Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 Anniversary edition 100 years of engineering insights Serving our customers: Innovative pumps Customer-oriented Chemical process 100 years of knowledge for 185 years — and reliable — technology for the transfer Sulzer pumps Sulzer services industry since 1946 2 Imprint Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 About Sulzer Sulzer is a global leader in fluid engineering. We specialize in pumping, agitation, mixing, separa- tion and application technologies for fluids of all types. Our customers benefit from our commit- ment to innovation, performance and quality and from our responsive network of 50 world-class manufacturing facilities and 100 service centers across the globe. Sulzer has been headquar- tered in Winterthur, Switzerland, since 1834. In 2018, our 15’500 employees delivered revenues of CHF 3.4 billion. Our shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: SUN). Pumps Equipment The Pumps Equipment division specializes in pumping solutions specifically engineered for the processes of our customers. We provide pumps, agitators, compressors, grinders and screens developed through intensive research and development in fluid dynamics and advanced materials. We are a market leader in pumping solutions for water, oil and gas, power, chemicals and most industrial segments. Rotating Equipment Services Through a network of over 100 service sites around the world, Sulzer provides cutting-edge parts as well as maintenance and repair solutions for pumps, turbines, compressors, motors and generators. We service our own original equipment, but also all associated third-party rotating equipment run by our customers, maximizing its sustainability and life cycle cost-effectiveness. Our technology-based solutions, fast execution and expertise in complex maintenance projects are available at our customers’ doorstep. Chemtech The Chemtech division is the global market leader in innovative mass transfer, static mixing and polymer solutions for petrochemicals, refining, LNG, biopolymers and biofuels. Our product offering ranges from process components to complete separation process plants, including licensing. Customer support cov- ers engineering services and field services to tray and packing installation, tower maintenance, welding and plant turnaround projects. Applicator Systems Through its Mixpac, Transcodent, Geka and Cox brands, Sulzer develops and delivers innovative fluid applicators for the dental, adhesives, healthcare and beauty markets. Our IP-protected applicator solutions leverage our expertise in plastic-injection molding, micro-brushes and two-component mixing to make our customers’ products precise, safe, unique and more sustainable. Order Sulzer Technical Review newsletter: www.sulzer.com/str-newsletter Publisher Imprint Sulzer Management Ltd © Sulzer Ltd 2019 – All rights reserved, reprints of articles and illustrations are permitted subject to the prior approval of the editor. P.O. Box The Sulzer Technical Review has been compiled according to the best knowledge and belief of Sulzer Management Ltd and the authors. 8401 Winterthur, Switzerland Sources: Anna Bálint, Sulzer im Wandel, ISBN: 978-3-03919-319-6. Sulzer Technical Review editions from 1919–2019. Archive documents of Sulzer. [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Nadia Qaud; Editorial Assistant: Tanja Bosshart www.sulzer.com/stories Design: Pavla Balcarová, pb studio, CZ-Jaromer Translations: think global Milengo GmbH, Berlin, Germany; Thore Speck, Flensburg, Germany Publication 3/2019 Editing: Olivia Raths, Wetzikon, Switzerland; Bouqui Stautmeister, Winterthur, Switzerland 101st year of the STR ISSN 1660-9042 Photos Cover: Sulzer Photos: Pages 7, 12, 33, 34, 35: Fotolia. Page 36: Luftbilderschweiz.ch. All other pictures: Sulzer. 3 Contents Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 100 years of engineering insights In 1919, Sulzer published its first customer magazine. Since that first edition, the Sulzer Technical Review (STR) has been published without interruption several times a year. For a century, the STR has reported on our products, developments and technical insights, providing an important source of information for our customers and business partners. Sulzer has always been an incredible incubator, developing and then spinning off busi- nesses built on its unrivalled engineering prowess. This 100-year anniversary edition contains compelling overviews of the company's history from all four of our current businesses, including our very first — the pumps business which we founded in 1834. After a century of publication in magazine form, the STR will do what Sulzer has always done: reinvent itself without nostalgia to continue to lead the way. The stories and the insights will remain, but the format