At its location in the French town of Châteubriant on the Atlantic coast, the agricultural equipment manufacturer Kuhn develops and manufactures, amongst other things, tillage equipment, plows, and sowing machines. From the very start, Kuhn Huard has had an undeniable competitive advantage thanks to its forging and heat treatment know-how. Since 1989, the company has been using a 5,400 ton capacity machine from Müller Weingarten to produce its parts. The time has now come to have it replaced.
“Our objective is to maintain our competitive advantage over the long term,” says the project team at Kuhn consisting of Nathalie Bessin, Pierre Yves Porcher and Charles Perrier. “This innovative technology will help us retain our leading position in the market.”
The three quickly came to the conclusion that an investment in a new press could pay off. After one and a half years of research, Kuhn has now taken a major step. The company placed an order with Schuler for a 6,400 ton screw press with ServoDirect technology and energy accumulator.
Screw presses have advanced a lot over the past three decades. Instead of the previously used squirrel cage induction drives, Schuler now utilizes servomotors, thereby significantly increasing efficiency. In addition, the controllability of the drive and thus the precision of the press has been improved. The closed water cooling system in combination with the new motor generation optimizes the temperature stability of the drive system, independent of the surrounding conditions.
Further included in the scope of delivery is an energy accumulator, which increases the efficiency of the system even more. Commissioning is scheduled for mid-2023.
