Vahterus Hot & Cold 1/2013 English

VAHTERUS NEWS 1/2013

NEW!

p. 13

WIDE OPERATION RANGE SETTLED

THE DECISION ON STEAM GENERATOR

ACQUISITIONp. 10


Publisher Vahterus Oy

Editor in ChiefSari Kesälä

Lay-outMainostoimisto Tekokuu

Interviews Raija Herrala, Kristiina Tolvanen

and Elina Ahola

Press Euraprint

On the cover Mr. Ari Aittamäki,

Pori Energia

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 & 2012Year 2012 was the 22nd year for Vahterus. Despite the world’s unstable fi nan-

cial situation, we succeeded in growing our turnover into record numbers. Unlike previous years, last year’s turnover came mainly from the basic Vahterus PSHE heat exchangers. During 2012, Vahterus didn’t deliver large, individual projects even though we were glad to receive such orders for this year.

One of the most important development areas in 2012 was strengthening the operations of our subsidiary companies. We have noticed that especially in signifi -cant market areas, the company’s physical presence strengthens credibility, without forgetting the importance of local distribution networks.

In the past year the operations of Vahterus China and Americas have been developed. In these markets, we have advanced with signifi cant steps. In China, we have established Vahterus’ fi rst PSHE heat exchanger assembly plant. To our knowledge, the plant is the fi rst Finnish establishment in China with a local pressure vessel manufacturing license, giving signifi cant value for our investment.

VAHTERUS & GLOBAL HEAT EXCHANGER MARKETS

The study ’Heat Exchangers – A Global Strategic Business’ published in 2012 by Global Industry Analysts Inc. evaluates the current situation of world heat exchanger markets and their future. According to the study, the markets, which continue to grow, already account for 16 billion USD. The biggest growth area and increasing demand, according to the study, will be especially in effi cient welded plate heat exchangers, which can stand high pressures. The growth estimate for these par-ticular applications was almost 10% for the next years. On these pages we will tell you more about Vahterus’ energy saving applications.

For us, one of the most signifi cant fi ndings of the research was that Vahterus is the world’s second biggest manufacturer of welded plate heat exchangers with a market share of 15%! The information of the research signifi cantly supports the strong growth strategy of Vahterus, Dynamo 100. Fulfi lling the goals of Dynamo 100 requires good and constructive cooperation with you, as well as continuous development of our products and operations to maintain competitiveness in international markets.

VAHTERUS & 2013We believe that the current year will bring about strong growth. To ensure con-

tinuous growth also in the future, we are putting emphasis on developing our sales network. The work is carried out together with Finpro, the national trade, inter-nationalization and investment development organization in Finland. Finpro is a public-private organization, part of the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and employs hundreds of people all over world to help Finnish compa-nies to establish operations in international markets.

Currently, we are also investing in marketing by renewing the Vahterus visual identity. These developments can be seen for example in this magazine and the new visual look of our products. The Vahterus website will also be renewed during summer 2013.

In production, we are carrying out R&D work in order to further improve our delivery reliability and to shorten our turn-around time. This also requires develop-ment in product design. I believe that we will take signifi cant steps ahead rapidly.

VAHTERUS & CULTURELife is not only about heat exchange and work, dear readers. I would like to

encourage you to consume culture in its many forms. I believe that culture gives us new, positive, even unpredictable stimuli for both work and our daily lives. To stimulate and refresh the mind, I for example, play the piano. Exercise is also on the top of my list of free-time activities, as the body also needs change and challenge. Wishing you all an energetic spring!

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.

Crusell Week is an annual woodwind music festival in Uusikaupunki that attracts top woodwind players from around the world year after year. The festival is organised by the Crusell society together with the city of Uusikaupunki.

Crusell Week is inspired by the composer and musician B.H. Crusell, who was born in Uusikaupunki in 1775. Crusell still plays a huge role in the festivities, both in its name and repertoire. The next Crusell Week will feature two premieres of Crusell’s music, which have not been played in Finland until now.The festival, which runs for over a week, was fi rst organised in 1982. At fi rst, the festival focused on organising woodwind instrument courses, but concerts were soon added to the programme because the course participants needed to be able to perform and also to hear their teachers’ performances.“We have had the best woodwind artists as teachers right from the start,” explains Rauno Melos, Executive Manager of Crusell Week, who has been involved in organising the fes-tival for several years.“Crusell Week has gained worldwide recogni-tion, and nowadays it is very easy to persuade

One of Uusikaupunki’s main attractions is a unique woodwind

instrument festival

artists to come perform or to teach.” The festival is a unique event in the world. It draws around 10,000 people, featuring around 100 artists every year, and has a very interna-tional fl avour.“International operations are the basis for everything and international master classes have also been extremely popular.” According to Melos, many artists and course participants are looking for something to spice up their career, and here they get new infl uences from around the world.Another interesting part of the festival is the competition organised every other year that features a diff erent woodwind instrument each time. In 2014 it will be the oboe’s turn. Melos says there are usually dozens of partic-ipants from almost every continent.“We have received very good feedback from artists about how well everything works, how well they are taken care of and how well all other operations are organised.”

