vahterus hot & cold 1/2014 english

VAHTERUS NEWS 1/2014

New products for high-pressure

environments:

Plate thickness doubled to 1.5

millimetres p. 14

NEWNANOTECHNOLOGICALAPPROACHES WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY

OF TOMORROW’S HEATING AND VENTILATION SYSTEMS

P. 12


Publisher Vahterus Oy

Editor in ChiefSari Kesälä

Lay-outMainostoimisto Tekokuu

Interviews Raija Herrala

Press Euraprint

On the cover Jacob Ask Hansen

Danish Technological Institute

Vahterus OyPruukintie 7

FI-23600 KalantiFINLAND

Tel.: + 358 2 840 [email protected]

Vahterus Americas, LLCPO Box 77264

CharlotteNC 28271

USATel.: +1 704 846 5050

[email protected]

Vahterus Deutschland GmbHMagnolienweg 26

63741 AschaffenburgGERMANY

Tel.: +49 6021 181 [email protected]

Vahterus Heat Exchangers Shanghai Co. Ltd

Room 816, Enterprise SquareMei Yuan Road 228, Zha Bei District

200070 ShanghaiCHINA

Tel.: +86 21 638 00848*[email protected]

Vahterus (UK) Ltd12-14 Derby Road

MelbourneDerbyshire DE73 8FE

UKTel.: +44 1332 863175

[email protected]

More news and articles can be found at www.vahterus.com

Dear partner,

VAHTERUS & 20132013 was a year of success for Vahterus. The annual turnover of the group

exceeded 30 million euros for the fi rst time in company history. As for the prof-itability of our operations, we managed to escape the grips of recession and our results will settle at least at a normal acceptable level for the mechanical engineering industry. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement when we compare the current fi gures to those of the previous decade. We managed to complete construction and production technology investments which were enormous by our standards. We believe that these investments will prepare us for the future and improve the quality of our products.

The lesson to take home from last year is the fact that you, dear clients, still count on Vahterus. Our order book doubled last year. This enables us to strengthen our cooperation, which in turn allows us to better meet your demands.

In conclusion, the number 13 and the year 2013 were our lucky numbers in more ways than one. This is a solid foundation for our future operations.

VAHTERUS & RESEARCHI assure you, dear readers, that without continuous and extensive product

development eff orts, Vahterus would cease to exist. As a manufacturer of heat exchangers, we are expected to be highly knowledgeable about the theo-retical and practical aspects of technology and development. The basis for all of this is our thorough knowledge of heat exchange processes and fl uid technology principles. Our clients will notice very quickly if our knowledge is not up to date. To increase our knowledge base and to improve our practical skills, we are constructing an extensive evaporator-condenser measuring labo-ratory next to the power plant of TSE Energia, our valued partner, in Naantali in southwest Finland. This laboratory allows us to verify theoretical formulas by fi eld-testing them using full power and fl ow velocities. The laboratory will be completed this summer.

While heat exchange is the core of our operations, we also need diverse knowledge of sales, marketing, design, pressure vessels, classifi cations, materials, deep drawing, welding, assembling and painting, as well as good command of fi nancial matters and contracts, both in theory and in practice. This list is rather long, so it is understandable that it also requires massive investments.

Vahterus focuses solely on the PSHE and PRHE heat exchangers that we develop. This means that our area of expertise is strong, more defi ned and easier to manage. It is important to us that all of our basic know-how is in our own hands. In order to ensure that our personnel are adequately trained and qualifi ed, we need each staff member to actively improve their skills, but this is not enough without constant encouragement and support from the company. This is something that we want to invest in here at Vahterus.

In this magazine, we shed light on some of our research projects.

2

VAHTERUS & BALANCEI believe that the most important aspect of our everyday life is taking care of our

health and well-being. Life is easier when our bodies and minds are in good condition. This is something that we can all achieve by making the right decisions.

All Vahterus employees had their physical condition assessed recently, and the results were given to the employees. The assessment yielded positive results as it noticeably encouraged some employees to start taking better care of themselves. I, too, was inspired to action by the assessment and my running trips have become more frequent in the past few months.

The second most important matter that aff ects the quality of life is our relationships with our friends and family. Their support helps us get through life’s ups and downs.

Our job is only the third most important aspect of our lives. I therefore believe that, if the two most important aspects of life are in order, work is easier and the company will fl ourish. That’s why I encourage everybody to take control of their lives and to keep in mind that, although work is important, it is not the most important aspect of our lives.

I wish you all a lovely summer.

Together we succeed!

Mauri Kontu

3

MADE BY VACKAFINNAR

SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES SOUTHWEST FINLAND HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT CENTER

OF INTERNATIONALITY, TRADE AND INDUSTRY. IN THESE PAGES WE WILL TELL MORE

ABOUT PRESENT PHENOMENA, COMPANIES AND INNOVATIONS OF THIS REGION.

Pressurised equipment requires inspec-tions at various stages of the manufactur-ing process and � exible inspections are an integral part of smooth, undisrupted pro-duction. At Vahterus, inspections are car-ried out by the company’s own inspectors as well as the accredited inspectors of an independent inspecting company DEKRA Industrial.

Matti Järvinen, Regional Manager of DEKRA Industrial Oy, has been working with Vahterus since the company started, back when DEKRA was still oper-ating as Polartest Oy.

