Dear readers,

By the time you hold this issue ofImpulse in your hands, the year2005 will be fast approaching itsclose. It will still be too early forfinal analyses, but I can alreadyconfirm that it has been a success-ful year for the VEM Group. Contra-ry to the trends in Germany, we are

continuing to grow steadily. Contra-ry to the trends in Germany, ourworkforce has remained constant.And contrary to the trends, ourproduction is based in this coun-try, and that will remain so in thefuture. Not even the frameworkconditions imposed upon us bypolitics are going to change ourminds. As an entrepreneur, I standfor reliable relationships to bothstaff and customers, I stand forresolution and fair partnerships.I expect this also of the politicaldecision-makers in our country. Thestandard by which we will be as-sessing the new government is thuscorrespondingly high.

The future yardstick for the VEMGroup will be equally demanding,because successful developmentnecessarily leads to higher self-imposed standards. Above-aver-age order levels, for example in thetraffic engineering segment, will besetting our staff new challengeswith regard to schedule reliabili-ty and quality. But with their com-mitment and diligence – that I amsure – they will continue to satisfyall the demands placed on them.After all, it has always been thisreliability, high quality and the per-formance standards of our prod-ucts which have been so appreci-ated by our customers. We are nowall sparing no effort to ensure thatthis remains the case in the future.

On this note, I wish you already inadvance a successful and happyyear 2006.

Regards, Dr. A. Merckle

Keulahütte. Castings produced at Keu-lahütte in Krauschwitz can now betreated with a new highly effective cor-rosion protection technology, enablingfurther substitution of the previousbitumen-coated or cemented fittings.The core of this technology is a re-cently commissioned fluidised-bedpowder coating plant. Complement-ing our existing coating facilities, thisrobot-assisted plant provides for flex-ible coating of all the piping partsand fittings manufactured at the com-pany. It is thus also possible to sup-ply tailored solutions to satisfy specificcustomer wishes. Furthermore, thecustomer is now offered integrallycoated fittings and hydrants whosecorrosion protection properties are atleast comparable to those of enam-elled products. Where the previous spray plant, fortechnological reasons, required com-parable fittings to be coated manually,the new automatic sequence permitsthe coating time to be reduced to onaverage 75 seconds. But this is notthe only benefit of the new plant: Itbrings also a high degree of automa-tion for the coating process, extreme-ly constant coating thicknesses be-tween 300 and 400 µm, and moreefficient energy utilisation. As neither

Compact drivesMotors with frequency converters gaining popularity

Roller millsVEM offers a full range of drives

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EDITORIAL

www.vem-group.comCustomer InformationsNumber 02/2005

VEM Sachsenwerk GmbH VEM motors GmbH VEM motors Thurm GmbH Keulahütte GmbH

INNOVATION

New dimensions in epoxy-resin powder coating

Fluidised-bed coating plant permits greater flexibility in corrosion protection for cast parts

solvents nor bonding agents are nec-essary, the process is at the same timevery kind to the environment. Theprevious spray plant nevertheless re-mains available to handle large parts,deviating colour wishes and duplexcoating processes.

Successful restructuring

The commissioning of the fluidised-bed coating plant represents the final

stage of a comprehensive restructur-ing of the machining workshops. Witha new building for the finished partsstores, the installation of a horizon-tal machining centre and relocationof the fitting and hydrant assemblysection, the past two years have wit-nessed considerable investments aim-ed at concentration of the depart-ment's processes. The whole plant forthe epoxy-resin coating of cast partsis now accommodated in a hall com-

VEM Group participation in various national and international organisationsVEM ACTIVE

CEMEP:Within the European Committee ofManufacturers of Electrical Machinesand Power Electronics (CEMEP), themanaging director of VEM motors,Jürgen Sander, is president of the work-ing group “Low-Voltage AC Motors”of the European motor manufacturers.

VDMA:The Association ofGerman Machinery and

Dipl.-Ing. Michael Gruner from VEMmotors Thurm and Dipl.-Ing. JensProske from VEM Sachsenwerk wereboth present at the founding meeting.Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinz-Dieter Eberhardtwas elected chairman of the workinggroup, with Jens Proske as his deputy.

Front-line commitment

The cooperation and involvement ofthe VEM Group, with its special com-petence, resources and expert knowl-edge, is also especially welcomed bynational and international organisa-tions and associations.

A few examples are:

VDE founds working group for electrical machines and drives

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 3

Plant Manufacturers (VDMA) main-tains the broadest branch networksin Europe for its member companiesfrom the capital goods industry. Themanaging director of VEMSachsenwerk GmbH, Gerhard Frey-muth, is an active board member inthe section for shipbuilding and off-shore supplier industries.

VEM Group. The Dresden regionalgroup of the Industry Association ofElectrical Engineering, Electronicsand Information Technology (VDE),as executive representative of thesekey technologies, has founded a newworking group whose most importanttasks include exchanges of experienceregarding worldwide developmenttrends in the drives sector, the pro-motion of scientific cooperation andsupport for the companies and staffinvolved in this process. In this connection, the VDE asked theparticipation of companies which havebeen active in the development andmanufacturing of electrical machinesand drives in Saxony for many years.

RationalisationSachsenwerk reactseven more flexibly tocustomer wishes

plex directly alongside the mechan-ical workshops. The restructuring has at the same timeachieved complete technical and ter-ritorial separation of the foundry pro-cesses from final machining and dis-patch, providing for a streamliningof logistics processes. Following thefinal cleaning stage, the casting is nowtransferred centrally to the finishingworkshops.

