Bridge builder keeps welders safe with flexible air filtration

Situation

The Schachtbau Group, based in Nordhausen, Germany, serves the mining, machine building, steel construction, plant technology, and building industries. The company has completed more than 200 new building and restoration projects for road and railroad traffic, such as steel bridges and steel composite bridges.

Its Schachtbau Nordhausen Stahlbau GmbH operation processes thousands of tons of steel each year; not just the standard alloys S235 to S460, but also S690, S960, and stainless CrNi steels. Each day 60 welders and 10 welding engineers work on a variety of projects, welding sheet metal up to 7.87 in. thick.

Of course, welding quality is a top priority, and so is safety. Fume removal is always a concern. “From the beginning, we decided to focus on a flexible, holistic, and independent solution,” said Frank Malchau, production manager at Schachtbau Nordhausen.

Resolution

Today the plant uses six ULT Airtower filtration towers to purify the air. They offer the flexibility to be moved to any location in the production hall while generating the lowest cost per cubic foot of purified air, according to the company.

The system vendor helped the facility with optimal positioning of the towers. This required careful examination of the building and detailed consideration of the work processes and material flows.

The filtration towers operate according to the layer ventilation principle. Contaminated warm air is sucked down and purified to a filtration degree of more than 99.6 percent. Once recirculated into the workplace, the air is used to heat the production halls. “In winter, our heating is no longer in use,” Malchau commented.

ULT LLC

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