DEKRA is a German company and the fif th largest interna-

tional inspection company, employing approxi-

m a t e l y 3 0 , 0 0 0 people. A couple

DEKRA’S INSPECTIONS GO BELOW THE SURFACE

44


DEKRA’S INSPECTIONS GO BELOW THE SURFACE

of years ago, DEKRA further strengthened its position in the market by acquiring the Finnish company Polartest Oy, which had started out as a nuclear industry inspector.

The company has had an offi ce in the Vahterus premises since the beginning of the 21st century. Vahterus also has its own radiation-safe research facility for radiolog-ical tests as well as a development labora-tory for developing X-ray fi lms.

Technical Director Paavo Pitkänen emphasises the significance of quality products to Vahterus. Having an inde-pendent inspection company work within the production plant is one way of ensuring high quality and reliability. The number of inspections has increased because more and more heat exchangers are being deliv-ered to demanding sites in the oil, gas and chemical industries.

“When a third party conducts the inspection there is no room for uncer-tainty. We can be certain that the prod-ucts meet the quality and other criteria,” explains Järvinen.

There are six to eight DEKRA inspectors working in Kalanti in two shifts. Whenever heat exchangers are being manufactured, licensed DEKRA inspectors are present. The number of inspectors varies according to requirements and qualifi ed inspectors are not easy to fi nd. In Finland, they are pri-marily trained by the Ammatinedistämis-laitos AEL, Finland’s leading provider of technical training whereas the SFS-EN standard compliant personnel certifi ca-tion is provided by Inspecta.

Mastering the various processes requires plenty of training. Competence tests are renewed every ten years unless changes in

eyesight or other physical factors prevent it.Requirements in other countries and

on other continents that diff er from the SFS-EN standard require their own testing. The inspection varies slightly depending on whether the process, equipment or personnel must comply with ASME, for example. Then there are the various demands of the oil, gas and chemical indus-tries which must also be taken into account.

All non-destructive tests are performed at the Kalanti facility but DEKRA can also perform impact testing and other destruc-tive testing in its accredited DT laboratory in Turku.

According to Järvinen, visual inspection is at the core of everything. Surface inspection methods are just as important as using ultrasound, for example, to inspect the structures beneath seams or plate material.

A crack as small as one thousandth of a millimetre is a � aw which will become signi� cant when the piece of equipment is placed under long-term stress. It is a weak spot that will spread over time. “This is why all cracks must be spotted and eliminated”, emphasises Järvinen.

The inspector records all defects and the products go back for repair. Then the piece is inspected again to check that the repair was successful. Järvinen stresses that every repair is always followed by an inspection.

The volume of the welded seams can be examined by X-ray and ultra-sound methods. DEKRA also provides Vahterus with magnetic particle inspections and penetrant testing.

The basic inspection methods have not changed much over the years. However, mechanisation makes working in cramped spaces easier and digitalisation will soon change the archiving and use of documents.

The Vahterus archive holds the inspection documents and X-ray � lms for all tested heat exchangers from over 20 years. In the future, digitalisa-tion will make archiving and sharing documents with clients all over the world considerably easier.

Pitkänen and Järvinen are both very pleased with the long-standing relationship between the two companies which has included the radia-tion-safe facilities Vahterus had built for inspection purposes. Not many industrial facilities in Finland have them.

“Vahterus has never wanted, nor suggested, that we cut corners. Quite the contrary: everything is done to a T,” says Järvinen.

EVERYTHING STARTS WITH THE SURFACE INSPECTION OF WELDED SEAMS

55

Vahterus&World

FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

Americas

UK

UK

A Chilly Start to 2014 in the USA

Lunch is on us

2013 ended up being a good year in the UK offi ce with sales up by around 50% and 2014 is looking like there will be further growth. We have now fully implemented M Files into our day to day operation and use this to ensure we keep track of new and existing contacts and off ers.

There are also some interesting new pro-jects that are at early developmental stages which we are looking to introduce PSHE into, such as a company developing a ship based “inert gas production” system for use in gas carrying vessels, a project to improve effi ciency in gas turbine technology using a new turbo expander mounted directly onto a Vahterus plate and shell and also a company with a new gas to liquid process. So we are predicting an exciting year ahead.

One activity that has helped this growth is a programme of Lunch and Learn events. We run these in clients premises usually over lunch time, they provide the room and we buy the lunch!

It gives us a great opportunity to present Vahterus Plate and shell technology, talk about the advantages of the technology and discuss case studies and examples.

The audience are either new graduates or senior technical staff or in some cases a mixture of both and it’s a great way to gain contacts and discuss new projects.

We have found many times that even people with some knowledge of plate and shell see some new way in which PSHE can be used.

We are now looking to extend this into basic training on heat exchanger design and selection and are in the early stages of developing a training programme, this was a project we have been discussing for some time, but over the past few months it has been some-thing that has been requested by some of our clients.

Training and lunch and learn events do not give immediate returns, however, they do go a long way to build Vahterus brand awareness and develop a wider contact base and in the longer term this gives access to a wider range of new and exciting opportunities.

Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch !

Paul Button, Sales Manager, Vahterus UK Ltd.

Following a record year of Sales in the Americas in 2013, 2014 has started slowly in the USA, not helped by the weather! How-ever, as summer arrives, we see much brighter signs. Although the ‘chill’ may have slowed business in the USA during January and Feb-ruary, the cold remains our friend, as Refrig-eration continues to provide the backbone of our business. We have scored notable successes in projects destined for two very high profi le companies – Pepsi and Kraft – in recent times. Both companies, for various facilities throughout the USA, are specifying the use of Vahterus PSHE and the good news is traveling fast.

