MOSCOW (MRC) -- It was the year of inventions that are still indispensable today, such as the diesel engine by Rudolf Diesel and the zipper by Whitcomb Judson, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
And 1893 also showed what persistence means. Andy Bowen and Jacke Burke fought a seven-hour, 19-minute boxing match over 110 rounds – with no winners in the end. At the same time, the businessman Franz Ramesohl and the cabinetmaker Franz Schmidt in Oelde, Westphalia, proved their innovative strength, creativity and stamina. They opened a workshop on September 1, 1893, and produced a hand-operated milk centrifuge with the model name "Westfalia". Ramesohl & Schmidt oHG had three locksmiths and two turners 125 years ago. They produced the hand-operated milk centrifuges with the simplest but effective equipment. Entrepreneurial skills, craftsmanship and technical expertise coupled with a love for innovation formed the basis for the following 125 years.
The roots of the company developed into today's GEA site, the most modern separator plant in the world. The products "made in Oelde" are supplied all over the world. The export quota is currently over 80 percent. GEA's expertise now encompasses over 3,500 different processes and 2,500 products for various industries ranging from food and beverage, marine, oil and gas to power, chemical, pharmaceutical and environmental technology.
Today, Oelde is GEA's largest single site worldwide with a production area of around 37,000 square meters. Around 1,900 employees, 180 of whom are trainees, are currently working in the areas of design, production and administration. GEA invested heavily in the site in 2013.
The company's own Process Test Center (PTC), which opened in 2014 and provides extensive specialist support for customers' investment projects, also enables even greater customer orientation: Starting with the specification of product properties through the determination and design of machine types to pilot tests at GEA and on site at the customer's premises. In cooperation with the customer, GEA Product Managers and GEA Process Development, the PTC also develops and tests completely new processes. The PTC also underscores GEA's innovative strength as a leading international technology group. More than 11,000 tests and process developments as well as more than 18,000 laboratory product analyses have been carried out to date. This know-how is bundled in a database, which is supplemented and updated every year by around 500 new product tests and over 150 process developments.
In order to reliably ensure maximum customer satisfaction and continuous machine availability during operation, the supply of spare parts is coordinated centrally from Oelde and in cooperation with renowned logistics companies via so-called hubs. These spare parts centers are currently located in Cologne, Germany (since 2011), Singapore (since 2014) and Naperville, USA (since 2017). At the European Parts Logistics Center (EPLC) in Cologne, around 21,000 different articles – from 5 mm diameter sealing rings to machine parts weighing several hundred kilograms – can be retrieved in the shortest possible time; on average, 250 shipments are handled daily. GEA customers can call this service 24/7 via a hotline. If an order is received by 3 p.m. local time, it is guaranteed to be ready for dispatch on the same day. Particularly urgent shipments even leave the site within an hour.
MRC