PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2015

EVENT 36 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 www.petpla.net GWK moves into former Battenfeld building Following 40 years of organic growth characterised by the need to undertake repeated exten- sions to buildings, GWK has now moved into the former Battenfeld Building in Meinerzhagen, Germany situated some 10km away. During the move they also succeeded in reorganising the production operation into a logical sequence corresponding to the various production stages. Adapting to the hillside location of the building, the plant features two production levels differing in height by 6m. Backing on to the Administrative Building level is the Service Depart- ment, with an annual capacity of 1,600 items of equipment. Behind this is where the manufacture of the indi- vidual components takes place. One important division is the welding shop where GWK has built up expertise in pressure vessel welding over many decades. When it comes to welds, the company’s production operation is capable of satisfying any certification criteria imaginable. The pressure vessels go into equipment with water-based tem- perature control systems in excess of 100°, oil-based temperature con- trol systems and cooling systems. Adjuncts include further production stages including painting. Then comes the central interface between pre-pro- duction and assembly. This is in the form of a 6m high differential in the level of the assembly hall. All parts are transported into the lower level by means of a pallet conveyor system and a large hole in the floor. It is at this interface that all compo- nents and assembly units are brought together and prepared for the assem- bly points. It is only once everything is complete that the final unit is allowed to go down. In the old plant some of the fitters would already have made a start on the assembly work even if all the parts were not yet in stock, with the result that a number of items of equipment that were not finish- mounted ended up occupying the few assembly areas available. Some- times the fitters would “take it upon themselves” to get hold of parts they needed, something that invariably resulted in major chaos in the stores. Currently there are 65 2.5 metre wide assembly areas available in the assembly hall. These areas may also be grouped together depending on the size of the machinery. All machines are assembled inside the hall and not in different halls inside the plant as was formerly the case. This means more flexible utilisation of the assem- bly teams. Overall the new plant has already led to a speeding up of processing times. Employee efficiency is signifi- cantly higher than in the old plant and production planning is now consider- ably more efficient. But GWK have not been work- ing solely on the production process. Things have been happening on the design front too. GWK has come a long way from the classic welded racks to metal sheets turned on their edges that only need riveting. This has helped to reduce the weight of the framework to one third of the original weight. www.gwk.com Dr. Michael Zaun, Director Technology, explains the simple analogue yet highly efficient info system at the assembly areas. The machine frames are now riveted instead of being welded, which means that GWK is able to save several tonnes of steel.