Environmental Technology Customer Day at Lake Constance

At the headquarters in Frickingen, Hermann Schwelling, managing director and company founder, welcomed the guests, who were mostly specialists from the waste disposal sector, as well as HSM sales partners from all over the world. HSM operates in the strategic business areas of office technology and environmental technology with around 900 employees worldwide. Hermann Schwelling showed the visitors impressive figures from the area of production: HSM produces over 3,000 bale presses a year with a pressing force of up to 150 tons. HSM produces over 400 horizontal ball presses annually, as well as around 200 fully automatic channel baling presses with a pressing force of up to 150 tons. More than 10,000 tons of steel are processed every year. In addition to this, there are approximately 160,000 document shredders annually, from small desktop equipment to multi-level file-disposal systems, with a throughput of up to 3 tons per hour, which are produced on state-of-the-art production lines. Continuous product optimisation and the development of innovative new products contribute to HSM’s position as one of the market leaders. The company’s know-how is protected by now approximately 180 registered patents and property rights, which are effective in various countries. To maintain the high standard of production, HSM invests about 4 to 6 million euros annually in state-of-the-art production technology, in the buildings and in the optimisation of processes. As a result, HSM has a direct impact on quality and can thus guarantee a high availability of spare parts.

During a tour of the production plant in Salem, visitors were impressed by the high production depth and competence. Among other things, a visit was paid to the modern paint shop, where components measuring up to 7 metres long and weighing up to 20 tons, were sandblasted and varnished or powder-coated. In recent years, HSM has also continuously invested in automation in the area of welding, and has commissioned the seventh welding robot system with a load bearing capacity of up to 12 tons.

The long-term corporate strategy and very high equity ratio of HSM highlight the company’s reliability as a partner. The worldwide sales and service network guarantees a high degree of customer orientation and qualified market management. Customer service is of particular importance at HSM. At the Frickingen site, there are 15 qualified employees in the area of internal services, who are responsible for commissioning, maintenance and repairs. There are 45 service technicians in Germany and a further 35 technicians at various locations abroad, as well as the five subsidiaries. The service staff undergo continuous training and qualification at HSM’s in-house academy and other educational institutes. The dense network of services provides customers with fast availability and short access times.

An impressive highlight of the machine presentation were two HSM VK 12018 R FU fully automatic channel baling presses. With an extremely high pressing force of 1200 kN and a large fill opening of 1800 mm, this baling press can achieve optimal results. This model is also available with the option of a frequency-controlled drive. This drive makes a significant contribution to environmental protection and efficiency, since using it can save up to 40 % of energy costs. This drive is available as an option for many HSM baling presses and multi-phase shredding systems. The HSM VK 12018 achieves a practical throughput capacity of more than 30 tons per hour with a drive of 2 x 55 kW with frequency control, for example. The bales have a weight of up to 1100 kg with a length of 1200 mm. However, it is not only the weight, but also the quality of the bale that is crucial for the disposer. The more densely the bales are pressed, the more stable they are for storage indoors or outdoors, and they then meet the requirements of paper mills better. Another decisive criterion for disposal is the size of the bale. With 1100 x 1100 mm, they logistically provide the optimum size for truck and container loading. Thanks to the wide range of options and additional equipment, all waste disposal solutions from HSM can be optimally integrated into existing procedures and processes.

At the end of the event, the participants of the HSM Environmental Technology Customer Day gave consistently positive feedback and were enthusiastic about the concentrated competence “Made in Germany” and the machine park that had been exhibited.

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