Robot-assisted technology

The fluidised-bed coating plant op-erates with robot assistance. After blast-ing, the cast parts are aligned andplaced on a continuous conveyor.Their sizes and configuration are re-ported to the system. Parts up to a castweight of 120 kg are subsequentlypassed through a continuous furnace,where they are heated by convectionto temperatures of 200 – 210°C. Arobot picks them up and dips theminto a bed of fluidised epoxy-resinpowder. The heat brought by the castparts causes the powder to bond totheir surface with a high layer thick-ness. The high heat capacity hardensthis layer completely and renders a

Robot coating of slide valve housings

CEMEPEuropean Committee of Manufacturers ofElectrical Machines and Power Electronics

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FAIRS

RESULTS

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When the performance of a drive isdetermined by the generally short-timepeak loads, this means that it is ac-tually rather overdimensioned for theremaining normal operating periods.Motors operate in the lower to mid-output range for most of the time. A

speed reduction permits drastic en-ergy savings and places less stress onthe overall system.

Series components

The scope of applications and the cus-tomer acceptance of VEM compactdrives have grown continuously sincethe product launch in 2000. Increasesin the numbers of drives comparedto the previous year of approx. 25 %in the lower output range and almost50 % in the upper output are notleast testimony to the outstanding re-liability of the drives. Compact drivesfor the lower output range, in particu-lar, have been able to enter new fieldsof use in machine-building and inventilation. This has a very positiveeffect on new-customer business, ascan be seen from the diagram forM21...T drives. The especially notable energy savingsfor pumps operating in the partial-load range have resulted in considerablyincreased demand for compact drivesfrom 11 kW. Overall, compact driveshold clear price advantages overconventional variable-speed driveswith separate frequency converters.They are supplied as complete, ready-to-install units. They incorporate im-

VEM Group. The industrial use ofvariable-speed drives with built-onfrequency converter has been increas-ing significantly recently. The VEMGroup offers these compact drivesfor the output range from 0.55 kW to22 kW with proven and robust grey-cast motors. The majority are 2- and4-pole drives, though 6- and 8-polecompact drives with forced ventilationhave also been available for a year now.Three advantages of these drives areespecially worthy of mention: The re-duced volume of the overall system,the straightforward installation in thesame way as an asynchronous motorwithout shielded motor cable, and thefact that the whole drive is suppliedby a single partner, which greatly sim-plifies service.Further benefits are to be gained fromthe possibilities to use compact drivesfor control tasks requiring an operat-ing frequency less than 50 Hz and inpartial-load applications. The compactdrive draws only the actually requiredpower from the mains supply, whichachieves decisive savings in energyconsumption. Pump drives must beconfigured such that the pumped me-dium is always delivered in the desir-ed quantities and at the desired pres-sure, even during peak-load periods.

Compact drives gaining popularityportant components as standard, andby principle eliminate other expensivecomponents. Where motors and converters are con-figured separately, further costs are in-curred for electrical planning, switch-gear integration and installation. Allthese sub-suppliers must harmoniseto develop a properly functioning drivesystem from the individual compo-nents and accessories – EMC filters,reactors, shielded cables, etc. The obvious advantages of compactdrives are exploited extensively bypump and fan manufacturers. Whena pump system is to be supplied, in-stalled and commissioned, the pumpmanufacturer assumes responsibilityfor the whole project. The costs remainwithin their own company, and thereis no need for complicated shiftingand offsetting.

Internet platform

Customer advice and support playan increasingly important role in thecase of special applications. For ex-ample, cooperation with a renownedcustomer, which entailed the use of aspecial winding, led to the applicationrange being extended to 60 Hz. Thisin turn raises the competitiveness ofthe product significantly. This custo-mer alone has already indicated prob-able increases of up to 250 drives peryear. Customers can find out moreabout our special expertise in the fieldof compact drives by visiting our In-ternet site at www.vem-group.com(button “Products”). We offer poten-tial users an information platform andin this way have established yet an-other avenue for contacts to new cus-tomers.VEM motors is currently preparing acustomer-specific solution permittingthe use of energy-saving motors foroutputs up to 5.5 kW with integratedconverters and optimum efficiency inthe partial-load range. Future applica-tion fields are to be seen in pumpsand fans. Even high-performancedrive tasks can thus be realised, wherenecessary. Additional motor andconverter options are set to furtherextend the scope of application, andofficial approvals will accelerate world-wide use.

VEM motors with integrated frequency converter offer significant benefitsAPPLICATION

reduced space requirements. Ourphoto illustrates how a heavy and in-convenient floor-standing unit can be-come a simple-to-handle desktop sys-tem. The weight of the overall pilotsystem is reduced by more than half.Furthermore, the heat problems of aswitch cabinet, which could only beovercome with additional fans andventilation slots, are no longer an is-sue for the new configuration.More and more production machinesfrom the company ystral gmbh arealso using VEM motors with inte-grated frequency converter.

