Because of its “sound positioning, solid commercial business and excellent German engineering”, Siempelkamp says it is panic-proof. “Even under the most unfavourable conditions, we will make it well through the next years and will keep the 2,745 jobs worldwide secure, of which approximately 1,600 are based at the head office in Krefeld,said Dr-Ing Hans W Fechner, spokesman for the management.
Siempelkamp says the ability of the 125-year-old company to stay crisis-proof is the result of a stable and diverse makeup on three strong business pillars. These are: machinery and plants; the foundry; and the nuclear technology business units.
Siempelkamp says it offers products that are world market leaders – and that a high proportion of inhouse production, together with the 100% ownership of international branches and production facilities, strengthen its position.
Another formula for success claimed by the company is that it knows how to make use of opportunities that arise and strengthens its portfolio with well-directed acquisitions, such as SES.
Siempelkamp Energy Systems GmbH (SES), the specialist for energy plants, emerged from the takeover of Metso Panelboard GmbH in Hanover, Germany and has belonged to the Group since 2007. Over 20 years of market experience and more than 50 operating energy system concepts ranging from 10 to 85MW combustion capacity comprise the references for SES.
It is a company which specialises in complete engineering know-how and technologies for the supply of stable process heat, concentrated particularly in the wood based products industry. Together with process heat supply, this Siempelkamp subsidiary also offers the possibility of electrical power generation up to 10MW, either as a combined system with a steam turbine, or an ORC module in the thermal oil circuit, or as a standalone combined heat and power generation system.
Since its integration into the Siempelkamp Group, the Hanover-based company has been able to lay the foundation for further projects. For instance at the Pfleiderer AG thin MDF plant in Grajewo, Poland, a power station with a total combustion capacity of 66MW passed its acceptance test in 2008.
The facility was built within the scope of a turnkey contract and is designed for 7MW of thermal oil capacity, 27 tons of steam/hour at 276psi and a flue gas capacity of 28.5MW for the dryer.
At the Laminex MDF plant in Australia an existing energy system was replaced by a new SES power station with a total combustion capacity of 24MW. Two additional orders in eastern Europe are further success stories, says the company.
Art Progress ordered a power station for the first MDF plant in the Ukraine with a total combustion capacity of 68MW. Another new MDF plant has been built in Apsheronsk, South Russia. Next to the panel production equipment made by Siempelkamp, SES will supply the energy plant with a total combustion capacity of 76MW.
Egger in St Johann (Austria) ordered an energy supply concept from SES for the new Büttner dryer used on a particleboard press line. Thermal oil capacity of 16MW, plus 20MW of flue gas capacity for the dryer, produce a total combustion capacity of 36MW. The thermal oil system will heat the press and is also designed to feed the district heat supply of the city of St Johann.
Büttner’s specialist industrial dryer technology and SES complement one another within the Siempelkamp Group.
“The engineers of our companies cooperate intensively when working on comprehensive projects – from the development of the plant concepts to the acceptance by the customer. This is a clear benefit for the plant operator: Roadblocks can be avoided and quick start-ups guaranteed,says Ines Veckenstedt, managing director of SES.
Hombak acquisition
What SES is to energy plants, Hombak Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH is to machines for the front-end area within Siempelkamp.
Since June 2009, Siempelkamp says the company, from Bad Kreuznach, Germany, has enriched the product spectrum of the group with products for the front-end area which are used in the production of wood based panels. This company’s programme has been well established on the market, says the proud new parent.
With this acquisition the chain is closing, says Siempelkamp, as it can now supply complete production lines from the woodyard to finished laminated furniture boards – all from one source. It says “Quality right from the start,is the motto because the preparation of the raw wood into high quality chips and particles influences the quality of the board. “Therefore, the significance for the overall process is high because a qualitative firstclass size reduction will impact all subsequent processes in a positive and targeted manner,explains Heinz Richterich, managing director of Hombak.
“The company’s many decades of experience guarantee high quality for flaking processes as well as for the production of wood chips,says Mr Richterich. “The portfolio includes drum flakers for pre-cut timber, universal drum flakers, drum chippers, shredders and butt-end equalizers.”
For the size-reduction of recycling wood of all kind, Hombak developed the hammer mill: The processed material can be used for further preparation or for boiler fuel.
Mr Richterich sums up the advantages of integrating Hombak under the Siempelkamp roof: “The affiliation to the Siempelkamp Group provides our company with the freedom for significant new developments, such as knife-ring flakers and rotor debarkers. For our customers this acquisition stands for a stronger presence with regard to complete plants from one source.”
And there’s CMC
Not only new, but also long-standing Siempelkamp companies are good for innovation, says the parent.
Currently, CMC Texpan is having an upsurge in innovations. The company, based in Colzate (Italy), is responsible for the construction of forming machines and bunkers within the Siempelkamp Group. It has expanded its product spectrum by important components for the front-end area. This represents another step towards a gapless service chain, claims Siempelkamp.
Screening and classification are crucial processes when it comes to an excellent board quality and CMC Texpan says it provides important support in this area. From oscillating screening machines to disc screens to roller screens, all the way to wind separators, CMC says it provides Siempelkamp customers with a diverse portfolio for this application.
Additional innovations include different silo extraction systems for dry and wet materials (eg sliding frames with discharge screws and travelling screws). Due to improved levelling of the filling height and high precision scales designed to deliver a precise dispensing of chips and fibres, the newly-developed dosing bins improve the precision and efficiency of glue dosing and application, says CMC.
Together with the Siempelkamp research and development department, CMC Texpan developed complete glue blending systems for chips and MDF fibres. The claimed advantage for the customer is that the innovative software and the high-tech components reduce glue consumption considerably.
Global presence
If innovative technologies are to be profitable, the general conditions have to be right – that is, the production facilities, says Siempelkamp. Thus it has invested heavily in the Krefeld headquarters during the last few years in order to bring the production there up to date.
An investment of €54m was put towards a new machining centre for large parts: In 2008 two new large machining tools, the Schiess VMG 6 PS and the Heyligenstaedt Heynuturn 3500-100 started operation.
The Siempelkamp foundry received a new pattern storage area with state-ofthe- art storage technology.
The decision to open up two new production sites was made to produce more major components in closer proximity to Siempelkamp’s markets. Since 2004 Siempelkamp has been present in China with the Wuxi Machinery Co Ltd so the needs of Asian customers can be met quickly. This production facility concentrates on components which require a high share of manual labour.
Towards the end of 2008 Siempelkamp established another production site, in Blatnice in the Czech Republic, which manufactures components for forming lines from former to roller conveyors.
“Because of this new site even more added value is bundled within the Siempelkamp Group so that our European customers can be served more quickly,concluded Mr Fechner.
