Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group

Issue 02 | 2016

EXPERTISE Cooling technology – High-tech from Northern Italy EXPERIENCE Automotive industry – Stahlo fulfils the highest standards COMMITMENT Integration – Results of a pilot project for refugees Loh Group the Fr i edhe lm Loh az i ne o f g Ma

Friedhelm Loh Stiftung & Co. KG Rudolf-Loh-Straße 1 35708 Haiger, Germany Phone +49 2773 924-0 Fax +49 2773 924-3129 E-mail: [email protected] FOCUS EXTREMES www.friedhelm-loh-group.com XWW00026EN1611 Top performers Issue 02 | 2016 Editorial

The Courage to Dare

Dear readers,

Boldness is a trait of character. An act of will. It enables people to dare to take action, achieve exceptional results and not be de- terred by risks – as so vividly expressed by the word “audacity”.

What actually drives people to be bold and to risk going to extremes? Why do athletes, and even engineers for that matter, push things to their limits and beyond? It’s the great, often unparalleled opportunities that present themselves in these moments. The chance to make the impossible possible. To venture forth into uncharted territory, where no one has gone before.

This determination is something that we’ve taken to heart at the Friedhelm Loh Group from the very beginning. We wouldn’t be here today if we hadn’t had the boldness to always try new things and take risks. And that this still holds true today is demonstrated by our current investments at our German locations: with 250 million euros among other things, we’re completely realigning Rittal’s pro- Dr Friedhelm Loh duction landscape here in the region. In Haiger, in the state of Owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group Hesse, a completely new, state-of-the-art factory for the production of compact enclosures is coming into being.

Beginning in 2018 and according to the principles of the Indus- trial Internet of Things (Industry 4.0), sheet metal processing, painting and enclosure assembly will be completely digitally networked and equipped with state-of-the-art machine technology. Using our customers’ configuration data, customised products will be produced on short notice – and even starting at batch size 1.

We’re also moving into uncharted territory with the establishment of the Rittal Innovation Center in Haiger. The Innovation Center makes Industry 4.0 tangible in control and switchgear engineering. Working with innovative partnerships, we’ll develop solutions there with our customers to make them more competitive and thereby more successful.

All of this – and more – to benefit our customers. For you. You can see how this is achieved in this issue of be top with the selected real-world examples from Eplan, Cideon, Rittal and LKH. Not to mention Stahlo: since May, the Steel Service Center has been de- livering top quality sheet steel as a series supplier to the major league of the automotive industry. And that’s uncharted territory, too!

I hope you enjoy reading the magazine and find inspiration within its pages! Sincerely,

Dr Friedhelm Loh

02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 03 Contents

Cover stories Experience

14 beyond all Limits 56 Cleaned, cooled, conserved People are pushing their limits every day, whether in Xylem achieves more energy-efficient water treatment with the sports, in adventure or in technology. As they did with help of Blue e+ cooling units. the construction of the massive Gotthard Base Tunnel. 60 boosting pride in work 22 “I know my limits” In order to increase its competitive position, Scheuch worked The wingsuit jumper Ellen Brennan is considered the with Cideon to replace its design and development software. world’s fastest flying woman. She talks about fear, challenges and calmness. 62 It’s the data that counts Automation specialist Blumenbecker achieves high efficiencies in its entire manufacturing process with digital processes and consistent data management.

66 Quality on the line Expertise Volkswagen counts on high-quality blanks from Stahlo – for the factory in Gera, Germany, the cooperation is the highest accolade. 28 unbelievable tool 22 Thanks to Eplan software applications, Canadian electrical Cover story: Extremes supplier 3 Phase Power Systems can now process its orders more than twice as quickly. Cosmos 30 when the earth rocks Functioning IT helps with reconstruction after natural disas- 70 news in brief ters – as it did in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Rittal Foundation supports the Peter Härtling School in boosting social skills – and other news. 34 Made for Life! Why even rust-free steel can develop spots of rust and how to take proper care of the material. Commitment 36 hIGh-tech made in Italy Innovative technology from northern Italy enjoys an excellent reputation – and Rittal is also manufacturing there according 72 In the thick of things! to Industry 4.0 criteria. Rittal’s one-of-a-kind pilot project Qualification for Refugees is catching on. 40 Fire in the data centre So that data doesn’t fall victim to flames, Rittal offers a variety Your opinion of fire detection and protection systems. matter s! 36 66 Standards 42 Malfunction? Consider it fixed! Do you have questions, sugges- State-of-the-art production Partner for the AUTOMOTIVE industry tions, praise or criticism about OPC UA technology used by Eplan and Murrelektronik the current issue? Simply mail simplifies the location and repair of malfunctions in complex 03 editorial the editorial team at: systems. betop@friedhelm-loh- 06 Snapshots group.com 44 Factory of the future 12 Around the world In mid-August, the cornerstone for a new modern building was laid in Haiger, Hesse – a compact enclosure factory 26 Magazine: Strong partners operating according to the principles of Industry 4.0. 54 Magazine: Well equipped 52 digitisation POTENTIAL 78 Top performances – Be top! Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Chief Executive Officer of Rittal 79 Publication details International, speaks about digitisation and German industry as drivers of innovation.

72 62

Integration Data consistency 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 05 Snapshots

Holiday feelings The Therme Erding is not only the world’s largest thermal baths – with saunas, thermal healing pools, slides and a wave pool – but Rittal delivers IT racks, Liquid Cooling Packages, cold-aisle housings and the RiZone data centre infrastructure management platform. also a holiday paradise with 365 days of summer. Twenty-six slides, the aforementioned wave pool and 25 saunas are just a few of the At the individual locations WUND handles a wide variety of tasks, including visitor management, gastronomy and numerous building attractions for warmth, water and wellness. But ensuring that the processes in this wellness oasis all run seamlessly requires sophisti- control systems, for instance watering the palm trees. cated technology behind the scenes. The spa and pool worlds of the WUND Group therefore use IT infrastructure solutions from Rittal. Link tip: www.therme-erding.de/en

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Yellow gold Oil and natural gas continue to be the most important global energy sources. The majority of the world’s population – by now more than systems, the company depends on the ERP system from SAP. With support from Cideon, the company has also introduced the Autodesk seven billion people – depend on them in their everyday lives. But regenerative energies are gaining ground every day and will play an Plant Design Suite and an integrated SAP PLM solution. Now the Neuman & Esser Group can easily manage CAD data and documents increasingly important role in the future. The Neuman & Esser Group delivers oil-free and water-cooled piston compressors for both across all company processes. The result: higher rates of reutilisation, lower error rates, extremely shortened turnaround times and segments – oil and natural gas – as well as regenerative energies, specifically biogas. For the development and production of these significantly more efficient order fulfilment. Link tip: www.neuman-esser.de/en

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Clean water Water management – supplying fresh water and treating wastewater – is a significant part of the infrastructure in modern societies. And switchgear system housed in a TS 8 enclosure system. In order to cool the intricate electrical technology required, Xylem depends on as is the case for infrastructure facilities everywhere, energy efficiency is the name of the game. One energy-consuming process is the cooling units from the new Blue e+ series in the enclosures (you can find a full report on page 57). With this new generation of cooling production of ozone, which is required to treat water. The company Xylem manufactures ozone generators that are particularly energy units, Xylem saves money when manufacturing these systems, and their customers benefit from lower operating costs thanks to the efficient with their patented electrical design (see the picture). The high voltage of 5.5 kilovolts for this ozone generator is generated in a energy-efficient cooling units. Link tip: www.xylemwatersolutions.com

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Faster – Better – Everywhere

Global Player. The Friedhelm Loh Group has a global presence with 78 subsidiaries around the world. Ideas from Germany are in demand on every continent.

Belgium Well brewed How many cases of beer fit in a warehouse? Canada For Belgium’s Moortgat Brewery, around 25 U nder the Sea per cent more since summer 2015. The reason: a new palette stacking machine, the me- Around two-thirds of the Earth’s sur- chatronic foundation for which was developed face is covered by water. This is clearly by machine builder IMA on the basis of the evident in the three great oceans that newest insights from Eplan Experience. surround the world’s landmasses. Yet to this day, only a very small part of the world’s oceans has been explored by humans. To change this, the Canadian company Aspin Kemp and Associ- ates has developed power and propul- sion systems that also work for mari- 25 % time applications. The company, founded in 1996, relies on the large TS 8 enclosures from Rittal, thanks to their comprehensive certifications.

China Big Data in “Talent City”

It is located at the heart of China’s high- tech stronghold Guiyang: International Talent City. For the past three years, this 125,000-square-metre site has housed countless start-ups and global players. To provide them with the necessary IT infrastructure, the Chinese government Croatia has opened an absolutely top-notch data Ready for a holiday? centre. Equipped with comprehensive IT solutions from Rittal, the companies The airport in Dubrovnik handles more than 1.5 million located here can draw on the technical Brazil passengers each year – and the numbers are rising. infrastructure of Talent City’s operator, the England Really bright Unsurprisingly, the operators are now planning to con- state joint venture Guizhou Wing Cloud Extremely connected struct another terminal to deal with the growing influx High Technology Ltd. Nothing less than the world’s most of visitors. The stated goal: to escort around 3.5 million state-of-the-art particle accelerator Ten machines, ten manufactur- passengers along their journeys annually. For its IT in- is currently being built in Brazil. Its ers, ten interfaces – this is now frastructure, Dubrovnik Airport is counting on a fully goal: to generate a super-bright light – a thing of the past for Saint equipped data centre from Rittal. also known as synchrotron radiation – Gobain Performance Plas- by accelerating electrons to the speed tics. Since 2015, with the as- of light. Researchers at the Labo- sistance of Eplan Electric P8 ratório Nacional de Luz Síncroton and the Eplan Data Portal, the hope that the microscopic effects this company has networked the produces will provide insights into machines at its English facility 3.5 m. the structure of molecules. Enclosures in Bristol into integrated production lines. The result: higher from Rittal will be utilised for this pro- efficiencies, more accurate documentation and significantly re- ject starting in 2017. duced susceptibility to errors.

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Excellence without limits

People are pushing limits every day, whether in Beyond sports or technology. And boundaries are there to be broken through. This is also true for Friedhelm Loh Group as all shown by the following examples.

75 limits The new Blue e+ cooling units Extremes. Higher, deeper, further: what drives athletes and engineers to from Rittal require 75 per keep pushing beyond their limits? cent less energy on average. Text: Boris Hänßler

Freediving Freedivers can go up to 120 metres in depth without any sort of technical aids. Some of the world’s best in this discipline can hold their breath for up to twenty minutes.

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“Cave diving is like a puzzle for me: I love to do something that nobody has done before me.”

Jill Heinerth, cave diver

ill Heinerth is one of the cause of it. Although they intensely experi- free themselves from the social world’s eve- And the project completed its entire run chines – steel giants measuring 400 metres world’s best divers. In the ence fear, they make a rational decision to ryday rules, restrictions and limits. Once without a single fatality. long with a drilling head measuring about Ledfal Mine Datacenter Antarctic she dove 40 keep going. A mountain climber explained those who push their own personal limits The engineers’ pluckiness paid off in the 9.5 metres across – drilled more than 85 metres at a water tem- to the researchers: “Sometimes I just want to the extreme have overcome their fear, end: according to the Guinness Book of kilometres of the main tunnels, grinding perature of minus 1.6 de- to turn around and run away, but I can’t do this is replaced with a feeling of harmony World Records, it became the world’s their way through hard stone and creating Gigantic grees Celsius. While that of course, because I’ve come to keep and a deep connection to nature. Similarly, highest cable-stayed bridge when it ear-splitting noise in the process, while ski- deep below the surface on going, and that’s how I face the fears. technicians, engineers and scientists want opened in autumn 2012. It’s held in place ers cheerfully glided over the snow-cov- she came across a cave Once you’ve done that often enough, you to overcome limits to achieve successes by 76 steel cables spanning up to 520 me- ered slopes above, never noticing a thing The Lefdal Mine Datacenter in Måløy, system, colourful sea squirts, starfish and have the feeling that experience will help with extreme technical performances that tres. As Sanchez explains with some pride: going on about 2,000 metres beneath Norway, one of the preeminent data centre Jother bizarre sea creatures. “Most people you get out of any difficult situation.” previously seemed unachievable – but with- “You could put heavy lorries from one end them. The total volume of the material re- projects, is due to come online in late 2016. Located in a former mine adjacent to a fjord, think I’m an adrenaline junkie,” she says. People who get to know extreme athletes a out taking an irrational approach. The risks of the bridge to the other and nothing moved from the Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world’s largest data centre will be “But the description doesn’t fit. Frankly, I’m bit better emerge with a different picture: for people and the environment must be would happen.” equivalent to five times the volume of the powered and cooled solely by wind turbines quite risk-averse. Cave diving is like a puzzle they’re people who consciously take a calculable. The company Herrenknecht in Schwanau, Cheops Pyramid. and hydropower. A tunnel system stretching for me: I love to do something that nobody calculated risk to test limits and to As they were for the Baluarte Bridge Germany, also has experience with seem- over six storeys with 75 chambers offers has done before me, to dive where no one advance humankind or them- in northern Mexico. Running a ingly impossible undertakings. “Our entire Through the mountain at 250 km/h 120,000 square metres of space for infrastructure with a total capacity of 200 has ever been, and it’s not about the adren- selves. Ultimately, no outstand- length of 1,142 metres, it con- operational area is in extremes and we’re The first high-speed trains will begin rushing megawatts. aline, but instead, during preparation, to put ing achievements are possible nects the costal city of Mazat- always moving in difficult environments,” through the Base Tunnel at between 200 to all the pieces together like a puzzle so that without a human vision and the lán with the federal state of says Josef Gruseck, Member of the Man- 250 kilometres per hour towards the end of it works in the end.” courage to try. 130 Durango, which has a rugged agement Board of Traffic Tunnelling. The 2016. The travel time from Zurich to Milan will There are plenty of adventurers like Hein- Engineers also accomplish ex- kilowatts of terrain of mountain ranges that company builds tunnels in Peru, Tibet, then be just two hours and forty minutes – an erth who go to extremes. Some run ultra- treme performances, some- cooling output the inhabitants call el espinazo Mongolia, beneath the Bosporus or in the immense time savings for both freight trans- marathons in the debilitating heat of the thing that outsiders sometimes will be able to del diablo – the devil’s back- middle of Hong Kong. Whether one of the port and for tourism. “The greatest accolade be generated Sahara Desert. Others climb Mount Everest consider madness and then, by the cooling bone. The bridge brought an mobile tunnel factories must be assembled we could receive as a company was that the without oxygen tanks. A few parachute to when a project’s complete, units that Rittal isolated, impoverished region a in the desert at 50 degrees Celsius, in the Swiss trusted in Herrenknecht technology,” the Earth from the stratosphere. Every one marvel at: fascinating installa- and its partner small economic boom, but first middle of a megacity, at 4,000 metres says company Chairman of the Board of of them is risking their lives each time. Ex- tions such as the Skyrail Rain- Hewlett it had to be built – and across above sea level or after being transported Management Martin Herrenknecht. treme athletes are all too often portrayed as forest Cableway, a 7.5 kilome- Packard the 400-metre-deep gorge of across icebound streets and rivers – these The tunnel builders take their jobs very seri- Enterprise are egoists who don’t want to grow up, have an tre scenic cableway running jointly the Río Baluarte. environments place high demands on tech- ously and they have great respect for the unhealthy relationship to fear or are patho- above the Barron Gorge Na- developing. When engineers first visited the nology, logistics and people: extreme tem- power of nature. “You always have to utilise logically fearless. In actuality, most take tional Park in Queensland, Aus- location about ten years ago, peratures and elevations, tough geological quality to generate quality,” Gruseck says. their fears quite seriously. tralia, or the flood protection they had to ride horses for four conditions, immense dust generation, diffi- That’s one of the reasons why these tunnel- The psychologists Eric Brymer and Robert system costing 14 billion dol- 7.6 hours just to get there. Unper- cult-to-reach locations. During projects ling professionals depend on Rittal technol- Schweitzer at Queensland University of lars that is to protect New turbed, Mexican companies lasting several months at an altitude of ogy. Enclosure systems from the TS 8 se- million Technology in Brisbane, Australia, exam- Orleans from further catastro- got to work, transporting 12,000 4,000 metres, oxygen tents are a normal ries, compact AE enclosures and busbar downloads of ined how extreme athletes deal with anxi- phes. And not least, the tre- CAE and CAD tonnes of steel over 20 kilome- part of a team’s work equipment. Herren- systems are all used in many of the gigantic ety. Their study quotes a base jumper: “The mendous Gotthard Tunnel, files of Rittal tres of bad roads. A construc- knecht recruits employees from around the systems that drill through the masses of intensity of the fear I feel is horrible. The bringing Europe even closer components tion site arose at dizzying world who are qualified and ready to tackle rock and simultaneously master the con- idea that we don’t have any fear or love our together. Engineers often have have taken heights, where 1,300 engineers the challenges. struction of the tunnel walls. Which is also place through fear is nonsense! Nobody does this be- similar motives to adventurers. and labourers spent years on One of the greatest of these was the Got- the case for Herrenknecht’s latest and most Rittal’s website cause they love fear.” They eventually came Earlier research into extreme and the Eplan end. “We set up an entire vil- thard Base Tunnel – two 57-kilometre-long massive tunnel boring machine: assembled to the conclusion that the athletes practice athletes showed that they Data Portal. lage,” says Salvador Sanchez, tunnels, a once-in-a-century project through in late August, the drilling giant weighs their sports despite the danger and not be- wanted to use their sports to one of the project’s engineers. the Alps. Herrenknecht tunnel boring ma- 4,800 tonnes and with a diameter

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Urbanisation The megacity’s growth continues to 1 challenge traffic planners. Tunnels are an effective tool, as is the case here at the million pieces of construction site installation for the device and subway in Singapore. component data were downloaded by users from the Eplan Data Portal in June 2016. The portal currently provides 661,263 data sets from 157 manufacturers.