For Pepsi, during 2013, we secured con-tracts for their facilities in Colorado, Florida and Missouri, through KHS based in Wis-consin; which has been followed by another project in February 2014 for their plant in Knoxville, Tennessee. This one is being executed by Colonial Webb, and has been

secured with the help of our representative MidAtlantic Refrigeration. With Kraft, we have seen similar trends. Following a plant audit at their facility in Champaign, IL, during early 2013, a constant stream of evaporators and Combined exchangers have been supplied to that facility and another in Springfi eld, Missouri.

Many strategic and major opportunities are observed in other sectors with some major investments being made in the USA at this time. Two notably exciting projects for Vahterus are with BP and Sasol. BP is re-initiating their activities for the Mad Dog II facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and Sasol is making a major investment in Lake Charles, LA. Through our direct activities in the USA and via collaboration with our representative network, we hope to make good progress in these investments in our region.

So, for now, back to business and I look for-ward to updating you in the near future on our activities in the Americas.

Dr. Jonathan Pascoe, Precident, Vahterus Americas, LLC.

6


China

Germany

Made in China

Grüße aus Deutschland!

China has woken up after Spring festival and the year of Horse has started with full speed ahead. If the speed of growth in China is the same than last year (13% increase in retail sales), there will be again big oppor-tunities for Vahterus to make growing busi-ness in China.

Vahterus is taking its share of this enor-mous market by operating an assembly factor in Zhangjiagang and sales offi ce in Shanghai. After fi rst year manufacturing operations, the employees have become familiar with Vahterus products and the manufacturing procedures. With great support from the Finnish factory, manufacturing skills are on high level and the factory has successfully delivered units not only to steam and refriger-ation use but also to demanding process and chemical sector applications. Independent from the manufacturing country, quality is our top priority as it has always been for Vahterus.

During year 2014 Vahterus Zhangjiagang is studying to exceeds its product range beyond the Chinese pressure vessel design code GB. Units with ASME design and materials will be

Our team in Germany was too busy working hard at the end of last year, so unfortunately their messages did not make it into the pre-vious Hot&Cold magazine. Our apologies. However, the year was extremely successful and the result was the best the German sister company has seen since it was founded in the late 90s. Our team in Germany consists of our long-term employees Daniela Amrhein and Sven Wohlgemuth as well as a group of their Finnish colleagues. Daniela Amrhein works in the refrigeration industry sales department and manages the offi ce as an authorised signatory. Sven Wohlgemuth is the key account manager responsible for clients from the chemical, pro-cessing and energy industries. He has visited many of our clients and in the process he has become one of our best-placed employees for assessing the clients’ heat exchange needs. Daniela and Sven’s perseverance has helped the company to succeed, as the year 2013 demon-strates. This success is the result of skilled and prompt customer service and the strengthened cooperation between the Finnish sales depart-ment and other departments.

The economy in Germany has been gradu-ally growing and especially its export industry

the next step to take for the factory. Demand of the ASME design code is strong in multina-tional chemical companies located in China, but also in rest of Asia. Zhangjiagang factory has a solid ground to start the production of ASME units both at design and manufac-turing point of views and we wish the China made ASME units to be available for cus-tomers during year 2014.

Vahterus China sales activities continue to follow Vahterus global targets: custom-ized products for Energy, Refrigeration and Chemical & Process sectors. China is having the same technical trends that are witnessed all over the world: demand of high energy effi ciency, increasing use of liquefi ed gases and growing use of natural refrigerants to mention a few. Vahterus has long experience with natural refrigerants and liquefi ed gases. Technical know-how of processes and needs of heat exchangers on those applications is on high level.

It is said that the speed of China put more years on population than in western countries. Fortunately we have a young and

committed team at steering Vahterus China activities to right directions in future.

Valtteri Haavisto,Operations Manager,Vahterus Heat Exchangers Zhangjiagang Co.

is strong. German machinery and equipment manufacturers export their products all over the world, and in 2013 the country enjoyed a strong current account surplus. Vahterus products are also often part of the assemblies exported from Germany. Vahterus products have been granted diff erent local pressure vessel certifi cations, such as the ASME U-Stamp, GOST, SELO and KGS, which has made it easier for us to sell our products to German systems integrators.

One such company is Borsig Membrane Tech-nology GmbH which uses our products in their gas recovery and separation units used in the pet-rochemical industry among others. Propylene gas or other hydrocarbon compounds, which in the past were fl ared or released into the atmosphere, can be recovered in their units, with Vahterus products playing a major role. There have been numerous other signifi cant and environmentally benefi cial plant and machinery units that have utilised our Plate&Shell products in Germany in the past few years. These units include indus-trial refrigeration apparatuses that use natural cooling agents and refrigeration systems that utilise absorption cooling technology, which was featured in Hot&Cold last autumn.

We’ve had a strong start to this year, so at

the moment it looks like our good momentum form last year will continue. We showcased some interesting new products at the WTT-Expo trade fair in Karlsruhe in April, and in the autumn we will attend the traditional Chilventa refrigeration trade fair in Nuremberg. We hope to meet you there! Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Marko Rantala,Business Manager,Vahterus Oy

7

Vahterus&Us

QUALITY THROUGH PEOPLE

“You don’t see these every week, or even every month, but I do come across these more often than before,” says assembler Kalevi Tyni, referring to the 10-tonne heat exchanger standing on the fl oor of the assembly unit. The ‘niner’, or size 9 exchanger, is on its way to a district heating plant in Norway. Kalevi Tyni and his working partner Sami Mattila received the 4,900kg stack yesterday.

