Compression Technology
WE ARE THE POWER IN COMPRESSION
The Compression Technology Strategic Business Unit is a world market leader when it comes to performance-defining components, systems and services for reciprocating compressors and gas flow control units.
The Compressor OEM Division ships directly to compressor manufacturers, companies engaged in plant engineering, and customers in the refrigeration and automotive industries. The Compressor Service Division improves the reliability, efficiency, and environmental soundness of the reciprocating compressors of customers in the oil and gas industry. With a global footprint encompassing some 80 service locations in 48 countries, HOERBIGER is always in close proximity to the customer.
Thanks to the combination of first-rate technology and worldwide experience in compressor service, the Compression Technology Strategic Business Unit delivers outstanding added value to its customers.
employees
3.057
EUR million in sales
508.7
Achievements 2018
COMPRESSOR OEM DIVISION
Strong and profitable growth
The Compressor OEM Division continued on a powerful and successful growth track in 2018. Financially, both revenues and margins exceeded forecasts. This trend was primarily driven by the North American natural gas business of the Compressor Solutions Business Unit, but the Serial & Industrial and Flow Control Business Units also posted healthy growth.
Successful cooperation with OEM customers
In 2018, HOERBIGER focused on a new cooperation concept with major process gas compressor OEMs. The partnership with the Italian company BHGE Nuovo Pignone made HOERBIGER the main supplier for components and an authorized service provider in a number of key markets. Additionally, the cooperation supports shared compressor upgrade projects.
HOERBIGER entered into an agreement with the German company Neuman & Esser to assume the task of the key third party supplier for rings and packings. In addition, HOERBIGER recently started a partnership with the Japanese company Kobelco – Kobe Steel, a major provider of compressors for liquefied natural gas applications. The contract covers the shipment of rings and packings as well as valves.
CP valve sets standards
The HOERBIGER CP valve sets standards in terms of reliability and operating life. Ariel Corporation from the USA, the global market leader for natural gas compressors, for instance, exclusively uses CP valves when it comes to equipping all new systems – driving significant growth in the Compressor OEM Division. The valves are manufactured in North America using automated, robotics-based production cells.
CapaFlex™ advancement
With CapaFlex™, HOERBIGER has developed a stepless control system geared specifically to the high pressures found in CO2 applications for refrigeration equipment. Field tests conducted by end customers in 2018 were very promising, confirming the performance capability of CapaFlex™. The concept assessment – mobile versus stationary applications – is moving forward and underscores the product benefits of CapaFlex™: low operating costs, the environmentally friendly refrigerant CO2 , and the failure protection function.
EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE
JOINTLY ANSWER THE CALL OF THE MARKET
Alex Wright
Chief Operating Officer, Ariel Corporation
The long and fruitful partnership between HOERBIGER and Ariel has allowed us to deliver compressors that operate more reliably than any other. While Ariel believes that the fundamentals of our industry are strong, the cycle of the gas compression market continues to be unpredictable. Because of this, Ariel will continue to seek high-quality, reliable products made by suppliers who are able to match their production to ours as we work jointly to answer the call of the market. We look forward to continuing this partnership far into the future.
Ariel Corporation, Mount Vernon, Ohio, USA, is the global market leader for natural gas compressors. Ariel’s shared history with HOERBIGER dates back to the inception of Ariel Corporation in 1966. At that time, Ariel’s founder Jim Buchwald was planning to build a high-speed reciprocating compressor running at 1,800 revolutions per minute. HOERBIGER developed a matching valve.
New distribution channels and expansions for TriVAX™
In 2018, the Flow Control Business Unit continued to hone the distribution channels for the TriVAX™ valve actuator. In addition to new strategic partnerships with renowned OEMs from the valve automation field, the customer focus is on EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractors and end users from the oil, gas and power plant industries. HOERBIGER is continually enhancing TriVAX™ to meet their individual requirements. One example is the new Arctic Pack heating jacket for North America and Russia: thanks to the intelligent, automatic heating technology, TriVAX™ safety actuators can also be used in Arctic regions where the ambient temperature can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.
Positioner technology for China
Positioner manufacturers in China are now also benefitting from the technology of the HOERBIGER piezo product line, which allows them to bring their own intelligent systems to market. As a result of additional diagnostic and smart functions, end customers are able to further optimize their applications. Reduced power and air consumption additionally make the new positioners considerably more efficient to operate.
Laser Gas Regulator for tough conditions
In 2018, production of the Laser Gas Regulator (LGR) featuring an integrated filter was launched. This will benefit manufacturers of laser cutting machines, especially in large markets such as China, Turkey and Eastern Europe. The LGR is based on HOERBIGER’s tried and tested piezo technology and offers users even greater reliability, even under particularly difficult ambient conditions.
