Cover Story challenge of unique forgings
Local production , global export It is the company ’ s in-depth knowledge of materials that makes it a trusted name across its global customer base . For the most demanding and challenging forgings , Kind is a first choice always . Manufacturing for the ( petro ) chemical and oil and gas industries means delivering products that are able to withstand the most corrosive environments and doing so on time , every time . Kind instils confidence in its customers , a valued capability in such a niche market sector . “ We know where to source the big ingots , for example , which can be a challenge considering the size of ingots that we are processing ,” says Markus . “ And we have the right equipment here in our plant to do the mechanical processing . We have a very big range of machinery ; for instance , we can turn and mill shafts up to a length of 26 metres which I don ’ t believe can be said by many European companies in this industry .” Around 90 % of the company ’ s manufacturing operations are centralised in Germany , but 80 % of its tailor-made forgings are exported globally . Kind delivers forgings for the most sophisticated international projects . With a sales representative in the US and exclusive sales agents in Italy , South Korea , Japan , India and China , Kind is present in all important markets worldwide .
“ If you see the whole world of steel as a bakery , Kind is producing the cherries on top of the cake ”
ing in a league of its own . “ Most other forging companies are not able to handle the projects we accept as they require incredibly large sizes , complicated shapes , and very technical specifications . But this is what we do .” “ I like to put it this way : If you see the whole world of steel as a bakery , Kind is producing the cherries on top of the cake ,” Markus smiles . “ This means that we are really looking for the special , extraordinary projects … And we leave all the standard pieces for everyone else .”
Large-scale tubesheets Rolf Kind is renowned for its heat exchanger tubesheets , and supplies unique orders that are ultimately used by highly-demanding companies such as BASF . “ We received an enquiry from one of our customers needing to produce a unique type of heat exchanger for BASF ’ s chemical process plant in Ludwigshafen , Germany ,” says Markus . “ They requested a very large tubesheet in Inconel alloy 800H , so we knew this would be a very high temperature application . They requested a tubesheet with a diameter of 3210 x 255mm thickness .” After assessing internally , the team decided that it would be an exciting opportunity to show what Kind is able to produce for its customers . The project required an ingot weighing an impressive 35 tonnes ; through its network of trusted partners , Kind sourced a mill capable of providing such a mammoth piece . Kind then successfully processed the ingot into a very large forging of 3.3 metres in diameter and 265 mm in height , in the end weighing almost 20 tonnes . The machining of the tubesheet was carried out in Kind ’ s Lindlar Kaiserau facility in Germany .
Rolf Kind service summary :
• Processing of ingots in nickel-based alloys , high-alloy stainless steels and titanium with weights from 3,000 to 50,000 kg
• Open-die forging on forging presses from 20 MN to 120 MN and ring rolling up to 50,000 kg operating weight
• Heat treatment of individual forgings up to a diameter of 4.5 m and a length of 25 m
• Machining in our machine park of lathes and milling machines , boring machines and saws up to a diameter of 4.5 m and a length of 25 m
• Non-destructive tests such as ultrasonic , X-ray , dye penetrant and visual inspection etc .
• Destructive testing in collaboration with accredited laboratories
• Forging technology “ made in Germany ” used worldwide Kind combines flexible production management with the precision of its internal processing . This enables the company to guarantee quality that meets the requirements of customers as well as its own high standards . www . heat-exchanger-world . com Heat Exchanger World October 2022
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