14 -fold security for load testing against fracture – Rittal enclosures are rock-solid, and clearly much more robust than the 8-fold protection as required by the standards.

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“Our entire operational area is in extremes and we’re always moving in difficult environments.”

Josef Gruseck, Member of the Management Board of Traffic Tunnelling at Herrenknecht

of 15.87 metres is Europe’s largest tunnel knecht considers themselves well taken ing of value creation. We’re always trying boring machine. The machine will be carv- care of. “We build for a wide variety of re- to develop suppliers into true value crea- ing out a new road tunnel in the Apennines quirements, it’s almost always a prototype, tion partners.” And Eplan Pro Panel can near Florence, Italy. so to speak, so the first shot has to be a even help with manual tasks. “We incorpo- Various aspects play a role when choosing bullseye. That’s why it’s important to us to rate links to smart PDFs to provide spe- components for such an enormous con- know that we can depend on the compo- cific instructions for our colleagues who struction project. “We’re working in the nents,” Mattes continues. What’s more, the work directly with the machines, so that construction industry, therefore the enclo- company aspires to reuse these proto- they know how assembly and installation sures must be resistant to torsion,” says types. “With standardised components, we must take place.” Reinhold Mattes, Director of Electro- can achieve advantages with logistics The Eplan Data Portal also plays an impor- technology at Traffic Tunnelling, ex- and assembly as well as disassem- tant role in designing the tunnel boring plaining one of the important se- bly,” Gruseck says. Built-in compo- machines. The database, which currently lection criteria for these extreme nents that complement the TS 8 includes device data for more than 660,000 environments. Herrenknecht standard noticeably reduced components, won over the tunnelling spe- manufactures the load-bear- turnaround times for commis- cialists with its comprehensive macros. ing base/plinth for the enclo- 1,800 sioning. Mattes: “The quantity and accuracy is im- sures themselves, which en- perative for us, since a machine of this sures that the subassemblies Stahlo’s new Extreme value creation magnitude easily involves up to 1,500 slitting line can for the drive and drill process, generate 1,800 But before a tunnel boring ma- pages of wiring plans.” for debris removal and for the newtons of chine ever begins digging its Technical advances and boldness will con- deploying of the tunnel wall tensile strength. way through masses of stone, tinue to ensure that athletes and engineers elements are installed to be Starting in 2017, making an important contribu- keep breaking through new limits. There vibration resistant. Thanks to that means 61 tion to international trade are plenty of visionary ideas that may be strips of steel the IP 55/66 protection cate- can be slit into routes and advancing urbani- more likely to greeted with patronising gory, the extreme amounts of five-millimetre- sation, Herrenknecht further smiles: A bridge between Africa and Eu- dust or even potential water thick slits at the counts on Eplan software. The rope? A space elevator that can bring peo- ingress pose no problem for same time. company uses Eplan Pro Pan- ple to the moon? A trans-Atlantic tunnel? the technology installed in the el for designing and building Crazy ideas? Who knows! As Franklin D. enclosures. the control enclosures and Roosevelt famously pronounced, express- “We source our Rittal enclo- IP 55 switchgear systems. The soft- ing a sentiment first credited to Michel de sures through distributors, just ware supplies all the data rel- Montaigne: “The only thing we have to fear in time, and can therefore ex- is the protection evant for manufacturing. And is fear itself.” n category of actly plan the assembly with- Rittal roof- since Eplan Pro Panel inte- out have to keep large inven- mounted fans grates existing automation tories,” Mattes reports. “The (previously IP technologies, Herrenknecht fact that Rittal also produces 43). This means can process the enclosures in China naturally helps us for they’re suitable and assembly plates in no time for use in Overcoming limits projects in Asia.” Because the at all with the assistance of the Every tunnel is different. For every project – in harsher company requires both stand- Perforex machining centre this case, the Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul – industrial Herrenknecht develops a prototype for the ard as well as customised so- environments. from Rittal Automation Sys- tunnel boring device beforehand. Some are as lutions, Rittal’s flexibility and tems. As Gruseck explains: large as small factories. dependability means Herren- “This matches our understand-

20 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 21 Cover story Interview Ellen Brennan

I know my limits Interview partner Who? Ellen Brennan (28), also known as the “World’s Fastest Flying Woman”

Interview. Ellen Brennan is known as the world’s fastest What? Wingsuit jumper flying woman. She says that going to extremes has made Where? Born and raised in the United her more relaxed. States, since 2009 she’s been living in Chamonix, France, not far from Mont Blanc. Interview conducted by Boris Hänßler

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“We only get one life, just one try, which is why I always want to have the newest and best equipment.” How did you get into wingsuit jumping? Ellen Brennan: I was never very good at Ellen Brennan, wingsuit jumper team sports, like football for instance. Since my father was a skydiver, I thought: maybe that could be something for me. After all, I’m completely on my own when doing it.

How do you mean? Brennan: Because I decide all by myself when and under what weather conditions I jump. And which gear I use, how I prepare for my jump and which techniques I use – that’s all my sole responsibility.

So you first got started with skydiving – and what came next? Brennan: The next thing I tried was base jumping. Then I saw a few of my friends jump in wingsuits. It seemed boring to me at first, but when I saw them glide over the val- First, you have to acknowledge that you’re shorter jumps or higher ones. But I also Inner happiness ley like birds, I understood how exciting it is. scared: that your stomach is feeling queasy, know my limits. I find very short jumps too Ellen Brennan (28) loves extremes – and prefers jumping from cliffs in a wingsuit to playing football. Jumping is an adventure. I see the world in your hands are sweaty or your heart is rac- dangerous, aside from which I pay attention After landing, the body releases a lot of dopamine and puts her into a sort of state of intoxication. For Brennan, it’s the best feeling. a way that most people never get to see. ing. Then I take a step back and take a deep to the weather before I try out something breath in order to calm my body. When I’m new, as well as to my mood, whether I’m full Extreme athletes say that they feel closer feeling scared, I often have a narrowed field of energy or tired. I don’t take any unneces- to nature through the sport – is it similar of vision, in which case I look for a point off sary risks. for you? in the distance and focus on it. Starting from Brennan: I have great respect for the moun- there, I open my eyes to the immediate en- What role does technology play in wing- tains. When I jump, I have to work with the vironment, to the rocks, flowers, birds or suit jumping? conditions that nature provides. When I start trees. This is how I calm down and my body Brennan: It’s essential. There have been Brennan: That depends on the accident. If jump for a week after that. But when I ana- because I was scared I’d fly away. I’ve hiking uphill, I’m already paying attention to relaxes a bit. many advances over the past ten years; the someone makes a mistake doing something lysed the videos, I saw that it wasn’t as overcome all of that. Today, I’m much less the mountain, its condition, the trees, the wingsuits have been influenced by para- I would never do myself, then that doesn’t dangerous as I had thought. Nevertheless, anxious. A job interview, for example, wind, the temperature – to all of these de- What does flying through the air feel like? gliding technology. There are aerial inserts scare me. But with accidents that could I don’t ignore something like that. It’s im- would have scared me half to death back tails. Once, early one morning, I met a local Brennan: That’s difficult to describe if that inflate during flight and stabilise you. have happened to me, too, I take a really portant to me that I always keep learning then. Today I’m easy-going about it. I have woman and asked her whether the wind you’ve never experienced it yourself. As But at the end of the day, I have to blindly hard look at those to learn from them. new things. the feeling I can do anything if I want to. always blew that way at that time. She had soon as I jump, it takes just a few seconds trust the technology. We only get one life, Those types of accidents remind me how no idea. And that astonished me. That’s and my nervousness disappears, the ten- just one try, which is why I always want to fatal mistakes can be in this sport when Do all wingsuit jumpers share a similar Thank you for this interview. n when I noticed that I perceive nature differ- sion is gone. I get a feeling of physical free- have the newest and best equipment. I also you get too careless. mindset? ently. dom and inner satisfaction. It’s unbelievably use video analysis, especially when I’m test- Brennan: I think there are two groups of fun, and then I really want to make the most ing new equipment. Have you ever ended up in dangerous wingsuit athletes: people who have very Are you nervous before a jump? Are you of it. If I know the course well, then I can also situations? stressful careers and considerable re- fearful? look at the surroundings, the mountain Accidents continue to happen. What do Brennan: I once jumped with a wingsuit sponsibilities, such as doctors or firemen, Brennan: I’m always nervous. If you aren’t, goats, an eagle, but the best feelings don’t you think causes them? that I had flown with twenty times, but from and people who simply love life and are then you’re crazy. It’s not natural to stand at come until after the landing. That’s when a Brennan: The technology is so well-engi- a higher location. I was moving too long in happy when they are up in the mountains. the edge of a cliff and jump off it. I can get lot of dopamine gets released into the body neered that product defects seldom cause the wrong direction, was flying at the But what they all have in common is that a handle on the nervousness, but if I were again, which is why it can become addic- accidents. The majority of accidents hap- wrong angle and got closer to the cliffs they cope well with stressful situations. really afraid I wouldn’t jump. If I’m feeling tive. It’s like falling in love every single day. pen because the people either don’t have than I had planned. There were a few sec- fearful, then I prefer to stand down. I would enough experience or have too much and onds when I thought I’d lost control. How does this sport affect you person- be too tense to control my body. How important is it for you to constantly get cocky. ally? Has it calmed you down? be on the lookout for new challenges? And then? Brennan: When I was little, I was shy. My How do you overcome your fears? Brennan: Very important, otherwise it gets How do you feel when you hear about ac- Brennan: When I landed, I cried and fellow students used to bully me. My moth- Brennan: There are various techniques. boring. I can jump closer to the ground, do cidents? thought how dumb I had been. I didn’t er couldn’t push me too hard on the swing

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Orientation during change

Entrepreneurship AWARD

Dr Friedhelm Loh, owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group, received the “Con- nected World” Leadership Award from the Vogel Business Media publishing house, which honoured him as an “impressive per- sonality” in the “Energy” category. “Your entrepreneurship and creativity inspire in- Simulation Anhand von Simulationsergebnissen kann dustry and society. Your vision provides a LKH den Faserverlauf von glasfaserverstärk- point of orientation in a world of digital ten Kunststoffen berechnen. change.” The media company publishes many of the most successful trade journals in the German-speaking world.

IBM and Rittal: Meeting of experts a solid Vibracoustic and LKH present a plastics expert day As a result of their smooth collaboration on various R&D and standard projects, Vi- partnership bracoustic invited LKH to an expert day in Hamburg to present the latest findings on plastics to employees. Over 30 participants from different departments at the The companies strengthen global market leader in the field of automotive vibration control technology attend- their long-standing col- ed the specialist presentations. The LKH team presented its expertise in the most laboration diverse areas of plastics processing and structured project management. Marcus Kiesewetter, a member of LKH’s R&D team, demonstrated the possibilities of highly Rittal has extended its existing part- cutting-edge simulation software that allows LKH to recognise and rectify design nership with IBM in Europe, the Mid- problems early on. Plastic is also replacing steel as a material in Vibracoustic pro- dle East and Africa and is now work- jects; in addition to such advantages as weight reduction and nearly unlimited ing worldwide with the IT consulting Dr Friedhelm Loh component design options, it offers new possibilities for component integration. firm on the planning, construction, The owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh During the expert day, both companies were also given the opportunity to examine operations and service of data cen- Group was delighted to receive the award. current problems. tres. As part of the collaboration, IBM is offering more IT infrastructure components from Rittal in its project business. This includes products such as IT racks, climate control so- Research contract lutions, power supply and monitor- ing systems, security solutions and 1 LKH joins transfer initiative standardised RiMatrix S data centre modules. “These days, companies Million Downloads LKH has been a member of the Rhineland- want to build a fail-safe IT infrastruc- Palatinate transfer initiative since July 2016. ture with transparency in cost calcu- Success for Eplan Data Portal This creates closer links between the Heili- lations. Working with IBM, our modu- genroth plastics specialist and the econom- lar and pre-certified container This June, the Eplan Data Portal, launched ic and scientific communities. The regional solutions facilitate fast, simple con- eight years ago, recorded one million parts government initiative fosters the develop- struction of cutting-edge, sustaina- data downloads. Currently, device data for ment of products and services and brings ble data centres,” says Rittal’s Man- over 660,000 components, as well as over the right cooperation partners together. LKH aging Director Sales and Marketing 1.2 million variations, are available via con- has already awarded a research contract in Hans Sondermann. figuration at the Portal. One hundred fifty- the area of “Lightweight Construction and seven manufacturers are represented, in- New Materials” to TU Kaiserslautern (Insti- Link tip: cluding world-famous names like Cisco and tute of Technology). For more information about Rittal’s data Hyundai. The portal saves users consider- centres, please visit www.tinyurl.com/ able time by allowing them to integrate veri- Link tip: rittal-ibm TU Kaiserslautern fied, up-to-date data directly into Eplan pro- The Institute of Technology is working on a More about the initiative at www.transferagentur- jects via drag-and-drop. research contract for LKH. rheinland-pfalz-saarland.de/transferinitiative

26 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 27 Expertise Electrical design

Incredible tool

Efficiency. Shorter processing times, a more integrated data flow and greater macro precision: Eplan has been supporting 3 Phase Power Systems with their electrical de- signs since 2013. Together, they contribute to Canada’s power supply.

