Oberbruch industrial park
The BizzPark Oberbruch (formerly IPO / Industriepark Oberbruch) is an industrial area of around 110 hectares in Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia near the Dutch border.
It was founded in 1891 as a fiber location and was the birthplace of the artificial silk and synthetic fiber industries . The industrial park used to be a location of Akzo Nobel and is now diversified with companies from different industries such as high-performance fibers, new energies and white biotechnology . The BizzPark Oberbruch is a competence center for carbon fiber technology . Since 2000 it has been operated by the Dutch energy company Nuon , which does not come from the chemical industry and has been part of Vattenfall since July 1, 2009 .
Development of the German rayon and man-made fiber industry
Rhenish incandescent lamp factory Dr. Max Fremery & Co.
Today's Oberbruch industrial park was founded in 1891 as the "Rheinische Glühlampenfabrik Dr. Max Fremery & Co. ”founded. The Cologne chemist Max Fremery and the Austrian engineer Johann Urban chose a disused paper mill in order to quietly research, hidden from the eyes of the competition, for a filament that was more economical to manufacture and had a longer service life.
In 1892 the two succeeded for the first time, technically and at least to a considerable extent, by precipitating them out of cellulose dissolved in copper oxide-ammonia ( Schweizer's reagent ) . This "copper silk" ( cupro ) was initially used as a filament in incandescent lamp production. The process has been continuously improved in order to refine the initially coarse and uneven thread, to give it greater strength and elasticity, in order to weave a material comparable to natural silk. In 1897 Fremery and Urban applied for a patent for their process. In the history of the textile industry, the so-called "Pauly patent" is considered to be the beginning of German artificial silk manufacture. Although incandescent lamp production was discontinued in 1902 due to the displacement of carbon filaments by tungsten filaments, the production of rayon continued to develop on a large industrial scale.
In Oberbruch, the main street is named Boos-Fremery-Straße in memory of the first plant directors , while a street in the quarter with former company apartments is named after the co-founder Urbanstraße .
The United Glanzstoff-Fabriken AG
In 1899, the Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken AG, based in Elberfeld, is founded. The most important buyer of the copper silk produced in Oberbruch was ultimately the Bergische trimming industry with the "Barmer articles". In 1900 a hall with 18 spinning machines was opened, and for the first time a common spinning kettle was set up in a nearby room and from there the material could be pressed to the individual spinning machines and further to the many capillary tubes. This was the cornerstone of the continuous spinning process that is still practiced today. The inventor was Eduard Boos , the son-in-law of Max Fremery. In addition to the headquarters in Wuppertal, Oberbruch was the largest company location with 10,000 employees at times. Numerous factory settlements emerged in Oberbruch, Grebben, Heinsberg, Dremmen and Randerath. The works railway was / is connected to the Heinsberg-Lindern (-Aachen) railway line, which was reactivated in 2013, at Oberbruch station.
Despite the economic success of copper silk (tenfold increase in annual production, sixfold increase in sales, fivefold increase in the number of employees by 1912), the future belonged to the viscose process invented in England . In 1911, the Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken acquired the viscose patent and made it ready for production in Oberbruch. The original copper silk was completely removed from the range in 1916. During the First World War, Oberbruch was the only Glanzstoff plant that continued to work only to a limited extent, despite falling demand and due to the lack of workers. A shortage of raw materials forced the artificial silk industry to go completely new ways. Staple fiber as a replacement for cotton was the name of the new product, waste of artificial, endlessly spinnable threads cut to the length of the pile. In 1916, the first staple fiber spinning machine went into operation in Oberbruch, a development by the chemist Emil Bronnert and the engineer Eduard Boos.