“If everything goes as planned, it should be ready to go today at the end of our shift,” Tyni estimates.

At the assembly unit, the complete and tested plate stack, is equipped with rubber parts, then fl ow guides, or, in this case, web plates. The next step is the shell. The shell will be lowered around the “niner” with a

hoist because the shell is made of 40mm steel and weighs several tonnes.

Kalevi Tyni has over 40 years of experience in metal. He gradu-ated from the Raisio vocational school at the age of 18 and has since worked at a shipyard, serviced winches, switches and breaks on passenger ships and manufac-tured winches for life

boats, as well as turned and bended iron. For fi ve years he was one of the entrepreneurs in a small business. For the past nine years, Tyni has worked as an assembler at Vahterus.

“I was already in my fi fties when I came to ask for work from Paavo Pitkänen. I thought it was unlikely that I would get a job at that age, but Paavo said that I could have a go at it and see if it works out,” Tyni says.

And of course it did. After all, Tyni already had over 30 years of experience at that point.

Back then, Vahterus heat exchangers were manufactured with half the personnel and in much smaller premises compared to today. Over the time Kalevi Tyni has worked for the company, several new facilities have been built and they have all eventually proven too

small. The assembly unit is already at its third plant, and they are already starting to feel cramped again.

In addition to working in Kalanti, Tyni has been on a few installation trips further afi eld. He joined the Vahterus team on their trip to South Africa, Egypt, America

and Korea when

a mechanic was needed, for example, to replace a stack. These trips were unforget-table. For example, in South Africa, the heat exchanger was used for blowing cool air in a mine that was 3 km deep.

Kalevi Tyni has enjoyed his time at Vahterus. He has seen a whole range of jobs in his lifetime but the thing he enjoys most about assembly work is the versatile and varied nature of the work.

“Each time I pick up a new exchanger blueprint, I see something diff erent. This makes my work interesting. There is a whole range of rubber parts and fl ow guides, steam exchangers, diff erent metal sheets and struc-tural diff erences,” he lists.

Tyni has assembled heat exchangers both

alone and with a partner and ranging from the small size 2 exchanger all the way to the largest size 14.

When the assembler has extensive experi-ence, he is able to see if some details in the blueprint do not quite match.

“We often have discussions with the design engineers on how to assemble the exchanger so that it is defi nitely going to work.

I always need to be thinking what I’m doing and look at the drawings critically,” Kalevi Tyni explains.

Tyni feels that the design engineers listen to what he has to say.

Each morning, Kalevi Tyni drives 60km to work from the small island community of Kustavi. He used to be an ardent fi sher but this pastime now takes a back seat because he has plenty of jobs to do around his house, which was built in 1890s. “That’s all the hobby I need,” he laughs. “I do like jogging and going for walks too.”

His son and daughter are both grown up have families of their own.

“I like spending time with my grandchil-dren. That means bustling around, kicking

a ball and things like that,” Tyni lists. His eldest grandchild is fi ve and the

youngest is only one year old.

A metal worker with over 40 years of experienceKalevi Tyni, mechanic

Kalevi Tyni

8


Developing the production process is a never-ending task. When one target is reached, another one is already in sight.

“We are constantly thinking about the future. We aim to recognise areas that are in need of development and tackle them,” says Matti Kontu, describing his job as the Production Manager at Vahterus.

The production division of Vahterus has been busy handling volumes of orders that are

increasing at an exceptional rate. The orders are predominantly large-scale heat exchangers. The number of orders completed in the fi rst quarter of this year was 40% higher than last year’s fi gure from the same quarter.

This welcome challenge has been tackled in numerous diff erent ways. In the autumn, the pro-duction staff worked longer shifts, more employees were recruited, new machinery acquired, and some of the sheet metal production staff switched to working in three shifts.

“The entire order and shipment chain is working hard to ensure that the heat exchangers ordered by the clients are shipped promptly,” according to Matti Kontu and Production Engineer Pertti Ahjokivi.

Kontu and Ahjokivi are responsible for the whole manufacturing chain, which covers receiving the order, shipping the fi nished heat exchanger and everything in between. Ahjokivi plans and monitors the order cycle from one step to the next, while Kontu is responsible for managing the production staff and tools and for ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

The rapid expansion of the order volume has required fl exibility.

“We had a few exceptionally extensive projects in the autumn, but luckily the staff were willing to take on the challenge. For a couple of months we worked in ten-hour shifts and the production was running from four in the morning until mid-night,” says Kontu, describing the hectic autumn.

More know-how Since the beginning of this year, Vahterus has

already recruited 15 new employees to work in diff erent stages of production. However, it is dif-fi cult to fi ll all the vacancies quickly, especially when it comes to welding pressure equipment, which is a challenging job.

“Once the decision to recruit new staff mem-bers has been made, it takes about six months until the new recruits are able to work indepen-dently,” Ahjokivi says.

To help meet the demand for skilled workers, Vahterus has cooperated with Länsirannikon kou-lutus Oy Winnova and other educational institutes. Some of the 14 most recent recruits are already working, while the rest will start working later. Increases in the exchanger sizes and the number of plates are a particular strain on the plate pack production in charge of the plate packs.