Text: Lisa Krekel

n additional module? Newly ar- tion of data. Often, the incoming orders ranged components? A modified have only minimal differences to projects 3 Phase Power Systems A cut-out on the enclosure? For a that have already been archived. long time, what for customers was just a phone call meant something completely More precise with just one click Bursting different for Dwayne Donaldson, Senior “Today I can copy the template from Eplan Electrical Designer & Project Manager at Electric P8 with just a click and automati- with energy 3 Phase Power Systems in Canada: it cally import the electrical design data into meant more work. After every change, he Eplan Pro Panel,” Donaldson explains. and his team had to amend and modify “Previously I had to create a new directory 3 Phase Power Systems, a supplier of elec- drawings, prepare new drilling patterns folder and then copy over and painstak- trical components, is headquartered in Brit- and pass on the information to manufactur- ingly modify each individual file.” This of- ish Columbia, Canada’s westernmost proving and warehousing. So, back in 2013, it ten led to problems in manufacturing. ince, where the company develops technical solutions for an uninterrupted power supply. was unsurprising that Donaldson came to “Sometimes components were missing or The spectrum of products runs the gamut a decision: things can’t go on like this. the wrong ones were selected,” Donald- from converter devices to motor control units He and the company needed a more effi- son recalls. “We were constantly running to switchgear systems and drives with varia- cient solution. During his research, Don- around trying to find the needed parts.” ble frequencies. Rittal technology is often aldson came across the software solutions This was a problem, especially for time- used at 3 Phase Power Systems as well. The company’s main clients include the mining, from Eplan. Since then, quite a bit has sensitive projects – after all, many of the oil and gas industries as well as vendors in changed at the headquarters of 3 Phase company’s customers are directly involved the area of renewable energies. Power in southern Vancouver. One of the with ensuring the power supply nation- best examples of this: those smaller orders wide. Greater data consistency and preci- mentioned above that repeatedly landed sion weren’t just desired, but were actually on Donaldson’s desk. “Instead of having to essential. “We’ve been able to achieve a produce new technical drawings and drill- precision of 97 per cent for our macros, as ing patterns for every single one of them, compared to an estimated 60 per cent in now I can just forward a PDF to manufac- the previous system,” Donaldson says. turing with the 3D view of the switchboard, The company is supported by the Eplan including the drill holes,” Donaldson says. Data Portal in this, with around 1,500 mac- But there’s also been a lot of progress ros – altogether, the Eplan Data Portal pro- made in the area of turnaround times. “For vides around 660,000 parts records. larger projects we used to need about six “We’ve certainly downloaded hundreds of weeks from receiving the order to delivery,” parts macros from the Eplan Data Portal. 3 PHASE POWER SYSTEMS n Power control solutions of the Canadian Donaldson says. “Today we need just two.” It’s an incredible tool.” company are deployed in a number of The reason for this dramatic acceleration industries, including the minining industry. in turnaround is the sophisticated reutilisa-

28 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 29 Expertise Earthquake safety

t was 12.15 p.m. – time for the lunch When the earth break for many employees at Orion in I Christchurch, New Zealand – when the ROCKs ... ground began to shake from one of the largest earthquakes to ever hit the city on the country’s southern island. On 22 February Natural catastrophe. Earthquakes like 2011, the quake, measuring 6.3 on the Rich- the one that struck Christchurch, New ter scale, needed just 25 seconds to damage thousands of buildings and cause 185 Zealand, often destroy large amounts of deaths. “It was something I hope I never infrastructure. The functioning IT systems have to experience again,” says Neville at energy supplier Orion helped ensure Digby, an Orion employee. The company, which used to be headquartered in the mid- a speedy reconstruction. dle of town, runs the electricity grid in the greater Christchurch area and has 195,000 customers – both private homes and busi- Text: Dr Jörg Lantzsch nesses – that it supplies with electricity. After the earthquake, the infrastructure in the entire region around Christchurch was also hard hit: many streets were initially im- passable, water mains and wastewater pipes burst and the power supply failed in around 80 per cent of the entire urban area. It was an enormous challenge for Orion – but the company itself had also fallen victim to the quake: the building that housed Ori- on’s company headquarters was substantially damaged. And the company’s data centre in the building’s first storey was also seriously affected. Senior Systems Engineer Digby, who is responsible for the company’s IT systems, recalls: “The server room, which was six metres wide, sank about 60 centimetres on one side.” Nonetheless, the IT enclosure systems and the LCP air/water heat exchangers survived the shaking, which included vertical accelerations of up to 2.2 g, so that the servers could initially be kept running.

Risks of aftershocks “Of course we quickly had to find a replacement,” Digby says, “if for no other reason than entering the damaged building was really very risky.” Strong earthquakes like the one in Christchurch are always followed by aftershocks, which can then sometimes cause damaged buildings to collapse. The company’s employees remained uninjured by the natural catastrophe for the most part; they got off quite lightly, all things considered: just one employee was slightly injured by a door that slammed shut due

Heavy damage In Christchurch, New Zealand, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament wasn’t the only building that was seriously damaged in 2011. The data centre of the regional energy supplier Orion was almost completely destroyed.

30 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 31 Expertise Earthquake safety

“After only five hours all the systems were operational at the new location – I’m certain that’s a new world record.”

Neville Digby, Orion employee

to the quake – a black eye the only visible ing systems, uninterruptible power supply, the energy supply for the greater Christch- sign. Relatively quickly, the company was climate control system and fire alarm and urch area was secured. able to get all employees into an older, two- extinguishing system. The raised flooring After the earthquake, Orion decided to build storey building close by that remained prac- has 30 centimetres of space, more than a new headquarters several kilometres out- tically undamaged by the quake. enough for cabling. With this plug-and-play side of the city centre. The data centre But the data centre required a fast solution. concept, the data centre is ready for opera- naturally also had to be relocated for the Earthquake simulation “A container solution, like the Rittal Data tions directly upon delivery – only the energy move, which displayed yet another strength The effects of shocks and vibrations can be Center Container (RDCC) was something supply and network cabling need to be con- of the RDCC. “We powered down all the simulated in the Rittal Test Laboratory. Here a TS 8 enclosure with an earthquake kit is shown. that we had once considered previously,” nected. systems at the old location in the city centre Digby says. “After the earthquake, we then “To move all the hardware from the old data at 10.30 a.m.,” says Digby. “At 3.30 p.m., all quickly decided for that solution. But it still centre into the RDCC, we knocked a hole in the systems were operational at the new took twelve weeks before the RDCC arrived the wall of the old server room and trans- location – I’m certain that’s a new world rein Christchurch. The RDCC is housed in a ported all the components across a tempo- cord.” After powering down, the container purpose-built container. All the components rary outside stairwell,” Digby explains. A just had to be loaded onto a lorry with a Better earthquake-proof are already included: server racks, including week after the RDCC arrived, all the IT sys- crane and then, after being driven eight the power supply, access controls, monitor- tems were once again fully functional and kilometres, once again lifted by crane into its new location at the new company head- lmost all of the world’s countries Shaken, not destroyed quarters. are potentially endangered by There are three standards of particular im- For Digby, the concept of a mobile data Aearthquakes – especially where portance for the seismic safety of switchgear centre has already proven its value: “With tectonic plates meet. In order to take the systems worldwide: DIN EN/IEC 60068-3-3, the mobile RDCC, the data centre isn’t tied various hazards into account, different IEEE 693 and Telcordia GR-63-CORE. To to a building and, in case of an emergency, earthquake risk zones have been defined meet these standards, Rittal customers can can quickly and easily be transported.” which describe how likely a quake is and easily retrofit their enclosures with an earth- Meanwhile, Orion has purchased a second at what strength it could hit. quake kit. Whether it’s struts, gusset plates RDCC as a backup system and set it up 14 When discussing earthquake safety, the or base/plinths: even small measures requir- kilometres away. That way the company is safety of buildings is often paramount. ing just a few easy steps can increase stabil- definitely prepared for any extreme situa- This makes sense since damage to build- ity. But even without added protection, Rittal tions that might arise in the future. n ings usually leads to the majority of casu- enclosures – depending on the application alties as well as to most of the property and respective configuration – are ready for damage suffered. Nonetheless, technical use in earthquake risk zones. After all, the infrastructure such as electrical switch- enclosures are regularly subject to labora- Earthquake kit gear systems and data centres must also tory testing for their earthquake safety. With optional seismic upgrade accessories, be effectively protected against earth- Mounted on shaking tables, they must with- the construction of the enclosure frame according to framing principles can be quakes as well. stand the shock load without any structural reinforced to such an extent that the TS 8 Important precautionary measures must or functional damage. also fulfils the high standards of Zone 4 be taken for the installation of electrical according to GR-63-CORE. switchgear systems and IT infrastructure Data centre arrival Link tip: The new Rittal data centre arrived at Orion in depending on the level of earthquake You can find a whitepaper on the topic of Christchurch twelve weeks later. Damage from hazard, the standards for which may dif- earthquake safety for enclosures at the earthquake was still clearly visible. fer from country to country. www.tinyurl.com/rittal-earthquake

32 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 33 Expertise Stainless Steel

MADE FOR LIFE! “Good care is important”

Stainless steel. Enclosures made of steel with the “rust free” Interview. Marcus Wassenberg, at the stainless steel quality seal are extremely robust and look great. Whether or manufacturer Aperam, explains why “rust-free” steel can not the steel actually develops small rust spots depends on a rust and how to properly care for this material. number of factors, some of which can be controlled.

Text: Beate Schwarz Is the term “rust-free” confusing because such “rust-free” steel can actually rust under certain conditions? Marcus Wassenberg: The term “rust free” is perhaps a bit inexact technically speaking, but rightfully established as a trademark, and it continues to be suc- he secret of rustproof steel? It’s hidden Of the approximately 100 types of stainless cessful. It can potentially be misleading behind the letters Cr, the chemical steel with the attribute “rust free” produced for private consumers since they often T symbol for chromium. If the element is globally, Rittal has filtered out a handful of don’t know enough about how to deal with added during production, it forms an ex- good ones. These are suited for daily use un- the terminology and the various material tremely thin protective layer of chromium ox- der extreme conditions on the one hand, and properties. As a European manufacturer ide on the steel’s surface. The alloy doesn’t the focus on a few but outstanding materials we’re happy to advise our clients about make it invulnerable, however. “The term ‘rust enables efficient, cost-effective manufactur- applications. Because in practice, the free’ is a bit misleading,” says Joachim ing on the other hand. As an example, rust- question frequently asked is: “corrosion- Becker, Director of Quality Management and proof stainless steel type 1.4301 is appropri- resistant to what?” Simplifying things, you chemical industry, pharmaceuticals – head of the test laboratory. “If the surface ate for the high hygiene standards of the food could say that “non-rusting steel” in the proper application is an absolute neces- gets damaged or if the steel isn’t suited to the and pharmaceutical industries, while rust- as-delivered condition is “rust free” and sity. Otherwise permanent damage can environment or application, even so-called free stainless steel type 1.4404 would be the will remain so when factors such as occur, for instance due to chlorides. In rust-free steel can rust.” first choice for maritime applications. processing, environment, application and many cases we as manufacturers find that The alloy on the surface protects the steel from “Rittal applies a coating to the surface de- care continue to ensure this. end users often aren’t supplied with any water and oxygen. In addition, it offers self- pending on the requirements,” Fabrizius ex- explicit care instructions. Provided the healing powers: if there’s damage, the chro- plains. “The coating prevents the steel from Can the properties continue to be material is suited to the application and a mium oxidises very quickly at that spot so that coming into contact with oxygen and water, improved upon? What sort of research person understands how rust-free the “wound” closes and the protection is re- while offering additional protection against is taking place? stainless steel “works”, product made of stored. But if particles of another metal remain damage and abrasive chemicals in addition Wassenberg: Our research and develop- stainless steel are often made for life! stuck to the surface, corrosion can result. to the chromium alloy.” Before this powder ment is continually working on improving “Typical examples include non-rustproof coating is applied, the sheet steel undergoes our current materials and on new materi- Are there alternatives to non-rusting screws or damage caused by the fork of a a nanoceramic pre-treatment. This environ- als. Since the fundamental parameters steel? forklift,” Becker says. Even the smallest parti- mentally friendly pre-treatment process are often defined according to particular Wassenberg: There are of course cles carried through the air can cause rust. “It further improves corrosion protection. Steel norms, development usually focuses on alternatives to rustproof stainless steel in can suffice if an angle grinder is used nearby.” treated in this fashion can withstand factors such as improved workability or individual areas. But aside from traditional This phenomenon is referred to as flash rust. 720 hours of salt spray testing according to lower costs without any loss of corrosion users, rust-free stainless steel is increas- DIN EN ISO 9227 and come out unscathed. properties and processing. The impulse ingly being deployed in other areas. Finding the right type of steel Despite this, the same maintenance proce- often comes from industry and the Hardly any other material combines so Along with physical damage, abrasive chem- dure applies to enclosures and all items processors themselves – they basically many specification requirements. And ical compounds can cause rust, such as chlo- made of rustproof steel or stainless steel: determine what’s needed. although its manufacturing is relatively rinated air from swimming pools. “Acids can regularly wipe them down with a rag and wa- energy-intensive, the final product is up to corrode the chromium oxide layer,” explains ter. And there are special cleaners for bur- What’s the best way to care for stain- 100 per cent recyclable in the majority of Andreas Fabrizius, Laboratory Engineer for geoning rust blooms. n less steel, whether it’s flatware or an cases and can be used again for subse- Materials and Corrosion Protection Technol- enclosure? quent material without any degradation at ogy. “An enclosure installed on a drilling plat- Wassenberg: Although different materials all. And since there is an increasing focus form in the harsh North Sea is exposed to Link tip: are used in these cases, what can be said on sustainability, new, interesting fields of concentrated salt.” This is why choosing the You can find a whitepaper on this topic at is that both materials should be kept far application keep opening up for rust-free right type of steel for the planned application www.tinyurl.com/flash-rust away from corrosive media. Erosive stainless steel. is so important. “When we discuss the con- applications that destroy the material’s figuration of enclosures with customers, we passive layer should also be avoided. first analyse the requirement and then select Usually pure water and a mild detergent the suitable steel,” Becker says. are more than enough for gentle care. Where the use of other substances is required – in areas such as medicine, the

34 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 35 EXPERTISE Blue e+ cooling units

HIGH-TECH MADE IN ITALY

Technology. Innovative technology from northern Italy has an excellent reputation. Cooling technology is particularly popular. This is another reason why Rittal produces its Blue e+ series here in accordance with Industry 4.0 criteria.