Key Objectives 2019
Initiatives 2019
Profitable growth
Within the Compression Technology Strategic Business Unit, the Compressor OEM Division expects to deliver strong growth in 2019 – in terms of both sales and margins.
Start-up of the CP valve
Sales of CP valves are expected to grow substantially in the North American natural gas market, bolstered by a higher new compressor business volume with Ariel and retrofits of compressors already in use in the field with the new valve technology.
Market launches of the
Serial & Industrial Business Unit New products to be brought to market include CapaFlex™, a heat pump application, hybrid valves for air and industrial gas applications in the low-price segment, as well as a low-cost product line for rotary compressors.
Rings & packings project “RP50”
The goal of the project is for HOERBIGER rings and packings to assume a similarly leading position in the market as our compressor valves presently occupy.
“Fit for the future”
The Compressor OEM Division plans to prepare optimally for the anticipated business expansion and possible economic fluctuations in the future. Initiatives for 2019 therefore include further improvements in the adaptability of its organization and the flexibility of its processes.
Key Objectives 2019
Profitable growth
Within the Compression Technology Strategic Business Unit, the Compressor OEM Division expects to deliver strong growth in 2019 – in terms of both sales and margins.
Initiatives 2019
Start-up of the CP valve
Sales of CP valves are expected to grow substantially in the North American natural gas market, bolstered by a higher new compressor business volume with Ariel and retrofits of compressors already in use in the field with the new valve technology.
Market launches of the
Serial & Industrial Business Unit New products to be brought to market include CapaFlex™, a heat pump application, hybrid valves for air and industrial gas applications in the low-price segment, as well as a low-cost product line for rotary compressors.
Rings & packings project “RP50”
The goal of the project is for HOERBIGER rings and packings to assume a similarly leading position in the market as our compressor valves presently occupy.
“Fit for the future”
The Compressor OEM Division plans to prepare optimally for the anticipated business expansion and possible economic fluctuations in the future. Initiatives for 2019 therefore include further improvements in the adaptability of its organization and the flexibility of its processes.
MISSION STATEMENT
COMPRESSOROEM
Operating as the Compressor OEM Division, we are the leader in the market of performance- defining reciprocating compressor components – for the oil and gas industry, for air and technical gases as well as for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. Both in terms of new compressors and in the spare parts business, our mission is to make our OEM customers more successful and assist them in the development of more competitive products.
The Flow Control Business Unit seeks to further expand its market leadership position for intelligent solutions used to control gas flow, focusing on the safety features of positioner modules and valve actuators.
MISSION STATEMENT
COMPRESSOR SERVICE
We improve the reliability, efficiency and environmental soundness of our customer’s reciprocating compressors. Our global exchange of expertise lets us provide excellent advice to our customers and offer the optimal solution from HOERBIGER performance-defining components.
We are committed to delighting our customers by delivering outstanding value to them. To do so, we always go the extra mile to not just meet, but exceed, our customers’ expectations.
Udo Bauer
Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Compression Technology Strategic Business Unit
Achievements 2018
COMPRESSOR SERVICE DIVISION
Robust regional growth
Strong growth in the reciprocating compressor service business compensated for the shortfall after divesting the turbomachinery business in Brazil. Overall, business grew by more than five percent globally. Especially strong regions were North America, South East Asia and the Middle East.
A portion of the growth in the United States was triggered by the increased focus on the process gas market. HOERBIGER successfully applied its REE (Reliability, Efficiency & Environmental Soundness) approach to find customer pain points. REE is a unique, integrated engineering approach. HOERBIGER analyzes reciprocating compressors in terms of reliability, efficiency and environmental soundness, determines improvement potential, and proposes specific solutions.
Operational Excellence
As part of the Service Experience Program, started in 2017, the Compressor Service Division continued auditing service branches. In total, 39 branches in 30 countries were audited, and improvement opportunities are already being implemented. This program is increasing the quality and global consistency of all the services HOERBIGER offers. No matter where in the world services are performed, the same high HOERBIGER standard is applied. The look and feel is the same everywhere, further strengthening the HOERBIGER brand globally.
Profitable Wellhead Compression business
With mobile compressors, the Wellhead Compression Business Unit helps customers profitably extract residual resources from largely depleted oil and gas fields. In 2018, the entire wellhead compressor fleet was connected to the cloud, generating digital data that lets the Business Unit manage the fleet more efficiently and results in higher production for the customers.