“In order to meet the increased demand, some stages of plate pack production have started to work in three shifts, which is very unusual for us. In

addition to our current recruitment needs, we are also constantly preparing for future labour needs and a strong increase in production volume,” Kontu explains.

A new control system is on its wayVahterus is in the process of rebuilding its con-

trol system as a part of the development process. This procurement, which has been in the pipeline for about a year, is pending the fi nal procurement decision. The system was chosen out of ten can-

didates, and like all the machinery and equipment used by Vahterus, the control system has to be meticulously adjusted to meet the demands of the Vahterus production system.

The old control system produces data on a weekly basis, whereas the new system is expected to produce daily data about the load, to monitor the manufacturing processes in real time, and to anticipate alerts when there is reason to assume that something unexpected might happen. The new automatic control system will make it consid-erably easier to monitor the 800 individual orders in diff erent stages of production that are processed at the factory every day.

According to Ahjokivi, roughly half of the lead time of a heat exchanger is spent on making fi nal manufacturing plans and having them approved by the client. Material orders can also take their time. The other half of the lead time consists of the actual processing of the materials and parts in diff erent stages of the production cycle.

“The client can speed up the progress of their order by carefully studying the plans we have provided them with. When we receive all the comments and enquiries from the client at once, we don’t have to waste time on having multiple diff erent documents confi rmed,” Kontu and Ahjokivi explain.

The descendant of village smithsProduction engineer Per t ti

Ahjokivi has been working at Vahterus for two years. Before joining Vahterus, Ahjokivi was an entrepreneur and a production manager for a boiler manufac-turing company. He has worked as a mechanical engineer for over 20 years and

lives in the village of Vahterus. In his free time Ahjokivi enjoys repairing old cars, especially Opels from the 1960s and 70s.

The name ‘Ahjokivi’ refers to village smith, which was the occupation of Ahjokivi’s grandfa-ther, great-grandfather and perhaps even earlier generations.

“My father was a mechanical engineer and so am I, so this is obviously a condition that runs in the family,” Ahjokivi jokes.

From Kalanti to ChinaMatti Kontu is also following in his forefathers’

footsteps. Like his father, Kontu has a Master’s degree in energy technology. He started working as a production manager at Vahterus in autumn 2013, after spending 18 moths in China setting up a Vahterus assembly plant.

“It was an extremely interesting project. We started with an empty warehouse, and in the end our hard work paid off , allowing us to start the manufacturing process,” Kontu says.

Matti Kontu was just six years old when Vahterus was founded. When he was old enough, he got a summer job working at Vahterus. Kontu has not kept a record of the duties he has had and the hours he has worked, but he has gained experience in plate pack production, sales, product development and factory expansion projects, to name a few.

Kontu’s list of hobbies is equally impressive; it ranges from skiing and running to a host of ball games.

“I try to exercise fi ve times a week. In the spring, I entered the Karhu relay race with the Vahterus team. The race started in Rauma and the fi nish line was in Pori,” Kontu says. In addition to sports, Kontu enjoys spending his free time farming and hunting.

Developing production rises to the challenge of increasing ordersMatti Kontu, Production Manager & Pertti Ahjokivi, Production Engineer

Matti KontuPertti Ahjokivi

9

Vahterus has signed an agreement for testing, inspection and certi� cation services with Inspecta. The company con� rms and supports its partners’ quality and reliability in industrial process and is a known quality insurer in Finland.

Vahterus’ new service partner Inspec-ta’s business is based on creating and sup-porting safety, reliability and sustainable development. Inspecta provides inspection, testing and certifi cation services as well as consulting and training for industry, infra-structure, real estate and public adminis-tration in Northern Europe. These services will also be in Vahterus’ use from now on.

The wide-ranging supply covers i.a.

pressure vessel inspections and designs approvals according to PED and ASME standards. In addition, Inspecta Certifi ca-tion will carry out assessments of Vahterus’ management systems for quality, environ-mental, occupational health and safety according to the applying ISO standards.

“We wanted a partner who can support us with both American ASME as well as European ISO standards. The agreement facilitates cost savings while the same sup-plier is able to off er us pressure equipment inspections as well as certifi cation services. Not many service providers can deliver all of these. Our choice was also partly infl u-

VAHTERUS AND INSPECTA SIGNED AN EXTENSIVE SERVICE AGREEMENT

enced by Inspecta’s strong position as a domestic service provider and because of our common history with Inspecta Sweden, “explains Vahterus’ technology leader Paavo Pitkänen.

“Vahterus is familiar to us as an innova-tive industrial company. Our country organ-ization in Sweden has acted as the notifi ed body for the company’s pressure equip-ment for over 15 years. We are delighted with the extension of the partnership to Finland, and are excited to start coopera-tion,” says Inspecta Finland’s sales repre-sentative Erkki Saarnio.

Phot

o so

urce

: Ins

pec

ta

10

Martti Similä keeps a record of his joint projects with Vahterus on his computer in spreadsheets, which detail the dates and other aspects of every project. After a quick browse through the folders we � nd out that Similä � rst worked with Vahterus in 1994 – almost twenty years ago.

When Similä fi rst visited Vahterus, he was a trainer. After that he became an independent consultant and founded his own company called Credeltco. Cooperation between Similä and Vahterus has been close from the beginning.

Similä, who has worked in product devel-opment for decades, was fi rst assigned to examine the production division with a focus on diff erent potentials for growth. In other words, Similä’s task was to determine the amount of resources, such as materials, investments, work and personnel, required

for diff erent production volumes.Similä has been working in a group led

by Technical Director Paavo Pitkänen, who is responsible for the production technology and machinery of Vahterus Oy, and together they have made plans and calculations for new production machinery.

