Process roundup: Bühler, Celeros, AEMT, Tesvolt, Sulzer and more

Energy storage leader Tesvolt AG, is to start building a new gigafactory (pic) at its headquarters in Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Germany this spring, with the carbon-neutral facility ultimately reach a production capacity of up to four gigawatt hours per year. Intended for completion in 2024 it will involve a €60million construction of two new buildings and the renovation of existing facilities, with the firm hoping to be eligible for subsidies of up to €12 million euro through the Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt and to create more than 400 jobs.

Daniel Hannemann, Tesvolt CEO and co-founder stated: “In the future, our new gigafactory is set to produce up to 80,000 storage systems per year – that equates to a tenfold increase on today’s production capacity. With this milestone we are contributing to an increase in international independence for the European energy transition.

Digital technologies supplier to oil and gas well completion operations Intelligent Wellhead Systems (IWS) has announced the appointment of Shiblee Hashem to its executive management team as Vice President of Operations. Hashem, who brings more than 25 years of oil and gas consulting and operations management experience in both upstream and downstream service, will lead the company’s operations team and work with the COO to drive the company’s transformational strategies to meet financial goals. Said Hashem: “Safety and efficiency have always been part of the IWS mission.  “As the company grows in 2023, our focus is on delivering the highest service quality while maintaining safe and efficient operations.”

Sulzer has signed an agreement with circular technology company Fuenix Ecogy to acquire a strategic stake in its plastic upcycling business. The move will allow Sulzer to offer complete recycling lines based on Fuenix’s Ecogy® technology and Sulzer’s own proven separation and purification solutions. Sulzer Chemtech is an established licensor of reaction and separation technologies aimed at driving the chemical recycling of materials. Fuenix Ecogy® technology converts sorted end-of-life mixed plastic waste into high-value hydrocarbons with virgin-like properties.

Celeros Flow Technology has appointed Rich Morin as its new chief operations officer (COO). CEO José Larios, CEO of Celeros Flow Technology, said the COO’s primary purpose would be to develop the supply chain and manufacturing performance.

Bühler expanded its business and improved profitability in 2022, despite the effects of war in Ukraine, supply chains problems, and rises in energy and raw material prices. At the Group level, order intake rose 8.7% and turnover increased by 10.3%, while net profit went up 35.7%. The growth in volume came mainly from the advanced materials business, where order intake soared by more than 40%, nearly doubling its volume within the last two years. Grains & Food, Bühler’s largest business, showed solid performance despite being particularly impacted by disrupted supply chains and a slow feed market in China. To see order intake drop down 6.5%, while turnover grew by 2.6%.

The Association for the Electrical and Mechanical trades (AEMT) lead trainer and technical advisor Karl Metcalfe, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the annual Trade Association Forum Awards in the Association Executive of the Year category. Metcalfe is recognised for his work in enabling the Association to continue to deliver its training – a major income stream for the association – throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hill & Smith has completed the acquisition of Houston-based Enduro Composites, a manufacturer and supplier of engineered composite. The cash consideration for the acquisition is c.£28.7 million, on a debt and cash free basis, to be funded from the Hill & Smith’s existing banking facilities.