will change. In a world where our cus- tomers and partners are in constant contact with us, we will use the many digital channels of Sulzer to bring the gospel to them faster and better. As we move from the heavy production cycle of a magazine to agile digital formats, we will continue to inform whenever new articles are published. We look forward to the next century of increasingly interactive STR articles with you, our loyal readers. Gregoire Poux-Guillaume, CEO, Sulzer Management AG, Winterthur, Switzerland 4 Serving our customers: 100 years of knowledge transfer Knowledge transfer today and in the future 10 Innovative pumps 16 Customer-oriented and for 185 years reliable — Sulzer services History of the development From the first retrofit set of centrifugal pumps to worldwide service 21 Chemical process tech- 27 Precise application since nology for the industry 1956 since 1946 How application systems Milestones in separation became a part of Sulzer and mixing 4 Serving our customers: 100 years of knowledge transfer Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 Serving our customers: 100 years of knowledge transfer How does a company like Sulzer succeed in asserting itself on the market for over 185 years, continuously creating innovative products? What influence does the transfer of knowledge have? What will the knowledge transfer of the future look like? In 1919 — 85 years after the company was founded — Sulzer’s first customer magazine was published in French. Since then, the Sulzer Technical Review has provided technical informa- tion on Sulzer’s current product range without interruption. The magazine’s 100th anniversary gives us a glimpse into the history of Sulzer as well as the future of knowledge transfer. Networks for knowledge transfer in pre-industrial times Professional networks are not an invention of our contemporary age. In earlier centuries in Johann Jakob Sulzer (1806–1883) Europe, craftsmen acquired knowledge within the family business, then moved on foot from shop to shop to learn additional skills. Before the Sulzer brothers (Fig. 1) established their new foundry (Fig. 2) in Winterthur in 1834, they collected technical and craft expertise in Switzer- land, France and the Kingdom of Bavaria through apprenticeships. Johann Jakob Sulzer’s journey led him from Bern and Lyon to Paris between 1827 and 1830. Salomon Sulzer apprenticed in Munich, Ulm and Guebwiller in Alsace. Salomon Sulzer (1809–1869) Fig. 1 The two founders of the Sulzer company. Fig. 2 The building where the Sulzer company Fig. 3 The Sulzer site in Winterthur in 1931. was born in 1834. 5 Serving our customers: 100 years of knowledge transfer Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 Pioneering achievements thanks to a fascination with technology As early as 1839, the Sulzer brothers used a steam engine instead of horsepower to drive the foundry’s bellows. The Sulzer company was intensively involved with steam because of its founders’ enthusiasm for new technology. This was not only used as a working medium for power transmission in the foundry; energy transmission by steam also led to the develop- ment of new, innovative products. Sulzer was a Swiss pioneer in boiler construction and heating technology. The company built the first large, steam-powered central heating system in 1841 (Figs. 4 and 5). Fig. 4 Sulzer built Switzerland’s first heating boiler in 1841. Fig. 5 Heating pipes in Winterthur boys’ school. Success thanks to recruiting the best talent The Sulzer brothers recognized early on how important the skills and knowledge of their employees were for new developments and improvements within the company. In the early nineteenth century, England was a pioneer in the fields of steam engines, tool construction and mechanical engineering. During a trip to England, Johann Jakob Sulzer met the young engineer Charles Brown (Fig. 6) and recruited him, along with his knowledge, for steam engine construction in Switzerland. At Sulzer, Brown enjoyed a great deal of freedom and was able to creatively translate his in-depth knowledge and wealth of ideas into numerous new designs, improvements in operations and new products. Sulzer built its first steam engine with 2.2 kW (3 hp) in 1854. Brown’s persistence and perfectionism led to the centrifugal valve control and thus to an increase in performance and safe operation of the steam engine. The Sulzer valve steam engine (Fig. 7) already had 121 kW (165 hp) in 1865 and was awarded first prize at the 1867 World Exhibition in Paris. Sulzer thus gained worldwide renown and even granted manufac- turing licenses to partner companies to manufacture the steam engines around the globe. 6 Serving our customers: 100 years of knowledge transfer Sulzer Technical Review 3/2019 Fig. 6 Charles Brown (1827–1905) worked for Fig. 7 The award-winning