Woodwind instru-ments play the leadMelos is impressed by how artists coming from diff erent countries meet for the fi rst time at the Crusell Week, practice only a few of times before the concert and yet at the con-cert manage to sound like they have played together for years.“It is simply thanks to the musicians’ high level of talent,” he says.The idea behind Crusell Week is that wood-wind instruments play a central part when the concert programmes are planned. They have a major role in every concert, although other performers, such as singers, are also given more visibility. After all, a singing voice has been said to be the basis and model for all instrumental music.“Woodwind instruments are suitable for var-ious kinds of music. In addition to traditional chamber music, jazz, for example, can easily be introduced with the help of saxophones, and folk music is included in the programme every year. This way we can off er a more varied programme without breaking our own rules regarding Crusell Week’s main idea,” mentions Rauno Melos.

Bernhard Henrik Crusell 15.10.1775 Uusikaupunki - 28.7.1838 Stockholm

4


Artistic directors have their own visions

Each artistic director adds their own fl a-vour to Crusell Week, and their ideas mean progress for the festival.

Throughout the years, the Artistic Direc-tors of Crusell Week have brought their own unique fl avours to the festival. With their ideas, it has been possible to develop the event even further.

-The fi rst Artistic Director was conductor and clarinetist Osmo Vänskä who took on the task in 1989. Vänskä was followed by clarinetist Kari Kriikku who brought the opening events to the festival. During his time as Artistic Director, every week star ted out with a specia l event , explains Melos.

- K r i ik ku ’s suc-cessor f lutist Petri Alanko brought the popular ” Tune of the Day” –events to the market square of Uusikaupunki. The next Artistic Director, bassoonist Jussi Särkkä, being a sports person by background, introduced the Crusell Run as part of the week’s pro-gram.

The latest artistic director, clarinet-tist Harri Mäki, who began last year, created a graspable and accessible theme, Birds. The audience clearly loved the theme. Melos hopes that the audience will also enjoy this year’s theme, Costumes and Masks.

“We are planning to perform composers’ works with the wrong instruments, so to speak, as well as arrangements of composers’ orig-inal works by other composers. We are already looking forward to the next festival.”Melos wants to thank the various groups for making it possible to orga-nise Crusell Week.“The audience’s support and enthu-siasm are among the key factors that make the festival successful. The fi nan-cial support from the city of Uusikau-punki and the sponsors is extremely important. It is great that the local busi-nesses support an local festival with an international scope. In addition, around 40 per cent of the income is gained from grants paid by diff erent foundations and organisations.”

Iiro Rantala

Harri MäkiPhoto Sami Perttila

Anna-Mari KähäräPhoto Paula Kukkonen

Osmo Vänskä

Marzi Nyman

Tapiola SinfoniettaPhoto Sami Perttila

Crusell Week will be held on 27.7-3.8.2013More information about the event: www.crusellviikko.com

5

Following an exceptional fi rst year of business in 2012, Vahterus Americas has started 2013 very strongly. January 2013 sales were higher than recorded for the entire fi rst quarter of 2012, with further strong results reported for February and March. Key successes have been in the Oil & Gas sector; notably in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on BP Thunder Horse and with Petrobras in Brazil.

A further component to strong Americas sales has been the consistency of business in the Refrigeration sector. For several years, Vahterus has exhibited at the International Refrigeration Con-ference & Exhibition (IIAR), which has become an annual event in our calendar. In March 2013, the IIAR was held at the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in Colorado Springs.

Vahterus exhibited their latest developments, with Jonathan Pascoe, presenting a Technomercial to the conference, detailing the Vahterus Combined Unit. This was received very well and a strong response has already been observed to our pres-ence at IIAR. Vahterus were represented in Colo-rado by Jonathan Pascoe and Elizabeth Corcoran from our US Offi ce; supported by Tanja Välimäki and Mauri Kontu, from Vahterus Oy.

2013 in the Americas is expected to exceed all expectations, and in the coming months, signifi -cant and strategic projects, are anticipated. These will be reported in future updates but there are clear signs for a very prosperous year ahead. We look forward to sharing our news and successes

with you. Best Regards from Charlotte!

Elizabeth CorcoranProject and Sales Support EngineerVahterus Americas

Vahterus&World

FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

UK

Americas Greetings from IIAR 2013!

Changes at Vahterus UK

From 1st January 2013, Adrian Foster has taken over the role of Managing Director of Vahterus UK, having previously worked primarily in contract management for both the UK and Oy businesses.

Working with Adrian are Paul Button and Phil Chesters – between the team there is over 60 years of experience in the heat transfer industry.

Adrian is enthusiastic about the future:‘ Our main challenge is to grow the business in

line with the ambitious targets set for the Vahterus Group as a whole. One of the fi rst things we have done is to analyse our true customer base over the 14 years since the formation of the UK business - this has proved to be a very illuminating process and is to be recommended for any sales organi-sation! Following on from this we have planned our eff orts going forward to ensure our resources are targeted in the right areas.

In the past the UK working roles have been more fi xed with individuals focussing on specifi c tasks such as sales visits/ designing & quoting/ order handling etc. With a new way of working in the future, we will each take a share of the work required to service our individual group of (cross industry) customers giving a single point of con-tact. Although this may present some challenges

and an initial steep learning curve, my belief is that this change will make us more fl exible, motivated and customer focussed in the future.

A key to fi nding new opportunities in the future will be to share information and experi-ences with our colleagues in Finland and in the wider Vahterus organisation and to take advantage of their expertise in the diff erent market sectors that we operate in.

The UK business has historically been strong in the Oil & Gas sector and we will continue to seek out new projects & customers through existing contacts and networking events. The lead time on projects in this industry sector are typically long (1- 2 years is not unusual) so it is vital that we are involved now to reap the benefi ts in the future.