The positive development did not last long. The global economic crisis at the beginning of the 1930s hit the Glanzstoff plant in Oberbruch with great severity. Falling demand forced extensive layoffs. At the height of the crisis, in 1932, the plant employed 2,200 people, compared to 6,300 in 1925. Rationalization was the order of the day. The only innovation in 1932 was the introduction of perforated aluminum rollers in order to be able to produce even larger webs. For many years this was the last production expansion. The strategic economic planning of the National Socialist government prohibited investments and business expansions in regions near the border. From then on, the Oberbruch plant assumed the role of the test and development plant for the entire Glanzstoff group, which laid the nucleus of research in the post-war years. In 1935, the first attempts to produce RT-silk were (for R eifen and T rubbed belt) made. In 1937 a test facility for the continuous spinning, washing and drying of viscose silk was put into operation and a process for the recovery of carbon disulfide in the cellulose wool plant was developed.
The Glanzstoff plant in Oberbruch experienced its hardest years during the Second World War. The factory worked without major disruptions until September 1944, but on September 19, when the factory was 45 years old, all machines had to be stopped and Oberbruch had come to the front. After the end of the war, the Allies granted permission to resume production in February 1947, and at the end of 1948 3,400 people were again working at Glanzstoff. In December 1951, the first KVS machine for continuous viscose spinning was installed, which should replace the glass roller spinning process. In 1953 the last glass roller spinning machine was shut down.
Perlon - pure chemistry in thread form
In addition to textile and technical rayon ("Cordenka"), which was considered a natural fiber because of its raw material , Oberbruch entered the field of fully synthetic fibers in 1950 - and introduced the history of man-made fibers in West Germany with Perlon .
The rapidly growing synthesis division changed the structure of the work and gave it a new face. Old company departments had to give way, building was going on everywhere. 1958 Diolen was spun, the Perlon gradually replaced. Diolen developed into the main product of the location. Perlon was discontinued entirely in 1971. Diolen had overtaken him because of his more comfortable features.
Steel cord
At the beginning of the 1960s, first attempts to manufacture steel cord were tackled. The company wanted to expand its product range of tire reinforcement materials as the market required steel cord as a reinforcement. In 1969, a large-scale production facility was set up in Oberbruch, which was discontinued by Akzo in 1991 due to international competition and the tire manufacturer's own capacity building .
In the second half of the 1960s, the number of employees reached the top level of 7,088. Up into the 1970s, the Glanzstoffwerke were world market leaders in the manufacture of synthetic fibers and their starting products.
Diols
Company policy at the beginning of the 1970s was based on modernization and rationalization investments. The increasing fierce competition was the only way to survive. The company management chose Oberbruch as the pioneer of modernization because it had gained strategic importance with its textile polyester yarn Diolen . With an annual output of more than 43,000 tons, it was the company's largest polyester filament plant. The new technology was called high-speed spinning and spinning lines. They also wanted to promote polyester condensation. However, the implementation of the investment program was severely dampened by the first oil price crisis in 1973/74, only 4 of the new high-speed spinning machines were installed.
Man-made fiber crisis
The chemical fiber crisis shook the chemical fiber and textile industry in the mid - 1970s to an unprecedented extent. Short-time work, downsizing, production restrictions, investment cutbacks and restructuring were the consequences. The first steps towards the industrial park have been taken. In 1978 the "nozzle center Oberbruch" was converted into Enka tecnica . Its production program included spinnerets, components and test equipment for the chemical fiber, textile and plastics industries.
Successful 1980s
On September 13, 1985, the cornerstone of the most modern Diolen spinning mill was laid, which was to make Oberbruch the largest and most efficient European manufacturing company for polyester filament yarn. In 1986, Oberbruch was again the pacemaker for the most modern technical developments. The high-performance carbon fiber Tenax went into production. In 1983 what was then Enka AG, a company of the Akzo Group, signed a license agreement for the production of carbon fibers with Toho Rayon Co. Ltd., Tokyo. With an initial capacity of 360 tons per year, carbon fibers have been produced in Oberbruch since 1986. In 1990 a research facility was put into operation. In 1993 Akzo Nobel fiber AG brings the carbon fiber activities into a joint venture with the licensor Toho Rayon Co. Ltd. a. Toho Tenax Fibers GmbH & Co. KG is founded. Today Toho Tenax Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of the Japanese Teijin Ltd. , with 4 lines at the Oberbruch location and is the European market leader.
