Herwig Taute is the expert for the agricultural and refrigeration industry in Emsland and East Frisia. Based in Papenburg, the company has been supplying modern solutions for high milk quality and economical milking processes since 1980. Farmers appreciate the comprehensive, customer-oriented service, qualified technical advice and fast delivery thanks to the company's own logistics and high stock availability. The company's automatic milking systems make manual milking of cows at fixed times superfluous. Instead, the animals independently head for the systems every five to six hours to be milked. The advantage: the productivity of the herd increases. Dairy farmers thus reduce their operating costs and manage their working hours more efficiently. Since 2013, the Papenburg-based company has exclusively installed Boge compressors for the process control of the milking systems. "The quality of the compressors, coupled with the requirements-oriented design of the compressed air systems, is the optimum solution for the challenging operating conditions in a barn environment," says Managing Director Herwig Taute.

Milking cows with compressed air

Up to two tons of milk can be produced per day using an automatic milking system. Hygiene is the top priority throughout the entire milking process: when a cow enters the milking parlor, a robotic arm places a so-called pre-milking cup on the udder. In this cup, the teats are cleaned with water and dried with compressed air. The compressed air must be absolutely dry so that the teat cups used for milking sit perfectly. After the milking process, the hydraulic arm sprays a disinfectant onto the udder with compressed air. The milk is then pushed with air through a closed pipe system into a cooling tank. Compressed air is also used to automatically clean the entire system.

Stable air caused failures

The barn climate places complex demands on a compressed air system: on the one hand, a clean and oil-free compressed air supply must be guaranteed in order to ensure the high quality of the milk as a foodstuff. On the other hand, the compressors are exposed to a corrosive environment. The cows' excrement contains ammonia compounds that pass into the barn air. This ammonia-laden air attacks copper. The refrigeration dryers in particular, which remove moisture from the compressed air and are usually permanently installed in the compressors, contain a lot of copper. The copper metal parts corrode and become increasingly damaged the longer they are exposed to the ammonia environment. The result is a failure of the copper-containing components - the milking system fails. This has serious consequences for the milking processes in the barn: the cows in a barn with an automated milking system develop a coordinated rhythm according to which they can be milked. In the event of a system failure, this interaction is disrupted and the animals accumulate in front of the milking robot once the fault has been rectified. Efficient milking is no longer possible. This means considerable yield losses for the farmer. Taute effectively counteracts this risk factor by using the compressors.

Customized solution and modular concept

Thanks to the modularity of the Boge EO 4, the copper-containing refrigeration dryer can be set up separately. (Image: Boge)

With the Eccentric-Oilfree (EO) compressors in the 4 kW power segment, corrosion-related damage to refrigeration dryers is a thing of the past. The modular design principle of the compressed air systems allows the refrigeration dryer to be removed from the barn environment and housed in a separate room. In order to protect the pressure switches of the compressor unit from the aggressive air in the barn, the experts developed an electronic solution to control the automatic start-up relief. Mechanical pressure switches are no longer required. Herwig Taute now equips its milking systems exclusively with EO compressors. "With the compressed air systems from Boge, we offer an individual and reliable solution for every barn. Our customers benefit from long-term process reliability and guaranteed oil-free class 0 compressed air," explains Herwig Taute.

Quiet running protects animals and people

The EO 4 scroll compressor impresses with its small footprint and saves valuable space in the barn. Its whisper-quiet and low-vibration operation avoids unnecessary stress for animals and people. The scroll compressor technology is also very low-maintenance, as it does not require oil lubrication. Another plus is the excellent efficiency values - farmers reduce their production costs. "The combination of reliable compressed air technology and the partnership-based cooperation with Boge at eye level is a package that convinces us and our customers," summarizes Managing Director Herwig Taute. ee

Hanover Fair, Hall 16, Stand A04