As part of the changes being made, we have moved over to the new M-Files system now being used in Finland which promises to be a powerful data capture and sales management tool . We are also planning to migrate most of our IT provision to Finland, taking advantage of the full time IT support that this gives us. The ‘Holy Grail’ of the paper-less offi ce still seems some distance away but, with the technology available, it is a goal we are pursuing nevertheless!’

A few months into the New Year, the feeling in Vahterus UK is very positive – Together we succeed!

Adrian FosterManaging DirectorVahterus UK

6


China

Germany

Vahterus Starts Pressure Vessel Manufacturing in China

Flexible energy solutions for new demand

The Year of the Snake, also known as the “Little Dragon Year” has started off with a bright outlook in China. The start-up of the new assembly plant in Zhangjiagang has achieved several encouraging milestones: the fi rst unit of Vahterus PSHE heat exchangers has been successfully assembled at the new plant; the pressure vessel manufacturing audit by local pressure vessel supervision bureau was completed, and Vahterus was granted with the D1 & D2 China Pressure Vessel Manufacturing License on January 6th, 2013.

Equipped with all the necessary resources for pressure vessel manufacturing, the new assembly plant has started to produce PSHE 2-5 heat exchangers for the Chinese market. The assembly plant is located 130 kilometers Northwest from Shanghai in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, and currently holds premises of 1300m2.

Since 2011, Vahterus Group has been investing strongly in the Chinese market. The sales and engi-neering offi ce in Shanghai was established in April 2011. The Chinese sales team has been making con-tinuous eff orts to broaden Vahterus’ customer base and industry coverage in China. In 2012, Vahterus China won its fi rst order of heat pump condensers from a global leading refrigeration company, and the units were delivered at the end of the year. Through this delivery, the two companies’ long-

term partnership expanded into new markets.Heat pumps have an important role in bringing

low value energy or waste energy to a useful level, thus enabling better energy recovery and saving.

The Vahterus PSHE condensers delivered were designed for demanding conditions with a design pressure of 50 bar and condenser capacity of 2,4MW each. Compact size, high effi ciency of heat transfer, unique shell structure, ability to stand high pressure, safe for the environment: all the advantages of Vahterus PSHE, enable the client to develop more energy effi cient heat pump systems.

With more than two decades of experience in industrial refrigeration, Vahterus expects to raise interest in the emerging markets of China, in the Year of the Snake and years to come. The start of manufacturing opera-tions and increased number of sales & engineering resources also enable Vahterus to provide better and faster services to our customers in China. Together we will develop smarter, more energy effi cient solutions for a better future!

In the past years, we have seen the world change its views about energy production, recovery and saving. To fulfi ll the requirements of the new technologies, Vahterus Plate&Shell Heat Exchangers provide perfect solutions for various examples. Compared to S&T, the units are smaller and lighter, and most importantly, they are very effi cient with a big heat transfer surface in a very compact design.

With the cancelation of the nuclear power production in Germany, we have many new cus-tomers: existing companies and start-ups whose engineers are going forward with new ways of doing. They have to save money and more impor-tantly the environment, reduce CO2 emissions and minimize the use of existing resources. We at Vahterus support the companies’ goals with our own ideas and fl exible design, developed in our own R&D department. For example, we can change our shell design according the customers’ own ideas. We are also able to install the units in existing infrastructures.

Vahterus heat exchanger technology can be used as coolers directly connected in a gas tur-bine plant, as exhaust gas coolers installed in a chimney, as column heat condensers to gain more

energy effi ciency out of the process as well as other needs. Moreover, our clients are using our heat exchangers in very small solution block heat power plants. These plants are small enough to transport on a 7.5t truck to the point-of-use and after that to the next point.

Nowadays the importance of heat recovery in large companies and with global players is growing more than ever. Overheat can be used to save money and Co2 emissions, and of course making plants more effi cient. With the benefi ts of our products, we have sold a lot of Vahterus Plate&Shell units to refi neries, chemical plants and power plants. Our clients have been convinced of our heat exchangers and their effi ciency: the size and design as well as Vahterus’ fl exibility.

To my view, one of our big advantages at Vahterus is being a family owned, independent heat exchanger manufacturer. We can always react fast and be fl exible, taking into account the wishes of our customers. We are able to produce prototypes and test units together with our cli-ents. Both parties can present their ideas to fi nd a suitable solution.

Our slogan ”Together we succeed” and being one of the world’s biggest manufacturer in fully welded heat exchanger technology, is not a static

mission. It means that together with our customers and our fantastic team we are fully committed to have the best knowledge with which we are able to fi nd successfully solutions for all of us.

Sven WohlgemuthKey Account ManagerVahterus Germany

Tracy HakalaManaging DirectorVahterus Heat Exchangers Shanghai Co., Ltd

7

Vahterus&Us

QUALITY THROUGH PEOPLE

The constant development of steel mate-rials keeps purchasers at Vahterus alert.

-New materials are more and more made for specifi c end-uses. For example, for the petrochemistry industry, perfect materials for specifi c needs are constantly developed, says Project Purchaser Matti Luomahaara.

The four purchasers at Vahterus constantly work in close cooperation with project mana-gers and designers within projects.

-My responsibility is purchasing, in other words buying materials for ongoing projects. It’s my task to know the materials and make purchasing decisions according to what is required by the project and the client, exp-lains Luomahaara.

The most demanding purchases are usu-ally made for the petrochemistry industry as well as projects for large power plants.

