system that was installed over a thousand times throughout Germany—and operated reliably for three decades.
August 1996
The Beginning: Software for a Single Work
EWP goes live at the Borsigstraße waste-to-energy plant in Hamburg—commissioned by the City of Hamburg and designed specifically for this facility. The fact that a waste treatment facility was its first user has left a lasting mark on EWP: waste disposal records, waste code numbers, and an operating log have been integrated from the very beginning.
1996–1997
A custom-made item becomes a product
Following its launch in Hamburg, EWP will be further developed for the general market—with a workflow that each company can customize to meet its own requirements. During this phase, the modular structure that will support EWP for decades to come is established.
October 1997
EWP Enters the Market
EWP is being promoted as new software, a little over a year after its initial installation. Even back then, it offered integration with higher-level systems such as SAP and AS/400, as well as interfaces to common Office applications.
1998
Ready for the Euro and the Turn of the Millennium
A promotional letter from 1998 highlights the major issues of the time: EWP is Y2K-compliant and has already integrated the euro into its cash management system—years before the actual cash transition. Two much-feared transitions that had no impact on EWP users.
January 2000
The Millennium Bug Doesn’t Happen
While elsewhere computers are being prepared for the big crash, EWP simply continues weighing on New Year’s morning as if nothing had happened. For a business that relies on reliable weighing data, that is exactly the ideal scenario.
the 2000s
An entire product family
EWP is expanding into a family of products: the streamlined EWPsmart version for a quick start is now available, along with an EWP version for rail scales with dynamic train weighing, one for silo and transshipment scales with up to four scales connected to a single computer, and one for biogas plants and agriculture with driver self-service via a wireless handheld transmitter.
2005–2014
Always on the right side of the law
EWP has evolved alongside regulatory changes: from the old waste code catalog to the European Waste Catalog and on to the Waste List Regulation. As of 2014, the module overview includes more than twenty modules—ranging from the operations log to freight cost calculation.
2024
Still learning new things even in my late twenties
Even the Point-of-Sale Security Regulation, which requires businesses that accept cash to digitally sign their receipts, is still being incorporated into the software, which is now nearly thirty years old.
September 2025
The last major code change
The last documented entry in the development history dates from September 2025—less than ten months before the launch of its successor, the EWA System. EWP will continue to be maintained—and supported—until the very end.
July 2026
Part-Time Work for Older Employees After Completing a Task
After 30 years, EWP is being phased out of new business—it is being replaced by the new EWA system. Existing EWP installations will continue to operate and will, of course, continue to receive support. The knowledge accumulated over three decades is now incorporated into its successor: browser-based, seamless across media, flexible—and built to last for decades to come.
Welcome to the EWA System.
The new software platform that will safely carry EWP’s knowledge and legacy into the coming decades.
Why EWP Is Being Phased Out Now
So why replace something that works so reliably? Because the world around EWP has changed. Software from 1996 is stuck on a computer in the weighing hut. It doesn’t support tablets, smartphones, or mobile access. For the task it was built to perform, that was exactly right. But for the way businesses want to operate today, it’s no longer sufficient.
That’s why we’ve taken all the knowledge we’ve gained over thirty years at EWP and rebuilt it on a modern, secure technical foundation: the new EWA software platform. Everything EWP has learned through its work with various scales, across different industries, and under a wide range of conditions is now incorporated into this platform and will continue to be expanded—browser-based, accessible on mobile devices, and ready for the decades to come.
Decades of experience, new technologies
The fact that we can build upon such a solid foundation of knowledge is owed above all to our senior developers, who have been supporting ESSMANN—albeit with some interruptions—since the very beginning of EWP. While Sharam Gödel, one of the original EWP developers, and Martin Schababerle, an EWP expansion specialist and EWPsmart developer, spent several years in between working on other projects—including at an online news magazine and an aircraft manufacturer— Reinhard Ruhrig has been with ESSMANN continuously since 1998 and has carried out countless customizations for clients during that time.
The senior team has been back at full strength since 2021. With its expertise in EWP and the industry—and with additional experience gained elsewhere—it wasn’t just a familiar presence that returned, but a wealth of knowledge, refreshed by new perspectives.
Today, they work alongside our young IT colleagues, who are at the cutting edge of the latest technologies. Together, they are developing, among other things, the new EWA software platform. This is only possible because we foster a culture of mutual appreciation and respectful collaboration across generations—and for that, I am very grateful. We know how much this means to us.
EWP is now entering a partial retirement program
Anyone currently using EWP won’t notice anything about the transition at first: Existing installations will continue to run and will be well supported by our team through June 2027. From now on, the EWA software platform will be writing the next chapter. For thirty years, EWP has proven what makes for solid weighing software—and has truly earned its transition into phased retirement.
What began in Hamburg in 1996 is now entering a new phase with the EWA software platform —we’d be delighted if you’d like to learn more about EWA.