VEM Group. In mixing or dispersionapplications in the laboratory or inconnection with pilot projects, theavailable space is generally rather re-stricted. Even so, the ease of operationof a pilot set-up must still satisfy theusual demands placed on a producti-on environment. This includes pre-cise speed control for the mixing sys-tems and reproducibility of the productwith defined parameters. In the past,the control system required largeswitch cabinets to be able to meet allthe specifications of technical guide-lines. The necessary frequency con-verter and its associated control elec-tronics had to be accommodated in acabinet, even though this cabinet couldthen easily dwarf the actual mixingor dispersion equipment.Relocation of the frequency converterpower electronics to the motorsthemselves enables technical specifi-cations to be met with significantly

Relocating the power electronics saves space and weight without compromising convenience

Lighter, simpler to install, economical – the new drives offer many benefitsFair news 2005

Compact drives in use

Volume savings for a new dispersion system (right) thanks to M21...T compact drives from VEM P

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VEM Group. Contacts, customersand contracts were the keywordscharacterising the meetings anddiscussions at the counters withwhich the VEM Group and itsindividual companies were rep-resented at numerous fairs thisyear.

Hanover Industry FairVEM presented “The WholeWorld of Motors and Drives” atthe year's most important indus-trial fair. With a focus on steeland rolling mills, customers weregiven an insight into the broadVEM product range from rollertable motors, via twin drives tothe newly developed water-cooledgrey-cast iron motors. Armedwith these developments and thesuccessful strategy “Quality, a VEMtrademark – Made in Germany”,the group confirmed its reputa-tion as a driving force in thebranch.

IFAT MunichThis year's International TradeFair for Water and Wastewater(IFAT) again far excelled the ex-pectations of the 2,223 exhibitorsfrom 35 countries by welcomingsome 108,000 trade visitors from166 countries. An attendance atthis national and internationalmeeting of the branch was con-sequently a must, and at the sametime a highlight on the fair calen-dar for Keulahütte. The perfectstyling of the exhibition standdrew particular attention to thecoating of the products. One in-novation presented was Tyton-Sit-Plus®. Over 200 meetings wereheld with potential customers andother interested visitors over the5 days of the fair, approx. 30 %of this number being interna-tional contacts. The generally posi-tive response cannot hide thefact that we are facing ever strong-er international competition onthe market for our standard fit-tings and hydrants, but we arenaturally standing up to thischallenge with innovation andcompetence. Keulahütte will alsobe attending the next IFAT, theworld fair for the environmentand waste disposal, to be held inMunich from 5th to 9th May 2008.

Elcom UkraineThe fair in Kiev proved once morethat Ukraine has become an im-portant sales market for VEM.The International Trade Exhibi-tion for Energy and ElectricalEngineering was a perfect forumto cultivate contacts, to win newcustomers and to concludecontracts with a sustained effect.

TIIF TeheranThe international industrial fairin the Iranian capital was forVEM a welcome opportunity tointensify existing business rela-tionships and to establish newcontacts.

SPS/IPC/DRIVES NurembergVEM will be attending this fairfor the first time when the branchmeets in Nuremberg in Novemberto reveal the latest innovations inelectrical automation, systems andcomponents.

Annual development for compact drive

orders on hand growth

As a traditional supplier to steel androlling mills, Sachsenwerk is able topoint to an outstanding vertical rangeof manufacture and maximum flexi-bility in accommodating the demandsof the industry. Just a few of the count-less production prerequisites are the

SPECIAL TOPIC: STEEL AND ROLLING MILLS

impulse 02/2005 Page 5 www.vem-group.com

Worldwide boom inthe steel industry

crane capacity of 200 t in the produc-tion hall, VPI impregnation for diam-eters up to 4.60 m, the large test standsand the balancing system for balanc-ing of the rotors. Irrespective of the strategic alignmentof the steel industry, VEM Sachsenwerk

is thus the ideal partner for all forth-coming tasks. This applies, for exam-ple, to the building of new rolling mills,for which complete drives can besent out all over the world from Dres-den both quickly and in high quality.But it applies equally to the modernisa-tion of production facilities, for whichSachsenwerk, as a supplier of large-scale drives, possesses extensive know-how. The specialists from Dresdenhave gathered vast experience in theconversion of production lines fromDC machines to three-phase technol-ogies with parallel performance en-hancement, all of which can be a-ch

i

other companies of the Merckle famil-y, the aspect of maintenance conven-ience despite the immense dimensionsof the bearings and lubrication sys-tems (Zollern bearings) for rollingmill drives can already be taken intoaccount at the overall design stage.In rolling mill business, which hastraditionally been a field for the in-dustrial heavyweights, a mid-sizecompany like VEM is able to offer de-cisive benefits. It is able to react immed-iately to customer wishes. With regardto the very robust constructions nec-

essary to handle the high mechanicalloads arising in reversing-duty ope-ration, the cylindrical rotors offeredby VEM Sachsenwerk hold distinctadvantages over the alternative salient-pole designs. And last but not least,the fair price-performance ratio of theSachsenwerk products is a no less con-vincing selling argument. Thanks to its optimum manufactur-ing depth and a highly productivemachinery base, VEM Sachsenwerk isable to pass on the benefits of a favour-able cost structure to its customers.

ages in supplies to the manufacturing industry and con-struction. Whether rolling mills are upgraded or modernis-ed, or whether new plants are built in the so-called emerg-ing countries, a worldwide boom in the industry is theresult. The VEM Group has long since established a reputa-tion as a supplier of drives for this industrial branch. Withour sophisticated project range from universal drives of themost varied sizes through to customer-specific large-scalemachines, we are able to react to the boom at the highestquality level.

