5,000th briquetting machine rolls off the production line

RUF Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, based in Zaisertshofen, Bavaria, sold its five thousandth briquetting plant and installed it at the leading manufacturer of high-performance materials VDM Metals Group. The company, which is based in North Rhine-Westphalia, has already used two RUF presses and thus had the best experience. Unanimous opinion: Quality pays off.

There must be 5,000 good reasons to deploy briquetting presses from RUF. Among the most important are high quality and reliability. All of our customer’s value these attributes and this is why there is an enormous number of satisfied regular customers worldwide, and amongst this number is VDM Metals. This Company develops and produces modern materials in Germany and the United States. During the machining processes at VDM Metals, a huge volume of grinding sludge (amongst others) with high moisture levels is produced. The valuable metal content therein needs to be prepared for melting in the Company’s own melting plant, as best as is possible.

A task which is undertaken by RUF briquetting systems. Andreas Deitmerg, Plant Maintenance Manager at VDM Metals, explains: “Pressing the briquettes reduces the residual moisture as well as the volume of the grinding sludge significantly, meaning we require fewer containers for transport and the briquetted grinding sludge can even be re-melted”.

"RUF’s high levels of reliability and their very good and fast spare parts supply is extremely important to us"

Andreas Deitmerg, VDM Metals Group (Head of Mechanical Maintenance)

The RUF 15/2000/100 which has now been sold as the five thousandth system was specially adapted to the requirements of the customer, who utilises it to cover their increased capacity. With a throughput for grinding sludge of between 180 and 250 kg/hr., it serves simultaneously as a Backup for the pretty similarly constructed existing presses, one of which has been in operation for twenty years. RUF’s high levels of reliability and their “ very good and fast spare parts supply is extremely important to us”, says Andreas Deitmerg: “Because we can no longer continue to produce without operational briquetting presses”.
But thanks to the Anniversary machine, this is no longer a possibility.