On July 14th, 2021, heavy rain that lasted into the night triggered a flood in the German provinces of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Up to 150 litres of rain poured down in a few hours, causing streams and rivers to overflow their banks. As a result, more than 180 people died in the Eifel region and the Ahr valley. In addition, billions of euros worth of property damage was caused.
The Hagen region with its high industrial density was also severely affected. Here it was mainly the riverbed of the Volme that could not accommodate the masses of water. Surrounding areas were flooded. Many traditional industrial plants in Hagen are located directly at the waterfront, as water power was used as a source of energy in the past.
Our longtime customer SCHMIEDAG, a part of the GMH Group, was severely affected. It has a tradition of almost 200 years. Dramatic scenes took place on the factory premises during the night of July 15th. The Volme river flows right through the middle of the factory premises and divides the company into two areas connected by a river bridge. In the afternoon of July 14th, the water was already directly beneath the bridge. The level continued to rise rapidly. When the Volme river overflowed its banks, plant manager Detlef Müller halted production and had the factory premises evacuated. But he and 16 other employees did not make it off the site in time.
The main escape route to the neighbouring road through a railway tunnel was full of water. It was already clear by then: All the staff vehicles in the factory car park were lost. When the level of the water was more than 30 cm high on the factory premises, Detlef Müller told all those trapped to climb onto one of the staff offices. From here, they could have used a ladder to reach the roof of the hall for further escape. 17 people then spent the night in this place. Evacuation by boat had become impossible due to the rapidly flowing water masses, the already advanced darkness and the unpredictable flotsam, which was also piling up in front of the bridges. At the peak of the water level, the factory halls were 1.9 m below water level. It was only in the morning that the SCHMIEDAG team was freed by inflatable boats of the German Armed Forces. When the water receded, the extent of the destruction became apparent. All the machines on the site, which are used to produce components for large engines, special vehicles, mining and other special applications, were covered in foul-smelling river mud. The electrical installations were destroyed. The seven MT machines in production and the final inspection were also beyond saving.
The big clean-up began and plans were made to resume production. Fortunately, other production facilities of the GMH Group could be used for a transitional period. The motivated team, both in the group and at the Hagen site, contributed a lot to the fact that production at SCHMIEDAG could be restarted relatively soon. As an interim solution, it was also fortunate that some KARL DEUTSCH MT-machines could be borrowed or even purchased from other companies. This enabled the company to adapt its MT machines to the current products and to plan new equipment. KARL DEUTSCH then received an order
for three more MT machines last year, all with special features for SCHMIEDAG‘s comparatively large forged products.
The last and at the same time biggest of the special machines ordered has meanwhile been delivered. The DEUTROFLUX DTA 1500 UK machine with particularly powerful magnetisation was designed for testing various components, mainly from the large engine and railway sector. The current can reach 8000 A. Enlarged and stronger coils and likewise enlarged yoke cross-sections ensure strong longitudinal fields.
The machine was also equipped with the MEMORY CONNECT PLC software. Test parameters and test sequences can be configured and stored via a touch screen. The test current and field flow are controlled
and monitored during magnetisation. The test results can be saved with all relevant data for each order and test part and stored in the SCHMIEDAG network.
The machine can be used flexibly for direct clamping of various components. The right-hand contact carriage is pneumatically unlocked with the touch of a button and can be moved to adjust the clamping length. A highly universal spraying device with many adjustment options was designed.
Suitable workpiece carriers have been provided for some components. A splash guard is raised at the front during the test. Ring-shaped components up to 800 mm in diameter can also be tested. In this case, testing is carried out via combined auxiliary flow. This means that the components are completely magnetised pole- and contact-free via a magnetising mandrel. Due to the pole-free magnetic field induction and homogeneous distribution of the magnetic fields, this is a very advantageous method for all ring-shaped components. Large magnetic fields are required for the large components.
With the delivery of the last machine from this order, the SCHMIEDAG machinery pool is now almost complete. Fortunately, in the meantime KARL DEUTSCH has even received another order for an MT machine, and the next projects are already under discussion. A major topic is the respective automation. For this reason, in all projects SCHMIEDAG has ensured that an exchange of communication with a robot can also be easily realised at a later date. A DEUTROFLUX UWE 600 with workpiece ejector and mobile operating panel on the control cabinet was designed accordingly.
KARL DEUTSCH wishes the entire SCHMIEDAG team lots of success.
We were impressed by the courageous, consistent and highly committed way in which the company was rebuilt at the Hagen site after such a challenge.