ebm-papst opens high-speed technical center

In the presence of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, Harald Ebner, MP, Catherine Kern, MP, Ian Schölzel, District Administrator of the Hohenlohe district, Sören Döffinger, Mayor of Mulfingen, the three shareholder families and around 150 other guests, ebm-papst opened this center, unique in the company and in the industry, for the development of new markets and areas of application for energy-efficient high-tech solutions in the field of high-speed turbocompressors.

"This high-speed technical center stands for innovation and technology leadership. It is therefore an important component of our 'Building the future together' strategy, with which we are focusing on our international core segments of ventilation and heating technology as well as on the topics of digitalization and sustainability. I would like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to all those involved who have been working hard on this project for years and are now making it a reality," says Dr. Klaus Geißdörfer, CEO of the ebm-papst Group.

Minister President Winfried Kretschmann explained: "ebm-papst's investment in the new high-speed technical center is a strong signal for Baden-Württemberg as a business location and for good jobs in the future. The market for compressors is growing worldwide - for example for heat pumps, which play a central role in climate-neutral heating. With the start of small series production, ebm-papst is getting ready to take advantage of these opportunities. The company is therefore a good example of how the current transformation can be managed in a committed and sustainable manner."

ebm-papst has invested a total of around 60 million euros in the High Speed project since 2015. Around 15 million euros of this has gone into the building and technology. The investments have also led to 60 new jobs being created in the High Speed area in recent years. "At ebm-papst, we want to create sustainable and intelligent solutions. For a better climate, for people and to protect our environment. The innovative high-speed turbocompressors are an excellent example of this and they set new standards in terms of efficiency and noise levels," explained Jan Philippiak, Partner at ebm-papst. Partner Ralf Sturm added: "The extensive investments in this high-tech and high-speed technical center reflect the clear commitment of the partners and management to ensure the long-term success of ebm-papst for the future."

The high-speed technical center in detail

In the High Speed division, around 70 employees work on the interdisciplinary development of manufacturing processes and the production of compact, energy-efficient and oil-free turbo compressors. The technical center is the link between product development and future series production. It is not just about the product itself, but also about the corresponding flexible processes to develop prototypes, produce small series and then ramp up the quantities at competitive costs before the compressors are then transferred to series production.

The high-speed products manufactured in the technical center are integrated into air conditioning systems or heat pumps, for example, and compress refrigerants as efficiently as possible. They are durable, quiet and low-maintenance, have a low weight and low power consumption. Natural refrigerants such as propane are compressed, with the compressors using significantly less refrigerant. In this way, ebm-papst is expanding its product range in terms of resource conservation and energy-efficient high-tech solutions and making a contribution to sustainability and combating global warming.