Ronny Schlief knows his 13 systems inside and out. And yet he constantly discovers new levers to pull to make them even better. "Our goal is to operate the systems as energy-efficiently as possible," emphasizes Schlief, who leads the Energy and Air Purification Plants team at Orafol in Oranienburg. As a process engineer, he takes care of troubleshooting, maintenance, and optimization of 13 so-called regenerative thermal oxidizer systems. These RTOs are essential for smooth production. This is because, on one hand, various solvents are used when printing and coating the films. Their vapors must be reliably removed. On the other hand, the dryer needs a lot of heat energy to do its job at 200 degrees. An RTO system handles both: it aspirates the solvent vapors, burns them, and returns the resulting heat to the production process.
ORAFOL & Dürr - From Engineer to Engineer
For over 20 years, Orafol has relied on regenerative thermal oxidizer systems from Dürr.
For over 20 years, Orafol has relied on regenerative thermal oxidizer systems from Dürr. These make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency in production. Through satisfaction, trust, and a common language, what began as a customer relationship has developed over the years into a close technological partnership that continually creates better processes and greater energy savings.
High Efficiency for Oranienburg and the World
Since 2004, these highly complex systems consisting of thermal oxidation system, heat transfer oil system, steam generator, control system, and kilometers of piping have come from the Swabian technology mid-sized company Dürr. "Back then we delivered two large RTOs," recalls Hans Kuttler, Key Account Manager for Orafol at Dürr. "The newest system, RTO 13, is currently being commissioned in the new production hall 10 at the Oranienburg site." And at Orafol's subsidiary Kay Automotive Graphics in Michigan, USA, a highly efficient RTO from Dürr has been disposing of exhaust air since the end of 2023.
99 Percent Availability
The central challenge for the systems is availability: if the exhaust gas cleaning fails, production stops. "We were able to achieve 99 percent availability at Orafol," emphasizes Kuttler. "This has created a lot of satisfaction and trust." Beyond the classic supplier-customer relationship, a technology-driven partnership has grown over the years. And in addition to the installation of new systems, this partnership also aims at continuously improving existing systems in terms of energy consumption and processes.
Quick Solutions Thanks to a Common Language
So when Ronny Schlief discovers a lever for optimization, he approaches Hans Kuttler directly. And typically, a solution is found very quickly. "Through our long collaboration, our partners at Dürr know what to expect from us and what we expect from them," Schlief describes the uncomplicated relationship. This was demonstrated, for example, when Schlief recognized that two newly installed RTOs could actually provide much more heat than intended. Together with the engineers at Dürr, he very quickly implemented a way to adjust the heat distribution control so that maximum heat can be utilized – and immediately transferred this solution to two more systems. Hans Kuttler reveals how such quick successes come about: "Orafol now knows our systems very well. When we have issues, we talk about them engineer to engineer – we speak the same language."
