The challenge:
The components that are welded by hand every day at Heinrich Döpke GmbH are more than 20 metres long and several metres wide. Plate thicknesses between 5 and 80 mm require a lot of weld seams. Their step switch controlled welding machines were in use constantly. The company was very sceptical about inverter welding machines, as they’d had a lot of bad experiences with them. And because of that, EWM’s field representative received a rather restrained reception when visiting the new potential customer.
The solution:
Nevertheless, the Döpke representatives were already impressed with the EWM welding machines’ inverter technology whilst the products were being demonstrated to them on their own components and in their own production hall. In addition to the machines’ technical performance, they were impressed with the warranty period of up to five years without any limit on operating hours. Then, when a large project was pending and several welding machines failed at the same time, they had to make a decision: repair or invest. Ultimately, the BAFA (Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control) subsidy suggested by the EWM field representative, and its approval after only three weeks, were the crucial arguments for converting the entire production to EWM machines.
The success:
The German government rewards every tonne of CO2 saved with up to 900 euros. For savings of nearly two tonnes of CO2 per welding machine per year and a total of 13 new Titan XQ 350 puls and Phoenix welding machines, Heinrich Döpke GmbH was awarded a subsidy in the amount of 18,000 euros. Now, the company not only owns energy-saving inverter welding machines, but it can save lots of other costs as well; gas consumption, wear on gas nozzles and working time are also significantly reduced. So, the investment pays off in every regard: for the company and for the environment.