VEM Group. The prices for quality flat-rolled steel have risenduring the fourth quarter and are expected to rise further in2006. Despite the high fuel prices, more cars were sold in Au-gust than in the same month of any of the previous fouryears. Order book levels in the German machinery and plantengineering sector were in July 3% higher than in the pre-vious year. Such news is currently dominating the headlinesin the economic sections of our newspapers. One import-ant background to these developments has been the highworld market price for steel, which is in turn due to short-

VEM Sachsenwerk projects VEM motors projects2 Rolling mill drives (twin drive), Italy, 8.5 MW2 Rolling mill drives (twin drive), Alchevsk/Ukraine,

4.6 MW2 Rolling mill drives, Alu Norf/Germany, 5 MW1 Blooming stand drive, Böhler Edelstahl Kapfenberg/

Austria, 6 MW4 Rolling mill drives for TKS Bruckhausen/Germany,

5-6 MW7 Rolling mill drives, Quningdao/China, 4 MW each2 Rolling mill drives (twin drive) for Nosta/Russia, 5 MW

70 Section mill (ARC 280), Voest Alpine/Austria4 Coiler/pinch rolls, TKS Bochum/Siemens, Germany

31 PM and HSM, Shougang/Siemens, China171 HSM delivery table, Lake Erie Steel/TMEIC, Canada32 Plate mill/mill table, Voest Alpine Stahl, Austria26 Plate mill/pendulum table, Voest Alpine Stahl, Austria56 HSM /coiling section, NLMK/Siemens, Russia

130 Walking-beam furnace roller table, Voest Alpine Stahl, Austria15 Modernisation shears roller table, Alu Norf, Germany

280 HSM delivery table, Severstal/Imex Trade, Russia

The demand for higher-quality andhigher-performance motors is a con-sequence of the current boom in thesteel industry, and one to which VEMmotors has also responded success-fully. Especially fruitful in this respectis the close interaction between staffof VEM motors GmbH and coopera-tion partner KLOSE ENGINEERINGat the Competence Centre in Düssel-dorf. As a first port of call in all mat-ters concerning the steel industry, itbundles the metalworking compe-tence of KLOSE ENGINEERING withthe innovation, expertise and long-standing manufacturing experience ofVEM motors GmbH, as well as thelatter's excellent production facilitiesand comprehensive know-how in thedesigning of electrical machines. Such

proven partnerships are to be main-tained in the future, and new contacts

are to be sought. One addition to theportfolio of the Competence Centre in

Düsseldorf this year was the newlylaunched frame size 400 in the series

of roller table motors. This develop-ment was triggered by the increasedinterest shown by customers. The spec-trum has now been extended to coverthe whole range of frame sizes from112 to 400, and is now tailored per-fectly to the typical requirements ofrolling mill customers.It is not to be overseen that the increas-ing steel prices and the growing de-mand for steel on the world marketwill continue to boost the volumes oforders in the branch in 2006. VEM is already expecting a double-figure growth rate for the coming yearand has secured all the necessary pre-requisites. This includes not least thefact that the VEM Group is already pre-pared to handle the demands placedon product logistics and transport.

VEM Group offers a comprehensive product range from universal drives to custo-mer-specific large-scale machines

Gerhard Freymuth, managing director of VEM Sachsenwerk (right), and chief designerAndreas Boeltzig at an asynchronous machine of the type also used in rolling mills

Rolling mill drive 5 MW

Roller table motors

EXAMPLE Large-scale drives from Sachsenwerk

EXAMPLE Roller table motors from VEM motors

QUOTE

“The VEM Group is a strong partner for the steel indus-try. The decisive principle: For drive technology, it is notthe price, but the quality which counts. We are well placedto meet this challenge in the future, too.”

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Works manager Arnd Türke sums up the extensive changes at the companyINTERVIEW

Faster, more flexible and inbetter quality

Sachsenwerk has made considerableinvestments. With which goals?Over the past three years, in particu-lar, we have put a lot of effort intostreamlining and improving our pro-cesses. Higher-performance machin-ery enables us to react in greater depthand even more flexibly to customerwishes. A total of seven million Euroshas been spent since 2003 and hasachieved an annual increase in pro-ductivity of over 4%. The positive re-sults of the company in recent yearsalso permitted us to finance the mostimportant of these investments with-out outside capital.

What benefits are derived for thecustomers?We now possess manufacturing fa-cilities at a level ensuring that we canhandle special customer demands inan optimum manner. We have landeda quality leap enabling us to manu-facture our products faster, more flex-ibly and in better quality than others.It is no exaggeration when I say thatwe are a specialist machine supplierwhose production is geared not to theexisting possibilities, but to the wish-es of the customers.

How was that achieved?With a whole package of measures em-bracing the whole manufacturing pro-cess, including better utilisation ofthe existing production areas and thepurchasing of high-performance ma-chine tools. I would like to mention

PEOPLE

impulse 02/2005 Page 6 www.vem-group.com

IMPRINT

here the shaft machining centre. Wehave modernised our punching sec-tion with a new automatic punchingmachine, we have purchased two CNCmachining centres for drilling and mil-ling, we have modernised the measur-ing and analysis facilities of our teststand and will also be upgrading thecrane capacity in the main productionhall. The new 3D CAD system will fromthe earliest possible stage meet custom-er expectations with regard to fast anduncomplicated communication.

What have been the most importantresults?Our medium and large machines arein great demand among our custom-ers, for example in the cement indus-try, the steel industry and in shipbuild-ing. Corresponding orders raise thechallenges posed for our employees,who are then able to bring their highlevel of qualifications into the spot-light. The optimised work processeshave by the way also enabled us to im-prove working conditions, in the formof new lighting and heating systems,for example.