Text: Lisa Krekel and Joscha Duhme

icycle manufacturer Sarto is lo- ufacturing Engineering, is very familiar with STANDARDS ENABLE FLEXIBILITY cated halfway between Venice this internationally recognised site for tech- The flexibility gained is also possible be- B and Padua. Virtually unnoticed by nology and production location. In fact, cause new standardised work processes the general public, this small company has Rittal also stands for innovative and high- ensure that “we are no longer moving half- been building state-of-the-art, handcrafted quality cooling solutions “made in Italy.” finished equipment from one stage of work bicycles for over 60 years. For interna- Since 2015, the company has been pro- to another. Instead, one or more employees tional cycling pros and fans, a bike from ducing Blue e+, its new series of cooling working in semi-autonomous groups over- this time-honoured manufacturer is con- units, in Valeggio sul Mincio, a small town see cooling units up to their completion,” sidered an absolute insider tip. Approxi- south of Lake Garda. On average, Blue e+ says Benner. To that end, the production mately 2,500 one-off models leave the fac- saves users 75 per cent of the energy pre- planning team from Rittal headquarters in tory every year, each one tailored to a viously required for enclosure climate con- Herborn is already involved in the product customer’s individual needs, then rein- trol. The secret of the highly efficient cool- development phase. “Not only can we de- forced with carbon fibres and tested re- ing units lies in a unique combination of termine which assembly sequence is the peatedly. This is precisely how Antonio passive and active cooling. A special fea- fastest and most efficient, we can also inter- and Enrico Sarto, the two founders of the ture of the Rittal plant in Valeggio: new vene directly during development to opti- company, envision “perfection made in cooling units are produced in compliance mise assembly,” says Heilmann. Thus, after Italy.” To that end, they made a conscious with Industry 4.0 principles, on a total area detailed analyses, the Manufacturing Engi- decision to establish their “manifattura” in of nearly 9,000 square metres. At this neering department can determine at which the heart of the Veneto region, known plant, Rittal also assembles recooling point a given manual action is to be carried around the world as a site for innovation in units, chillers, heat exchangers and ther- out when the product is first assembled. “At technology and production. moelectric coolers. the same time, as a result of our notes during From the food and beverage industry to “Conversion to Industry 4.0-compatible the design phase of the components, they the textile industry to heating and climate production doesn’t suddenly happen at are easier to assemble – using retainers for insider tip: Sarto control technology, countless sectors have the flip of a switch. It is an ongoing pro- lifting devices, for example. As a result, work settled over the years in this high-tech re- cess,” notes Nicola Salandini, Plant Direc- steps can be carried out more ergonomi- Professional athletes consider racing bikes from Italian bicycle manufacturer gion of northern Italy. Still, since the 1950s, tor at the Valeggio site. The initial lean cally in the long run,” says Heilmann. Sarto an absolute insider tip. Founders the focus has unquestionably been on production measures were already being In 2015, Rittal also digitised the assembly Antonio and Enrico Sarto invest several heating and climate control technology. implemented in 2012. In addition, the com- line for Blue e+. This is not only noticeable years of research and development in Veneto is now home to about 150 cooling pany introduced a modular production at the plant, but to customers as well – every model because they have one specialists, approximately 60 per cent of system. “This allows us to adjust serial thanks to products of the highest precision primary goal: to be better than the competition. the total number throughout Europe. “This production of various devices quickly and and quality. “This is the first production line Each bicycle is tailor-made to a custom- is further supported by the locally based flexibly, even if the geometries and dimen- equipped with touch screens. As a result, er’s individual needs. That’s why it is no University of Padua, which is extremely sions are completely different,” explains our employees always have a picture of the surprise that only around 2,500 of these well regarded in this field,” adds André Tobias Heilmann, Team Leader Assembly current assembly status and work instruc- one-off models leave the “manifattura” in Benner, explaining this concentration of Processes at Rittal Manufacturing Engi- tions,” explains Salandini. “Until now, this Pianiga each year. expertise. Benner, who works at Rittal Man- neering. required a lot of paper, which is

36 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 37 EXPERTISE Blue e+ cooling units

INDUSTRY 4.0 YOU CAN TOUCH The automated assembly line of the new Customer survey Blue e+ cooling units brings the principles of Industry 4.0 to life. In Valeggio, employees also produce cooling units, chillers, heat exchangers and thermoelectric coolers. Satisfied customers

Marco Villa Managing Director at Rittal Italy

For the second time since 2013, Rittal has conducted a survey of its customers in Italy – with excellent results. Rittal received a positive evaluation from 367 industry and IT customers. “We find it both validating and encouraging that the quality of our products is considered our greatest strength, for which we receive better ratings than the competition,” says Marco Villa, Managing Director at Rittal Italy. In May and June 2016, respon dents evaluated their experiences with Rittal on a scale of 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).

8.8 Rittal received an average of 8.8 out of ten possible points from its Italian customers for product quality. They characterised it now almost completely eliminated. Employ- though it is our aim to evaluate the quality counts first and foremost. “Our employees as the greatest asset of the company. In ees now simply scan a bar code over the of our products before they are completed, log in each morning with their personnel 2013, customers had given Rittal a score of device and, in seconds, all necessary infor- it is more important to us to ensure their code. Each individual is putting his or her 8.4 points. mation is displayed on the screen, including quality throughout assembly by using in- reputation on the line to vouch for a high particularly critical work steps, which are novative processes that virtually eliminate quality of production,” says Benner. This now prominently indicated,” adds Benner. defects,” says Heilmann, adding: “Even cuts down on working time while reducing 8.0 The implementation of barcode scanning with optimised assembly processes, it is the risk of error. The system now creates Italian customers gave Rittal an average of facilitates a) documentation of a workpiece’s impossible to recognise from the outside fully automated quality protocols, in place 8.0 out of ten possible points for sales and consulting – 0.3 points more than in 2013. production status, b) work instructions and whether an individual component might be of the written ones every employee was c) verification as to whether the proper com- faulty. This is why we check all important once obliged to complete. It is already ponent is actually installed in its intended functions, such as temperature sensors or evident that Rittal is prepared for “la quar- location. Moreover, components used can the performance of the device.” Every day, ta rivoluzione industriale.” n 8.5 be traced back much more easily. “We know about 450 cooling units leave the plant after Rittal managed 8.5 – 8.9 out of ten points for internationality, competence and reliability. exactly which compressor was installed in passing this acid test. Customers gave Rittal Italy 8.0 – 8.4 points a device, for example, and when it was Before the end of the year 2017, further for being innovative, solution-oriented and manufactured by our supplier. In the event optimisations are planned for the Italian responsible – an outstanding evaluation. of a quality problem on the part of the sup- plant, which is to serve as a pilot project plier, we can determine exactly which of our for other sites worldwide. This includes customers were delivered the device and configurators, which customers can use for +30 % notify them specifically,” explains Benner. chillers and whose parts, sequence and Rittal’s Net Promoter Score is +30%. This With these “traceability” measures, there is process lists are then immediately trans- key figure is calculated based on answers to a complete profile on every cooling unit. ferred to production. Fully automated ware- the question: “How likely are you to house management is another scheme recommend Rittal?” It is an important measure of customer loyalty. Acid test that will soon be introduced at Valeggio, At the end of the assembly process, the with “Pick2Light” systems that quickly di- team in Valeggio puts each cooling unit rect employees toward the appropriate through a 100 per cent function test. “Al- components. Until then, their “good name”

38 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 39 Expertise Fire protection

Data protection is a burning issue

Fire. Even data can fall victim to fire. Early fire detection and an active extinguishing system protect IT systems, thereby preventing data loss and downtimes in an emergency.

Text: Dagmar Puh

ndless lines at check-in desks, hours must be flooded with nitrogen, you need a of waiting and even cancelled flights pressure release in the space and arrange- Products E – anyone who wanted to fly with a ments for protecting people.” Visual and certain American airline between 8 and 12 acoustic signals would warn of the incom- August 2016 went through a nightmare. The ing gas. For small IT applications, it often Protection reason for the chaos: a power failure that makes more sense to implement fire pro- caused a fire in a data centre which, in turn, tection at the level of individual IT racks. Made by completely crippled the airline’s IT systems. Experts estimated the losses for the com- No easy choice Rittal pany were in the high double-digit millions. The selection of extinguishing agent is The damage to the company’s image was also of utmost importance: “At customers’ probably much greater. sites it’s happened that we’ve found work- Rittal offers various fire alarm and extin- This example demonstrates how important ing sprinkler units over the server enclo- guishing systems. One example is the Rittal it is for companies to protect their IT infra- sures.” Naturally the extinguisher should DET-AC III family of products for closed server enclosures. It is made up of an early structure from fire. Institutions including the neither be conductive nor leave residues, fire detection system as well as an active ex- Department of Homeland Security in the so that the electronics aren’t compro- tinguishing system. Novec 1230 is used as United States and the Federal Office for mised. Inert gases such as argon and ni- the extinguishing agent. Just two litres in a Information Security in Germany compel trogen meet these requirements, as do 19-inch rack of one height unit suffices to companies to undertake “state of the art chemical extinguishing agents such as extinguish a volume of 2.8 cubic metres. The built-in emergency electricity supply can technical and organisational measures” to Novec 1230. They either displace the oxy- bridge a gap of up to four hours without volt- prevent disruptions if an IT failure at their gen or remove the heat from the fire. To age supplies during a power outage. The in- company could have implications for the best guarantee this, it’s advisable to suf- tegrated smoke extraction system works general public. Yet even companies whose ficiently seal the rack. This prevents the with a two-step system. An integrated CAN server enclosures or data centre only cover extinguishing agent’s concentration from bus interface allows this fire protection system to be directly connected to existing their own IT infrastructure may be neglect- plummeting and the fire from flaring up alarm systems. ing the seriousness of this topic. “Unfortu- again if the power supply hasn’t been dis- nately they underestimate the fact that fires connected. In any case, it should be ar- are more common than one might think,” ranged that the power supply be inter- says Bernd Hanstein, Vice President IT rupted in the case of fire. Product Management at Rittal. Many com- The third pillar of fire protection is an early panies have gaps in their fire protection fire detection system, which should in- systems that, in an emergency, could lead clude a highly sensitive smoke detector to massive data losses and downtimes in and an “active” smoke extraction system. company operations. Pipes installed in the rack constantly ex- Protecting sensitive technology is definite- tract air from the server enclosure and di- ly complex. Since many operators have no rect it across the smoke detector. “Other- idea how to find the suitable solution for wise it can sometimes take a long time for their own data centres, Rittal offers support smoke to arrive at a smoke detector, espe- with consulting services and suitable prod- cially if the cooling system directs air hor- ucts. “The first question when establishing izontally in the rack,” Hanstein says. So an extinguishing system is that of size,” that fire protection remains active even Hanstein explains. Is it enough when the when there’s a power failure, the solution FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS system protects individual racks? Or must should also have a built-in emergency A power failure caused a fire in the data an entire room be covered? “You must bear power supply with batteries. n centre of an American airline, resulting in the cancellation of countless flights. It’s an in mind that room solutions often require incident that demonstrates the importance of follow-up investments,” he says. “If for in- well-protected IT infrastructure for the stance in the case of fire a whole room smooth running of day-to-day business.

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Malfunction? Consider it fixed!

Communication protocol. On the basis of OPC UA technology, Eplan and Murrelektronik are demonstrating how to facilitate fault diagnosis and troubleshooting in complex systems. This innovative type of diagnostics is a springboard for Industry 4.0.

Text: Rebecca Lorenz

he very mention of the word “mal- device information, they can diagnose the function” causes plant operators and condition of components, initiate the replace- Murrelektronik GMBH T service technicians to break out in a ment or take other action to correct the fault,” sweat. Until a malfunction is located and says Dieter Pesch, Senior Vice President of fixed, each moment that passes brings it Product Management and Development at Leading closer and closer to an emergency. Even a Eplan. This also makes the system suitable simple short circuit can paralyse an entire for electricians with no knowledge of PLC, supplier plant. Reactivity during commencement of since they can perform diagnostics using a operations, maintenance or repairs deter- wiring plan. In addition, separate diagnostics mines the duration of shutdowns – and the programming of individual PLCs is no longer Murrelektronik GmbH develops, produces resulting costs. “However, traditional fault necessary. and sells electrical and electronic automa- diagnosis is usually complicated and time- “In general, OPC UA technology is of interest tion technology. The company, with headquarters in Oppenweiler in Baden-Württem- consuming,” says Thomas Michels, Eplan to all Eplan Electric P8 users, since compre- berg (Germany), is one of the leading Head of Product Management. “Often, hensive preventive diagnostics can be im- companies in the field of mechanical and ! when technicians consult paper documen- plemented with very little effort,” adds plant equipment, from enclosure to tation for the causes of a mechanical mal- Wiedemann. It is also suitable for users with interface to field. Murrelektronik employs function, they have only incomplete informa- their own mechanical and plant engineering. around 2,200 people across the globe. Fault in the system tion. Even when tracing faults via signals Expanding the diagnostics options can be Comprehensive communication protocols from a programmable logic controller (PLC), substantially more cost-effective, particu- are available to locate the cause of they are also dealing with a variety of PLCs larly when it comes to small-batch produc- the original fault. Eplan uses OPC UA, and interfaces from a wide range of manu- tion of special-purpose machines, rather which is expected to establish itself as a communication standard between facturers.” Negotiating a number of different than implementing detailed diagnostic pro- machinery and IT. standards takes considerable time during gramming via PLC. diagnostics. This is why Eplan and Murrele- OPC UA also serves as the springboard for ktronik have been researching a pragmatic Industry 4.0 projects. As workpieces in the solution approach since early 2016: a direct Smart Factory go through individual produc- connection between wiring plans and mation modules – equipped with order and chines and their automation components production data on barcodes or transpond- using the OPC UA (Open Platform Commu- ers, which the modules use to control the nication Unified Architecture) communica- system components – human intervention tion protocol. “This makes communication would be limited to administration. “In order possible, regardless of manufacturer and for this to work, we need to ensure not only platform, from the shop floor level all the way the availability of the data, but also the ar- to Eplan Engineering,” explains Wolfgang rival of the right data in the right format and Wiedemann, Head of Application&Sales at the right place at the right time,” explains Support Business Unit Automation at Mur- Michels. “To do this, we use the interface to relektronik. OPC UA. Without it, it’s nearly impossible to master this new complexity with more and No knowledge of PLC required more automation components for control The great advantage of this approach to find- and data acquisition in production machining solutions is that the data from different ery.” n controllers is available via OPC server access. “An error can then be displayed in the wiring plan via an OPC client and Eplan software, enabling maintenance engineers to identify it right where it occurs. By viewing the

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The factory

An overview of the investments By 2018, a state-of-the-art, Industry promise. The high-bay warehouse will have of the future 4.0-compliant compact enclosure plant will space for over 21,500 pallets for large-scale be built at the Haiger site. It is projected that enclosures and an automated small parts extensive automation and digitisation will warehouse, which will provide adequate reduce the production time of compact storage space for Rittal standard products Investments. Rittal is investing a total of 170 million euros in a new, Industry enclosures to five days. The grounds also and accessories. In addition, the plant 4.0-compliant compact enclosure plant. In mid-August 2016, the company laid house the newly opened Global Distribution grounds house the Rittal Innovation Center Center, which provides the ideal conditions and the headquarters of the Friedhelm Loh the cornerstone of the new building in Haiger (Hesse). for adhering to the 24/48-hour delivery Group, as well as a future training centre.

Text: Rebecca Lorenz

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inges, turn-lock fasteners and gland “Our three-stage production – sheet metal The new site plates: as if by magic, the fresh processing, painting and assembly – is digi- H supply of building components is tally networked throughout and equipped whisked into the warehouse via conveyor with processing machinery from Rittal To the max belt as soon as it is unloaded from the truck. Automation Systems,” explains Carsten A manual comparison with the bill of deliv- Röttchen, Executive Vice President Pro- ery is unnecessary, because everything is duction. “Ultimately, we want to work as done digitally here. efficiently as possible, not only at, but also 24,000 And it is no surprise that the operation of among our respective locations.” the adjacent state-of-the-art 3D laser centre square metres of production space is being built at the Haiger site. The new plant will be is also data-based. The high-precision ma- A paradigm for the future one of the largest Rittal plants in the world. chine cuts, drills and mills holes and re- Röttchen is referring to the future joint pro- A good reason to celebrate cesses in all formats in panels and even duction network formed by the production On 19 August 2016, the cornerstone of the new compact enclosure plant was laid in Haiger. In attendance were (left to right) Carsten Röttchen, entire enclosures; after all, the exact manu- sites in Haiger, Rittershausen and Hof. Their Executive Vice President Production; Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO of Rittal facturing data is received directly from the machine parks will be digitally networked to International; Mario Schramm, Mayor of Haiger; Wolfgang Schuster, District 290 customer’s configuration. work together in perfect coordination. Once Administrator of the Lahn-Dill district; Dr Friedhelm Loh, with his wife employees will be working in the plant If the stock of mounting plates is running tested, this paradigm will serve as a model Debora; and Hesse Premier Volker Bouffier. starting in 2018. On the basis of an integrated low, driverless transport systems deliver a for the company’s international production flow of data, they will produce compact fresh supply, entirely self-organised and sites as well. enclosures as ordered by customers. just in time. Long downtimes and technical “Of course, I can understand how the hiccups become a thing of the past thanks mountains of data to be processed and to knowledge-based systems. When cer- critical security considerations might deter tain threshold values are exceeded, an some companies from taking a radical 250 m alarm is automatically triggered that initi- step like this,” says Dr Loh. “But produc- Rittal will be investing 250 million euros in its ates the ordering of replacement parts and tion in networks is crucial to the future of German sites in the years to come. This is the biggest capital expenditure in company informs the employee about the upcoming Germany as an industrial location. This is history. repair. the only way we can generate sufficient Processing companies around the world productivity to be prepared for interna- are still debating these cutting-edge pro- tional competition.” duction processes. At Rittal, things are dif- A new, direct link from customer to produc- 9,000 ferent, because the company is unafraid to tion demonstrates the sincerity of Dr Loh’s compact enclosures are projected to leave take the Industry 4.0 plunge. To do so, the declaration. With the opening of the new the state-of-the-art plant in Haiger each day. enclosure technology system provider will plant in Haiger, future orders will be submit- To achieve this, production will be highly have invested about 250 million euros in its ted to production directly via the online automated. German locations in Haiger, Hof and Rit- shop and the Rittal Configuration System tershausen by the end of 2018. The corner- and processed automatically (see p. 48 for stone was laid in Haiger in mid-August more information on the Rittal Configuration 2016, in the presence of customers, em- System). As a result, processing will be- ployees, journalists and politicians. come much faster and production time will Dr Friedhelm Loh, owner and CEO of the be reduced to five days. Friedhelm Loh Group, explains the invest- In addition, the newly opened Global Distri- ment: “Although our plants are already bution Center, located right next to the among Germany’s most cutting-edge pro- planned location of the new compact en- duction facilities, we are going one step closure plant in Haiger, will also dramati- further in order to remain competitive in the cally accelerate the delivery time of orders. long term.” In concrete terms, this means At an over 4,000-square-meter, 32-metre- that as of 2018, up to 9,000 compact en- tall facility, products will be automatically closures will be produced daily at the transported to their storage location in min- Rittal Innovation Center Along the value chain, Rittal employees pursue intensive communication 24,000-square-metre facility in Haiger utes for pick-up. with customers at the newly opened Innovation Center, where they can alone – and production will be highly au- “As a supplier, we’ve observed that our cus- discuss new and optimised solutions for the value chain in control system tomated. tomers want to keep as few parts and switchgear engineering.