-We have big clients with specifi c needs. They are very precise about material quality and quality testing. Only specifi c suppliers are qualifi ed, explains Luomahaara.

Luomahaara has worked as a purchaser at Vahterus for about four years. According to Luomahaara, it is possible to acquire the basic information of steel materials through studying but in the end the knowledge is mainly gained through work.

-One’s has to be a multiply skilled person, be familiar manufacturing techiques as well as know and recognize materials. New mate-rials are introduced every year, which makes the work interesting.

For materials that are needed on a regular basis, Vahterus uses its own network of supp-liers. Most of the needed materials is basic black and clear pressure vessel steel and most of the materials come from Germany, England, the Netherlands, Sweden and of course Finland.

-Suppliers that we have cooperated with for many years know our demands and that we are always in a hurry. There are fast deli-veries and even faster, ”Vahterus –deliveries”, says Luomahaara and laughs.

One of the main issues of the job is to make purchases so that the required schedule can be kept and to make sure that the price paid for each material is the right one.

-It is important to anticipate possible chal-lenges of production. One has to communi-cate them to project managers and designers. For example, we cannot get materials from

Europe during the summer holidays and this has to be taken into account.

Challenges occur when material suppliers listed by the client expect orders of hundreds of units but we only need one or two units for a unique project. In these cases it can be even diffi cult to get an off er.

-Then we try open every possible door and call all possible contacts to discuss the case. Open communication with clients and

suppliers is needed to fi nd a balance. Some-times the solution satisfi es all parties, some-times it is better for one of them. However, these experiences teach us a great deal and the information gained can be used for all parties’ advantage in future cases.

The list of material suppliers approved by the client can also be rather short and the companies listed may be located far away and be previously unknown for Vahterus.

-The s tar t ing point is that for us, there are n o i n s u r-mountable

challenges. We have the right tools and con-nections all over the world. There is nothing we cannot handle. This is part of our company strategy, emphasizes Luomahaara.

In March, it will be four years since Matti Luomahaara got interested in the growing company and joined team Vahterus. Just before joining the company, Luomahaara, together with his wife, had found a place for their own house in Luonnonmaa in Naantali.

The house was fi nished in 2008. It’s located fi ve kilometres from the nearest suburb with sea and nature all around.

-Most of my hobbies are at sea, I fi sh and hunt in the archipelago, explains Luoma-haara. The family’s daughter is now three years old and she will be getting a new sib-ling in the spring.

Purchaser knows constantly developing materialsMatti Luomahaara, Purchaser

Matti Luomahaara

8


On a weekly basis Vahterus sends out approximately 50-70 product shipments all around the world. Especially Friday is a busy day when large shipments head around the world via Helsinki Port. The last stop for each

product at Vahterus is the shipping depart-ment where the products receive their fi nal check.

The Quality Controller goes through every-thing – for example that all laboratory tests have been done, welding seams have been X-rayed, all in all that the product is ready to be sent out to the customer. After this the product is packed in a wooden, usually tai-lor-made, crate where it is safe against bumps, shakes and changing weather conditions.

-During the transportation crates are moved around in terminals, cars and air-planes, explains Mika Rantala who has worked at Vahterus’ shipping department for over four years.

Rantala and his two colleagues make sure that everything is ready for shipments in time.

-We need to stick to the agreed shipment times. Ships and planes depart according to

their schedules and we have to have our units on board!

At the shipping depart-ment packing starts with securing the unit tightly onto

the bottom of the crate. The product is also supported inside the crate with cradles that are placed so that no rubbing marks are left on the units. After thorough check and careful packing of the product the crate is sealed and accompanied with con-signment papers.

-Then we just need to stick the papers on to the crater and make sure that the truck is ready to take off on its way

safely, explains Rantala.All units from the

smallest of 20-30 kilos to the biggest of almost 20 tonnes are sent out through the ship-ping department at

Vahterus. The largest units are moved with a crane directly to the truck and the crate is assembled around it from ready-made elements. The products are moved to the shipping department after painting and thor-

ough drying after which Rantala and his col-leagues add the shipping plates and stickers and make sure that all else that is needed for the shipment is ready. For long marine trans-portation certain units are protected against corrosion by fi lling them with Nitrogen. This requires that the connection nozzles are care-fully plugged.

An important part of Rantala’s work is ordering the tailor-made shipping crates. The elements come from the neighboring city of Laitila. Some of Vahterus’ products fi t in into standard shipping crates but usually the shipping department orders them sep-arately. They try to predict and follow the fi nalization of the products as precisely as possible and order the wooden containers a week or two before the shipment.

-If the customer wants to advance the shipment we need to have the crates ready, stresses Rantala.

Schedules are usually tight and the ship-ping department makes sure they are on top of the schedules. However, sometimes the

product is fi nalized in the morning allthough it should be leaving for the harbour already before noontime. At rush times like these the production department helps out with the shipping.

Rantala has earlier experience with interna-tional shipments from his previous job where he started up the operations for a new ship-ping department. At Vahterus Rantala enjoys his current work.

-It’s a clean job indoors and we have a warm forklift truck to drive around with, he muses.

In his free time Rantala coaches his daugh-ter’s ringette team in Uusikaupunki. The hobby began when Rantala started as a coach for the team six years ago. After that Rantala has spent a lot of his free time on skates. One of Rantala’s greatest sport achievements was completing the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Turku a few years back. After that a badminton injury kept Rantala outside the running tracks for quite a while but now he is already plan-ning to participate in another marathon. Ran-tala’s family includes his spouse, a daughter and a son who is already out on his own and currently completing his military service.

