SIMMERN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planning began on the transformation of the Gardner Denver plant in Simmern, which is known for the production of its CompAir and Gardner Denver compressors, as early as September 2014, with the aim of meeting growing demand and increasing the productivity of the plant. Over 10 million euros are being invested to install new machines, optimise processes and implement modern assembly and logistic concepts.
The ‘Simmern 2016’ project team is working flat out to create the global centre of excellence for Gardner Denver screw compressors. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016 and the result will be a cutting-edge plant, which meets current productivity standards. The centre of excellence covers the development of oil-lubricated, oil-free and portable screw compressors as well as their manufacture and assembly.
"We want to focus on our customers and their needs and requirements. Therefore we see a huge amount of potential in creating a centre of excellence in Simmern", says Henrik Akerson, VP Operations EMEA. “The majority of the investment has gone towards new machinery for compressor production, which allows us to increase our precision, capacity and flexibility. In addition, the existing assembly concepts of stationary systems will be converted into a continuous flow production system, which will increase productivity and reduce time and costs. The ‘mixed-model lines’ which will be introduced, provide the necessary flexibility to assemble various series at one production site.”
"The growing convergence of design and construction skills is a key factor when it comes to the future provision of innovative and highly efficient screw compressor systems." explains Andreas Goerges, Head of Development.
“The synergies resulting from the combined expertise allow us to continue to launch ‘first class’ products onto the market. The increasing digitalisation and smart communication options of our compressors pose ever-new challenges for the Simmern engineering team. In addition, the European Eco-Design Directive which is designed to achieve general energy savings and will also affect compressors in the future, will considerably change the product requirement profile and increase focus on continuous improvement." Andreas Goerges believes that the current development of the Simmern site will provide an excellent starting point in this regard.
The next milestone is production expansion. The oil-lubricated screw compressor series with drive powers of 7.5 and 11 kW, which was previously manufactured at the plant in Italy, will now be produced in Simmern in addition to the existing series.
As part of the expansion measures, there is also increased demand for specialists in a variety of production technology fields at the Simmern site. Current job openings are advertised on the Gardner Denver website (http://www.gardnerdenver.com/careers/careers/).
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