Difficult 1990s
Cordenka production was stopped on June 30, 1993. Worldwide excess capacities forced production to be reduced, and Oberbruch, the smallest Cordenka location within the group, was closed. The 1990s confronted the location with the generally difficult situation. Overcapacities, an often unpredictable market and competition from low-wage countries forced a complete rethink. The company was turned upside down and extensive rationalization and restructuring measures followed.
The workforce gradually shrank to well below 2,000 employees, the former operating technology and the central workshops of the former Akzo-Nobel location were spun off from the group in 1993 and re-established as Hima, now Bilfinger Maintenance GmbH. The then parent company Akzo Nobel parted completely with the man-made fibers division in the 1990s and released the various operational business areas at the location into independence. As an independent company, they were on the lookout for new partners, which marked the beginning of the move from a single man-made fiber location to an open industrial park.
The Oberbruch location has developed from the Glanzstoff factory to Enka-Glanzstoff, Enka, Akzo , Akzo Nobel and Acordis to the Oberbruch industrial park. The ties to the Netherlands have always been close, in 1911 Algemeene Kunstzijde Unie NV was founded with plants in Arnhem and Ede with the major shareholder, Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken AG.
Establishment of the Oberbruch industrial park
The location has been officially operating as the Oberbruch industrial park since 1998. The IPO, Industriepark Oberbruch GmbH & Co. KG, was the service company for the companies in Industriepark Oberbruch at the time. The administration of the industrial park, the customer-oriented marketing of the entire infrastructure and the expansion through new settlements were the main tasks and goals of the IPO. It emerged from the service areas of the former Akzo Nobel location. Some of the services still include supply and disposal, quality, safety, environmental protection, logistics, personnel, project and property management and communication.
As the last operating business unit of Akzo Nobel / Acordis at the location, a new owner was sought for the service company. The decision was made in favor of an independent, non-chemical industrial park operator, the Dutch energy company Nuon , which took over the site in 2000.
The nv Nuon Energy, headquartered in Amsterdam since 1 July 2009, part of Vattenfall AB. Nuon's Industrial Park Management division specializes in the operation of industrial parks. Nuon currently operates the Oberbruch industrial park in Heinsberg and the Niederau industrial park in Düren in Germany, the De Kleef industrial park in Arnhem in the Netherlands and the EMMTEC Industry & Business Park in Emmen .
The Oberbruch industrial park is now a diversified location with around 20 companies in the fields of processing chemicals, plastics and new materials with around 2,000 employees. It is operated by NUON Energie und Service GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of nv Nuon Energy.
In 2013 the IPO was renamed BizzPark Oberbruch. The demolition of old industrial halls began in order to make space for any new buildings.
Infrastructure
The BIZZPARK Oberbruch, which emerged from a plant in the chemical industry, has an infrastructure geared towards food processing, beverage and paper production. NUON Energie und Service GmbH provides the companies on site with a wide range of different industry and production-related services.
power supply
In 2006, the newly built gas and steam turbine power plant ( CHP plant) was put into operation with a high degree of efficiency, with a thermal output of 40 MW, a waste heat boiler with 20 MW, a gas turbine generator with 14 MW and a back pressure steam turbine with 7 MW.
The energy supply also includes natural gas, technical gases such as compressed air, oxygen and nitrogen. Water is made available as drinking water, fully demineralized water, cooling water and special water qualities for production. Furthermore, refrigerants such as cooling brine and ammonia.
disposal
In 1978 the chemical-biological sewage treatment plant was put into operation at the site, which purifies all industrial, sanitary and surface water. The wastewater treatment plant is designed to dispose of around 120,000 inhabitants, of which around half is currently being used.
Location logistics
On-site logistics includes incoming and outgoing goods controls, storage of raw materials, consumables and supplies as well as primary and finished products. The Oberbruch industrial park also has its own rail connection.