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Value stream: “Production in networks is from customer to customer crucial to the future of Germany as an industrial location.”

In the future, from enclosure configuration and ordering to production and delivery, digitisation and networking will be the basis for Dr Friedhelm Loh, owner and CEO of the efficient process steps. For Rittal, Industry 4.0 means not only increased utilisation of sensors and profitable data evaluation and Friedhelm Loh Group analysis; rather, Industry 4.0 means networking different production systems and integrating them into the entire Rittal value chain – from customer to customer.

Ordering Customers use the Rittal Configuration System, developed by Rittal and Eplan, to build their compact enclosures, which they can order at the online shop.

Verification The system verifies that all parts have been correctly selected. Standard products are available immediately. The sys- in stock as possible,” says Andreas Nögel, out and discuss them. “The Innovation duction and delivery are the express goals tem forwards custom orders to production. Vice President Global Logistics at Rittal. Center is intended to serve as an intensive of the new, future-oriented site in Central “This trend will intensify in the future, so- and fruitful point of exchange for us and our Hesse. To that end, Rittal is already plan- Manufacturing lidifying the importance of guaranteed de- customers,” confirms Jan-Henry Schall, Di- ning its next capital investment. “The During manufacturing, the necessary in- livery times.” Rittal already promises that rector of the Rittal Innovation Center. “Re- Global Distribution Center, the Innovation formation and machine programmes are items ordered will be delivered to the cus- gardless of whether it is praise, criticism or Center and the new compact enclosure automatically created from configuration tomer within 24 hours. In remote regions questions, every suggestion is welcome.” plant in Haiger are just the beginning. Our data. Manufacturing and logistics work to- with weak infrastructure, this delivery time In fact, the intense communication with cus- next project is the construction of a new gether in a coordinated and self-organ- can rise to 48 hours. tomers, partners and suppliers is firmly an- plant for stainless steel enclosures in ised manner. “Thanks to the state-of-the-art logistics in- chored in Rittal’s history: many products Rittershausen.” And it will also be Industry frastructure in the new Global Distribution which are now an integral part of the com- 4.0-compliant, of course. n Delivery Center, we have been able to increase the pany’s portfolio were created exactly this Both standard products and custom quantity of shipped products by 50 per way. “I would estimate that, in the 55 years solutions are sent to the customer via cent, cut lead times in half and increase de- of the company’s existence, about two- the Global Distribution Center. livery quality by over 50 per cent,” explains thirds of our 1,500 patents came about Nögel. This clear improvement in efficiency through a mutual exchange of ideas with Value creation provides the best conditions for keeping our customers,” says Dr Loh. “The Rittal System Configurator is a and surpassing a given delivery promise. perfect example of data consistency “Step by step, we are developing Haiger as Focus on customers in the value chain, in total compliance a future-oriented location,” Dr Loh asserts. From standardised large-scale enclosures with Industry 4.0,” declares Maximilian It goes without saying that this is only to the Micro Data Center to Blue e+ cooling Brandl, Managing Director of Eplan. possible with the cooperation of customers units, Rittal’s success story is closely inter- The foundation of the new tool is and employees. “They are the focal point woven with the needs of its customers. precisely managed data that is provided of all we do; after all, our company would “That’s why it is all the more important for by Rittal and processed for the Eplan not exist without their ideas and input.” us to not only train employees and custom- Data Portal with Eplan support. Supple- System products or software solutions, it’s ers at the Innovation Center, but to work mented by the standard in the Eplan all the same: Rittal’s motto was and is “listen with them as well in finding solutions to op- Engineering Configuration, smart CAD and give it a try.” This is another reason timise the value chain in control system and data is generated for use. “Further the company and its affiliates Eplan and switchgear engineering,” says Schall. processing of digital Rittal enclosures Cideon have opened the 1,200-square- In Haiger, this means that visitors to the In- using Eplan Pro Panel is integrated, metre Rittal Innovation Center very near the novation Center scrutinise each individual in order to complete the construction of Global Distribution Center and the planned process step from engineering to systems digital models with automation compo- compact enclosure plant. “These are the technology to system configuration. “Only nents,” explains Brandl. “All process steps questions we must ask ourselves again and by analysing, discussing and grasping go hand in hand – it’s the ultimate in data again,” notes Dr Loh. “What can we do to every single station in the value chain can consistency and error reduction!” improve our products, our logistics and the we discover previously hidden efficiency value chain for the customer?” potential,” says Schall. “In addition to new To find answers to these questions, Rittal automation options, this also includes cost would like not only to present its customers savings and shortened lead times.” with innovations and explanations, but also Increasing productivity, developing con- to invite them to the new spaces to try things sistent innovation and accelerating pro-

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In the heart of Hesse

Rittal has been manufacturing housing and enclosure technology in Haiger for over 55 years. Berlin The company has made a major contribution to the development of the region as a successful location for business. The ground-breaking ceremony at the compact enclosure plant and the opening of the Global Distribution Center (GDC) solidify Rittal’s commitment to the region and its future-oriented development. In addition to its accessible location in the heart of Europe, MODEL Hesse’s Minister President there are other good reasons why Central Hesse is poised to compete in the global market. Cologne Volker Bouffier (right) listens attentively to Dr Friedhelm Loh as Dr Loh uses a model to introduce the new factory in Haiger at the Hessentag Frankfurt political summit. am Main

Munich

Multifaceted and a great place to live

The Lahn-Dill district, known as the Land of Kings for its many castles and palaces, borders the Westerwald, the Rothaar Moun- tains and the Taunus. Haiger is the ideal starting point for hikes on the 154-kilometre- long Rothaarsteig. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who worked as an apprentice in Wetzlar, extolled the surrounding countryside for its indescribably beautiful nature.

From Haiger to the whole world in 24 hours…48 hours, tops! Thanks to its excellent geographical location and optimal access to transportation, Rittal can guarantee speedy deliveries. The production site is located in the heart of Europe near the border between Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-West- phalia. By connecting to the motorway network, transports reach fourteen countries in ten hours by car (six in under five hours).

Another advantage of the geographic location is the proximity to universities such as those of Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Giessen, Marburg, Kassel, Siegen, Koblenz, Cologne and Bonn.

Many goings-on Rittal has maintained a close-knit relationship with Herborn – where it is headquartered – since its founding in 1961. This is yet another reason why the company supports cultural events in the town, including the Hessentag, which took place in Herborn this year.

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Digitisation potential

Innovation. Digitisation: a matter for American IT corporations? In a conversation with the ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association), Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO at Rittal, demonstrates how German industry is also playing a major role.

Text: Johannes Winterhagen, courtesy of „Ampere – Das Magazin der Elektroindustrie“

he low-rise building is inconspicu- the Friedhelm Loh Group (Rittal’s parent ous from the outside except for the company) for over ten years. T sign reading “Innovation Center.” In Germany, digitisation is often associat- It is probably an office space, or maybe ed with IT companies from the United an exhibition hall. Inside comes the sur- States. On the other hand, Köhler coun- prise: a light-filled hall containing high- ters: “The medium-sized electrical industry tech production machinery. “You are in the is a major economic factor with substantial right place,” says Karl-Ulrich Köhler invit- innovative power.” When companies focus ingly. Rittal’s CEO explains why we are in on digitising individual sub-steps of indus- Haiger walking into a sample production trial processes or, as in the case of Rittal, of enclosures: “At our Innovation Center, on the entire value chain, new ideas can we can map the entire value chain pro- be implemented extremely quickly. cess of our customers. We see this as a working environment where our develop- Investing in innovation ers work on new solutions together and As a matter of fact, according to a study with customers.” At an assembly worksta- on the capacity for innovation in the Ger- tion, Köhler enthusiastically demonstrates man economy, the electrical industry in- how a digitally pre-designed enclosure is vests 9.9 per cent of its sales revenue in made. Each individual step is displayed innovation. This also includes investment on a tablet in exactly the right order. This in equipment used for research and devel- Eye on the future Since July, Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler has been will preclude the possibility of an improper opment. The electrical industry is on a par CEO of Rittal International Stiftung & Co. KG installation; Kohler sees this as just one with vehicle manufacturing and signifi- as well as Chairman of the Management example of the potential inherent in com- cantly more innovative than the chemical Board of Rittal GmbH & Co. KG. plete digitisation – from planning to order and pharmaceuticals industry, which in- and manufacturing right through to the vests 7.7 per cent of its sales revenue in utilisation phase. the future. However, the same study re- Köhler, who is no stranger to handling a veals that 78 per cent of the total expend- screwdriver, is obviously very much at iture on innovation is accounted for by home in his new job. He has only chaired large companies. The authors warn that the Management Board since 1 July of this “the share of small and medium-sized en- tion and Research implements a 320-mil- to learn from mistakes.” Networked value In spite of these positive conditions, the Through the glass pane of the conference year after being employed by various terprises (SMEs) has been declining for lion-euro programme to “strengthen medi- chain structures, so typical for the German overall situation needs to be viewed criti- room, he points to the model factory. “This steel corporations for over 35 years, most many years.” A problem with this observa- um-sized businesses.” economy, are helpful in quickly sharing and cally, Köhler warns. He considers China is the proper platform for developing these recently as a CEO. It is rare for a high- tion is the fact that SMEs are defined as In any case, even in a digitised, globalised increasing knowledge – as is a vocational the main major competitor after the United solutions.” n level executive from a large publicly trad- companies with a maximum of 499 em- world, Köhler does not feel that the family training system that is unparalleled in the States. China’s new five-year plan, which ed enterprise to move to a family busi- ployees; all others are statistically classi- business model is obsolete. “In a knowl- world. Even if the small town of Haiger is not continues into 2020, stipulates that 60 per ness. “The size of the company is fied as large enterprises. “One might won- edge-driven industry, longevity is an advan- renowned for the hipness of its establish- cent of future economic growth should Link tip: irrelevant to me,” says Köhler. “It’s more der if this is an adequate categorisation,” tage. And family-owned companies nurture ments, Köhler is not worried about finding result from advances in science and For more information, head to about the systems approach: ‘Think big, cautions Köhler. “Family businesses like a mindset of constant reinvestment.” This is young talent. Currently, Rittal receives more technology. Digitisation plays a crucial role www.tinyurl.com/Ampere-Industrie-4-0 act fast.’ And that is precisely the kind of us, without the resources of a DAX-listed also important because so far no one has applications each year than it has employ- in this process. “Policy in Germany and culture that I’ve found here.” This came as corporation, but with 11,500 employees the all-encompassing solution for Industry ees worldwide. Köhler is optimistic: “We Europe must respond to this government no surprise to Köhler; after all, he had worldwide, fall through the cracks” – when, 4.0. “We are all on a learning curve. Com- have considerable options and we want to focus. Companies will have creative been a member of the Advisory Board of for example, the Federal Ministry of Educa- panies need a culture that allows them use them.” and needs-driven solutions,” says Köhler.

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Eplan Platform 2.6

Now also in Turkish

The new Eplan Platform version 2.6 includes Turkish as an additional software language and numerous technical up- grades. Many functions have been optimised to simplify the integration of the Eplan Platform into existing customer processes. Examples of new functions include terminal design and project data management, the depiction of piping in fluid power engineering and optimised IT integration. With the addition of Turkish, the Eplan Platform is now available in a total of eighteen languages.

Link tip: For more information on the Eplan Plattform head to www.eplan.de/platform

Inventx AG This Swiss company is the IT partner for leading banks and financial institutions.

Business At the bank

IBM and Rittal implement data centres for Inventx.

With the help of Rittal and IBM, Swiss bank services provider Inventx built two new data centres in Switzerland. Rittal delivered server enclosures for the compact installation of IT components and, working with IBM and Inventx, developed a climate- control concept which will optimise operating costs. Moreover, Rittal and IBM won the company over with intelligent cable management for efficient maintenance work and system expansion. Both data centres are classified to Tier Level 3, so they are nearly 100 per cent error free and failsafe.

Volume deliveries Ship permits simplified Stahlo supplies Volkswagen EuroBLECH, the international technology Rittal busbar systems save time and costs for certification trade fair for sheet metal processing in Han- over, Germany, marked a milestone for Control panels that are used on ships or tifications for vibration stability and fire and received approval from the interna- Stahlo. The Steel Service Center for the other offshore applications are subject protection along with affidavits for tional classification societies. With Rittal Friedhelm Loh Group is now an authorised to special certification ordinances. short-circuit resistance, insulation ca- busbar systems, plant manufacturers volume supplier for automobile manufac- While the IEC 61439 and IEC 60529 pacity and thermal resistance. Control can now simplify their certification pro- turer Volkswagen in Zwickau, Germany. standards that apply to control systems panels installed in closed areas such cesses during inspections of the overall Stahlo thus demonstrates its claim to be a and switchgear engineering are gener- as machine rooms must be able to defy system and clearly save both time and “major league” Steel Service Center that is ally used, these certifications are insuf- temperatures of up to 55 degrees Celsi- money. The classification societies have able to supply automobile manufacturers ficient for the maritime requirements of us as well as vibrations with the require- at their disposal all the relevant product and suppliers. “The cooperation with Volks the international classification societies ment of 0.7 grams in the frequency information, including the products’ wagen Zwickau is very valuable to us,” says Lloyd’s Register, DNV GL and American range of 5 to 100 Hertz. testing reports, user manuals and tech- Stahlo Managing Director Guido Spenrath. Bureau of Shipping. The Rittal RiLine busbar systems, Maxi- nical parameters. Stahlo won the contract after comprehensive Accordingly, busbar systems and asso- PLS and Flat-PLS, have now success- quality testing at the production site in Gera, ciated components must also have cer- fully passed their environmental testing Germany. Stahlo will immediately begin de- livering contoured blanks for outer panel Valuable contract win components of the VW Golf VII Variant. Stahlo establishes itself as a Level 1 supplier with the Volkswagen contract.

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Cleaned, cooled, conserved

Cooling technology. Xylem, a market leader in ozone systems, attaches great importance to high energy efficiency. Xylem relies on Blue e+ cooling units to keep their enclosures cool.

