The name Herrenknecht stands for the world market leader in tunnel boring technology. The globally active company has relied on infrared systems from KÜBLER to heat its halls for years. The modern energy-saving technology ensures sustainably efficient heating in the large production halls and precisely the working climate required for high-performance production.
Herrenknecht is an exceptional company. In just 35 years, the family-owned company has become a world leader in tunnel boring technology. Herrenknecht machines are used almost everywhere where transportation or supply tunnels are bored or energy deposits are developed. In the construction of the Gotthard Tunnel (CH), for example, or the Pfänder Tunnel (AT). To date, the Herrenknecht Group includes 77 domestic and foreign subsidiaries and business-related affiliated companies. The Group employs over 4,000 people worldwide and generates an annual turnover of over one billion euros (2011).
Josef Gruseck, member of the management board and responsible for technology at Herrenknecht AG, explains the reason why he looked for alternative heating solutions in 2006: "We ran out of gas," he smiles and specifies: "The projects were getting bigger and bigger, we needed more hall space and the liquid gas supply was no longer designed for the new buildings."
Michael Pfütze was closely involved in the decision-making process. The managing director of Pfütze GmbH has been advising Herrenknecht on all aspects of sanitary and heating technology for many years. His company was already familiar with the advantages of infrared technology for energy-saving hall heating from other projects.
The high energy efficiency of the KÜBLER systems was decisive for Herrenknecht
The decision to use KÜBLER's highly efficient infrared technology had one goal: to reduce gas consumption so that the investment in a larger tank system could be avoided. "In the end, our space requirements increased so quickly that we did both," says Gruseck. whether the energy savings have met expectations? "Yes," says Gruseck - "although we are now heating more hall space, liquid gas consumption shrank from 800 tons to around 530 tons per year between 2008 and 2012."
The resource-optimizing R.O.S.S.Y control system is designed for four heating zones per hall. Herrenknecht can thus flexibly adapt the heating requirements to different uses and hall occupancy.
Since 2007, the majority of the halls on the 260,000 m² site have been heated by modern infrared heating technology from KÜBLER.
The low energy consumption is the result of a combination of intelligent components
At Herrenknecht, these savings are achieved through a combination of intelligent components precisely tailored to the requirements in the respective halls:
- OPTIMA plus, the high-performance infrared heating series
- R.O.S.S.Y®, the resource-optimizing digital control system
- Park-off, the R.O.S.S.Y® module for halls with crane runways
- Collective exhaust gas routing
- Fresh air intake
Collective exhaust system and ease of maintenance have greatly reduced service times
The high energy efficiency of the hall heating systems from KÜBLER was also the main argument for Michael Pfütze. However, he has a completely different focus due to his job:
"The collective flue gas system alone is a great advantage when, as in 2009, only one roof opening is required at a ceiling height of 22 m - and also for the chimney sweep," says Pfütze. The master heating engineer is also convinced of the ease of maintenance: "Where we previously needed two man-weeks, we now need just a few days." In addition, the infrared heaters mounted under the hall ceilings no longer need to be dismantled as soon as the hall usage changes. This was previously a problem with wall-mounted devices.
Regardless of the outside temperatures, the halls have a pleasant, uniform indoor climate
If you ask the employees, they are most enthusiastic about the indoor climate. Regardless of the weather, the temperatures in the halls remain constant. There are no draughts and no dust is stirred up, which is particularly important in the metalworking and electrical workshops. "When I think back to the past, I used to get a cold at the front and burn my back at the back," says one fitter, describing his experience with the devices that were in use before the heating renovation.
The collective exhaust gas system for the infrared heaters requires only one roof opening - a great advantage, especially given the enormous hall heights of the tunnel driving specialist.
Good cooperation is just as important as the quality of the innovative heating technology
Were there any doubts at the beginning as to whether the KÜBLER systems would actually deliver what they promise? "We were unsure whether the exhaust pipes would last in the long term," says Michael Pfütze. "But the systems are still running perfectly in their 6th year." And the KÜBLER project manager adds: "Some of our systems have actually been in operation for over 20 years". Apart from that, Herrenknecht relies on its own expertise and the excellent cooperation with the project managers at KÜBLER. This was put to the test right from the start and has long since proved its worth. Production at Herrenknecht is constantly running at full speed. Assembly was only possible during ongoing operations. It has to go hand in hand," says Michael Pfütze, who sees the good partnership with KÜBLER as another reason why Herrenknecht is well advised to use the hall heating systems from KÜBLER.
"Most of the halls are around 100 x 40 m in size and, at 22 m, enormously high."
About KÜBLER
With its innovative infrared systems, KÜBLER GmbH develops and sells cutting-edge technologies for energy-efficient hall heating. As a full-service provider of turnkey solutions, the company offers a comprehensive range of products for a wide variety of hall types and room environments. KÜBLER has made a significant contribution to the breakthrough of modern infrared technology in Germany and regularly receives awards for its innovative achievements.
Its national and international awards include the Federal Prize for Outstanding Innovative Achievements from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2004, the Bavarian State Prize in 2006, the Innovation Prize from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2012 and the German Sustainability Award. KÜBLER received the highest German award for sustainable entrepreneurship in the category "Germany's most sustainable product" for the special energy efficiency of the H.Y.B.R.I.D. system. KÜBLER has registered six patents and twelve trademarks.
Founded in 1989, the company employs over 100 people and is one of the top companies in the industry in Europe with locations in Ludwigshafen, Dresden, Hagen, Hamburg, Ingolstadt, Prague (Czech Republic), Fegyvernek (Hungary), numerous foreign agencies and a nationwide service network.
