100% to standard Switchgear production for the chemical, pharmaceutical and process industries
Standard-compliant planning, production and testing of control equipment
Anyone who supplies production lines for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry knows that this sector demands absolute care and precision. And this applies to local, regional and international markets in equal measure. No matter on what continent or in what country: everywhere, standards and directives of all kinds have to be complied with down to the smallest detail. Switchgear manufacturer Blumenbecker specialises in the standards-compliant production of sophisticated machine control systems and has appointed its own 'standards attaché' specially for this. The report below includes details of a project for the North American market.
US-based manufacturing plant owned by an international pharmaceutical company is preparing to commission a new production line. This is where the first crucial physico-biochemical processes will be taking place for the production of life-saving and life-sustaining drugs from deep-frozen blood plasma. The beating heart of the new high-tech production line is made up of 12 individual control cabinets that Blumenbecker Automatisierungstechnik in Beckum has developed and built for the plant engineering company GEA. The cabinets do not bear the CE mark that is required for products marketed in Germany - instead they wear the American UL label, signifying that the machine controls have been designed, built and certified to US standards and guidelines. This swap over is all part of the day's work for switchgear specialist Blumenbecker.
Having an in-house certification and standards representative makes things simple, fast and reliable
The Beckum-based family-owned company, which has branches in Poland, India, China and the USA, has had its own in-house 'standards attaché' since 2011. Graduate engineer Martin Settele works round-the-clock to ensure that the switchgear produced by Blumenbecker is designed and built to recognised rules of technology. “This was a logical step for us, given the ongoing growth in the export side of the business”, explains managing director Harald Golombek. “Our mission is to make our customers' business simpler, faster and more reliable. And to achieve this it is essential to have up-to-date information on current international standards and directives available at all times. This also means having the expertise needed to interpret and transpose the standards in the correct way.”
Expertise across the board from EN60204 to UL508A
Whether it's standards for Europe, Australia, Russia, Canada or the USA, Settele knows what needs doing when it comes to EN6024, AS NZL61349, GOST, UL508A, cUL508A, CSA and countless other specifications. Knowledge that is in great demand by customers and work colleagues alike and that the standards attaché is only too happy to impart – either in a telephone consultation, in direct conversation or as part of a training course. The 55 year old engineer personally oversees the entire development process for each new installation and is involved at every stage from planning and design through to construction, testing and approval. Even the certification and labelling work is carried out in-house.
New: certification to UL698A
The switchgear specialists had even bigger plans when it came to delivering a US project for GEA. Since April 2019 the company has also been entitled to build and label explosion-proof control panels to UL698A specification. This makes Blumenbecker one of the few switchgear manufacturers in Germany with this kind of authorisation. While the initial testing was carried out in the presence of an inspector, Settele is now able to perform the labelling process independently. Michael Stodt, who heads the GEA project for North America, is delighted about this: “For us, UL certification for Ex areas represents a massive increase in efficiency”. It means no longer having to arrange for expensive tests to be carried out by an external UL inspector in Germany or by the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) in the USA. Thanks to in-house labelling the equipment can now travel across the pond quickly and after a brief label check in the USA then be commissioned by the AHJ inspector. All this puts Blumenbecker in a position where it can also deliver time-sensitive explosion-proof projects.
Early error prevention, optimised planning
“Having you own standards attaché means getting things right from the very start”, says Thomas Schmitz, Blumenbecker's Key Account Manager, who looks after GEA and other chemical and pharmaceutical clients, “and that saves us and our customers a lot of money.” This is why Martin Settele is involved right from the beginning of the equipment development process. Being able to analyse the circuit layout at an early stage means that errors can be identified and rectified during the planning and design phase. “Costly rectification is avoided and good plans are made even better”, explains Schmitz, “for thanks to our technical expertise we are able to get the most for our customers where standards are concerned.” The pre-checking of plans is really important, especially when handling complex projects for the North American market. If for example you do not think along the right lines when designing the short-circuit resistance you will have all kinds of headaches when the time comes for commissioning. And it is also crucial to ensure that the components are matched to the respective US power supply. “Otherwise it just won't work right when it's finally put together”, says standards man Settele, coming straight to the point. Before the supplier parts are installed, Settele meticulously checks that they have been delivered correctly, in other words that they have the appropriate UL approval and can also be assembled together in the intended manner. In one of the current USA projects it was found that this was not the case. However a suitable replacement was ordered by the just-in-time route and production was able to continue uninterrupted.
Customs documentation within two minutes
After completion, acceptance and certification the equipment is routed directly to the dispatch area. As this is being done, the customs and export control officer applies for the customs documentation. Because of Blumenbecker's status as an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) and Approved Exporter (AE), the time-consuming declaration and checking process is no longer needed. Just two minutes after the electronic submission of the export declaration the equipment is given the digital go-ahead without the need for any further checks. The customs documentation can be printed out and the control cabinets handed over to the forwarding agent. “For us as a just-in-time producer, the AEO and AE certification is a vital element and another reason why international customers should opt to work with Blumenbecker”, declares Key Account Manager Schmitz.
Long-term partnerships
GEA first took the decision to approach Blumenbecker some 20 years ago and the business relationship has grown steadily ever since. “We are now collaborating with 14 different companies from the GEA Group”, says Schmitz. These projects range from milk drying equipment and gas power plants in Saudi Arabia through to drives for cruise liners. And of course assignments for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are a recurrent theme. Schmitz has just returned from China, where GEA and the Blumenbecker Group have established offices and can now look back on a 10-year local partnership.
Blumenbecker's international manufacturing standards
| Standard | Brief description |
|---|---|
| AS NZL61439 | The Australian standard for industrial switchgear |
| Atex | EU directives on explosion protection |
|
CSA (CSA) us |
Stands for Canadian Standards Association |
| EN13849 | European standards covering safety-related parts of control systems |
| EN60204 | European standard for the electrical equipment of machinery |
| EN61439 | European standard for switchgear (EN60439) |
| GOST | Certification system for exports to Russia |
| NFPA79 | Stands for Fire Protection Association and applies to electrical equipment for machinery destined for the US market |
|
UL508A cUL508A |
Standard used in the USA and Canada for industrial control panels |
|
UL698A cUL698A |
US American and Canadian standard for control equipment being used in hazardous locations |