25 years of passion - Herkules-group.com

25 years of passion
Christoph Thoma, Chairman and CEO of the Herkules-Group celebrates
Just having completed his engineering studies in Aachen and Karlsruhe,
the 27 year old engineer Christoph Thoma became chairman &
CEO of Maschinenfabrik Herkules in Siegen, Gemany. He took over
the position previously held by his father Hans Thoma. 25 years ago
Christoph Thoma became responsible for the medium-sized manufacturing
company with 270 employees, which his grandfather Franz
Thoma – the chief-design engineer with Waldrich Siegen - originally
founded in 1911.
When Christoph Thoma entered into the Herkules leadership,
the main customer base was comprised of German and central European
companies, with only a few machines delivered to other continents.
He rapidly and successfully extended the Herkules market
worldwide. Herkules developed from the production of standard
copy-controlled turning machines to modern CNC controlled equipment.
In 1987 Christoph Thoma and development engineer Roy
Ridgeway founded Herkules Controls Corporation – HCC – in Memphis,
TN. After some years HCC became a world leader in the development
and construction of highly innovative roll grinding machine
controls. These new controls provided an enormous technological
advantage compared to the previous generation of inflexible standard
machine controls.
During the 25 years of his leadership, Christoph Thoma built the
Herkules organization into a large company by means of several strategic
acquisitions. At the end of 1991 – just after the German reunification
– he took over Maschinenfabrik Herkules Meuselwitz with
manufacturing roots dating back to 1876. With this acquisition Herkules
built up capacities in order to meet worldwide demand. In these
days the number of Herkules staff increased to 600 people.
Until 2001 Christoph Thoma integrated the US-American companies
RD & D, former Dörries Scharmann in Erie, KPM, a leading remanufacturer
in Ford City and the roll grinder division of the paper
machine manufacturer of Voith. Out of these US activities Herkules
USA and HCC KPM as a machine control and measuring systems
supplier were established. Today both are located in Pittsburgh, PA.
Following the market requirements sales and service organisations
were founded in Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Vitoria (Brasil) and Kuala
Lumpur.
Maschinenfabrik Herkules has always maintained a strong tradition
of machine reliability. Christoph Thoma has also striven for technological
leadership in the world market. Convinced by his ideas to
design machines with common parts on a clear engineering base to
guarantee excellent service and to reach the state-of-the-art technological
development, he achieved more than 40 % of the world market.
Following his successful mergers and his economical management
strategies, Christoph Thoma realized in January the 26th 2004 his
business vision: the take-over of his largest competitor Waldrich.
Today the total Herkules-group consists of 1800 employees.
Marita Thoma
HOT NEWS
China First Heavy Industries
Walzengießerei Coswig
Herkules MonolithTM Herkules Kart-Trophy 2004
newsflash 1/04