Final glance over customer’s product brings in responsibility

Mika Rantala, Shipping

Mika Rantala

9


A few years back Pori Energia Oy, a com-pany responsible for the energy supply in the city of Pori and its surroundings in western Finland, was facing a decision. A thermal power station supplying process steam for an industry client was nearing its end, and the station’s oil based steam production would be replaced with steam produced with renewable energy, mainly with wood chips, in a power plant 4,7 kilometers away.

What Pori Energia Oy needed was Europe’s longest continuous vacuum steam pipe con-nected to a transforming station, where the pro-cess steam is made with power plant steam. The two-year planning and construction project was completed in December 2012 and Pori Energia Oy started supplying steam for Boliden Harjaval-ta’s copper electrolysis in the beginning of 2013. After long assessments, it was a plate and shell heat exchanger and more specifi cally Vahterus’ steam generator that was chosen for the process. After the fi rst weeks’ of production, construction engineer Ari Aittamäki from Pori Energia Oy is sat-isfi ed with the results.

-The minimum load has been reached, Ait-tamäki explains with content. – And even though we had agreed on a minimum capacity of 30% from the nominal capacity, we have reached even lower fi gures. All in all, the heat exchanger’s wide operation range and adjustment possibilities are of great importance to us, says Aittamäki. Pori Energia Oy has yet to try out the other end of the use area, the maximum load.

-We are trying to fi gure out where we could run the steam at high load for a short time. This way we would see the steam generators maximum, explains Aittamäki.

The steam leaves the Aittaluoto power plant at +205C. At the transforming station, the heat is transferred to the industrial plant’s pipelines, where the temperature and pressure are lower. As the main component, Vahterus supplied Pori Energia with a 13 MW steam generator, a conden-sate receiver and a condenser pre-heater. For an industry traditionally utilizing mainly shell and tube heat exchangers, the choice required a lot of thought.

-We made a specifi ed list of the pros and cons and compared the fi ndings, explains Aittamäki. One of the most important criteria was the wide operation range of the Vahterus’ plate and shell

WIDE OPERATION RANGE SETTLED THE DECISION ON STEAM GENERATOR ACQUISITION

heat exchanger. – Adjustability and the minimum load were the main reasons why we chose the plate heat exchanger and why we were confi dent about its functionability.

-Of course the choice also had to be secure, long lasting and as maintenance free as possible. People-made machinery have the tendency to encounter issues sooner or later – Vahterus also off ers maintenance service and many things can be fi xed within a couple of days. The lifecycles of Vahterus’ units seem credible, summarizes Ait-tamäki.

New method for repairing and cleansing Vahterus’ fully welded plate heat exchangers

Vahterus has developed a new method for repairing fully welded plate heat ex-changers. The plates of the heat ex-changer can now be repaired without having to change the entire plate pack. The method, which has now also been successfully tested, is similar to the one that has previously been used for shell and tube heat exchangers. The repair of fully welded plate & shell heat exchang-ers can be done by Vahterus’ personnel but later on also by the end-user with the help of Vahterus’ instructions.

By enhancing the possibilities for re-pair, also the cleansing method of the plate pack has been further developed. More speci� cally, Vahterus has developed a structure that allows the end-user to car-ryout mechanical cleansing easier than before. Overall, new heat exchangers can now be designed so that if needed, both repairing and cleansing can be done.

In most cases, repairing and cleansing become timely when circulating � uids contain a lot of impurities or if it is sus-pected that the process may break the heat exchanger’s heat exchange surface. People at Vahterus are happy to provide more information on the new plate heat exchanger structure allowing repairing and cleansing.

When choices were being made, the lower price of the investment of course also had a role to play. The steam generator had to be fi tted in the old thermal power center, in a space reserved for the boiler. A compact unit fi t the purpose well.

-The fact that the installation is lighter and needs less space, made the decision easier. Expanding the space would not have been pos-sible.

At the start of the project Pori Energia also had to think about the possibility of fouling, which could be caused by possible impurities in the cir-culating fl uids. Maintenance solutions were found together with Vahterus.

-The old boilers will be kept as reserve. When heat exchange solutions are made for years ahead, a lot of things can happen in the long run. At all times, we still need to ensure supplies to our cus-tomers, says Aittamäki.

-Our assumption and wish is that the new installation provides us with a long-term solu-tion, functioning for the fi rst 30 years without any further actions.

With the experience of a 100-year-old energy producer, Pori Energia Oy produces electricity, dis-trict heat and process steam for the Pori region. In addition to Boliden Harjavalta, Pori Energia supplies process steam to UPM’s Seiku mill and Corenso’s cartong production from its Aittaluoto power plant in the center of Pori city. In the north of the city, Pori Energia has a joint power plant with local industry. From the plant, electricity and steam are supplied to Sachtleben Pigments Oy.

Around ten similar steam applications already in use

To date, Vahterus has supplied its customers more than ten similar steam generators that func-tion by the steam-to-steam principle.

According to Vahterus’ Key Account Manager Valtteri Haavisto, the applications have worked exceptionally well. For the units supplied to Pori Energia, innovative product development at Vahterus was done according to the customer’s needs. These developments will also be of use to other customers.

