Meet Multistation at AM Village 2024 | 13 -17 May | Tournai, Belgium
12/10/22
WALDRICH COBURG pursues forward-looking corporate management as a cross-linked overall concept. The products, which meet the highest qualitative requirements, convince customers with low energy consumption even with high performance requirements.
For example, friction losses in the machine drive are minimized by hydrostatic guideways, and braking energy is fed back or used for acceleration processes. Cooling units and pumps are actively controlled and switched off when the machine is at a stop, and the auxiliary axes of the machine are operated as far as possible without the use of compressed air, which is energy-intensive. Using the machine’s own Economy Mode, the customer can automatically switch off the machine at the end of machining or set it to an energy-saving mode and prepare it specifically for the next machining operation using the Autostart function. This saves up to 35% of the energy.
In the manufacture of its products, WALDRICH COBURG makes extensive use of recyclable materials such as cast iron and steel, thus reducing the consumption of natural resources. The use of plastic elements is avoided wherever possible.
Through its unique services, the company significantly increases the lifetime of its products. For example, machines with an age of much more than 20 years are regularly upgraded to the latest state of the art at the customer’s site and prepared for a “second life” of many more years.
With regard to our end product, we also pay attention to sustainability and the greatest possible energy efficiency. On the one hand, the hydrostatic guideways allow the machines to be operated with virtually no wear, so that we achieve high availability rates and mechanically long service lives of several decades compared to similar products. A clear advantage in terms of resource conservation. Similarly, we strive to optimize manufacturing processes in cooperation with our customers and thus continuously reduce the energy input per workpiece.
Increasing demands for the protection of the environment and the growing bottleneck of raw materials require society to rethink and act. WALDRICH COBURG uses these constraints as an opportunity and has been assuming environmental responsibility for years. The Coburg-based company thus actively addresses the issue of ecological responsibility. For example, the company relies on recyclable materials such as cast iron and steel, largely dispenses with plastic parts, and sources materials from suppliers in the local area.
Managing Director Uwe Herold sees the future sustainability of the large-scale mechanical engineering company strengthened by an ecologically conscious location policy. More than 15 years ago, WALDRICH COBURG began large-scale energy-related renovations of the production buildings in Coburg. In addition, investments were made in renewable energies and photovoltaic systems were installed on several hall roofs.
Environmental awareness, including that of WALDRICH COBURG’s customers, is growing increasingly as a result of climate change and the strong price increases for energy.
At the heart of the concept was the installation of a natural gas-fired combined heat and power plant with a thermal output of 500 kW. In addition to the self-generated electricity from the existing photovoltaic systems, this plant generates over 3 million kilowatt hours per year, which will again significantly reduce the company’s external electricity purchases.
The efficiency improvement in heating saves more than 34 percent gas, and in the electricity sector the reduction is almost 23 percent. WALDRICH COBURG’s own electricity generation rate is thus a remarkable 60 percent. Drawing a proud balance, the new energy efficiency concept now saves almost 3,000 t of CO2 per year. Charging columns for e-vehicles have been installed on the company premises to reduce the high price of gasoline for company vehicles.
Uwe Herold highlights the economic savings potential: “Issues like this will determine the future success of companies. Resources are becoming limited, energy prices are rising, and supply chains are disrupted. Companies that do not make a sustained effort to conserve resources will lose acceptance among market partners, but also in terms of their attractiveness as employers.
We also act with sustainability in our human resources planning and train the specialists we need ourselves.
Each September, our junior employees begin their training. With its ecologically conscious location policy, the company assumes its share of responsibility for sustainable business in the region and will thus successfully meet the new challenges, also with regard to environmental protection.
“We are a partner of the Blue Competence sustainability initiative. Blue Competence (www.bluecompetence.net) is an initiative of the VDMA (www.vdma.org) to promote sustainability in the mechanical and plant engineering industry, but also to provide sustainable solutions for the industry. With our partnership, we commit ourselves to adhere to the 12 sustainability guidelines of the mechanical and plant engineering industry (www.bluecompetence.net/about).”
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