“My main role has been to take part in the production technology development. I can recall Mauri [Kontu] calling me late one Saturday night form Frankfurt Airport to tell me about the fi rst prototype: ‘Hey listen, I’ve come up with the perfect technique! We need to fi nd out if it’s feasible. Can you come to Kalanti on Monday?’

It was a major breakthrough for us. Without it Vahterus would not be where it is today,” says Similä, describing the impor-tance of Mauri’s idea.

The construction of the required machinery began straight away. Vahterus employees were eager to put their know-how to use, while Similä worked on calcu-lating the need for resources. The plans were polished for patent application, parts were made in-house and ordered from other com-panies and important partners were sought and found. Similä mentions several industry veterans who have participated in the devel-opment of the machinery. Their new ideas and old tricks have helped shape Vahterus products through the years.

Since the very beginning a considerable amount of the machinery and equipment used in Vahterus production has been devel-oped and manufactured in-house so that it can be customised for Vahterus’ needs. This tradition is still alive and kicking, as dem-onstrated by the factory expansion and its laser cutting line completed in the autumn.

The workshop has also employed Similä’s services.

“Jukka Ahola has helped manufacture several pieces of machinery in this factory. We often brainstorm these ideas together. We’ve never made two identical copies of one product as we improve them each round,” Similä says.

“Like when I came here today Jukka was there at the door asking me to come and take a look at one of his projects and tell him what I thought.”

WORKING WITH AN EXPERIENCED PRODUCT DEVELOPER

Martti Similä started his career working for Finnish fi rearms manufacturer Sako Oy. He adopted project-oriented working methods while working as a young engineer at the construction site of an Imatran Voima nuclear power plant, and has since helped improve the economic effi ciency of pulp production lines, among other projects.

Similä organises training sessions where he and the participants go through produc-tion processes of large and small factories, and then come up with creative ideas for increasing productivity and lowering opera-tion costs. These are also the key goals of the company, as the name Credeltco (CREative DEvelopment, Low Total COst) suggests.

“I’ve worked on around 350 projects as an entrepreneur, and before that on about 200 projects under Melti Oy,” Similä calcu-lates. “The number of the projects equals the number of the diff erent products, machines or parts that I’ve worked on.”

Similä uses value analysis as his tool of the trade. This system, which he has been using for decades, is based on a division scheme: the functions above the line are improved, while the costs below the line are systemati-cally and gradually reduced.

What has Vahterus gained from Similä and other seasoned consultants?

“We provide our clients with the capacity to complete large projects, and examine their

projects from an outsider’s per-spective,” Similä sums up.

VAHTERUS AND INSPECTA SIGNED AN EXTENSIVE SERVICE AGREEMENT

11


To minimise energy consumption, it is vital to secure new and innovative techno-logical solutions to signi� cantly improve the energy e� ciency of current state-of-the-art HVAC systems. New technolo-gies will be brought into play in order to achieve a far more e� cient heat transfer in heat exchangers. This will signi� cantly reduce the energy consumed in modern heat exchangers for cooling and ventilation says Jacob Ask Hansen from the Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology at the Danish Technological Institute.

To tackle this need for more energy effi -cient HVAC systems, the European Commis-sion has launched the EnE-HVAC (Energy effi cient heat exchangers for HVAC appli-cations) project within the 7th Framework programme. Under the leadership of the Danish Technological Institute, the project will achieve signifi cant energy savings in future HVAC systems via new and innova-tive technologies.

These very ambitious goals can be achieved only by tackling the effi ciencies in all parts of HVAC systems. The technologies used will address effi ciency on both the air and liquid side of heat exchangers such as condensers/evaporators, as well as on heat recovery systems. Furthermore, this project will address the heat transport system to ensure

high efficiency throughout the HVAC system. To achieve these large energy sav-ings, signifi cant requirements are placed on the refrigerants used; to ensure the greatest possible environmental eff ects, there will be a signifi cant focus on the use of “green” refrigerants avoiding HFC and CFC gasses throughout the project.

To decrease the overall energy demand, it is vital to look for new and innovative technologies for increasing the effi ciency of currently applied state-of-the-art HVAC systems. These new technologies are: • Nanostructured coatings including sol-

gels and PVD coatings for increased heat transfer.

• Nanotechnological coatings with anti-freezing properties to limit over-icing of heat exchangers.

• Nanof luids for improving heat transfer.

The nanotechnological coatings will be applied on the air side of both air-air and liquid-air heat exchangers. Here, sol-gel coatings, which will sig-nifi cantly decrease ice formation and adhesion to heat exchanger fi ns, are being developed at two research insti-tutes: the Danish Technological Institute and IK4 Tekniker (Spain). By avoiding ice formation or ice adhesion, de-icing cycles

can be minimized or completely avoided, giving rise to signifi cant energy savings. To ensure the best performance and appli-cations, the Italian company LU-VE, and Danish companies Dansk Varmepumpe Industri and EXHAUSTO are included in the consortium to help develop and demon-strate the technologies.

