Production à la France: The core competences of Endress+Hauser’s site in Cernay

Perfectly proportioned

The Endress+Hauser Flowtec production facility in Cernay, France is a lesson in successful international cooperation. Endress+Hauser has been producing flowmeters here for 24 years.

Excellent infrastructure, high performance: More than 300 employees work in Cernay, France.

“We are still benefitting from several bold decisions made by the Endress family in the 90s,” says Matthias Aschberger, factory manager at the Cernay plant. “The company’s founders were keen on fostering cultural exchange and cross-border cooperation in the tri-national region of Germany, Switzerland and France. Our close proximity to the company headquarters means our production facility can take advantage of every available synergy, plus the know-how of our specialists.”

Latest methods Over the past 24 years, the Cernay subsidiary of Endress+Hauser Flowtec has developed into a high-tech production facility boasting excellent infrastructure, modern buildings, streamlined production structures and a perfectly organized logistics system. The 27,000-squaremeter plant produces electromagnetic flowmeters and vortex instruments using the latest production methods.

“Our close proximity to the company headquarters means that we can take advantage of every available synergy.”

Matthias Aschberger, Head of Endress+Hauser Flowtec Division Cernay Pre-production of the large pipes supplied by partner Angenstein is also integrated at the site. “This helps us achieve very short delivery times,” points out Matthias Aschberger, who has overseen the French operation for 19 years.

Matthias Aschberger, a mechanical engineer who lives on the border with Germany, is closely familiar with the Alsace region and French customs. “France is different from Germany and Switzerland, not only because of the language, but also due to its laws and the mentality of the people,” he adds. “That’s precisely the advantage, though. When different cultures work together, it leads to optimal results for the company nearly every time.”

Wide variety Cernay manufactures flowmeters with guaranteed traceable accuracy for nearly every industry and for a wide variety of applications. These range from very small diameters, for chemical labs and the pharmaceutical industry, to DN 2400 pipes found in power plants, dams and large waterworks (see article on the right). The instruments are continually checked and then tested, calibrated and adjusted with one of the world’s most modern calibration systems. Ten such systems are in continuous operation at Cernay.

Cernay produces a broad range of instruments, something that requires a sophisticated production and logistics system. The required productivity stems from streamlined production systems with high-performance equipment, advanced technical processes and ergonomically designed work stations, all of which support core expertise of more than 300 employees at Cernay. Continuous process improvements, employee training and a host of corporate synergies guarantee flexible and on-time delivery of top-quality products to Endress+ Hauser customers.

The self-monitoring giant

Large waterworks cannot simply be shut down. Relying on a proven flow measurement principle and new Heartbeat technology for continuous instrument diagnosis, Endy keeps the customers satisfied.

Endress+Hauser has delivered more than 1.8 million electromagnetic flowmeters since 1977. Why do so many customers place their trust in this technology from Endress+ Hauser? Our Promag instruments have been successfully tried and tested in a wide range of applications and industries around the world. Around 750,000 of those 1.8 million flowmeters have been delivered to customers in the water and wastewater industries. That’s why customers place their trust in the Endress+Hauser Group as a long-term partner, as well as in the know-how of our sales force. The instruments are reliable and robust, even in long-term or continuous operation, thanks to sophisticated manufacturing processes at our production facilities in Reinach, Switzerland and Cernay, France.

Waterworks have a big responsibility to the consuming public. They are held to strict accountability requirements nearly everywhere, and the cost pressures are immense. What can Endy do to keep the maintenance and diagnosis effort to a minimum? Waterworks operate around-the-clock and the quality of the drinking water must be beyond question. Testing therefore has to be done fast and without shutting down the facility. By continuously and thoroughly checking the functionality of the instrument, this is exactly what the new Heartbeat technology inside the new Proline family of flowmeters offers. It gives system operators more peace of mind, not only in the water industry, but also in auxiliary systems or applications with safeguard systems, for instance. To satisfy testing regulations, Heartbeat technology even features a verification program that includes a series of extensive instrument tests. In other words, Endy can reassure waterworks operators that they can use Promag flowmeters for life, even in large diameter pipes, without having to remove them for maintenance or calibration? Exactly! The test functionality of Heartbeat technology is integrated in the measurement instrument and is therefore accessible through all of the service and system interfaces. As a result, on-site access to the measurement instrument is no longer required. And since Heartbeat technology covers a wide spectrum of tests, costly and time-consuming test methods can be replaced while extending mandatory calibration intervals. The instrument automatically indicates if it has successfully passed a verification test, which eliminates the need for the customer to analyze or interpret the diagnostic data.

Since customers want a product guarantee, the capability to trace an instrument test or verification is especially important. Endy can put the customer at ease. Heartbeat technology is a metrologically traceable test method certified by the German test and inspection organization TÜV. It complies with all of the instrument verification requirements outlined in DIN EN ISO 9001. This certification is especially important when it comes to verifying flowmeters used for billing and accounting applications, because in these cases it usually involves a lot of money.

The water specialist  The Proline Promag L 400 is an industrial-scale flowmeter with international approval (NAMUR) for drinking water applications. It is suitable for pipes with nominal diameters of up to 2.4 meters. The instrument features integrated Heartbeat technology for verifying ISO 9001 compliance.