Resident companies as of January 2014
In 2013 the name of the industrial site Oberbruch was renamed BizzPark Oberbruch. The focus of the BizzPark is on plastics and new materials as well as food processing and / or manufacturing companies. However, the actual textile fiber production has almost entirely left the Oberbruch location.
Toho Tenax Europe GmbH produces high-performance carbon fiber (products) ( carbon ) for the aerospace industry, for automobiles and also for racing bikes.
Cmp GmbH, a manufacturer of prepreg fiber composite materials, has settled here. The company develops and produces at the company's headquarters in Heinsberg.
With SOLIDPower (formerly Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd.), new energy technologies found their way into the Oberbruch industrial park in 2006. The world's first production of stationary solid oxide fuel cells for coupled electricity-heat generation is set up in the Oberbruch industrial park. The company has since moved into other buildings outside the BizzPark.
GNT Europe GmbH has been producing paints from renewable raw materials in the industrial park since 2009. GNT develops "high-tech products" for the food industry from edible fruits, vegetables and plants and also manufactures them itself. The production facility at the "Wurm" has since been expanded considerably.
SAXID GmbH has been producing brake pads in the Oberbruch industrial park since 2007 . The company recently became part of the US-based Federal-Mogul Corporation, which ceased production in early 2014.
With Bilfinger Maintenance GmbH, part of Bilfinger SE , a provider of industrial services for the process industry and the energy sector is located in the industrial park.
The Alliander AG has emerged as a network operator from the separation of network and production division of the Dutch nv Nuon year of 2008. Since July 1, 2009, the company has dedicated itself entirely to the operation and modernization of the electricity and gas networks.
The lekker Energy GmbH from Nuon Germany GmbH, the German branch of nv on 1 January 2010. Nuon , emerged. The EU Commission had made the Swedish energy company Vattenfall the sale of Nuon Germany in 2009 to be able to acquire the Dutch parent company NV Nuon Energy (previously nv Nuon). STADTWERKE KREFELD AG (SWK) has been the sole shareholder since 2013.
Essedea Texolutions was founded in October 2003 and deals with the development and production of three-dimensional textiles. In addition to the location in the BizzPark, Essedea / 3dea is also represented with a production facility in Wassenberg.
The company E&K has been producing printed circuit boards in the Oberbruch industrial park since 1995.
PolymerOberbruch GmbH, the former polycondensation of Kuag, today owned by the Indian concern Zoom Developers (P) Ltd., Bombay, is planning glossy and super-glossy chips for medical applications in addition to the matted chips that have already been produced by Kuag To produce chips on the basis of heavy metal-free catalysts and for foils as well as flame retardant and those for the production of PET bottles in the product range.
Atos , a provider of IT services.
NUON Energie und Service GmbH, the operating company of the Oberbruch industrial park
Prospex, a workshop for mentally disabled people, which was able to develop a technical and industrial profile with the integration into the Oberbruch industrial park.
The company health insurance company Euregio has existed since July 1st, 2003. It was founded in 1896 as a health insurance company for the employees of the companies Dr. Max Fremery & Co. and Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken.
In 2013 the company Aqus relocated. Aqus GmbH is a service provider for personnel and organizational development as well as vocational training.
The Otto gourmet delicatessen butcher opened its headquarters in mid-2013 .
literature
- Industriepark Oberbruch GmbH & Co.KG (ed.): Industriepark Oberbruch - one location turns 100 . Heinsberg 1999
- Industrievereinigung Chemiefaser EV (Ed.): You and the chemical fibers, Druckhaus Tempelhof , Berlin, undated
- United Glanzstoff-Fabriken AG (ed.): Diolen polyester fiber - development and possibilities , Wuppertal-Elberfeld, no year.
- Robert Bauer; The Century of Man-Made Fibers, Goldmann Yellow Pocket Books , Munich, 1958
- Werner Meyer-Larsen: Man-made fibers , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek near Hamburg, January 1972
Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 29 ″ N , 6 ° 8 ′ 36 ″ E