Situation
Largest refinery in Germany with a processing capacity of approx. 17 million t/ year
Service contract between EagleBurgmann and Shell
TotalSealCare for the Rhineland refinery
Challenge
Broad range of services to maintain the seals and to reduce workload of the refinery's staff
Solution
Extensive service contract and service center nearby to offer comprehensive measures
The plants
The Shell Rhineland refinery is the largest refinery in Germany. It has an annual processing capacity of approx. 17 million t and comprises the two plants in Godorf and Wesseling.
The objectives
The activities under the service contract referred to above are to significantly increase the service life of the mechanical seals that are in operation at the facilities there. The services provided by EagleBurgmann make for a reduction of the Shell staff’s workload, especially where maintenance, materials, purchasing and production activities in the plants are concerned.
The customer service center in Cologne
In the interest of ensuring an optimum plant availability, EagleBurgmann opened up a new, fully equipped service center including a sales office in the form of a customer care center with a floor area of 750 m2 in September 2004, not far from the refinery. The current staff there numbers eleven. There, the modern machinery and equipment enables all arising work to be carried out at the very highest quality standards.
In terms of achieving these objectives, EagleBurgmann deploys - inter alia - a qualified on-site engineer at the plants, supported by additional fitters at the service center in Cologne. The repair and improvement procedures are determined by workflows, which means that the work sequences and responsibilities are clearly defined. The standardization of the mechanical seals leads to a reduction in the number of variants and enables to optimize warehouse operations.
Alone EagleBurgmann’s regular presence at the plants and the proximity of the Cologne service center, just a few kilometers away from Godorf and Wesseling, guarantee a close cooperational basis between the partners.
Shell and EagleBurgmann are working together very closely to avoid malfunctions and thus repairs in the future. The two parties discuss failure reasons and root causes, and conduct joint discussions to define corrective action which is then documented, monitored and logged in SEPRO. The warehousing of several thousand seal components at the Cologne service center is being optimized, step by step.
Due to the service contract EagleBurgmann became a comprehensive service partner to Shell. The two companies develop and pursue the common objectives in a continuous improvement process.
Service contracts with EagleBurgmann generate the following advantages for end users:
- Just one single contact partner for all mechanical seals
- Increased MTBR (Mean Time Between Repair)
- Improved preventive maintenance measures
- Standardization of the mechanical seal types
- Optimization of warehousing costs
- Constant on-site advice and support on all matters of sealing technology
- Technology and know-how transfer
- Devising and development of efficiency-enhancing measures in terms of workflows and the utilization of the existing resources
- Preparation, processing and optimization of the master data
- Improved documentation, including the direct entry by EagleBurgmann of data into the customers ERP system
TotalSealCare - The modular seal service
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Further reference projects
Germany
100 percent performance at 300 degrees
Things get hot in rotary kilns, very hot in fact. In the production of cement, for example, the thermometer measures more than 1,000 degrees Celsius. Sealing systems from EagleBurgmann, a company of the Freudenberg Group and EKK, make sustainable contributions to environmental protection, energy efficiency and process reliability under these "fiery" high-temperature conditions.
Finland
Does not blow off steam
A boiler circulation pump in a power plant conveys very hot and pressurized water. The pump has no cooling jacket, which increases the risk of a thermosiphon effect.
Germany
For a good night’s sleep
Pharmaceutical manufacturers like the Bayer AG rely on mechanical seals in their manufacturing plants.
Norway
Mixing without risk
When the process medium in the production of metformin may not be contaminated with sealing medium under any circumstances, gas-lubricated seals for agitator shafts are the first choice. The Norwegian company Vistin Pharma took a daring step away from oil-lubricated to nitrogen overlayed seals.