NEWS
Gas mixture for quality saws
By Laura Serbanescu and Aurelia Siranu, Messer Romania Gaz
Romania | Metal processing firm Metamob uses Messer’s Inoxline H7 gas mixture (92.5 per cent argon, 7.5 per cent hydrogen) to braze and refine circular and band saw blades. The gas mixture is now supplied in cylinder bundles, replacing the previous cylinder supply. Messer has also installed a gas supply system, including flowmeters, at the customer’s site in Satu Mare. Metamob’s motto is ‘Product quality based on experience’. The company mainly supplies the wood processing industry.
Award for diversity and equal opportunities
By the Editorial Team
Germany | Messer has received the TOTAL E-QUALITY award for its forward-looking, sustainable personnel policy and establishment of equal opportunities. The company was also given an additional award for promoting diversity in the workplace. The latter award was only given to four of the total of 60 organizations singled out for distinction. Commenting on the presentation of the awards, Eva Maria Roer, Chairwoman of the organization TOTAL E-QUALITY Deutschland, emphasized: “Messer ensures a level playing field for professional success and fosters the careers of women. The sum of individuality that is so valued manifests itself in greater employee satisfaction, in their commitment as competent, dedicated specialists and, ultimately, in the organization’s success. This award enhances the company’s attractiveness as an employer, both internally and externally.”
Oxygen for Hungary’s largest state-owned wine-growing estate
By Lilla Németh, Messer Hungarogáz
Hungary | The Grand Tokaj state-owned wine-growing estate, which is dedicated to preserving Hungary’s wine-growing tradition, will in future use oxygen for wastewater treatment. As the region’s largest wine-growing estate, Grand Tokaj supports 1000 local wine growers and buys up the grapes grown in Tokaj-Hegyalja, a region rich in tradition that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the home of the “king of wines, wine of kings” – the sweet Tokaj wine. In spring and autumn, the wastewater from the winemaking process has a particularly high content of organic substances. The estate’s treatment facilities previously had an air feed and tended to reach their capacity limits during such phases. The option of building additional clarifiers was not considered for lack of space on the site. By supplying oxygen, the treatment capacity can be increased significantly in the existing facilities. The oxygen is added via oxygenation tubes.
The vineyards of Tokaj-Hegyalja – home to the grapes that the Grand Tokaj state-owned wine-growing estate turns into the “king of wines”.
Highly efficient air separation unit in Georgia
By the Editorial Team
USA | Messer has put a new air separation unit (ASU) into operation in Adel, Georgia, having invested 40 million US dollars in the highly efficient facility. The unit allows Messer to supply companies in the South East of the USA with gases. That will strengthen the company’s presence in this fast-growing region, where it supplies customers in the healthcare sector, food industry, metal industry and glass-making sector as well as independent welding and gas centers.
Software reduces emissions
By Kristina Thomasset and Caroline Blauvac, Messer France
France | The Affinerie de Pont Sainte Maxence (APSM) is named after its site in the north of the country. It uses Oxial software and liquid oxygen from Messer for the post-combustion of total hydrocarbons and CO (Ctot) in rotary furnaces. This optimizes the production process. The company is part of the ECOBAT Group and specializes in lead recycling. The heavy metal is extracted in the refinery from lead-containing scrap such as old car batteries. The Oxial software monitors the oxygen dosage for the post-combustion in Oxipyr burners and controls the rotational speed of the rotary furnaces accordingly. This fine adjustment increases the overall efficiency, saves fuel and reduces Ctot emissions. This means APSM does not have to invest in post-combustion chambers.
Nitrogen for safe port operations
By Marion Riedel, Messer Ibérica
Spain | Messer supplies Vopak Terquimsa in the Port of Tarragona with nitrogen by pipeline for storage tank inerting. The company operates tank farms for various raw materials as well as chemical and petrochemical end products. Vopak Terquimsa has expanded its storage and handling capacity for liquid chemical products and currently has 88 tanks with a total capacity of 430,000 cubic meters. This expansion has led to Messer increasing the nitrogen supply in order to ensure that these tanks can be rendered inert and the products stored safely.
Thermal spraying with gases
By Reiner Knittel, Messer Schweiz
Switzerland | Messer supplies oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, acetylene and helium in cylinders to coating specialists AMT, who are part of the Oerlikon Metco Group. AMT are one of the leading companies for all kinds of thermal spray processes such as plasma or High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) spraying. Thermal spraying is used in areas such as aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, printing and paper, steel, textile, medical technology as well as many other industrial sectors. The coated surfaces possess special properties such as extreme mechanical strength or high corrosion resistance. The gases are used in plant engineering as well as in the coating process itself. An AMT HVOF unit has been fitted with a gas supply system by Messer.
Wire flame spraying is the tried and tested method for anti-corrosion coating.