What can customers expect in thefuture?Our market position today enables usto stand up even to our larger compet-itors. Here, especially, there will be noletting up – after all, standstill in indus-try is the first step towards decline.For this reason, a further investmentvolume of 3 million Euros is alreadyplanned for the coming year. In unisonwith new technical developments,which are reflected in new customerwishes, this will not only enhance ourmanufacturing flexibility, but will atthe same time further improve our test-ing processes.

Publisher:VEM Group

Editor: Sabine Michel, Public relationsPirnaer Landstraße 176 D-01257 DresdenÅ +49-(0)351-208-1001 michel@vem-group.com

Contributing editors: Sabine Hartenstein, Å +49-(0)375-427-320Stefan Krüger, Å +49-(0)35771-54-270Karin Wagner, Å +49-(0)351-208-3291Bernd Waßmus, Å +49-(0)3943-68-3169 Kommunikation Schnell GmbH,Dresden: Å +49-(0)351-85367-16

Art:Kommunikation Schnell GmbH, Dresden

Editorial deadline:30. September 2005

Print:Druckerei Vetters GmbH

©2005 Kommunikation Schnell GmbH

VEM reacts to the worldwide expansion of steel capacities with a new drive conceptSTEEL AND ROLLING MILLS

VEM motors. The increasing world-wide demand for steel is forcing theproducers to invest and to modern-ise their existing capacities. This alsoresults in calls for new drive concepts.VEM answers such calls with a wholeseries of roller table motors, and hasnow extended this series to include

also frame size 400. These drives areideally prepared to handle the extre-me operating conditions prevailingin the steel industry, meeting the un-usually exacting electrical and mechan-ical demands arising from the varyingoperating modes and load situations.Many steel and rolling mills are still

equipped with DC roller table motors,whose suitability is founded on theirgood control response. However, sincemodern combinations of three-phasemotor and frequency converter todayachieve practically the same controlperformance, three-phase systems aregradually ousting the conventional

equipment when new mills are builtor existing facilities are modernised.Against this background, VEM motorsalready introduced its new ARC seriesof roller table motors in the early1990s. These motors are particularlysuitable for converter-fed operation.The first motors of the series, in framesizes 160 and 315, were built and de-livered to Cockerill in 1993 for a newrolling mill in Eisenhüttenstadt. Fur-ther sizes were added over the yearsuntil 2004. The latest frame size 400has now rounded off the product ran-ge, which today offers the market framesizes from 112 to 400. First orders forthe largest motors have already illust-rated the interest of customers in thesteel industry.Alongside the above-mentioned seriesof roller table motors, VEM suppliesalso geared table motors and motorsin steel housings.

Frame size 400 completes theline-up of roller table motors

New head of salestakes up his post

VEM Sachsenwerk. JoachimZwick (48) will be taking up hisnew duties as head of sales forshipbuilding and wind energy sol-utions at VEM Sachsenwerk on1st November. As a graduate engi-neer in electrical engineering, hehas worked for several years ashead of sales at Winergy AG Voerde

and has been responsible for thecultivation of worldwide customerrelationships. As a first target forhis new activities, Joachim Zwickaims to place VEM business on aneven broader base in the fields ofshipbuilding and wind energy,while promoting further exportsuccesses. The focus of his work to date hasbeen on sales of components forwind turbine systems. “Irrespectiveof the changed political landscapesin Germany, the future Germangovernment will also be requiredto express its commitment to anenergy mix which includes alter-native energy sources. Studies in-dicate, furthermore, that wind en-ergy is still far from reaching itssaturation point on the interna-tional market, and will continueto grow in the coming years. I amthinking here of countries suchas Spain and the USA, but alsothe developments in Asia”, saysJoachim Zwick. He sees VEM Sach-senwerk well equipped for thismarket as a flexible, mid-size com-pany. “The average output of awind turbine system on the inter-national market is currently a-round 1.8 MW, but rising. Theproduct range at Sachsenwerk isideally positioned to cater for de-mands – not only with tradition-al asynchronous generators, butalso with the synchronous gener-ators which are set to play an in-creasingly important role in thefuture.”

Arnd Türke is works manager at VEMSachsenwerk GmbH.

Roller table motors fresh from manufacturing at VEM motors (above) and in action in a rolling mill (right)

AID PROJECT

VEM Sachsenwerk. Participatingschools from all over Saxony de-clared 12th July to be Social Con-

cern Day and permitted their pu-pils to miss school and instead toseek work in aid of charity. Sach-senwerk provided work for sevenpupils, whose agreed wages werepaid into the charity account“Schools Help Live”. The moneyis used to fund projects improvingthe education opportunities foryoung people in Southeast Europe,in this year a school project forpoverty-stricken Roma children inSkopje/Macedonia.With its support for the SocialConcern Day in Saxony, VEM isproud to help young people in Ger-many who are actively involved inprojects to benefit their contempo-raries in Southeast Europe. At thesame time, this is a direct contribut-ion to improving the quality of lifefor young people whose childhoodhas been characterised by war, pov-erty and discrimination, and tooffering them a chance of a betterfuture.

Social Concern Dayof the Saxon YouthFoundation

Joachim Zwick obtained a degree from theIlmenau Technical College – today IlmenauTechnical University – in 1985. He is mar-ried and has one son.

NUMOV:Jürgen Sander has been a memberof the board of the German Busi-ness Association for the Near andMiddle East Region (NUMOV) since

2004. This association has beenassisting its member companies toestablish and expand their busi-ness contacts in this region for over70 years.

