PRESS RELEASE
Arntz OPTIBELT Group invests around 450,000 euros at its Bad
Blankenburg location in Thuringia.
 Changeover from oil to gas: OPTIBELT puts a new boiler plant into operation that is even more environmentally friendly
 New burner technology makes it possible to expand product range
Höxter, 15 October 2013. The Arntz OPTIBELT Group has put a new boiler plant
into operation at its location in Thuringia that supplies OPTIBELT Produktions GmbH
in Bad Blankenburg with process steam. In addition, a new natural gas pipeline has
been laid in addition to establishing a gas measurement and control station. The installation of the boiler plant and the gas supply was implemented with an investment
amounting to 450,000 euroswithin a period of nine months. Hence, the leading manufacturer of high-performance drive belts is continuing its modernisation strategy.
“We are investing in future-oriented production at the Thuringia location. The modern
burner technology not only increases energy efficiency and saves energy costs, but
furthermore, it optimises our production processes,” commented Konrad Ummen,
member of the management board at the Arntz OPTIBELT Group. “By changing over
the fuel from oil to natural gas, we expect yearly savings of around 200,000 euros.”
The new steam boiler provides for an increase in production capacity. By increasing
the steam-pressure level from 11 bar currently, to a operating pressure of over 20
bar, further reserves can be achieved in the development and production of drive
components – especially in the timing belt production segment. Moreover, the new
plant supplies all areas of production with steam pressure at a considerably constant
level, seeing that a continuous heat flux can be achieved by the modern controls of
the gas burners. The increase in quality of steam from 3.5 tonnes per hour currently,
to 5 tonnes per hour makes it possible to operate further vulcanisation plants at the
Bad Blankenburg location.
“By increasing vulcanisation pressures, the current product assortment can be expanded,” said Oliver Schindler, plant manager of OPTIBELT Produktions GmbH in
Bad Blankenburg. “In this way, we can produce special constructional designs in the
high-performance segment of our belts that were not possible before.”
By changing over from oil to gas, production that is considerably free of interruption is
made possible. The further heating of the feed water as well as minimising of the exhaust gas temperature to 120 degrees Celsius acts as a downstream economiser,
increasing the efficiency of the steam boiler to over 95 percent. An electrically controlled flue gas flap prevents cooling of the combustion chamber when the burner has
been switched off and, thereby, energy efficiency is increased. Frequency-controlled
feed-water pumps lower energy consumption through decreased operation achieved
by controlling water quantities. Interfaces for further modern concepts to save energy
have been provided for. This includes heat recovery and, in the event that electricity
costs further increase, also possible CHP plant (combined heat and power) for the
generation of heat and electricity.
The Arntz OPTIBELT Group currently employs 140 members of staff in Bad Blankenburg. Especially at this site, technical skills for the development and production of
the timing belt product family are bundled together. The timing belts, ribbed belts and
wrapped V-belts produced here are used in the field of general machine engineering,
the automotive industry, as well as in agriculture machinery.
About OPTIBELT
The Arntz OPTIBELT group is among the leading manufacturers of high-performance drive
belts worldwide. OPTIBELT products are used in the field of mechanical engineering, in the
automotive branch, in the agricultural machinery sector and in the household appliances industry, just to name a few segments. The family-run company celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2012 and employs 1,700 members of staff. From its headquarters in Höxter (North
Rhine-Westphalia), the Arntz OPTIBELT Group manages its seven production sites situated
in five countries throughout Europe and Asia. OPTIBELT maintains a worldwide network of
marketing organisations. With its own sites dedicated to sales and logistics, the company is
established in Europe, North and South America as well as Southeast Asia.
Media contact
Flaskamp Ummen AG
Karen Jeratsch
Fritschestraße 62
10627 Berlin
Telephone: 0049 (0)30 46006-145
E-mail: [email protected]