MAHLE NFV opens new Application and Customer Centre at its Hamburg site

 

On Thursday, 29th May 2008, the new MAHLE NFV Application and Customer Centre for Separation Technology was opened in Hamburg by Peter Grunow (member of the Executive Board of the MAHLE Group), Eberhard Runge (Managing Director of MAHLE NFV) and Ulrich Eich (Managing Director of MAHLE Filtersysteme GmbH Industriefiltration).

The new building was ceremonially opened at a gala function attended by many MAHLE customers, suppliers and staff.

Among the 150 guests were numerous representatives from the business world and politics, including Hamburg’s Senator for Economy and Labour, Axel Gedaschko, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Frank Horch.

After being welcomed in the foyer, the guests were ushered into the new assembly hall for the official ceremony, which started with three speeches.

Mr Runge provided some information about the new building, emphasising how fast the construction work had progressed. “From purchase of the site to opening took just under 15 months. The actual construction time for this 1496m² building was a mere eight months.�? The complex at Tarpenring in Langen-horn houses spacious new offices and meeting rooms, and a new assembly hall, fully equipped with an overhead gantry and its own laboratory.

He also highlighted the building’s green credentials, which MAHLE NFV – an “Ökoprofit�? enterprise and member of the Hamburg Environmental Partnership – has achieved with a number of voluntary construction measures. “We have got rid of the conventional heating system and now use air heating pumps, which enables us to reduce our energy consumption for heat by 50%. We also installed two underground water tanks, which allow us to save vast quantities of drinking water. Last year, we installed a rainwater tank which helped us to save 250m³ water; in future, we’re expecting to save 500m³. The installation of an oil separator in compliance with EN 858 is a further voluntary measure to protect the environment.�?

In his speech, Mr Horch praised Mr Runge’s deep dedication to this specific issue and his unstinting work on a number of committees aiming to further environmental protection and promote Hamburg as a business location. While on the subject, he also welcomed MAHLE NFV’s decision to build a new complex and with it the company’s  commitment to expanding in Hamburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Grunow’s speech also touched on the company’s plans for the future: “Alongside our development facility in Öhringen in Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg is our second development site. Here, our particular focus is on separation and filtration of oil and water for waste water processing, cooling lubricant and washing emulsion processing.

This new facility will also provide technical support for our industrial filter activities in Europe, Asia, South America, and hopefully also soon in the United States, providing our customers in these regions with MAHLE and NFV’s leading technologies and advanced solutions.

We expect that the new development and customer centre will help us to expand our present sales volume of bilge and ballast water applications for customers in international maritime technology, and hope in the long term to achieve a volume of €60 million in this segment. In addition to the new R&D jobs that have been created in Hamburg, we are also planning a new production facility in the region which will create many new jobs. The final decision for this new production plant will be made in the next 12 months.�?

MAHLE NFV is currently planning to recruit new employees in Hamburg, primarily project engineers, process technicians and design engineers. If the second production facility is built, then this will create up to 300 new jobs.


The official part of the ceremony concluded with the symbolic cutting of the ribbon by Mr Grunow and Mr Runge, and was followed by a reception complete with a buffet of north German specialities. Afterwards, the guests were invited to take a look at the company’s products and tour the new facility.

For almost 50 years, MAHLE NFV has been a dependable partner for shipping companies in the field of deoiling, membrane filtration and fuel processing. Our products help our partners to successfully balance economy and ecology. By focusing our maritime and petrochemical activities in the new Hamburg facility, we are able to concentrate research, planning and production in one site.

MAHLE NFV provides a wide range of customised and highly efficient filtration and separation systems for a wide variety of applications: from bilge water processing to engine maintenance, the protection of hydraulic systems and pipelines, transfer and circulation systems. This comprehensive portfolio is rounded off by customer support services precisely tailored to customers’ needs. Ten of the world’s top 15 shipbuilding companies and the world’s three largest shipyards equip their ships with our environmentally friendly, high quality systems, placing their trust in the outstanding operating security of MAHLE NFV systems. 

In light of ever-tougher environmental regulations, the demand for specific MAHLE NFV products is expected to continue to grow because MAHLE NFV responds  to legislation changes with innovative developments. The company is currently carrying out initial tests on a high-performance ballast water processing system (OPS) in the Netherlands. The new system will comply with all current IMO/MARPOL environmental standards. MAHLE NFV this week in conjunction with Germanischer Lloyd also successfully completed the approval tests for a membrane deoiler which is capable of a flow capacity of up to 7.5 m³/h in accordance with IMO 107 (49), making it the very first company worldwide to receive approval for a device of this type. In the test, the system removed practically all the oil, leaving a residual oil content significantly lower than 1 ppm. This test result underscores the skill and expertise of MAHLE NFV’s engineers and their tireless commitment to protecting the environment.

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