-We cleared out the functions and made the units smaller. Especially the condensate’s pre-heaters are now very functional and compact, says Haavisto. Moreover, during the project, new solutions to tackle the customer’s challenges with contamination and repairability, were developed.

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The steam generator had to be fitted in the old thermal power center, in a space reserved for the boiler.

The compact Vahterus unit fit the purpose well.

Ari AittamäkiPori Energia

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Figure 1: Cycle scheme and T-s diagram

In recent years, the urge for utilizing all forms of available energy has increased signi� cantly. One of these sources is waste or residual heat, found in engine exhausts, process heat, � are gas burners, combustion of wood and other residuals. A remarkable way to utilize waste or residual heat is to convert it into electricity using a so-called Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system, marketed by Triogen B.V. of the Netherlands.

The development work of the ORC system started in the early nineties at the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, and the system was industrialized and commercialized by Triogen in 2002. Deployment took place since 2006, resulting in 21 units built so far, 15 operational units and 10 units on order or being commissioned.

System Design of ORCFigure 1 shows the cycle scheme and the pro-

cess of the ORC system in a T-s diagram. Liquid is pumped from the storage vessel into the main pump, which is mounted on to the same shaft as the turbine and the high-speed generator. There the liquid will get the maximum working pressure at which it will enter the recuperator and subse-quently the evaporator.

Residual or waste heat is led through the evap-orator, where the working fl uid is heated up to the boiling point, evaporated and superheated. Expan-sion takes place in the turbine, which drives the high-speed generator and the main pump. After expansion, the sensible heat in the fl uid is re-used in the recuperator, to preheat the liquid before it enters the evaporator. The condenser is situated

below the recuperator, where the vapor is condensed using a liquid coolant, before it fl ows back into the storage vessel.

ORC plant designAs can be seen from the cycle

scheme, the main components of the ORC system include an evaporator, a turbine-genera-tor-main pump assembly called High Speed Turbo Generator (HTG), a recuperator, a condenser and a storage vessel. Thanks to the high-speed generator and turbine, the HTG is a very ener-gy-dense compact unit. The other com-ponents of the ORC process are heat exchangers with relatively low temperature diff erences.

One of the engineering tasks of Triogen was to make a compact and, as much as possible, standardized unit for diff erent applications. As the evaporator is determined by the properties of the residual heat off ered, the module can be sized accordingly. However, the internal cycle heat transfer in the recuperator and the condenser can be standardized for all applications, keeping the system very compact. For the system, Vahterus off ered a compact solution based on their standard plate and shell type heat exchangers.

The recuperator exchanges heat between vapor leaving the turbine and liquid working fl uid before it is entering the evaporator, thus serving as a pre-heater. In the condenser, the working fl uid is con-densed from vapor to liquid at sub-atmospheric pressure, using a coolant, which rejects its heat to any available heat sink or to the atmosphere by external table coolers. As the turbine exhaust is vertical, both Vahterus heat exchangers are posi-tioned below the turbine. After condensing, the working fl uid is stored in an appropriate quantity in the storage vessel, at its turn positioned below the condenser.

The three vessels, recuperator, condenser and storage tank, are factory assembled by Vahterus, and form the central element in the ORC process module. During assembly of the ORC, this Vahterus delivered unit serves as the starting point, as shown in Figure 2. The three blue vessels are the men-tioned Vahterus components, with Triogen tur-bo-generator HTG on top. The special connection fl ange is delivered by Triogen and welded to the recuperator top by Vahterus.

The ORC 160 kWe power plantThe complete ORC power plant consists of four

modules for turnkey delivery:• The standard process module, consisting of HTG, recuperator, condenser, storage vessel, pre-feed pump, valves, including connecting piping and instrumentation

• The heat supply module: an evaporator tuned at the conditions of the available heat, to be con-nected directly to the heat source

• The heat rejection module: table coolers for the cooling water which cools the condenser, tuned to the ambient conditions at site. Alterna-tively, in the presence of a suitable heat consumer, this heat can be delivered up to a temperature of 80°C.

• The standard electrical cabinets, that contain the power preparation module, which connects the high speed generator directly to the grid to supply the power at 400 V, 3 phase, 50 or 60 Hz, the control module to control the unit and the

independent safety system.A typical turnkey supply of an ORC is connected

to two biogas engines of 800 kWe each, whereas the process module is centrally positioned. The heat supply module (evaporator) is connected to the fl ue gas outlet of two gas engines through a set of piping and valves, to allow single engine operation and to isolate the ORC from the running engines in the unlikely event of an ORC failure. All units are to be used as a typical ‘end-of pipe’ solution: the process feeding the ORC is never dis-turbed by the ORC.

Product for a vast range of applica-tions

Although initially set up for the use of exhaust gas from internal combustion engines, a number of other application possibilities have arisen, such as biomass combustion and residual heat from industrial processes like incinerators. Applications envisaged are:• Gas engines running on natural gas, bio-gas, land-fi ll gas, mine gas

• Diesel engines • Small gas turbines • CHP for green houses, district and residential heating

• Combustion of biomass, wood, residuals and waste • Flares for landfi ll gas or other industrial fl ares • Process heat from e.g. (petro)chemical, metallur-gical, glass or brick production plants

Nearing 200 000 running hours After having demonstrated more than 4000

hours successful operation of the prototype, Triogen delivered their fi rst commercial ORC in 2007 for a greenhouse cogeneration plant equipped with a 2 MWe Deutz gas engine. After that, 19 plants followed, gathering up to almost 200 000 running hours. Demonstrated availability amounts to more than 97 %. The fl eet leader has now run more than 36 000 hours.

