BITZER to open new international training centre in Germany

February 12, 2015 12:17 pm

 BITZER Group, the independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors, is setting up SCHAUFLER Academy at the Rottenburg-Ergenzingen in Germany.
Construction of this ambitious project kicked off in August last year and is expected to be completed by October this year. BITZER is therefore further pursuing its strategy to expand the Rottenburg-Ergenzingen location, now in construction phase 8.
“With the construction of the SCHAUFLER Academy in Rottenburg, BITZER is clearly demonstrating its intention to continue investing in this region in the future,” explains Jürgen Kleiner, Chief Procurement Officer at BITZER. Named after BITZER CEO Peter Schaufler, Peter-Schaufler-Strasse leads to the current large-scale project – the SCHAUFLER Academy – and will be the new address of the Rottenburg-Ergenzingen location following completion of construction. Because the SCHAUFLER Academy was designed to be a multifunctional building, it will also be the new main entrance and representative reception building for the entire factory, providing the location with a unique ambience.
“We decided to build the SCHAUFLER Academy for many different reasons,” says Rainer Große-Kracht, Chief Technology Officer at BITZER. “The complexity of BITZER compressors and products is always increasing, for example due to the integrated frequency inverters, electronic components and new CO2 systems. Technically demanding solutions also require a well-trained service staff. The SCHAUFLER Academy will be the central training location for customers and employees from all over the world. Here we’ll offer the training courses that keep the maintenance teams of our business partners up to date.”
MultifunctionalA major advantage of the three-storey, ten-meter-tall SCHAUFLER academy is that it can host several training courses at the same time as it offers five rooms for teaching the necessary theory and three for practical training. BITZER planned the SCHAUFLER academy to be a multifunctional building in order to make optimal use of all the new space. For instance, three training rooms can be combined to create a larger space with enough seating for up to 60 people. The SCHAUFLER academy will also serve as a representative reception building for the Rottenburg production facility.
“The training courses offer a variety of benefits: BITZER can present the theory behind the added value provided by cutting-edge compressors and electronic components as well as demonstrate the practical advantages when used with new technologies and carry out testing on real systems,” says Große-Kracht.
BITZER will also showcase its latest products at the SCHAUFLER academy, including the CSVH compact screw compressor and the ORBIT 6 scroll compressor in practical applications for heating and cooling. The specialist in refrigeration compressors also designed the SCHAUFLER Academy to offer space for offices for the training staff and a company restaurant with seating for 110 employees and training course participants.
Innovative energy conceptOne of the SCHAUFLER Academy highlights will be the innovative energy concept, featuring heat pumps for heating and cooling, underground latent storage (ice storage), the solar thermal collector and the block-type thermal power station. Having pursued sustainability for quite some time, the company is now demonstrating how cutting-edge environmental protection works. “We’re happy to assume higher investment costs for the ice storage, for example,” says Kleiner. “We use it to collect temporarily available cooling and thermal energy and retrieve it again when necessary. This allows us to compensate for the fluctuating energy supply and use renewable energy sources that are suitable for heating and occasionally for cooling. Of course we also use the existing waste heat released by the testing and demonstration systems.” The concept also has additional benefits: its eco-friendly, doesn’t require any approval processes and can also be used in water protection areas.