ZVEI:The Central Association of the Elec-trical Engineering and ElectronicsIndustry (ZVEI) represents the eco-nomic, technology and environ-ment-policy interests of the Germanelectrical engineering industry atnational, European and internation-al level. The know-how of the VEMGroup, as a globally active company,is contributed by Gerhard Freymuthand Jürgen Sander through theirwork on t he ZVEI advisor y

committee. Furthermore, JürgenSander is chairman of the workinggroup on low-voltage three-phasemotors of the ZVEI section Automa-tion. Gerhard Freymuth is involvedas a board member of the workinggroup on wind energy and contrib-utes actively to the working groupon high-voltage machines.

DKE:The German Commission for Elec-trical Engineering, Electronics andInformation Technology at DIN andVDE is the national organisation

elaborating standards and safetyregulations for these branches inGermany. VEM interests are repre-sented by Dr. Frieder Kielmannfrom VEM Sachsenwerk in workinggroup K311 and the associated work-ing groups on insulation systemsfor electrical machines, converter-fed operation, asynchronous ma-chines and explosion-protected high-voltage machines, while Dipl.-Ing.Michael Gruner from VEM motorsThurm contributes to workinggroup UK 311.1 regarding the per-formance and dimensioning ofelectrical machines.

VDE founds working group for electrical machines and drives

NEWS

REPORT Assembly of a VEM Sachsenwerk rolling mill motor in Kapfenberg/Austria

impulse 02/2005 Page 3 www.vem-group.com

no easy task considering the narrowroads to be taken. Once in the machinehall, the rotor and bed were lifted ontothe foundation, aligned in accordancewith the customer specifications andsecured with M100 anchor bolts. Theengineers were now able to open thebearings and to lift the rotor out of thepit. Two mobile cranes helped to erectthe stator, whose dimensions had re-quired it to be transported in a hori-zontal position. The door clearancesalso meant that the heavy-duty rolls totransport the stator into the hall couldbe no more than 200 mm high. Oncethe stator had been positioned in thehall, and once the auxiliary shaft hadbeen assembled at the rotor, the rotorcould be inserted into the stator. Atthis point, the special lifting frame wasrequired once more, to lower the nowpaired stator and rotor into the pit –but not without an intermediate stop,as the height of the hall prevented thelifting frame from being extended fully.After mounting of the cooler, the lift-ing frame could be dismantled. The engineers checked the air gap between

stator and rotor, mounted the guardplates and closed the bearings.Parallel to this, engineers from Böhlerreassembled the 90 Mp gearbox andaligned it to the VEM motor.It was now possible to cast the bedplate and to finally tighten the anchorbolts. Further contractors connectedthe power supply and the oil and waterlines. To complete the installation, theBöhler engineers mounted the clutchand left the motor ready to be startedup.The start signal for commissioningwas given on 18th August. On 26th Au-gust, the message was received thatit had been completed successfully.The test runs were performed with

VEM Sachsenwerk. The delivery at theend of July took almost a week. Twospecial transporters left Sachsenwerkin the early hours of 27th July andset off on their journey to Kapfenbergin Austria with a 145-tonne rollingmill motor. After a number of necessa-ry waits along the route, it was ar-ound 2.00 a.m. on 3rd August whenit finally reached its destination: thebuilding site of Böhler Edelstahl GmbHKapfenberg, where reconstruction of amill train is in full swing. The machines were first removed toa separate hall to enable the old bedplate to be torn out. Once the founda-tion was exposed, the engineers fromSachsenwerk were able to commencelaying of the irons for the new baseframe. At the same time, the companyScholpp from Chemnitz assembled aspecial lifting frame, as the 65 Mp ca-pacity of the available hall crane wasinsufficient to handle the motor.Heavy-duty trolleys brought the rotorinto the machine hall together with thebed, bearings and transport frame –

Successful test run

both hot and cold billets, at 1,200° Cand 800°C, respectively. The resultswere to the full satisfaction of the cus-tomers, namely both Alstom PowerConversion Berlin and end user Böh-ler. It was also emphasised in thisconnection that the service centre hadthroughout the project met all thedeadlines contained in the site sched-ules.

Site: Böhler EdelstahlGmbH Kapfenberg

Customer: Alstom PowerConversion

Motor type: DMMYZ 3860 – 20V

separate hardening process superflu-ous. Defined swing movements of therobot guarantee that any excess pow-der falls back into the bed and pre-vents unwanted coating build-up.The robot then holds the part out-side the bed to enable initial harden-ing, before placing it onto a cooling

conveyor. The gripper teeth are nowcleaned automatically before thenext part is picked up. On the con-veyor, the part is allowed to cool to adefined handling temperature. Thecast parts are already ready fordispatch immediately after packing.

Continued from page 1

RFID technology from VEM at Logistics Conference

VEM motors. The so-called “mem-ory motor”, as an application ofRFID technology in the manu-facturing of electrical machines, isto be the subject of a presentationto the 11th Magdeburg LogisticsConference on 25th November2005. The managing director ofVEM motors GmbH, Jürgen Sander,will be speaking at the two-dayevent, which is being held at theOtto-von-Guericke University inMagdeburg under the banner “In-telligent logistics processes – Con-cepts, solutions, experience”.