Text: Dr Jörg Lantzsch and Hans-Robert Koch

reshwater provision and wastewater electronics for the frequency converters. treatment have a very high energy Part of the heat produced is dissipated by Award F requirement. Purification of domestic water cooling. wastewater accounts for three to five per To protect the other components from over- cent of the electricity consumption in a pri- heating, Rittal cooling units are also in- “Oscar” for vate home. Processing and transport of stalled in the enclosures. The temperature freshwater for households, agriculture and inside the enclosures should remain at cooling industry, along with purification of industrial 35 degrees Celsius. If temperatures are wastewater, are also associated with a high higher, the loss rate of a programmable level of energy consumption. Pumps con- logic controller increases significantly. The Rittal’s Blue e+ cooling units won over the sume a large portion of this energy. Elec- service life of some components (e.g. fre- jury at the 2016 RAC Cooling Industry tricity is also required for the production of quency converter capacitors) is also short- Awards. Energy efficiency and CO2 savings of up to 75 per cent as well as ozone, with which water is processed in an ened at higher temperatures. Losses must worldwide applicability led to Blue e+ being environmentally friendly manner. However, be avoided in ozone systems in water man- named the first winner of the international since ozone has a short half-life, ozone pro- agement, which rely on high availability. “In award, making the cooling unit the de Water treatment facto “Refrigeration Product of the Year.” Freshwater processing is tremendously duction equipment must always be installed the past, redundant systems were often on site, i.e. at the waterworks or the waste- built so that the wastewater treatment or “We are very pleased to receive this important for both domestic and industrial award,” said Dr Thomas Steffen, Rittal’s customers. It requires a great deal of power water treatment plant. water processing could go on under any Managing Director Research and Develop- and efficient technology. At Xylem Services GmbH in Herford (Ger- circumstances,” recalls Richardt. “Today, ment. “It shows that Blue e+ is not only many), about 250 employees develop, pro- our systems have an availability of nearly an innovative product for our customers – duce and market ozone systems and UV 100 per cent.” it also supports climate protection.” water disinfection systems, known world- To ensure a maximum temperature of wide by the brand name Wedeco. The larg- 35 degrees Celsius in the enclosures, two est systems can produce up to a tonne of cooling units from Rittal’s new Blue e+ se- ozone per hour. The amount of ozone re- ries are used, each with a six-kilowatt cool- quired is dependent on the amount of wa- ing output (right). Units with this much cool- ter. In addition, the type of pollution must be ing output have only been available since taken into consideration. “The ozone pro- the introduction of the latest generation. duction needs to be adjustable depending Two years ago, Xylem supplied an ozone on the application,” explains Franz-Josef system with identical output to the same Richardt, Global Product Manager Ozone customer. “At that time, we had to install five Systems at Xylem Services GmbH. different cooling units in the enclosures in order to achieve the necessary cooling out- 20 kilos of ozone per hour put,” recalls Richardt. Since the cost pres- Award winners A system that produces one kilogram of sure from customers is generally high, Steffen Wagner, Director Product Manage- ozone per hour has an electrical power Richardt is pleased about these savings. ment Climate Control (left) und Jörg Knetsch, consumption of approximately five to six “The new cooling technology is a great in- Project Director Research and Development, kilowatts. The system currently under re- dividual savings for ozone systems, not accepted the award on behalf of Rittal. view can produce up to 20 kilos of ozone only because of the reduction in the num- per hour and thus has a total connected ber of units, but also because of the lower load of more than 100 kilowatts. The power installation costs.” loss of a system like this, which is converted to heat in enclosures, is about eight per Savings in the five figures cent. The greatest amounts of heat are gen- Blue e+ series cooling units have a signifi- erated by the transformers and the power cantly higher level of energy effi-

56 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 57 EXPERIENCE Xylem

“High energy efficiency and the resulting savings in operating costs are a major advantage of our systems.”

Franz-Josef Richardt, Global Product Manager at Xylem Services GmbH

ciency than previous models. Hybrid op- unit for the respective voltage range or use as Richardt knows: “Rittal delivers the en- eration in particular, with its combination of an additional transformer. “Thanks to the closures and the proper cooling technol- heat pipe and compressor cooling, can new units, we no longer need to do that,” ogy with exceptional reliability. Since we result in major energy savings in part-load says Richardt. “Every transformer we elim- are currently experiencing lead times in Potent pairing operation. The cooling is designed for an inate means not only fewer costs, but also production of just four weeks due to high To achieve a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius in the enclosures, two enclosure temperature of 35 degrees Cel- less power loss.” demand, a systems supplier like Rittal is cooling units from the Rittal’s Blue e+ series sius with an equivalent external tempera- In addition, the UL listing of refrigerators is very important to us.” n are used, each with a six-kilowatt cooling ture of 35 degrees Celsius. At lower exter- of particular importance in the internation- output. nal temperatures, as one finds in moderate al market. Permit formalities and regula- latitudes almost year-round, cooling units tions vary depending on where the system Link tip: require significantly less energy. In addi- is in operation. “When we put a system into For more information about Blue e+ cooling tion, compressor cooling operates in an operation in the USA, for example, it is im- units, please visit www.rittal.com/de_de/blue_e/ plus/public/en energy-optimised manner. Frequency-con- portant that all components have a UL list- trolled components allow the cooling unit to ing,” says Richardt. “This makes the whole always provide just as much cooling power permit process much easier.” International as is currently required. A further advan- availability of components and proper ser- tage is that the enclosure temperature has vice (or spare parts supply) are also im- significantly reduced fluctuations, which in portant to Xylem. After a system is com- turn leads to lower thermal stress on the missioned, technicians from the local components in use and longer service life. Xylem distributorship usually handle ser- “High energy efficiency and the resulting vice. And with an internationally estab- savings in operating costs for the customer lished supplier like Rittal, they have a com- are a major advantage of our systems,” petent local contact. stresses Richardt, making a simple calcula- “On the whole, we rarely need to take ad- tion: “Our systems run virtually round the vantage of the service option,” Richardt clock. If the enclosure cooling has a power clarifies. “We are sold on the quality of the consumption of two kilowatts, at 8,500 op- Rittal cooling units and there were very few erating hours per year this will quickly lead complaints in the past several years.” The to a five-digit sum that the customer can current system is being tested extensively save on energy costs over the lifetime of the in Herford before delivery to Taiwan. The system.” The specific savings depend cooling units are pushed to the limit of their mainly on external temperatures at the in- capacity. The system will not be put into stallation site. operation at the customer’s site until all However, the Blue e+ cooling unit series tests have been successfully completed. offers advantages not only in terms of en- In the system intended for a wastewater ergy efficiency. Multi-voltage capability is treatment plant in a chemical factory in particularly important for international com- Taiwan, the entire electrical engineering is panies like Xylem. Whether the system is housed in TS 8 enclosures from Rittal. “En- delivered to the USA, Japan, Mexico, the closures with a power supply are always UK or Germany, the cooling units can han- an integral part of every system we pro- dle the local voltage range. Previously, duce,” explains Richardt. Xylem relies on Xylem had to either install a suitable cooling Rittal for enclosures for several reasons,

58 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Das Magazin der Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 59 Experience Software

Boosting pride in work

Cideon. Economically logical. Technically correct. And coherently communicated. The engineering experts from Cideon demonstrate how new software can be successfully positioned at a company. Experience shows: communication is everything.

Text: Ulrich Kläsener

cheuch is currently bringing togeth- jects.” Dr Schrenk touches upon a simple er what belongs together: design fact that often becomes a stumbling block S and development. The digital cen- when introducing new software: non-ac- trepiece of both departments, which are ceptance and failure of the new solution scattered across the globe at several differ- due to a lack of or poor communication. ent company sites, is a new product man- Ideally employees are precisely, coherently agement system. Implemented in close and frankly informed about upcoming cooperation with Cideon, Scheuch, the changes early in the process and intro- Austrian experts for ventilation and environ- duced to the topic step by step. If this mental technology, can now simply and doesn’t happen, reactions become more easily exchange all types of product data polarised. – independent of time, location, language, department and even individual know-how. Before it comes to a boycott “Our goal is to create a future-oriented en- The worst-case scenario: those responsible gineering environment,” says Scheuch’s at the company prohibit any open discus- Managing Director Stefan Scheuch, a grad- sions within the company and simply in- uate engineer (Dipl. Ing.) – the company struct employees to use the software and replaced 180 workstations as part of this “learn to live” with the process. This is un- process. But what Scheuch and Cideon ac- doubtedly the wrong path to take in a day complished together cannot solely be re- and age that requires employees to be produced to key identifiers such as shorter active and think for themselves; mindlessly project turnaround times, improved product following orders, as in the old days, stifles Ventilation and environmental technology quality and increased flexibility within pro- innovation. In practice, such an approach The SEPAS Plus extraction system from the technology jects. Even with all the digitisation, people undermines the goal of increasing efficien- experts of Scheuch Ligno GmbH is mainly used in the remain the ultimate designers of their work- cy with the new solution: discontented, un- wood processing industry. ing processes. And these processes have motivated employees criticise the software undergone significant change at Scheuch and/or the process – in the best case they with the replacement of the old 2D/3D work- do this openly, or in the worst case there is stations. an unofficial boycott with the establishment “Acceptance of the new system was the of a “shadow IT landscape”. The sobering first hurdle that we had to clear,” says lesson: money gone up in smoke, wasted Scheuch Project Director Sascha Treml, time, a loss of trust and motivation within the same applies to the use of social media ductive utilisation of the new software. At organisational measure that proved very at a variety of events. All praise aside, the also a graduate engineer. “Good, intelligent company, increased absences from work channels, which provided communicative the same time, the need to control and effective. First, the workstations for a small normative power of the facts on the ground standard software is just the backbone for and employee turnover, a missed chance penetration “from outside”. regulate the process can be reduced.” pilot group were converted after intense has taken hold. Project Director Treml: “The smart comprehensive solutions.” Cideon to increase productivity and a tarnished “Fundamentally, what’s at stake for the en- Good communication also naturally in- familiarisation with and briefings on the new system enjoys enormous popularity among Linz Managing Director Dr Harald Schrenk reputation for the service provider. tire progression of the project is participa- cludes close communication between system. From that time on, the pilot group the colleagues. Everyone is happy that adds: “When we look at business process- If for no other reason, IT service providers tion, motivation and orientation for the em- the service provider and customer, which has functioned as a driver for the participat- there was a changeover and that the sys- es as a whole, as we did at Scheuch, and and customers should work out a precise ployees – it’s impossible without it,” says Cideon supported at Scheuch with a landing Scheuch workforce. tems were harmonised. After all, it has also need to change some of them, what comes communication strategy, as Scheuch did. Dr Schrenk. “That’s why communication tai- ing page. The manufacturer of the standard The status today is that the introduction of made the work a lot easier.” n first and foremost is involving all the em- To start, a short animated film informed em- lored to the addressees can be called the software was also brought on board, and the PDM system went off in an exemplary ployees. This means including every indi- ployees about the fundamental decision of most important part of a good project cul- they dealt with system integrator Cideon manner. Pride in this new modernisation at vidual planner, designer, builder and sales- reorganising engineering processes. Com- ture. At the point where those affected be- and end customer Scheuch in customised the company is spreading. Not least this is Link Tip: person at the company. As a service munication professionals bestow kudos: come participants in a process, where they ways. Accompanied by continuous em- due to the extensive coverage of the migra- www.cideon.de provider, what we have to bring to the table the necessary commitment was transferred see personal and company-wide benefits ployee information at Cideon and Scheuch tion in specialist magazines and company is our expertise and years of experience “from above” subtly, but understandably in the new solution, that’s when there is a about the state of the project, in conjunction publications. The major project was high- with communicating IT implementation pro- and clearly to the relevant target group. The swift increase in the chances for timely, pro- with classic training, there was yet another lighted as an example of “best practices”

60 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 61 Experience Blumenbecker

It’s the data that counts

Workflow. Automation specialist Blumenbecker uses digitised processes and consistent data management to ensure a high level of efficiency from planning to delivery – all in the spirit of the Industrial Internet of Things (Industry 4.0).

Text: Dr Jörg Lantzsch

ith its white walls, clean floors sequent processes and production steps and calm yet busy working at Blumenbecker. Business processes (e.g. W environment, Blumenbecker purchasing, costing and logistics) and pro- Automationstechnik’s sunlit production hall duction alike rely on this data. Data quality, in Beckum (Germany) does not look the of course, is key. “The data must be accu- way one would normally picture the metal rate to prevent obstacles in production,” and electrical shop of a switchgear manu- explains Peter Kindt, Team Leader for Con- facturer. Wherever you look, across over trol Technology. The geometric dimensions 8,000 square metres of floor space, there are important, for example, in ensuring that is clarity and order at the workbenches and everything fits into the enclosure as plan- machinery, rather than bustling chaos. ned in the assembly design. From the receiving area, one has a view of Blumenbecker maintains an internal data- production all the way to quality control. base with about 70,000 different compo- The over 100-metre-long facility, where eve- nents, of which 15,000 to 20,000 are utilised rything seems to be perfectly organised, is, regularly. For each component, there are among other things, the work of Heinz- also 3D files for assembly design. The com- Josef Schmitz, who manages switchgear pany accesses a lot of component data in production at the medium-sized company. the Eplan Data Portal. At this web-based He is visibly proud of the excellent organi- platform, designers will find 660,000 re- sation in the production hall, which has cords and some 1.2 million variants of con- been in operation since 2014: “We have figurable parts data sets from 157 manu- optimised workflow inside the hall in all pro- facturers. Unfortunately, not all vendors cesses to achieve a high level of efficien- provide their data and not always in the cy.” From electrical engineering to produc- proper quality, requiring the staff themsel- tion to shipping, every process is grounded ves to intervene in many cases. “A high in consistent data management. “We con- level of quality is necessary to make the sider the automation of our processes best use of the data provided here. Rittal is through digitisation an important step to- exemplary in this, which is why the compa- ward Industry 4.0,” Schmitz points out. ny is one of our main suppliers,” says Kindt. Twice a week, a Rittal truck comes to deli- Success factor: electrical ver enclosures, housings, power distributi- engineering on systems and climate control compo- “A system’s electrical engineering is the nents to Blumenbecker – just-in-time, in foundation of all subsequent activities,” effect. The design tools come from Eplan, says Martin Settele, Team Leader for Con- which is part of the Friedhelm Loh Group, trol Technology. Without a good foundation just like Rittal. Blumenbecker uses the here, a high level of efficiency cannot be Eplan Electric P8 CAE system for electrical achieved in production. Settele and his engineering; Eplan Pro Panel, the 3D engi- team are responsible for electrical enginee- neering tool, is used for the creation of the ring and assembly design. Team members 3D prototype. Seamless re-use of data is a create a virtual 3D prototype in which all major benefit of the systems. The software GOOD PLANNING From now on, from engineering all the way to enclosure components are placed. The generates the control data from electrical shipping, consistent data management is parts lists from electrical engineering and engineering and assembly design data, standard procedure for team leader Martin Settele the 3D prototype form the basis of all sub- which enables the machinery to and the entire Blumenbecker company.

62 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 63 Experience Blumenbecker

“A high level of quality is necessary in order to make the best use of the data provided. Rittal is exemplary in this.”

