Herrmann ultrasound technology

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Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding 1961
Seat Karlsbad (Baden) , Germany
management
  • Thomas Herrmann
  • Carsten O'Beirne
Number of employees 520 (as of January 8, 2019)
sales € 82 million
Branch Mechanical engineering , plastic
Website www.herrmannultraschall.com
Status: 2018

The Herrmann Ultrasonics GmbH & Co. KG is a company founded by Walter Herrmann in 1961 engineering company headquartered in Karlsbad , Germany . The company specializes in ultrasonic welding technology and is the world's leading manufacturer of ultrasonic welding machines and systems, generators, converters and sonotrodes (ultrasonic welding tools). The main headquarters are in Germany, USA, China and Japan. In addition, the company operates 25 “technology centers” in 19 countries with over 30 special application laboratories for ultrasonic joining technologies. Application sectors for ultrasonic joining technology are, for example, the automotive sector , the electrical industry , medical technology , the consumer sector , as well as the packaging and hygiene industry .

history

Ultrasound pioneer and company founder, Walter Herrmann, began with the simplest tools and a lot of improvisational talent

The company's founder Walter Herrmann, born on December 5, 1934 in Langensteinbach, completed an apprenticeship as an electrical mechanic at Siemens in Karlsruhe . After completing his education, he worked in radio interference measurement service of the regional directorate, branch Pforzheim with the task of finding out the cause of problems for the television reception in the surrounding households and incidentally also doomsayers track. W. Herrmann found what he was looking for in the jewelry industry. The ultrasonic cleaning baths used here for cleaning jewelry and metal were operated with ultrasonic generators, some of which were still from old armed forces, and caused the disturbances. In 1958 Herrmann accepted a development position at Karl-Roll Reinigungssysteme (ultrasonic cleaning baths). He was supposed to develop an alternative to the failure-prone and low-performance ultrasonic tube generators (10,000 volts) for cleaning systems. The high anode voltage of the generators often caused short circuits and device fires. Herrmann's proposal to generate the ultrasonic frequency using a machine generator based on the dynamo principle and a low operating voltage of only 200 to 300 volts was rejected by his superior at the time. Convinced of his idea, the young developer started his own business in 1961 with the support of his wife Ingeborg. After several unsuccessful attempts, Walter Herrmann managed the first test run of his machine generator in 1962. Initially only the generators for ultrasonic cleaning were marketed, later complete cleaning systems as well.

First generation of ultrasonic welding machines

The first American ultrasonic welding machines came onto the German market in the 1960s, but could only be marketed with limited success due to the machine's limited power of just 1000 watts. Walter Herrmann recognized the potential for his company, as the Herrmann generators for ultrasonic cleaning were already working successfully with an output power of up to 2,500 watts. First of all, ultrasonic welding machines already used in production were retrofitted with Herrmann generators, and shortly afterwards development work began on our own ultrasonic welding machine.

Walter Herrmann (right) with his first employees

Ultrasound quickly established itself as an economical joining process, especially for plastic parts for automobiles, electrical and household goods. Machines for closing plastic packaging and for laminating and embossing nonwovens were added later. Ultimately, the cleaning area was no longer part of the product portfolio.

Thanks to continuous development, the company became the technology market leader in ultrasonic joining technology. Walter Herrmann and his employees developed innovations such as the first soundproof ultrasonic welding machine, the first possibility to visualize the welding process on an integrated monitor and the first fully digital ultrasonic generator. For this, the company founder received numerous patents and awards, such as the business medal of the state of Baden-Württemberg , the CEHMS Inventor Award and the German founder award for his pioneering work and marketing of ultrasound technology. Further successes of the company were the innovation prize of the technology region Karlsruhe from 2006 for the first vibrating roller sonotrode, the German packaging prize awarded in 2007 for a flexible foil can, as well as the ZIM sponsorship prize 2010 from the Federal Ministry of Economics.

In 1990, son Thomas Herrmann founded the American branch near Chicago and laid the foundation for international expansion. In 2003 the company ventured into the Chinese market and in 2015 the Japanese market. Today the company is family-owned in the second generation. Son Thomas Herrmann runs the family business and daughter Sabine Herrmann-Brauss is in charge of controlling. In 2000 and 2008, the production area at the Karlsbad (Germany) location was expanded to double the original area. A third extension was added in 2017, which doubles the existing operating area to a total of 18,400 m².

Company building (headquarters) in Karlovy Vary

Business areas

Ultrasonic welding systems for plastic parts

The market entry into the growing plastics industry was achieved with the construction of the first ultrasonic welding machine. The first applications were in the automotive industry for interior and exterior components. These include, for example, window regulators for Bosch, bumpers for Daimler, rear spoilers for Opel and center consoles for VW. Due to the economic efficiency of the ultrasonic welding process, it has quickly established itself in the entire plastics industry. Thanks to short cycle times, low energy consumption and gentle energy input, further applications from the consumer goods market, the electrical industry and medical technology were quickly added.

