Managing thermal energy Beroa Deutschland

Blast furnace hot repair with robot shooter

Beroa Deutschland GmbH is based in Ratingen and designs, supplies and builds chimneys and refractory linings. Joseph Altham interviewed Ivan Fernandez, CEO of Beroa Deutschland, to find out why the company is feeling confident about its growth prospects in Europe and beyond.

MANAGING THERMAL ENERGY

Beroa Deutschland is part of the Beroa Technology Group. The group’s companies and subsidiaries serve the energy, cement, steel, chemical, petrochemical and glass industries, among others, and cover most of the world market. Today the company has over 40 branches worldwide, employs more than 3500 people and enjoys an annual turnover of more than €300 million. Beroa Deutschland was formed in September 2010 as a result of the amalgamation of two companies within the Beroa Group, Karrena and Burwitz Feuerungsbau. Both companies have a long history. Burwitz was founded in 1949, while Karrena dates back to 1914. Karrena has worked on many large-scale projects in Europe and all over the world, from reinforced concrete chimneys in Poland to municipal waste incineration plants in the Far East. Burwitz, a refractory engineering company, is particularly strong in the field of maintenance and repair work.

Mr Fernandez says the merger is a good fit, allowing the two companies to combine their respective strengths. “The goal is to give a comprehensive service to our customers by combining Karrena’s experience in the project field with Burwitz’s experience in the maintenance field. The merger allows us to supply our customers with the complete package.” Refractory linings

In industry, refractory linings ensure that industrial chimneys and furnaces remain strong enough to serve the purpose for which they were built. “Refractory linings are ceramic linings installed in furnaces that operate at high temperatures, up to 1600ºC,” Mr Fernandez explained. “They have the capacity to contain molten metals and compounds such as glass, steel, tin, pig-iron or lead. They may also have to withstand chemical attack as a result of the compounds used in an industrial process. In the petrochemical industry, refractory linings protect the steel structure that surrounds them. In boilers, they protect steel tubes from corrosion, while allowing as much heat as possible to pass through.”

The lining of chimneys does not always need to be refractory, so other types of material can also be used. “A chimney may not get all that hot, so many chimneys will have a steel or borosilicate lining, or be lined using fibre reinforced plastic (FRP).”

Projects not products

Beroa Deutschland is an engineering and construction company and can offer customers a wide range of services. These include the design and installation of linings for chimneys and furnaces and repairing refractory linings. Beroa Deutschland is capable of undertaking major commissions for clients and will adopt a turnkey approach to delivery, handling every aspect of the work from start to finish. In general, Beroa Deutschland sees its business as the provision of services rather than the manufacture of products.

“We have offices and warehouses, not factories,” said Mr Fernandez. “Our knowhow ensures reliable engineering project management and a high level of service. We only have a small refractory production facility in East Germany and one in Vietnam to supply our own projects.”

Shortly before it became part of Beroa Deutschland, Karrena designed and built a reinforced concrete chimney for GDF Suez’s new coal-fired power station at Wilhelmshaven. The chimney of this 800 megawatt power plant, on Germany’s North Sea coast, is 180 metres high and is lined with FRP. The whole chimney, from the 130 piles of the foundations to the aircraft warning lights, took 16 months to build and the new power station is expected to go into operation in 2012.

Refractory lining of a fluidized bed boiler

Safety meeting Beroa Technology Group GmbH

INTOCAST

INTOCAST, being one of the main refractory suppliers with 16 locations in Germany, Europe and the world, and BEROA Germany (former Karrena) are both located in Ratingen, Germany. Both companies run longtime business relationships in the power plant, steel and iron industry. Their cooperation is based on the high respect and knowledge of the partner´s expertise and experience in its traditional industry and is steadily explored by the implementation of customized technology and engineering in the interest of our customers. The inevitable progress of technological developments in a merging world is the challenge that both parties are willing to take together.

“We do the engineering and design, lay the foundations and manage the construction,” explained Mr Fernandez. “With chimneys, we take care of the whole project.” At the same time, much of Beroa Deutschland’s daily business is on a smaller scale. “A lot of our work is on small and medium-sized projects,” said Mr Fernandez. “Having offices all over the world means we can stay close to our customers.”

Refractory lining for petrochemical industry

Turnkey supply of test ovens

Industrial development

Beroa Deutschland is pursuing innovation in line with technological advances and market trends. The environment has become a key consideration. “Energy-saving issues are getting more important and there is a need to reduce waste,” said Mr Fernandez. “We install equipment for waste incineration, to make use of waste products for energy. In coal gasification, there are new technologies that can improve efficiency.”

Beroa Deutschland is also moving into renewable energy and the company is spearheading the development of the solar tower. “The construction techniques and structural engineering for solar towers and for chimneys are similar,” said Mr Fernandez. “We are closely following the new developments in solar energy as well as in CO2 capture.” Cooling towers are another type of tall structure in which the company specialises. “We have developed cooling towers for the Polish market,” stated Mr Fernandez.

Overall, eastern Europe represents a growth area both for Beroa Deutschland and for other German engineering companies. Mr Fernandez explained why: “Investment in heavy industry is happening more in eastern Europe than in western Europe. In eastern Europe, they have to modernise and to invest in their buildings and infrastructure. When they build roads and houses, they need steel and cement.” The merger is likely to place Beroa Deutschland in an even stronger position to take advantage of these favourable conditions. n