Peter Kindt, Team Leader for Control Technology at Blumenbecker

work in the production process – like CNC and labelled, we are very efficient in this machining centres, for example, that make step as well,” Schmitz notes. Instead of Digitisation holes, threads and cut-outs in enclosure a wiring diagram, team members will so- parts and mounting plates. Cable assembly metimes use only a wiring list, on which machines produce suitable cable harnes- they can execute all connections succes- Utilising ses; automated cutting machines trim cable sively. Assembly and wiring of all compo- ducts and DIN rails. All machines rely on nents is followed by quality control, the potential the electrical engineering and assembly documentation of which is also based design data. Based on this data set, com- on data originally generated during plan- ponents are assigned to a project and parts ning. In turn, data is required for the sub- In its study “Digital Europe,” McKinsey are labelled. “It is important for all produc- sequent shipping of the installations. In Global Institute examined digitisation tion machinery and processes to have the addition to sizes and weights, this includes in the European economy. Its findings revealed that Germany currently takes proper interfaces,” notes Schmitz. “This is information related to customs formalities. advantage of only ten per cent of the the only way for us to take advantage of Here, too, it pays off for Blumenbecker economic benefits of digitisation. If the consistent data management.” when the data provided is as complete as country were to make optimum use of possible – and this is standard procedure its digital potential, it could boost GDP Optimised processes at Rittal. “On the whole,” concludes Harald growth by one per cent a year until 2025. That translates into around 500 billion Logistics within production is largely auto- Golombek, Managing Director at Blumen- euros. According to the authors of the mated as well. Staff members assemble all becker Automatisierungstechnik, “consis- study, businesses should be constantly the components needed for a project on a tent data management, from planning to on the lookout for digitisation options trolley. The automated mini-load system production to shipping of the finished ins- for their business model. At the same tells them in which containers the various tallation, is the key to efficient manage- time, companies should use digital tools to improve their internal processes and n parts are located. In addition, a projector ment of our projects.” communication with their customers. displays which components are to be put together in assemblies. After this preparation, the components are installed in the enclosure: the 3D assembly plans from Pro Panel, in which the assembly of all top hat rails, cable ducts and electrical engineering components is precisely documented, simplifies the process and prevents errors. During the final production step, the fully assembled enclosures are wired. “Since the cable harnesses are pre-assembled

A watchful eye and plenty of elbow grease Even during enclosure installation, employees can access electrical engineering and assembly design data (top). The employees pre-assemble all the required components on a trolley. (bottom).

64 be top | Das Magazin der Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 65 Experience Stahlo

Quality on the line

Automotive. The raw material for a car body is almost as delicate as an eggshell. Volkswagen’s steel suppliers need to offer the highest quality – as Stahlo does.

Text: Julia Frese

ith the luggage in the trunk, the precision, as does the supply of the blanks. children buckled up in the back In order to be considered by VW Sachsen W seat and the GPS programmed, (Germany), suppliers must provide such the beach holiday can now begin. The fam- precision – and Stahlo, the steel service ily, cruising southward in their comfortable, centre, based in Dillenburg (Hesse) brand-new VW Golf Variant, would find it and Gera (Thuringia), does just that. impossible to imagine that the parts of their Volkswagen learned of the steel company car were gliding on robotic arms through through the pro-active initiative of Stahlo’s large factories just a short time ago. And employees: a team of four handles the ac- even more so that their vehicle began as quisition of new customers. “Naturally, steel coil only a few weeks prior to that. It when we approached VW, we were aware takes just under ten days for a Golf Variant that this customer would have extremely to undergo the transformation from raw ma- high standards,” explains Frank Werner, terial to finished car. Its body contains Stahlo Quality Manager in Gera. about 370 kilogrammes of steel. In addition to the high quality of material, Only certain types of steel sheet come into there was another argument for working consideration for the outer shell of an auto- with the company: its state-of-the-art blank- mobile. The material must be both firm and ing line. This machine gives the material the pliable, in order to provide the occupants shape it will need for its subsequent use as maximum protection in the event of a colli- side panel, roof or tailgate. That was the sion. Furthermore, the outer shell of a pas- decisive factor for Volkswagen. senger car in particular must be as corrosion-resistant as possible. For this reason, One-stop service the preliminary material is subjected to a In the initial stage, the material is straight- special treatment right at the steelworks. ened to create a flat surface. The machine The steel specialists apply a phosphate then punches the desired shapes out of layer to cold-rolled sheet, which is then the steel plate. “Actually, we are the only electrolytically galvanised. Both processes steel service centre in Germany that has increase the resistance of the steel surface. a facility this cutting-edge,” says Werner, This special treatment requires maximum not without some measure of pride. VW Sachsen is the first major volume customer for the blanking line at the Gera-based company. “The cooperation with Volks Workmanship The blanking line smoothes out the steel wagen is very important for Stahlo,” says surface and punches out the shapes for the Guido Spenrath, Managing Director of sides, roof and tailgate of the Golf Variant. Stahlo. Prior to this, Stahlo had

66 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 67 Experience Stahlo

“The cooperation with Volkswagen is very important for Stahlo.”

Guido Spenrath, Managing Director of Stahlo

already achieved a solid reputation in Ten times a week, a truck delivers the the region as an aftermarket sheet steel blanks to the pressing plant, located on the The Golf Variant supplier. over 400 acre site of the Volkswagen fac- The Volkswagen managers particularly tory in Zwickau. The car body parts for the praised the high level of cleanliness Golf, Golf VII Variant, Passat Variant and Skin of throughout the Stahlo site. This was a cru- various Bentley models are built here in six cial factor, as the slightest impurity – even steps. A robot lifts each individual blank steel a single hair – is immediately visible on the from its stack via an electronically activat- material surface of the blanks. There are ed magnetic field and places it in its re- few things more annoying to a new car spective pressing tool. At the end of the The Golf Variant was first introduced in 1993. buyer than discovering an already existing pressing procedure, employees check the The Golf VII Variant, in existence since 2013. imperfection on the paint job of one’s new sensitive steel surface for even the small- Since March, Stahlo has been supplying blanks for Golf Variant roof and side panels acquisition. In addition to the cleanliness of est scratches and impurities. Subsequent- and since October for its tailgate as well. the site, Stahlo also scored high marks for ly, the car body parts are joined together With its state-of-the-art blanking line, the the competence of its team and the quality and receive several layers of paint. company produces 9,000 parts per week for of its steel. After the meeting, the coopera- Each day, the machines in the pressing Volkswagen. Right at the steelworks, tion agreement was only a formality. plant mould more than 100,000 car body electrogalvanisation is used to apply a phosphate layer to the surfaces to prevent components from about 340 tonnes of steel corrosion. Ultimately, the body of a Golf Just-in-time delivery and aluminium. By way of comparison, a Variant contains about 370 kilogrammes of In Gera, Stahlo produces blanks for Volk- single Golf VII Variant body consists of steel. The steel used in the outer shell must swagen, which are first transported to their around 400 sheet metal parts. As cutting- be ultra-strong as well as thin in order to joint logistics centre in Glauchau. The parts edge as their production technology is, provide occupants of the car maximum safety in the event of a crash. are stored there, until VW orders them as Stahlo and VW also rely on tried-and-true needed to Zwickau. This JIT (just-in-time) methods. Communication is one example: manufacturing principle ensures that Stahlo “If there’s an issue, we pick up the phone will be able to supply Volkswagen with the or stop by. That’s really easy,” says Werner, necessary quantity of blanks at any time. laughing. n This swing system has advantages for Stahlo as well: trucks can be better utilised and empty runs to return the empty pallets avoided. This reduces costs and is environ- Quality Control mentally friendly. A logistics system for the highest quality outer shell: locking posts ensure Due to the extreme sensitivity of the that no blanks on the pallets slide out of place (top photo). Stahlo Quality blanks, transporting them requires the ut- Manager Frank Werner (r.) invited Volkswagen Quality Assurance Manager most care and precision. “The blanks are Steffen Neumann (l.) to visit the Stahlo facility. During the tour, Neumann loaded onto specially modified pallets,” quickly recognised that the company was an ideal partner for VW. explains Werner. “They are equipped with a system of eight locking posts.” This prevents sliding and enables the blanks to make it through every truck ride in optimal condition.

68 be top | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | 02 | 2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 69 Cosmos

HELP for Italy

Italian subsidiary and owner donate to earthquake victims in the Apennines

Hundreds of people lost their lives when an earthquake shook central Italy in August 2016. In order to help alleviate the enormous social consequences of the quake, Rittal Italy, Kelvin and Eplan – all subsidiaries of the Friedhelm Loh Group – supported the Italian Red Cross with a cash donation. The appeal for funds quickly brought together a total of around 50,000 euros, including a major donation by company owner Dr Friedhelm Loh. The Italian Red Cross General Secretary Flavio Ronzi thanked the company for its donation saying, “Thanks also to your support, we were able to act promptly during this severe emergency and are now additionally in a position to continue our work over the coming months.”

Devastation On 24 August 2016, Central Italy was struck by a severe earthquake that caused widespread damage. The town of Amatrice – and its Basilica di San Francesco pictured.

Rittal Foundation celebrates anniversary

Foundation supporting social projects for five years

It’s already become an institution in the region of Middle Hesse: the Rittal Foundation. Which isn’t surprising, because over the past five years the foundation has supported around 150 projects in the areas of welfare and social work, culture and educa- MAKING KIDS STRONG A midsummer day’s fun tion with a total of more than 650,000 euros. On the occasion of its anniversary, the foun- The Peter Härtling School teaches self-confidence for everyone Employee football tournament dation sent out an appeal for a very special donation campaign: a raffle as part of the When the more than forty elementary of after-school clubs, most of which are Thanks to the donation of 30,000 euros, The Rittal Cup saw a total of 56 matches ground-breaking ceremony for the new fac- school students frolic in the hallways of run by the students themselves. In addi- PHS can offer more courses and activi- before the team from Rittershausen, Ger- tory. Raffle ticket sales had reached some the Peter Härtling School (PHS), it’s really tion there are activities that involve the ties for the kids to expand and strengthen many, was declared victor. Employees from 30,000 euros by the end of just one after- plain to see: everyone is happy to be school and students’ families. their interpersonal skills. Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic noon. The donations will go to the Eschen- here. That’s because the kids learn in “We were impressed by the close and came to participate in the football tourna- burg Addiction Clinic, the “Sing & Act” choir small groups across grades with individu- fruitful collaboration between the school, ment. Dr Friedhelm Loh was also enthused from Haiger and the Vocational Schools in alised textbooks and materials – and do it parents and students,” says Rittal Foun- Link tip: by the event: “We’ve seen matches charac- Dillenburg. Lucky winner www.phs-wetzlar.de all at their own speed. There are also lots dation Chairman Friedemann Hensgen. terised by fairness and team spirit.” The tour- Rittal employee Ralf Schneider and his wife nament’s proceeds benefit social institutions Link tip: Manuela are happy about the raffle’s main in the region. www.rittal-foundation.de prize: a Smart Car.

70 be top | DasMagazine Magazin of the der Friedhelm Friedhelm Loh Loh Group Group | 0x02 || 201x2016 02 | 2016 | Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group | be top 71 Commitment Qualification for refugees

uck – it isn’t just a word to 27-year- employees to make it happen,” Hecker old Khaibar Fatehzada. It’s the rea- explains. “Mentoring refugees is very time- Social commitment L son that he survived the war in his intensive, mainly due to language barriers. homeland of Afghanistan unscathed. It’s And because the colleagues in the facto- the feeling of having found a safe home in ries also naturally have targets that must Meaningful Germany after months on the run. And it’s be met, it’s difficult to say: he’s there for the chance to actually be able to realise his you now.” dream of a new beginning. “One year ago I never would have thought that I would be Patience and passion standing here,” Fatehzada says with a Sure instincts, plenty of patience and a wide smile on his face, looking around his passionate commitment: these are the workplace at the Rittal factory in Wissen- qualities that mentors definitely need to bach, Germany. “The contact with my col- bring to the job. “The first thing we had to leagues, the varied work, the possibility to do was identify who could serve as men- be standing on my own two feet – this ap- tors in the first place,” Hecker says. This is prenticeship has simply changed every- also one of the important tips in the guide- thing for me.” book that Rittal has published to assist Dr Friedhelm Loh 70 years old, owner and CEO of the Fatehzada has been training to become a other companies. “Our trainees need de- Friedhelm Loh Group. machine and plant operator at Rittal for a pendable contact people who are there for good twelve months. It all started one-and- them when they have problems – whether “Our society thrives because a-half years ago with a three-month voca- on the job, in their studies or in their private tional internship. “Since I had worked as a lives.” Fortunately the company’s proof people who do more salesperson in Afghanistan, I didn’t have nounced culture of supporting and helping than they have to. We want much in the way of technical knowledge others proves advantageous for Hecker to send a signal with our except what I had learned in school,” Fate- and his protégés. Whether it’s helping out commitment and encourage hzada says. “But I’ve always been inter- at a support agency, second-hand cloth- others!” ested in technology.” That was yet another ing organisation or an addiction advice reason that the “Qualification for Refu- centre – many Rittal employees volunteer gees” pilot project, set up in spring 2015 to help the socially disadvantaged and by the Friedhelm Loh Group in coopera- have done so for years. “That’s probably tion with the Rittal Foundation, the Lahn- because we all share similar values in a Dill district and the Lahn-Dill Chamber of family-owned company,” Hecker explains. Volunteers Industry and Commerce (see be top “And those values are something we wish 02/2015, page 76), seemed a perfect fit to practise in our daily lives – not just to- for him. “Our initial goal as part of the pro- wards the refugees, but also towards our Without volunteers, integration would hardly ject was to qualify young people for tech- fellow employees.” be achievable. People around the world use their free time to get involved helping nical training,” explains Matthias Hecker, Despite many preconceptions about refu- refugees. be top asked Friedhelm Loh Group Director Technical Training at Rittal. “And gees, Fatehzada and his trainee colleague employees why they do what they do. we did it.” Which means that the newest Eyobel Gebreyesus share these same val- challenge for Hecker and his colleagues ues. “The two of them are on time and keep is to facilitate as smooth a transition as tidy,” Hecker says. “They’re both extremely RAINER HERGET In the thick of things! possible for the young men from the pro- dependable and they accept responsibility. 64 years old, Marketing tected training workshop into the real I can only say: I tip my hat to them.” And Training Support at Rittal. Volunteers with the Catho- world of the factory. “We rely on dedicated since both refugees are thankful for the trust lic Church’s programme Commitment. Two young refugees were able to start vocational training at Rittal as that has been placed in them by everyone, to help refugees in Sinn, part of the promising pilot project “Qualification for Refugees.” The company is taking they’re very committed. “It’s important that Germany. I listen closely, look very carefully and advantage of the experiences gained from this time for a second round of training – being There for each other am always fully focused on the work,” “People who’ve been forced to flee Trainers, trainees and mentors help each other Fatehzada says. “If I make a mistake, that’s their homelands due to war and vio- and is also making them available in a guidebook for other interested firms. when there are questions or problems. The results speak for themselves: the first round of something I don’t want to repeat.” lence and seek shelter with us here the qualification project was a complete But the one thing that’s still proving difficult should be received with dignity and Text: Rebecca Lorenz success. for the up-and-coming machine respect.”