On the refrigerant side of liquid-air and liquid-liquid heat exchangers, there are two approaches for improving heat transfer. In boiling heat transfer, micro- and nano-structured surfaces have been developed at the Danish Technological Institute to achieve large increases in the boiling effi -ciencies of the refrigerants, thus allowing

for a reduction in energy usage. Sol-gels devel-

oped at IK4 Tekniker are also be applied

on the l iquid side of the heat

exchangers. By manipulating the polarity of these sur-f a ce s , th e wetting capa-

bi l i t ies and thus the heat

transfer

NEW NANOTECHNOLOGICALapproaches will signifi cantly increase the energy effi ciency of tomorrow’s heating and ventilation systems

Nanostructured heat exchanger plates

1212

13

capabilities of both refrigerant and brine can be improved. Again relevant heat exchanger manufactures and developers are an integrated part of the project con-sortium.

In collaboration with IK4 Tekniker and the Danish Technological Institute, Vahterus have produced plate and shell heat exchangers with specialised sol-gel coatings and nanostructures to enable enhanced heat transfer through heat exchangers. These heat exchangers are currently being tested for their enhanced capabilities for heat transfer in NH3 at Vahterus and for CO2 at the Danish Tech-nological Institute.

“Conducting real-size tests directly at the producers of the heat exchangers and the environment in which they are designed to run is of great importance not only to get a proper undertstanding of the direct eff ects of the nanotechnological coating, but also to evaluate the long-term stability of these in a production environment” says coordinator Jacob Ask Hansen from the Danish Technological Institute.

A third approach to increasing the effi -ciency of the heat transfer is the use of Nano Diamonds from the Finnish company Carbodeon. Nano Diamonds have shown a great promise for increasing heat transfer in heat exchanger applications. Using single-digit Nano Diamonds developed at Car-bodeon, we expect to achieve signifi cant increases in the effi ciency of the refrigerant with very small amounts of nanodiamonds. The addition of Nano Diamonds to refrig-erants such as NH3 and CO2 can only be achieved through close collaboration with a company such as Carbodeon, as it has a signifi cant degree of control over the functionalities of the Nano Diamonds and can thus tailor the diamonds to achieve the best possible results.

To maximise the output of the project, ESI group, the German pioneer in digital simulation software for material physics in prototyping and manufacturing processes, is included in the project. The option of tai-loring surfaces towards specifi c physical/chemical properties will be assessed using ESI’s ACE+ Multiphysics suite of solvers.

Coupling nanophenomena with large-scale heat-transfer models and fi ne tuning the surface structures towards the desired goals will enable predictive modeling of surface eff ectiveness.

The consortium behind this project con-sists of 8 European partners, all selected for their individual expertise within their fi elds. This includes 6 industry partners – one software developer specializing in simulation and modelling, ESI (www.esi-group.com), a producer and developer of Nano Diamond systems, Carbodeon (www.carbodeon.com) four producers of heat exchangers: LU-VE. (www.luve.it), EXHAUSTO (www.exhausto.dk), Dansk Var-mepumpe Industri (www.jordvarme.dk). and Vahterus (www.vahterus.com) – as well as two research institutions, Danish Tech-nological Institute ( www.dti.dk) and IK4 Tekniker (www.ik4.es).

For additional information please con-tact Senior Consultant, Jacob Ask Hansen PhD, Danish Technological Institute; tel: +45 7220 2281, mail: [email protected]

Jacob Ask Hansen,Senior Consultant, PhD, Danish Technological Institute

During the project, these technologies will be brought all the way from lab-scale development through to large-scale tests to demonstrations

Ice formation on Air fins from

EXHAUSTO heat exchanger

Schematic overview of the components to optimize for 1: Anti-freezing/anti-ice surfaces 2: Improved condensation 3: Improved condensate drainage 4: Improved evaporation 5: Improved heat transfer

Vahterus took part of the Karhuviesti-running event from Rauma to Pori.

Vahterus took part of the Karhuviesti-running event from Rauma to Pori.

When Orkla Foods Sweden needed a steam gene-rator skid for their new vanilla cream production line they contacted Spirax Sarco Sweden. Spirax delivered another steam generator skid for Orkla back in 2004. The steam generator delivered 2004 was a Vahterus Plate&Shell with a separate droplet separator. Orkla was very pleased with the steam generator which has been in operation for ten years without any issues.

The task for the new unit was to generate 7 bar(g) dry clean steam using 8.2 bar(g) black steam and to sub-cool the condensate. To complete the task a steam generator with droplet separation and a con-desate cooler/feed water pre-heater was needed. The challenge this time was the hight limitations for the skid. The combined model was the natural choise due to the space limitations.

The steam generator delivered was a PSHE 6/5HH- 266/1/1Combined fully in stainless steel complete with pressure relief, level indicator, blowdown, inspection, sample and CIP connections. The conden-sate cooler 3HH-82/1/1 was instelled after the steam trap so it was designed to handle two phase fl ow.

Use of Combined model made it possible to make the skid low enough. The steam generator skid have now been running since the beginning of this year.

Vahterus Combined generating clean steam for VANILLA CREAM PRODUCTION

New products for high-pressure environments with Tekes

PLATE THICK-NESS DOUBLED TO 1.5 MILLIMETRES

A four-year product development project funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, is coming to an end at Vahterus this spring. During these four years, the emphasis has been on developing heat exchangers suitable for high-pressure environments as well as gas use.

“We have taken the fi rst steps; new products have been launched and the fi rst models are on their way to the clients”, says Technology Director Paavo Pitkänen.

The most signifi cant result of the project is that heat exchan-gers of certain sizes can now be manufactured with plate material of double the original thickness. This has caused several changes in the production process, which is why there have been numerous partners involved. When the plate thickness increases to 1.5 milli-metres, changes in welding and shell structure are also required.