From the beginning, Vahterus components have been very valuable in setting up the standard and compact process module of the ORC system. Pro-duction is now well under way, and continuous product development has already led to several improvements. The fi rst unit was contracted for 145 kWe, now also 165 kWe has been demonstrated. In future, power range will be extended stepwise from the current 60 – 170 kWe towards 1000 kWe.

Jos van Buijtenenwww.triogen.nl

Power from Heat:

THE TRIOGEN ORC

Figure 2: Vahterus components as core of the ORC process module.

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After a few years of research and development work, Vahterus has launched a new product for waste heat recovery.

In the market, there is a need for spe-cial PSHE heat recovery units: In the future, more and more environmental limitations and regulations must be taken into con-sideration with new industrial installations. With the new Vahterus EGE, we aim to fulfill a significant gap in heat exchanger markets.

In industrial processes, it is common that waste heat is generated in addition to actual process opera-tions; in the past the waste heat was dumped into the atmosphere with considerable losses in energy and costs. The Vahterus EGE unit off ers a concrete solution to return waste heat to the process and achieve remarkable savings in the system’s energy costs.

After years of working together with Spirax Poland, the fi rst EGE-in-stallation was realized for a Polish livestock food producer in May 2012. In this specifi c installation, the primary side boiler exhaust gases were used for producing hot water on the secondary side. Direct integration to the boiler body made the installation work convenient for the end customer.

After receiving the control data from the site it was clear that the requested, very low-pressure drop limit was maintained and the calculated capacity was achieved.

With the new EGE open frame construc-tion it is possible to reach low-pressure drop needed in exhaust systems while the unit size is compact and light. Moreover, boiler effi ciency is improved and it is possible to reduce CO2-emissions of the process.

“In the end of April 2012, the end-client commissioned a gas-fi red boiler fi tted with the fi rst EGE-PSHE 3WH-150/5/1 unit. Since its installment, the Vahterus EGE has been operating in 3 shifts trouble free”, says Maciej Goszcz, Spirax Poland.

NEW VAHTERUS EGE-PSHE - OPTIMIZING WASTE HEAT

RECOVERY SYSTEMS

“The water level control in the boiler is controlled by a master slave system. The slave controls the fl ue gas temperature after EGE, whereas the master controls the level in the boiler modifying the set point temperature of the slave controller built in the inverter driven pump. The START/STOP of the pump is linked to the fi ring cycle of the burner. This prevents the EGE being heated at no fl ow condition”, explains Goszcz.

Goszcz continues: “The boiler capacity is 1,6t/h of steam at 8bar. The end-user has

reported up to 5% savings on gas. The pay-back of the product time depends strongly on the price of gas, in how many shifts the boiler operates, and fi nally on total cost of the investment which is about 3 times the price of Vahterus EGE. In this particular case, the installment was carried out during two consecutive weekends, limiting the down-time of the plant to minimum. Overall, the estimated payback time is under 1 year”.

The new EGE type with an open-able construction was introduced at the Energy Fair 2012 in Tampere, Finland. Vahterus EGE-PSHE can handle high gas and liquid inlet tem-peratures. Diff erent frame and plate materials are available, which makes the unit resistant to corrosion for sev-eral diff erent gas and liquid types. By using waste heat (e.g. exhaust gas) it is possible to produce hot water or steam on the secondary side of the unit. In potentially fouling applications on the gas side of the unit, Vahterus can provide the unit with an openable frame construction to make mechan-

ical cleaning easier.For optimizing your heat recovery system

with Vahterus EGE-PSHE, Vahterus Sales and Vahterus’ offi cial distributors all around the world will be glad to help you. With this com-pact unit, high levels of heat recovery can be achieved with minimal reorganization of the process system and we can provide remark-able savings within a signifi cantly short time.

Tuomas Aikkinen, Key Account Manager, Vahterus Oy

The EGE (exhaust gas economizer)-PSHE innovation is now available in the Vahterus product range for optimizing different heat recovery

systems.

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Vahterus takes part in NANO projectVahterus is taking part in a EU funded research project aiming to develop new, innovative technologies bringing about signifi cant energy savings in future HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems. These technologies include for example nanotechnological coatings and surface treatments for improved heat transfer and new nano- and micro-ma-terials for improved effi ciency of refriger-ants. The technologies used will address the heat exchanger effi ciency on both the air- and liquid side of heat exchangers such as condensors/evaporators and on heat recovery systems. In addition to Vahterus, the project group consists of fi ve other industrial partners: LuVe S.p.a., Exhausto A/S, ESI G.m.b.H, Dansk Varme-pumpe Industri A/S, Carbodeon Ltd., and two research institutions, Danish Techno-logical Institute and IK4 Tekniker.

Vahterus took part in high-level business delegation in ChinaIn the beginning of April 2013, Vahterus took part in the business delegation of Finland’s Minister for European Aff airs and Foreign Trade, Alexander Stubb, in China. The aim of the trip, organized by Finpro and Consulate General Finland in Shanghai, was to promote busi-ness opportunities of Finnish companies in China and enhance the image of Finland as a country of high and clean technology. As the role of government is pervasive in the Chinese economy, the presence of the Minister was signifi cant for companies in the business dele-gation. During his visit in Shanghai, Minister Stubb for example met with local government representatives and took part in a networ-king event for Finnish and Chinese compa-nies (photo). In the delegation, Vahterus was represented by Mauri Kontu (Vahterus Oy) and Tracy Hakala (Vahterus China).