Jürgen Sander will be explaininghow the use of an RFID systempermits dynamic retrieval of theinformation held on an electronicdata tag attached to the electric

motors. This can be exploited firstof all for unambiguous identifi-cation of the motor. Furthermore,the ID system functions as anelectronic rating plate for the cus-tomer, who is here able to save andedit additional relevant informa-tion. The presentation is based on theresults of a study commissioned byVEM motors in 2002 at the Fraun-hofer Institute of Factory Opera-tion and Automation (IFF). Theclose cooperation between VEMmotors and this renowned scien-tific institute has also been con-tinued beyond completion of thisstudy with the R&D topic “Devel-opments in RFID/Internet tech-nologies for electric motors” atVEM in Wernigerode.

“Eurodrant compact”was developed atKeulahütte

Keulahütte. In answer to the par-ticular demands of the Europeanmarket for simple, functional andquality-compliant hydrants, thecorresponding product familyfrom Keulahütte has been extend-ed to include a new model: “Eu-rodrant compact”. This hydrantmeets all the requirements for afavourably priced, compact hy-drant model compliant with theEuropean standard. The use ofexclusively high-quality materials,paired with outstanding variabil-ity and convincing flow proper-ties, makes this hydrant an ex-tremely interesting option for ourEuropean customers.The priority during developmentwas to use the standard compo-nents of our overground hydrantsas far as possible. One character-istic feature is the combinationof cast and steel parts. Only a fewcomponents are necessary to pro-vide the functions of a street hy-drant. The use of a variable-length steelpipe has also made it possible tooffer exact pipe jointing to indi-vidual customer specifications.Corrosion protection is providedin the proven manner with an

EKB+P coating. In this way, thehydrants are safe not only fromcorrosion, but also from chalkingdue to UV irradiation. This newdevelopment is currently passingthe approval phase in a numberof European countries.

VEM conference in Linz

Insertion of the rotor

Final assembly of the“Eurodrant compact”

The motor assembly is complete

Continued from page 1

VEM motors. The positive re-sponse to the series of TechnicalConferences in Wernigerodewas for VEM motors Austria theencouragement to organise a tech-nical meeting for its own custom-ers in Linz on 6th October.The central topics were energy-saving and water-cooled low-volt-age machines, and the implemen-tation of the ATEX standard formanufacturers and users of ex-plosion-protected equipment.

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PEOPLE Hans-Joachim Kittler: Head of quality control at VEM motors Thurm

ment in the precision measuring lab,incorporates naturally the actual pro-duction, and ends only with testingof the proper functioning of each mo-

tor produced. Explaining the specialnature of business with VEM, he pointsout: “We manufacture our motors tocustomer wishes, which means weoffer products which other compan-ies are unable – or unwilling – tosupply. And with a product range asdiverse as the one we have developedover the past few years, there is no suchthing as routine for the quality controldepartment.”The members of Hans-Joachim Kitt-ler's team are already involved in theplanning and design of a new motor.Their knowledge is equally in demandin connection with on-going researchand development. After all, they mustmaintain an extraordinarily broadoverview, because their department isalso the responsible address for bothservice requests and complaints. “If acustomer reports a problem, then Imust decide who needs to be called tothe table,” is the summary of an ex-perienced professional. “Then we sitdown together for as long as it takesto find a good solution.”

VEM motors Thurm. “My duties areso varied, that I could hardly imaginea more interesting job,” says Hans-Jo-achim Kittler, the head of the qualitycontrol section at VEM motors Thurm.Born in Brandenburg, he can fall backon a wealth of experience gatheredover 26 years in Thurm. He joined thecompany straight from college aftercompleting his electrical engineeringstudies and worked first in the testingdepartment. Eight years later, in 1987,he was appointed head of what wasat that time known as the TechnicalControl Organisation department. Today, there are 14 staff in his depart-ment. As leader of this team, Hans-Joachim Kittler is responsible for avitally important task, namely to or-ganise quality management within thecompany in such a way that custom-ers can justifiably place their trustin the constant high quality of VEMproducts. This starts with the check-ing of incoming goods deliveries, con-tinues with mechanical componenttesting on modern CNC testing equip-

Guidelines via the IntranetThe year 1993 was an important mile-stone for his work. “In that year, wewere certified to ISO 9001 togetherwith VEM motors.” It was only naturalthat the two factories should not ap-ply for certification separately. After all,their product series complement eachother within the overall product rangefrom VEM. Since then, Hans-JoachimKittler has often cooperated closelywith his counterpart Hartmut Bad-stübner from Wernigerode, whether toelaborate a common quality manualfor the two VEM locations, or to inte-grate any changes as quickly as pos-sible. Hans-Joachim Kittler also moni-tors implementation of the guidelinesin daily practice. “Via the companyIntranet, every employee has immed-iate access to the specific proceduresand instructions contained in the qua-lity manual. This, too, serves to safe-guard the good reputation of qualityproducts from VEM, as we have beenable to prove in a series of successfulaudits,” he underlines proudly.

Hans-Joachim Kittler is married with two children. Leisure time is spent looking after house and garden.

Interview with Dr. Hans Linnenbrink, technical department head at Bayer MaterialSciencePARTNERS

VEM motors. For some decades, cus-tomers in the chemicals industry havecounted among the most importantpurchasers of VEM drives of the mostvaried sizes and types. In the case oflarge-scale projects, VEM motorsworks together closely with ATB.Impulse asked Dr. Hans Linnenbrinkfrom Bayer MaterialScience how thecustomer views this partnership.

What is your relationship to VEM?We have been working together sincemid-2004. Via a general contract withATB, we obtain large numbers of stan-dard, EEx nA and EEx e motors fromVEM, installing them worldwide incountries operating to the IEC stan-dard. The latest example is a majorchemical works in Shanghai which iscurrently being expanded and in thisconnection equipped with motorsfrom VEM.

