[inspic=165,left,,150]The Westfälische Rohrwerke GmbH as an innovative producer of pipes has meanwhile established itself internationally. Thus the team has successfully realised the first step of its business plan: the rebuild of the pipe production, independently and financed from its own resources. On the highly competitive market, this was not such an easy task without high financial reserves in the background. However, with the experienced team around Gerhard Auental of the Sales Department, Edmund Pilarski in the Research & Development Department and Horst Aschentrup in the Production Department, optimally cooperating for approximately 20 years now, the production volume has exponentially developed. “Apart from the experiences in process development, during our long years of cooperation we have also found a basis for a functioning business concept: Everybody has a certain position in the team and contributes with his skills, whereby it was clear from the beginning that apart from high-quality production we would also be active in the field of development. This was a milestone for everyone of us: to be able to offer our expertise in line with our own perceptions as an independent team!”, that’s how Gerhard Auental describes the first phase in the development of the company.
[inspic=168,right,fullscreen,250]The development of the pipe dimension 11.6 x 1.5 mm, just 2 years after the establishment of the company, was a clear sign for the market regarding the innovation skills and the control of procedures. Accordingly, the customer base has considerably increased and today there are already three extrusion lines in the far too small production hall. The latest and third line is designed for the production of dimensions up to an outer diameter of 75 mm. Therefore 17 dimensions ranging from 11.60 x 1.50 mm to 75 x 7.50 mm are available to the customers, in addition to special products particularly developed for customers.
However, in the first phase of the company development the target of the decision-makers was not only the expansion of the product range. As the first multi-layer pipe producer, WRW obtained the European Technical Approval (ETA) this August, which enourmously facilitates the product distribution in the European Economic Area without country-specific approval. After the approval with three different fittings, this represents a considerable facilitation and cost-saving for the customers at international level. Here the certification by EOTA (European Organisation for Technical Approvals) shows a high quality standard for the tests. The certificates are only granted after the execution of comprehensive tests, which include the entire system (pipe and fittings, the so-called kit). The international customers have responded positively to the certification and welcome it as a successful step towards a qualitatively significant solution for the Community. Non-European customers, too, have already asked for this standard and assess it as a basis which certainly exceeds the country standards.
[inspic=167,left,fullscreen,250]Since even the last remaining space in the existing production halls is used now, a new production site is being built not far from the present location. In October the topping out ceremony took place and according to Gerhard Auental the move of the production will be completed in December. For capacity expansion a further line is planned, which will be put into operation together with the hall. However, as well in the planning of the new hall the team’s persons in charge have already set the course for a new system for quality assurance and laboratory technology. For, of course, this is not about fulfilling inconvenient requirements but about laying the foundation for the realisation of future innovations. Thus, as to data acquisition, the production offers a sophisticated system of networking options of the machines. That way all data converge with a special software in the data center and thus are accessible at any time. The quality assurance department with its large laboratory wing offers test potentials exceeding the requirements set by the testing institutes.
“With this step we created the technical potentials we require for the further qualitative development of new products. For us, the competence of a new production site did not only mean additional space, the concept in the collection of process parameters was of importance for us. Given the increasing production capacity and the demands on further developments, we needed a preferably efficient concept for collecting production data in line with defined specifications to be able to link them to defined parameters and to document them” describes Edmund Pilarski the technical requirements on the production. However, even if experience represents an essential factor in the production process, the higher and the more detailed the knowledge in production becomes, the more important repeatable results are.
[inspic=166,right,fullscreen,250]One result of the intensive research in the material behaviour and the process dynamism is the collaboration with renowned plastics producers as research partners. Therefore, at WRW, new materials in testing are already reality now and are supplementing the development work. Edmund Pilarski is also sure, that future developments using the options of the new materials will cover performance spectra so far unknown: “Considering which materials the plastics producers think about today, it is time we pipe producers, too, put forth our ideas. Thus it will become possible to specifically define the necessary features for the requirements of the user and then to be able to make them available.”
That way WRW with its concept and the resulting product range has positioned itself at the extreme front of the group of top international plastics producers and is working on the basis of the success of future products.
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