In the end of 2009, technicians at DONG’s combined heat and power plant (acquired by VEKS in May 2012), in Köge Denmark con-tacted Kenny Andersen at Spirax about the replacement of an existing heat exchanger. Together they found great potential for energy saving: For years, DONG and Junckers, to whom the former supplies steam, had lived with a large fl ash steam leakage from various return pipes. Utilizing this heat, sig-nifi cant energy savings could be materialized.

Junckers’ press facility uses steam, which is condensed and returned at 3 bar (g). Con-densate, which comes from the presses, is collected in two large fl ash vessels that sep-arate fl ash steam and condensate from each other. When the condensate is pumped back to common fl ash vessels at VEKS’ CHP plant, the fl ash steam is reused in Junckers’ other steam applications. Moreover, a signifi cant amount of hot condensate (3 bar g, 143C) is pumped back to the CHP plant. Because the fl ash vessel is open (vented over the top) and the condensate can only exist at 100C at atmospheric pressure, the condensate of 143C creates a lot of fl ash steam (8.3%). The large amount of fl ash steam is released through two vent pipes over the roof.

When looking into the replacement of the heat exchanger it was Vahterus’ Vent Con-denser that turned out to provide a solution for the energy leakage. The Vahterus Vent condenser was designed to condense all the fl ash steam, which is released through the fl ash vessel’s vent pipes. In order to condense the excess steam in the Vent Condenser, the condenser requires cold water. At VEKS, cold condensate from another condensate vessel located close by could be used. The “cold” condense is circulated in the plate pack and the fl ash steam is condensed in the shell. The condensed steam is returned to the fl ash vessel. This saves a lot of excess water, which otherwise would have evaporated through the fl ash steam. And this is on top of energy savings gained by the recovered heat!

The new heat recycling installation has now been in operation for three years. VEKS (formerly DONG) has found several warm con-dense pipes containing fl ash steam of which heat can be recovered in the Vahterus Vent condenser. The particular heat exchanger is a Vahterus PSHE 4HH-128/1/1 recovering 1,3 MW.

SOLUTION FOR EFFICIENT STEAM RECOVERY FOUND WITH VAHTERUS’ VENT CONDENSER

With a payback period of less than five months including installation and control equipment costs, the customer has been more than satisfied: “We have now a unit that, aside from the pump, is basically maintenance free and cons-tantly shovels in money. At the same time it is more flexible than the old heat exchanger, which was able to utilize the heat from the expansion vapor to only one of our two boilers”.

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NEWS & EVENTS

PS.In 2013 Vahterus will also be partici-pating in the following exhibitions:

ACHEMASIA 201313-16th May 2013 Beijing, China

Stand: N32

PETROCHEM ARABIA12-14th May 2013 Dammam, Saudi-Arabia

AQUATHERM KIEV 201314-17th May 2013 Kiev, Ukraine

Stand: 3/J-17

KOREA CHEM 201328-31st May 2013 Seoul, South-Korea

Stand: G401

BRASIL OFFSHORE 2013 11-14th June 2013 Macaé, Brazil

AOG 20137-10th October 2013 Buenos Aires, Argentina

KORMARINE 2013 22-25 October 2013 Busan, South-Korea

Thank you exhibition visitors!In the past six months Vahterus took actively part in various exhibitions:

Chillventa October 9-11th 2012, Nürn-berg, GermanyEnergy October 28-30th 2012 Tampere, Finland AOG February 20-22nd 2013 Perth, AustraliaCoolenergy March 6-7th 2013 Odense, DenmarkIIAR March 17-20th 2013 Colorado Springs, the United StatesOMC 20.-22.3.2013 Ravenna, Italy

Refrigeration experts gathered in KalantiVahterus Refrigeration Days was organized for the fi rst time in November 2012, bringing together over 50 refrigeration experts to Kalanti from all over Europe and afar. During the event, Vahterus presented its production, products and product development to the visitors. In addition to introducing latest developments of Vahterus, the event off ered a possibility for meetings and change of thoughts with other experts in the refrigeration industry.

Vahterus Kytämäki hall comp-letedThe new Kytämäki hall at Vahterus has successfully been completed. The hall was offi cially opened on January 18th 2013, and was taken into use in March. The premises of the newly-established hall currently holds around 1400 m2, with the complete premises of Vahterus in Finland being 12 000 m2. A new lasercutting sta-tion for thin plates and a pressing line are placed at Kytämäki to increase quality and production effi ciency for future growth.

Vahterus is renewing its visual lookAs indicated for example by the past numbers of Vahterus Hot&Cold maga-zine, Vahterus is renewing its visual look. The blue and red, also present in the logo, still provide the basic color scheme for Vahterus but also new, fresh elements will be added to create a complete package. The new look will be present in every-thing from Vahterus products to the new website to be published in summer 2013.

To everyone visiting our stand, many thanks for your interest towards Vahterus and for exchanging thoughts and ideas with us!

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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 25 million

euros and the number of

personnel is 200.

Subsidiaries

Vahterus Americas, LLC

Vahterus Deutschland GmbH

Vahterus Heat Exchangers

Shanghai Co., Ltd

Vahterus UK Ltd

www.vahterus.com

Vahterus Hot & Cold 1/2013 English

Documents

Transcript of Vahterus Hot & Cold 1/2013 English