Tekes is a government-run agency specialising in developing Finnish technology. It supports companies, universities and research institutes in promoting innovations.

“The project is coming to a close but the development process is on-going”, Pitkänen points out. “Development never stops.”

The four-year project went hand in hand with the acquisition of a laser cutting line launched in the autumn. The laser cutter can cut the previous 0.7–0.8-millimetre plate material and the 1.5-millimetre strip, as well as acid-proof steel, refi ned steel and titanium.

The plate sizes we can now cut from the 1.5-millimetre sheet are 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7, meaning the diameter varies from 190 millimetres to 740 millimetres.

New products and new production technology have been cre-ated during this project. We have achieved new strength in plate pressing, made improvements in welding processes and started designing tougher shell structures. Strength calculations and design software have been altered, and new structures have been designed in various diff erent phases.

“This has been a signifi cant project for us because we have been able to carry out research and development with several diff erent partners, such as universities. We have used external help in design, and been in contact with material manufac-turers and welding equipment suppliers. This has been an extensive project in which various organisations and people have played major roles”, Pitkänen emphasises.

“New pressure resistance characteristics are needed in refrigeration cycles where the introduction of transcri-tical carbon dioxide may increase the pressure to over 100 bar. We also operate in the oil and gas industry market, where pressure can pose signifi cant chal-lenges”, he continues.

In conjunction with the Tekes project, Vah-terus’ own laboratory has run product solution tests. Heat exchangers suitable for gas use were tested together with the Turku Uni-versity of Applied Sciences in the form of two Master’s theses.

Vahterus running-team:Matti Kontu, Tatu Laajalehto, Grigory

Konkov, Anssi Myllymaa, Tuula Mäkiarvela, Jarno Ihala ja Mauri Kontu

(not in the picture).

14


PS.

NEWS & EVENTS

Vahterus will join following exhibitions:

ONS 201425.-28.8.2014, Stavanger, Norway

Fjärrvärmemässan 201430.9.-2.10.2014, Jönköping, Sweden

Chillventa 201414.-16.10.2014, Nürnberg, Germany.

Energia 2014 28.-30.10.2014, Tampere, Finland.

New steam laboratory atNaantali power plant

Vahterus is setting up a portable steam laboratory to test heat exchangers. The l0-megawatt laboratory, which is to be completed at the end of this summer, will be located at a power plant run by Turun seudun energiantuotanto Oy in Naantali.

The contract detailing the location of the laboratory and purchasing the steam needed by it was signed in early March. The power plant will generate enough power and energy needed to carry out tests with the laboratory.

The steam laboratory will be a port-able machine unit with laboratory equip-ment, adjustment and control systems and enough space to accommodate dif-ferent heat exchangers.

“Our goal is to increase the steam know-how of Vahterus and to develop heat exchanger products for steam appli-cations,” explains Technical Director Paavo Pitkänen.

Tests on the new machine unit are set to commence in August. Vahterus has, for example, reached an agreement with the Tampere University of Technology about having the research for at least one thesis conducted using the laboratory.

Thousands of Vahterus heat exchanger units are used in various steam applica-tions all over the world.

Last February, a number of Vahterus employees took the opportunity off ered by their employer to test their health and fi tness. The measurements taken included body composition, stamina, grip strength and waistline, and the participants received a written report on their fi tness.As a follow-up to the test, the lei-

sure-time activities committee set up a trial project comprising nine dif-ferent sports. During the spring, staff had the opportunity to try out new sports ranging from circuit training and water fitness to kettlebell and sauna yoga.According to a member of the com-

Researching heat recovery from exhaust gasVahterus teamed up with the energy laboratory of Turku University of Applied Sci-

ences to research the recovery of heat from exhaust gas. The aim of the joint project was to test the feasibility of using a new Vahterus heat exchanger to recover heat from the exhaust gas generated by a diesel engine.

The fi nal project report is nearly fi nished, and in addition, two students fi nished their engineering theses during the project. One of them looked at measuring the capacity of the new heat exchanger, while the other examined fouling and cleaning of the devices.

The heat exchanger was tested in the Vahterus research laboratory using clean air and warm water. At the university’s laboratory the heat exchanger was connected to a diesel engine exhaust system. The motor was subjected to diff erent loads and adjust-ments for a couple of months, which allowed the researchers to examine fouling of the heat exchanger and its impact on heat fl ux.

Thanks to its welded assembly, the new heat exchanger is suitable for recovering heat from hot gas under demanding conditions.

Vahterus-people would like to thank all the

visitors for your interest towards

our company.

RewardedWelder Mika Laaksonen was rewarded for the excellent welding quality made during the past year.

Fitness tests and trying out new sportsFocus on health and fitness

mittee Heidi Maikola, people have tried out sports with an open mind.“It would be fantastic if everyone

found a sport that interests and moti-vates them in the long run!” she said.

15

Vahterus Oy designs and

manufactures fully welded

Plate&Shell Heat Exchangers in

Kalanti, Southwest Finland.

Over 90% of the production is

exported all over the world,

mainly to energy technology,

process and chemical industry

and refrigeration industry.

Vahterus’ turnover is 35 million

euros and the number of

personnel is 220.

Subsidiaries

Vahterus Americas, LLC

Vahterus Deutschland GmbH

Vahterus Heat Exchangers

Shanghai Co., Ltd

Vahterus UK Ltd

www.vahterus.com

vahterus hot & cold 1/2014 english

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