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and plant operators is the self-organised A lack of awareness was also a problem STEFAN SCHILLINGER learning that is common in Germany. “Over for those responsible for the project – at 48 years old, member of the Rittal Works Council. the course of the past year we’ve recog- Rittal, the Rittal Foundation, in the Lahn- Volunteers with the nised that we cannot demand too much of Dill district and the Chamber of Commerce Refugee Working Group the trainees from the very start,” Hecker and Industry – at its beginning, last year. in Wetzlar, Germany. says. “The four-step method is much, much “We had no idea who would be coming to better to convey the most important con- us,” Hecker recalls. “Schooling, vocational tents than having them read specialist training and desired career: we had to work “Integration on the job for refugees is texts.” The practical four-step sequence of all of that out ourselves as part of a trial one of the essential prerequisites for explain, demonstrate, replicate and practise working week.” Today things are different, successful integration into society.” clearly takes more time for mentors – but is since in the meantime the Central Hesse also much more effective at conveying sub- Association for Economic Development, ject matter. “Both sides feel understood and Training and Employment Initiatives much more secure in the work,” Hecker ex- (Mittelhessische Gesellschaft für Wirt- Winfried Becker 64 years old, former plains. And the refugees already have schaftsförderung, Ausbildungs- und Be- Technology and Service enough on their plates in their everyday schäftigungsinitiativen) has taken over Center Director Technical working lives. the analysis of the potential participants. Planning at Rittal. The previously mentioned guidebook Volunteers at Lichtblicke Sticking point: language describes how this analysis proceeds. e.V. in Rennerod, Germany. The best example of this – the vocational “It’s much, much easier to approach young school. Because no matter if it’s in class, refugees in a targeted manner with this type “Talk alone doesn’t help at all – only for homework or exams: despite their lack of qualification profile,” Hecker says. De- people who pitch in help to change a of work-related knowledge of the German spite this, he finds a three-month vocation- situation and find understanding for language, refugees don’t receive any ad- al internship continues to remain a good one another.” ditional language assistance at the school. idea since the standardised placement test “With the German course organised by the that all the other trainees take doesn’t make Loh Academy, we have good support from sense for the refugees. “Tact and sensitiv- the very start,” Hecker says. “But so that ity is required when meeting the person,” trainees can successfully graduate from Hecker explains. “It’s only when you’ve met school, we need to support them even fur- the young person face-to-face that you can Robert Habbaba 47 years old, Trainer at ther.” This is why Hecker has also initiated say: this will work out or it won’t.” That there’s Rittal. Dedicated to homework assistance to accompany the a bit of truth to this statement became clear helping refugees gain proven trainee-mentor model. Once a during the second round of the qualification vocational qualifications. week, refugees can discuss the homework project that began in summer 2016. “From with other trainees and ask questions as the four candidates, this time we were able “Good training provides refugees with needed. to offer three young men from Eritrea and long-term perspectives.” All this makes it clear: solid language skills Somalia training positions,” Hecker says, are indeed the most important prerequisite happy to relay this news. Last year only two for professional integration. This isn’t lost of eight refugees were able to begin voca- on Fatehzada. “Where other colleagues tional training. “It’s a great success for us, only need about an hour to prepare for because we definitively want to continue the class and do their homework, I definitely project and lead by example.” Noah Kirschniok need four to five,” he says. And because Hecker again received support in selecting 20 years old, mechatron- he loves to read, chats with his peers in the applicants this year from a social ics engineer trainee at the local football club and regularly re- Rittal. A committed trainee mentor for refugees. ceives language training from Rittal’s Cor- porate Communications Director Regina Challenging career start “I consider it my obligation to help Wiechens-Schwake, his knowledge of German has improved considerably over Transitioning from the training workshop people.” to the factory world is challenging for the past year. “Sometimes I’m lacking a bit everyone: for the new trainees, but also for the of awareness about the grammar, but I trainers, who must rely on support from other hope I’ll have it soon.” workers on the factory floor.

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We’ve never lived any other way

Interview. Dr Bianca Dümling holds the Professorship for Migration, Integration and Interculturality, the chair endowed by Dr Friedhelm Loh, at the College of the YMCA Germany in Kassel. She researches the opportunities and challenges of migration.

worker. “They’re important contact people If the conditions are right, there’s nothing do following his two-year training pro- for us since they have direct contact to the stopping this project from being success- gramme. “When I speak German better, I responsible authorities,” he says. It’s an ful. The experiences with Fatehzada and would like to follow up with the training to What exactly does integration mean important advantage considering the Gebreyesus only prove it. “And since we become a mechatronic engineer,” he says. to you? hundreds of laws that apply solely to the begin rather with hands-on, less book-ori- “But if not, I’ll just keep learning and then Bianca Dümling: I find that there are two hiring of refugees. “There are tolerated ented training and start from scratch, I be- work as a machine and plant operator.” n sides to integration. On the one hand, it’s refugees, those who have long-term resi- lieve both trainees have great chances for a task for people who have migrated. In dency status and those who have just ap- the future,” Hecker says, and then adds: Germany, they need to learn German, plied for asylum,” Hecker says, listing just “My ultimate goal isn’t that they pass their qualify themselves for the labour market some of the things that must be consid- exams with the best possible marks. I just and respect Germany’s Basic Law. On the ered. Those who wish to successfully nav- hope that they make it and in the end get other hand, everyone who hasn’t migrated igate this legal labyrinth must closely good feedback from the plant manager.” is also called upon to act. They must cooperate with the authorities – in the end And because his intermediate exams are create an atmosphere that promotes there’s often just a very thin line between already trending in the right direction, Fate- integration and take an unequivocal stand legal and illegal activities. hzada now has to decide what he wants to against xenophobia. This is important, because it’s not a question of whether we want to live in a multicultural society. We’ve never lived any other way.

How can volunteers assist with integration? 5 tips for integrating refugees into work life Dümling: They can show kindness and affection. That’s very important. Along with having lost their material existence, many From refugee to employee refugees have also lost family members. Some are traumatised and have lost all Dr Bianca Dümling hope. Volunteers can encourage refugees Thirty-eight years old, Dr Dümling was appointed to the College of the YMCA Germany in Kassel on The Friedhelm Loh Group offers a guidebook for interested firms with related links for qualifying refugees for vocational training.T he five most important with interpersonal relationships so that 1 September 2016. She previously worked in a refugee shelter in Berlin and directs the intercultural lessons learned from the pilot project are as follows: they can better face the challenges of work of the ecumenical network Together for Berlin (Gemeinsam für Berlin). integration.

2. Learn German: To expand German lan- tration and laws. The “3+2 Arrangement” How can a helper express kindness? How important is it to sensitise volun- nothing else than to maintain our econo- Es e ng ta guage skills, trainee mentors, company that gives refugees and companies the cer- B mi po b Dümling: Above all else, it’s important to teers about cultural differences? my and general prosperity over the long o te li lc n s alumni and volunteers can been deployed tainty of residency for three years of training e t h w ia as contacts for educational, vocational and and two years of work came into being from be respectful to people and encounter Dümling: Of course it’s important to term. For companies in particular, the l private challenges. Furthermore, apps and discussions from networks such as “We to- them as equals. Mutual support in their inform yourself about cultural characteris- diversity that people from different websites offer e-learning for language ac- gether” (“Wir zusammen”). everyday lives gives refugees their dignity tics and differences. But as with Christian- cultures bring with them is a great quisition. Occupational language skills are

n back. This of course can lead to misun- ity, every other world religion is extremely opportunity. New perspectives often lead e best learned at the workbench. F Be welcoming: A culture of helping and t 5. w o derstandings now and then. But it’s just diverse and is lived by each person to new ideas. I see another opportunity in r INTEGRATION OF o m supporting others that is put into practice n r n k REFUGEES r a like any good relationship: you have to differently. So it can’t remain just “dry the strengthening of civil society. The fate s a 3. Find mentors: Along with a lack of lan- within a company is indispensible for the m e r L e guage skills, refugees are often troubled by successful integration of refugees. Setting work at it, since affection doesn’t just runs.” Conversations and active discus- of the refugees calls on all of us to G fears and loneliness. When trainers, men- an example without being biased is the develop on its own. sions bring a lot more. We have to learn re-evaluate our material wealth and our Find tors, colleagues and volunteers are pre- maxim for management and team leaders. not to reduce every conflict to supposed great freedom. Because those are things men tors pared to engage with refugees and support They provide orientation for their employees Are there other hurdles that hamper cultural differences. Instead I recommend that we’ve taken for granted for quite a them with coaching, practical assistance and ensure for the acceptance of the new swift integration? and personal contact, the refugees more colleagues among the workforce. that people reflect on their own actions long time, looking at them from a new Dümling: The first things I think of are the and attitudes. All of us have thoughts that perspective can lead to more gratitude 1. Establish potential: Successful integration quickly achieve the required level of perfor- through an internship starts with meeting mance for their training and become better mass accommodations and the great aren’t always politically correct. But those and an improved relationship between one another and determining the education- integrated into their working environments. uncertainty regarding residency status. are ones you have to call into question, citizens.

RATGEBER AUSBILDUNG al and vocational prerequisites. The state Link tip: These sorts of structural hurdles are not ignore. employment agencies and Job Centers in Form networks: Close cooperation with 4. Quali zierung You can order or download von Flüchtlingen probably easier to overcome than social für eine betrieb- Hesse have access to the refugees’ stand- public authorities and sharing experiences liche Ausbildung the guidebook (only available hurdles such as prejudices and racism. What opportunities does migration INHALT ardised potential analyses. If these analyses within interdepartmental initiatives make de- 3 Vorwort: Dr. Friedhelm Loh 4 Das Pilotprojekt 5 Tipps für Unternehmen in German) at www.rittal.de 11 Fördermöglichkeiten 12 Interview: Ausbilder und Azubi have yet to be introduced, a trial working veloping an integration project easier while 14 Auf den Punkt gebracht We as a society will have to work longer offer for a society? week is a good idea. also leading to changes in politics, adminis- FAMILIENUNTERNEHMEN INNOVATIONSFÜHRER GLOBAL PLAYER TOP ARBEITGEBER on those. Dümling: We need migration – if for

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On Fire An overview of the Friedhelm Loh Group companies Fire. Countless companies worldwide use Rittal’s fire prevention solutions to protect their IT infrastructure – and for good reason. With few exceptions, fire is extremely de- RITTAL GmbH & Co. KG EPLAN Software & Service CIDEON Holding, CIDEON Auf dem Stützelberg GmbH & Co. KG Software und CIDEON Systems structive, as shown by the following examples from around the world. 35745 Herborn, Germany An der alten Ziegelei 2 Wilthener Straße 32 Phone +49 2772 505-0 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany 02625 Bautzen, Germany www.rittal.com Phone +49 2173 3964-0 Tel. +49 3591 3744-0 www.eplan.de www.cideon.de RITTAL – The System. Faster – better – everywhere. EPLAN – efficient engineering. CIDEON – efficient engineering. be top! Top performances are Burning mountain STAHLO STAHLSERVICE LKH Kunststoffwerk the order of the day in GMBH & CO. KG GmbH & Co. KG all Friedhelm Loh Group The earth in New South Wales in south- Kasseler Straße 27 Auf der Birke 2 companies. The record eastern Australia has been on fire for 35683 Dillenburg, Germany 56412 Heiligenroth, Germany holders on this page are also in top form. around 6,000 years. This makes the Phone +49 2771 302-0 Phone +49 2602 99942-0 “Burning Mountain” the oldest www.stahlo.de www.lkh-kunststoff.de coal fire in the world. Located in a nature reserve of the STAHLO – Processing steel straight LKH – We make more out of plastic. same name, the fire is from the line. Fiery fruit eating its way through a 30-metre-deep coal The Carolina Reaper is the hottest seam at a rate of chilli pepper in the world. Its around one metre name comes from South Carolina – per year. Over the the American state where it was years, the fire has bred – and the Grim Reaper, the covered a distance personification of death. This of six kilometres. chilli pepper is not for the faint- hearted, generating as much Publication details heat as pepper spray. Be top Editorial staff Photo credits Magazine of the Friedhelm Loh Group Stephanie Backhaus, Joscha Duhme, Lisa Page 1: Istock; page 03: F.L.G.; page 4 (top): Ian Webb; page 4 (middle left and right, bottom left and right): Michael Koch; page 6–07: THERME Issue 02 | 2016 Krekel, Rebecca Lorenz, English translation: ERDING GmbH; page 08–09: Fotolia; page 10–11: Michael Koch; page ISSN 2195-3198 Adam Blauhut, Paul Outlaw, Anthony B. Heric; 12 (left): Getty Images/Monty Rakusen; page 12 (bottom): fotolia; page 13 (top): Istock; page 13 (bottom): Getty Images/Visual China Group; English copy-editing: Penelope Krumm; Con- page 14–15: plainpicture/Richard Robinson; page 17 (top): Robert Mc- It’s all about the bass Publisher Clellan; page 17 (bottom): Lefdal Mine Datacenter; page18–21: www. sultation: Martin Planer, herrenknecht.com; page 22–23: Picture Alliance/Shao Ying (M.); page Friedhelm Loh Stiftung & Co. KG 25: Ellen Brennan; page 26: F.L.G.; page 27: (top left): Martin Joppen; CEO: Dr.-Ing. E. h. Friedhelm Loh page 27 (top right): F.L.G.; page 27 (bottom): TU Kaiserslautern; page Extinguishing fires with deep tones? Two Authors 28: Fotolia; page 30–31: Picture Alliance/David Wethey (M.); page 32 Rudolf-Loh-Straße 1, 35708 Haiger, Germany Stephanie Backhaus, Joscha Duhme, Julia Frese, (top): Orion; page 32 (bottom): F.L.G.; page 33 (top and bottom): F.L.G.; American students have developed the page 34–35: F.L.G.; page 35 (top): Aperam; page 37–38: Sarto srl; page Phone +49 2773 924-0 Viola Görgen, Boris Hänßler, Saskia Kaufhold, 38–39: Michael Koch; page 39 (top right): Michael Koch; page 40: F.L.G.; first fire extinguisher in the world to put E-mail: [email protected] page 41: Picture Alliance/Frank Duenzl; page 42: muehlhausmoers; Ulrich Kläsener, Hans-Robert Koch, Lisa Krekel, page 44–45: Martin Joppen; page 47 (top and bottom): Martin Joppen; out fires with sound waves. The device, www.friedhelm-loh-group.com Dr. Jörg Lantzsch, Rebecca Lorenz, Dagmar page 48: F.L.G.; page 49: F.L.G.; page 50–51: Stadt Herborn/H.D. Wieden; page 51 (top): F.L.G.; page 53: Markus Hintzen; page 54: plain- which looks like a vacuum cleaner, emits Puh, Beate Schwarz, Johannes Winterhagen picture/Nick Dale; page 55 (left): Shutterstock; page 55 (right top): in- Responsible editor (courtesy of of „Ampere – Das Magazin der Ele- ventx AG; page 55 (bottom): Volkswagen; page 56: Alamy Stock Foto/ a deep-toned bass frequency that snuffs Some like it hot Satoshi Kobayashi; page 57: F.L.G.; page 58–59: Michael Koch; page Regina Wiechens-Schwake (V.i.S.d.P.) ktroindustrie“) 60–61: Scheuch; page 62–65: Michael Koch; page 66–67: Michael Koch; out the flames. The pressure waves page 68 (top): F.L.G., page 68 (bottom): Volkswagen; page 69: Michael Koch; page 70: Michael Koch; page 71 (top): Picture Alliance/Massimo caused by the bass separate oxygen from While an encounter with fire usually Editor-in-chief and coordination Art-DireCtion Percossi; page 71 (left): F.L.G.; page 71 (bottom right): F.L.G.; page 72: Michael Koch; page 73 (top): F.L.G., page 73 (bottom): Frank Trams; the burning material, thus preventing oxi- Flames engulfed ends fatally for living creatures, North Hans-Robert Koch, Christian Abels, Christiane von Bonin, Katrin Kemmerling page 74: Frank Trams; page 75 (top and bottom): Michael Koch; page Patricia Späth, Peter Sting 76 (left): muehlhausmoers; page 76 (right): F.L.G.; page 77: private; page dation. The students have already patent- American sequoias actually require the 78 (top left): Istock; page 78 (bottom left): Istock; page 78: (right) Istock; ed their invention. Scared of fire? That’s something com- flames to reproduce. Their cones – Image Editing page 78 (middle): Fotolia/Andrey Polichenko Realisation and design Stefan Hirsch, Philipp Stiller, pletely foreign to Egon Rusch from hanging at heights of up to 100 metres – © Friedhelm Loh Group 2016, ISSN 2195-3198 muehlhausmoers corporate Anastasia Strelnikova Austria. Known under the alias of only open and release their seeds communications gmbh carbon neutral Tanaris, back in October 2012 the when exposed to heat rising from forest Moltkestraße 123−131 Graphics and production natureOffice.com | DE-179-501013 print production famous fire-eater needed just 60 sec- fires. The seeds sink into the soil, 50674 Köln Andreas Kellotat, Michael Konrad, Nikolai onds to put out 118 burning torches which has been fertilised by ash, and Phone +49 (0) 221 951533-0 Schütte, Manfred Wirth E-Mail: [email protected] with his mouth – a new world record! begin to germinate. www.muehlhausmoers.com Print and lithography His most important technique: Wilhelm Becker Grafischer Betrieb e. K., first take a deep breath in order to Haiger; purpur GmbH, Köln then smother the flames with carbon dioxide when exhaling.

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