The activities performed included remote monitoring and automated service ticket generation. The machine automatically sends a failure code to the service technician, ensuring that he or she arrives on site – usually in very remote locations – well prepared and equipped with the proper spare parts to fix the issue. This improves the maintenance and operations of the wellhead compressors. This fully integrated lease fleet management solution also allows the Business Unit to better utilize the fleet and move towards a predictive maintenance philosophy.
Successful Partnership
In early 2018, HOERBIGER announced a partnership with BHGE Nuovo Pignone. This establishes HOERBIGER as an Authorized Service Provider and Authorized Distributor for Nuovo Pignone reciprocating compressors in a defined set of countries*. After an effective roll-out, first successes came quickly – for instance in Australia, South Africa and India. The major countries were all in a full cooperation mode by the end of the year.
Key Objectives 2019
Initiatives 2019
The Recip Performance Expert
The focus for 2019 is clearly the performance of our customers’ reciprocating compressors. HOERBIGER is able to improve this performance beyond the standard expectations thanks to not only the REE approach, but also to a large extent the performance-defining components and unique skill set, letting us offer complete services. HOERBIGER has experience working on any type of reciprocating compressor in a wide range of applications worldwide. These competences let us position ourselves as the Recip Performance Expert.
Focus on Operational Excellence
bears fruit The powerful Service Experience Program will continue to evolve in 2019. Additional process improvements will increase speed and efficiency even further – we are also looking into digital support. HOERBIGER draws upon the structures of the successful project “TOGETHER” which, starting in 2013, helped create a globally standardized process landscape that was tailored to the logistical requirements of the service companies.
One milestone of Service Experience in 2019 will be to develop the branch in Dubai into a “Lighthouse” branch and – building upon the successes achieved with TOGETHER – to incrementally apply findings from this project to service locations worldwide. The best-practice solutions will benefit all customers worldwide.
Customer focus and a solution-oriented approach
The Compressor Service Division will continue to increase its customer focus and rely to a greater extent on individual and regionally tailored solutions. In terms of compressor upgrades, a worldwide organization ensures the generation and implementation of additional opportunities in the market. Compressor Service, for example, is creating easy-touse, complete solution packages featuring HOERBIGER components to address technical compressor problems that repeatedly occur in day-to-day operations.
At the same time, the Division is moving regional and global sales campaigns forward, to proactively offer customized services to customers based on HOERBIGER’s compressor expertise. A current example is the predictive maintenance approach for capacity control systems, which was very well-received in the market in 2018. It is expected to pool these two initiatives in 2019 to become even more solution-oriented.
“Compressor 2.0”
Identifying the customers’ needs and pain points as a starting point and central element, the Compressor 2.0 project focuses on developing new offerings – with a pillar in digitization. The knowledge as to what drives customers will be used to derive solutions that are better aligned with present customer needs.
Key Objectives 2019
The Recip Performance Expert
The focus for 2019 is clearly the performance of our customers’ reciprocating compressors. HOERBIGER is able to improve this performance beyond the standard expectations thanks to not only the REE approach, but also to a large extent the performance-defining components and unique skill set, letting us offer complete services. HOERBIGER has experience working on any type of reciprocating compressor in a wide range of applications worldwide. These competences let us position ourselves as the Recip Performance Expert.
Initiatives 2019
Focus on Operational Excellence
bears fruit The powerful Service Experience Program will continue to evolve in 2019. Additional process improvements will increase speed and efficiency even further – we are also looking into digital support. HOERBIGER draws upon the structures of the successful project “TOGETHER” which, starting in 2013, helped create a globally standardized process landscape that was tailored to the logistical requirements of the service companies.
One milestone of Service Experience in 2019 will be to develop the branch in Dubai into a “Lighthouse” branch and – building upon the successes achieved with TOGETHER – to incrementally apply findings from this project to service locations worldwide. The best-practice solutions will benefit all customers worldwide.
Customer focus and a solution-oriented approach
The Compressor Service Division will continue to increase its customer focus and rely to a greater extent on individual and regionally tailored solutions. In terms of compressor upgrades, a worldwide organization ensures the generation and implementation of additional opportunities in the market. Compressor Service, for example, is creating easy-touse, complete solution packages featuring HOERBIGER components to address technical compressor problems that repeatedly occur in day-to-day operations.
At the same time, the Division is moving regional and global sales campaigns forward, to proactively offer customized services to customers based on HOERBIGER’s compressor expertise. A current example is the predictive maintenance approach for capacity control systems, which was very well-received in the market in 2018. It is expected to pool these two initiatives in 2019 to become even more solution-oriented.
“Compressor 2.0”
Identifying the customers’ needs and pain points as a starting point and central element, the Compressor 2.0 project focuses on developing new offerings – with a pillar in digitization. The knowledge as to what drives customers will be used to derive solutions that are better aligned with present customer needs.