TPI April 2009

19 / 68

April 2009 Tube Products International 17
Orbitalum Tools moves
into new premises
Orbitalum Tools GmbH has moved into new premises in
Singen/Hohentwiel, with the official opening ceremony taking
place on 29 January.
The building was handed over to managing director Achim
Schneider by architect Ludwig Schweiger, from the city of
Rottweil.
The event was attended by a number of high-ranking
regional politicians and the management of several partners,
customers and suppliers, as well as the Orbitalum employees
and their families.
Employees had already moved into the new headquarters
in October 2008, after a construction period of only seven
months.
Orbitalum Tools GmbH, formerly known as Georg Fischer
Rohrverbindungstechnik GmbH, is an ITW (Illinois Tool
Works, Chicago) company, and is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
The company develops, produces and markets portable
pipe and tube cutting and pipe end preparation machines
for the plant engineering industry. The equipment produced
in Singen is used mainly in industries such as food and
beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical and electronics, as well
as in power plants, pipeline construction and shipbuilding.
ITW has invested approximately €4 million into the new
development in Singen. The main objective of the new
headquarters was to set the required conditions for modern
and effective production and logistics. Various building and
energy concepts were evaluated and a future-orientated
concept was developed together with the assigned
architect.
The building has a total size of around 4,200m2, including
1,100m2 for administration, and has been designed so
that additional floors can be added when required. Short
distances between administration, production and shipping
enable the quick exchange of information, while the set up of
production in cells ensures optimised product flow.
Under-floor heating to all areas, including production and the
warehouse, is supplied by a gas boiler, but alternative systems
such as a pellet heater will be possible in the future.
It was not possible to install a geothermal system due to
water pollution control. Structural analysis for the possibility
of installing solar panels on the roof has been carried out, and
this project will soon be realised.
A well-equipped demo room has also been installed, as the
company has requirements for customer training and product
presentations.
Orbitalum Tools GmbH – Germany