Ultrasonic sealing systems for packaging

In the 1980s, the new "Packaging" division arose from a Pfanni potato dish project. Packaging with thermoplastic sealing layers such as capsules , bags , beverage cartons , cups and trays can be sealed using ultrasound. Appropriate ultrasound modules are integrated into the packaging machines to close the filled packaging.

Ultrasonic joining systems for web products

Web goods (e.g. nonwovens , foils and paper ) with thermoplastic components can be embossed, laminated and cut at the same time using ultrasound without additional additives such as adhesives. The "Nonwovens" division emerged in 1994 from a project with Freudenberg . After initial skepticism, a way could be found to continuously connect nonwovens with one another and to avoid jamming of the web layers. The previously required adhesive has become superfluous thanks to the ultrasonic joining technology. For this invention and the special control technology in the µm range, Herrmann Ultraschall received the EDANA INDEX Award for the best technical invention in 1996. Applications include sanitary napkins , diapers for children and adults , mouth and nose protective masks , hair nets , bandages and filter media .

Ultrasonic metal welding

With the rapid growth of electromobility, Herrmann recognized the potential early on in the manufacture of the lithium-ion batteries required for this and founded the "Metal" division in 2018. Ultrasonic metal welding is particularly advantageous for joining different non-ferrous metals , such as the aluminum and copper foils of lithium-ion batteries.

Timetable

  • 1961: Founding of the family business by Walter Herrmann
  • 1962: Development of the world's first transistor ultrasonic generator
  • 1965: Production of ultrasonic cleaning systems
  • 1968: First generation of machines for ultrasonic welding applications
  • 1977: First soundproof ultrasonic welding machine "Ultrasafe"
  • 1984: First ultrasonic sealing of packaging
  • 1986: Presentation of the first ultrasonic welding machine with an integrated monitor
  • 1990: Establishment of the Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. (USA) subsidiary
  • 1994: Development and patenting of the welding gap control "microgap control" for the continuous ultrasonic joining of web products
  • 1997: First fully digital ultrasonic generator
  • 2001: Top 100 employers award
  • 2002: Top Job Award (again awarded in 2013 and 2015)
  • 2003: Establishment of a subsidiary in China
  • 2015: Foundation of a subsidiary in Japan

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Susanne BIüml: doubled ultrasound . Ed .: Packaging Review. No. December 12 , 2018, p. 24-24 .
  2. ↑ Susanne BIüml: doubled ultrasound . Ed .: Packaging Review. No. December 12 , 2018, p. 24-24 .
  3. ↑ a b c Gerd Lache: 250 years of Goldstadt: The impetus came from the jewelry industry . Ed .: Pforzheimer Zeitung. Pforzheim January 7th 2017.
  4. ↑ a b Gerd Lache: Competence in the upper frequency range . Ed .: WirtschaftsKRAFT. December 2015, p. 30-32 .
  5. ↑ a b c d Gerd Lache: Technology enthusiastic ultrasound pioneer . Ed .: Pforzheimer Zeitung. 5th December 2014.
  6. ↑ a b Packaging Journal (Ed.): Good instinct for new market potential . No. 08/2011 , August 2011.
  7. ↑ a b c d e General Non-Woven Report (Ed.): 50 Years of Herrmann Ultrasound . June 2011, p. 34-35 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e Kunststoffe - The magazine: Black magic made reproducible . Ed .: 100 years of plastics. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich June 2010, p. 19-20 .
  9. ↑ Albert Esslinger-Kiefer: The inventor who came out of the garage . Ed .: Pforzheimer Zeitung. Stuttgart - Karlsbad / Ittersbach May 19, 2018, p. 10 .
  10. ^ A b Albert Esslinger-Kiefer: Herrmann Campus - the new world of work . Ed .: Pforzheimer Zeitung. No. December 12 , 2018 ( pz-news.de [accessed December 2, 2018]).
  11. ↑ a b Badische Neuste Nachrichten (ed.): Revolutionary patent replaces glue . Karlsruhe March 12, 1998.
  12. ↑ Angelika Hörschelmann: 50 years of Herrmann ultrasound . Ed .: General Nonwovens Report. 2011th edition. No. 6 . Keppler Medien Gruppe , Offenbach am Main June 2011.
  13. ↑ Lutz P. Schreiber: Welding nonwovens instead of gluing them . Ed .: VDI Nachrichten. No. 19 . VDI Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf May 10, 1996, p. 21 .
  14. ↑ Susanne BIüml: doubled ultrasound . Ed .: Packaging Review. No. December 12 , 2018, p. 24-24 .
  15. ↑ Dirk Neubauer: From packaging to e-mobility - Herrmann Ultraschall is expanding rapidly around the world . Ed .: Badische newest news. No. 275 , November 28, 2018, p. 7 ( bnn.de ).
  16. ↑ Top 100 - The Top Innovators. Retrieved May 26, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik is one of the best employers. February 5, 2013, accessed May 25, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Heike Bruch: TOP JOB: Dream bosses: The best medium-sized employers . Ed .: Wolfgang Clement. REDLINE Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86414-504-9 .
  19. ↑ Wolfgang Clement: Top Job 2015: Appreciators . Ed .: Wolfgang Clement. REDLINE Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-86414-733-3 .