Well-filled order books in transportengineering

VEM Sachsenwerk. The transportengineering division has achieveda very pleasing turnaround in in-coming orders since the beginn-ing of 2005. By the end of Septem-ber, orders had been received formore than 1,200 traction motorsright across the output range from65 kW to 500 kW. Further cont-racts are approaching completion.The orders are spread over 11 dif-ferent traction motor types, andwere placed by five different railvehicle and component manufac-turers.

It is interesting to note that onlysome 25 % of the motors can beassigned to projects in Germany.Diverse projects in Western Eu-rope account for 70 % of the mo-tors, with the remaining 5 % ear-marked for vehicles in EasternEurope and Australia. New regionsfor Sachsenwerk traction motorsare France, Spain, England andSweden. The top countries interms of the numbers ordered,however, are Austria and the Net-herlands.It must be pointed out, further-more, that the proven DKCBZ mo-tor family used in low-floor tramsis to be complemented in futurewith the newly developed and mo-re powerful DKOBZ series, whichwill enable VEM drives to be usedeven for trams and light-rail sys-tems operating at speeds up to100 km/h.

Drives for diesel locomotives

The points are also set to the fu-ture for traction generators. Com-mencing in 2006, after a longerbreak, generators from Dresdenwill again be supplying drive pow-er to the latest generations ofdiesel-electric locomotives. A cor-responding declaration of intentwas signed with a renowned railtechnology system house at theend of September 2005.Diesel-electric mining trucks, fi-nally, are another highly dynamicsegment. Following the successfulfield tests of the first 2,506 kVAgenerator, Sachsenwerk has beenawarded an order for a second,smaller machine (1,834 kVA).The objective here is to establisha stable, long-term partnershipwith a guaranteed annual busi-ness volume.

5th Technical Conferencealready on the horizon

What demands does your companyplace on the VEM drives?With VEM, we have gained the servi-ces of a manufacturer who meets allthe demands we place on high-qualityand robust motors, and at the sametime promises favourable costs andfast availability. We pay particular at-tention to compliance with the qualityparameters contained in the VIK rec-ommendations for three-phase asyn-chronous motors.

Which trends in the chemicals industryare relevant for a motor manufacturer?Major German chemical works, in par-ticular, are turning increasingly to mo-tors with frequency converters. Thisis naturally followed by a demand forfurther harmonisation in respect oftransnorm motors. VEM is already in-volved in such developments and hasformulated certain ideas. As head ofthe working group on drives at the

VIK and of NAMUR, I know that wemust generally find a compromise be-tween the wishes of the operators andthe needs of the suppliers in terms ofeconomically reasonable manufactur-ing of the products. But the trendshows that the specification of uniformmotor designs with improved perform-ance characteristics is not actuallymore expensive, and can in fact oftenbring savings.

What is your experience with VEMproducts?Very good, as far as the quality of theproducts is concerned. And if techni-cal problems arose, they were alwayssolved to our satisfaction. Specificallyin the Asian region, all those involvedare facing new challenges with regardto project management. Organisation-al procedures and the quality of theavailable service, in particular, must bematched to these new demands.

Motors with frequency converters in demand

Low-voltage motors from VEM for new AIDA linersVEM motors. The German cruiseoperator AIDA Cruises (Rostock/Neu-Isenburg) has awarded theMeyer shipyards in Papenburg anorder for three new 68,500 BRT club-cruise liners. For the first time, VEMhas received a contract to supply thefull range of low-voltage motors from0.37 kW to 160 kW for such a cruiseliner.

porate a host of technical innova-tions and new approaches to interiordecoration. The 1,015 cabins accom-modate up to 2,030 passengers. Thefirst of these liners is to be launchedin April 2007, joining the rest of theAIDA fleet in the Mediterranean,around the Canary Islands, in theNorth and Baltic Seas and in theCaribbean.

With Germanischer Lloyd marine-standard classification, our motors areto be installed in all areas of theships. Deliveries to pump suppliershave already commenced. With an overall length of 249 metresand a width of 32.2 metres, the threeliners take the AIDA concept into itsthird generation. As the new clubliners for AIDA Cruises, they incor-

Auxiliary generator for diesel-hydrauliclocomotives shortly before delivery

Dr. Hans Linnenbrink is responsible for electri-cal drive technologies within the central depart-ment for process control systems at Bayer Ma-terialScience. At the same time, he heads theworking group on drive technologies at the As-sociation of Industrial Energy and Power Gene-ration (VIK) and the process control systems inter-est group of the chemical and pharmaceuticalsindustries, NAMUR.

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VEM Group. The 4th Technical Con-ference of the VEM Group was held inWernigerode in June. Experts from testinstitutes, manufacturers and users ofexplosion-protected drive technologiespresented their individual views on theimplementation of the ATEX standardand on its future national and inter-national development in a total of21 lectures. More than 160 partici-pants from 13 countries accepted theinvitation to join VEM in Wernigerode,providing ample proof of the wide-spread interest in both the conferenceseries and the chosen topic. In themeantime, this expert forum has earneda firm place in the branch's diaries.And so we would already like to anno-unce the dates for next year's meeting:

The final agenda will be published ingood time.

The 5th Technical Conference willbe held in Wernigerode on 12thand 13th September 2006 and willbe discussing “Drive technology inthe process industry”.