News and press releases

01.07.2011 14:07 Clock

Drop Tower will be sent to Russia

WICKEDE New York, Tokyo and Beijing - names everybody knows. But the global players in the world cavort not necessarily in such prominent cities. Just as the company Coesfeld Wickeder from the commercial area, which just experienced a twelve-meter drop tower testing of railroad tracks to their literal climax. Felix Ferger

The start button clicks, then it hums quietly. Slowly but surely, the electric motor draws a ton of steel to ten meters high. For a half seconds of silence prevails on the premises. One and a half seconds, in which time stands still, until - Rumm! - A huge blast rips the brief idyll.

The few viewers wince, shake or two or three smaller "aftershocks" of the soil. Then silence again. And happy faces.

Railroad tracks as a specimen

"In this case, we work to drop a ton of steel at a controlled 1.20-meter-long specimen: a piece of railroad track. Is measured then the deformed rail piece and checked for cracks, "says Reinhold Kipscholl (60), managing partner of Coesfeld Material Test. But why?

"It is in Russia a mill built on rails", he says, "and that we designed and fabricated case work will be used where required quality checks." As the company has developed over decades of a good name in terms of material test, withdrawn from customers around the world to the specialists in Wickede approach.

Core business of custom-made

"Many of our products are custom-made," says Kipscholl the niche nature of its core business. End of June has been delivered from the mammoth case work Wickede and every hour in a Russian mill rail sections examine a roar on their stability.

The difficult conditions such as in Siberia also require that the specimens before the big bang to minus 60 degrees centigrade to cool down. "Can be as cold as it ever end," said the boss. To overcome this hurdle, Coesfeld supplies to the total number of 30-ton steel colossus using liquid nitrogen refrigerators.

Price 400.000 €

"That is, at least in terms of size since our largest piece of work," says the Coesfeld-chief proudly. Pride, because he knows that a man has not even done five strong team from his team in just six months, including material procurement and planning by the engineers a real "big power".

Because the device is in the end become so high that it could not be assembled on the factory floor, but only with the help of a construction crane in the yard of the company on its twelve-meter height could grow. Whether the Colossus of Wickede a unique piece remains, remains to be seen.

"I hope that gets our case work or children," said Kipscholl optimistically. After all, is a good piece for around 400,000 € over the counter. But before the young can come, the giant was once again made very small, packed into crates and sent to Russia on the road.

.

..