HERKULES TOOK THE CHANCE
6 months after taking over Waldrich
Since Christoph Thoma has taken over the Waldrich firms on January
26th 2004, he consequently pursues his goal to continue his successful
corporate strategy also with 1800 employees and to integrate the
acquired companies Waldrich Siegen and Waldrich Coburg into the
Herkules Group.
Today, 6 months after the take-over, we have already paved the way
into the future. In the grinding machine sector, Herkules and
Waldrich Siegen will go on with their own brands and product strategy
and maintain a competitive position within the group. The synergetic
effects will be forced where the significant different designs are not
jeopardized and where customers may profit from lower costs and
higher quality. Joint purchase activities within the group have already
led to unitizing the electrical equipment as well as the control and
measuring technologies.
Waldrich Coburg concentrated on producing heavy machine tools
for cubic workpieces in order to push ahead their development with
utmost effort. Maschinenfabrik Herkules Meuselwitz benefits from
the new company fusion, since certain product lines have been centralized,
such as big welding jobs. To increase efficiency within the administration,
purchasing, accounting, and contracting departments, the
“bcm” company - Business Center für den Mittelstand – has been
founded.
At the end of this year, a new major computer network system for
all related facilities will be installed. Marita Thoma
CHINA FIRST HEAVY INDUSTRIES
Project challenge: 150 tons between centers
China First Heavy Industries (CFHI), the special enterprise and backbone
of the machine building industry in China, awarded Maschinenfabrik
Herkules with a most prestigious order for a gigantic roll grinder
in August 2004. This Herkules roll ginder, type UWS 1100 is designed
for manufacturing back-up rolls for plate mills and other rolls
used in Chinese steel mills demanding higher accuracy rolls.
This sensational roll grinder is particularly designed to support
manufacturing rolls up to 2540 mm in diameter, with a total roll length
up to 12000 mm, and roll weight up to 150 tons on centers at micron
precision. Therefore it will include a certain main spindle bearing
arrangement and the HCC KPM C-frame measuring caliper with full
working range.
Headquarter, China First Heavy Industries
The grinder control will be the technically advanced HCC KPM 10
extended with an operating interface for NC programming.
The grinder will further be fitted with eddy current and ultrasonic
crack detection capabilities to provide complete roll condition inspection
and reporting. Dietmar Josche
WALZENGIESSEREI COSWIG
Machine acceptance
Already in 1998 Maschinenfabrik Herkules Meuselwitz delivered a
combined heavy duty turning lathe type WD 600, equipped with a
high performance milling attachment, to the company Walzengießerei
Coswig. Convinced of Herkules machine quality and performance, in
2002 Walzengießerei Coswig asked for an even larger, higher-powered
turning lathe, suitable for their product range of casting rotationally
symmetrical parts, i. e. production of shafts for large off-shore wind
powered stations.
The extreme machining accuracies required for these parts clearly
exceed those for final calibrated rolls. The hydrostatic guideways, the
CNC turning saddle guideways with two tool slides, and the hydrostatic
worm drive for longitudinal carriage travel guarantee long-life accuracy.
The machine equipment also has many special features.
In April 2003, after long technical and commercial negotiations, an
order was placed for a CNC controlled roll turning lathe type NWD
850. The technical parameters required for this turning lathe were also
challenging for Herkules; the rolls between centers having a maximum
length of 7500 mm, a turning diameter of up to 2400 mm, and a maximum
workpiece weight of 100 tons. The special machine application
of outer and inner machining demands highly accurate roundness and
cylindricity. To meet these requirements, great efforts were made in
manufacturing the mechanical machine components as well as for the
extremely complex installation.
NWD 850, Walzengießerei Coswig
Similar to the first machine supplied, this machine was also designed
and built at Herkules plant in Meuselwitz.
During acceptance at customer site our turning specialists, supported
by Walzengießerei Coswig’s outstanding experts, impressively demonstrated
the high quality requirements. At present, Coswig is running
8 roll lathes and 1 roll grinder supplied by the Herkules Group.
F.Voigt, Dr.Saupe

HERKULES MONOLITH TM
Monolith TM grinding machines successful
Revolutionary foundation-free MONOLITH TM grinding machines work
better than conventional grinders. In 2001 Herkules developed a new
patented roll grinder bed design - the MONOLITH TM . grinder. With this
development a new generation of roll grinding machine was born. The
MONOLITH TM design enables accurate and precise roll grinding results
without the need for an expensive special isolated grinder foundation.
The special Herkules MONOLITH TM bed design and construction
are exceedingly stable in the typical roll shop environment. The MONO-
LITH TM is not prone to self-excited vibrations as are typical cast iron
beds. The vibration absorption properties of the MONOLITH TM are 12
times greater than conventional grinder beds. Temperature stability of
the MONOLITH TM is 25 times better than standard machine beds. The
Herkules MONOLITH TM can process rolls up to 1200 mm in diameter,
7000 mm in grinding length, and a maximum weight of 20 tons.
Our customers have confirmed their satisfaction. According to
Sigurd Vanrysselberghe, Roll Shop Manager at the Arcelor company in
Gent: these stability factors and properties all lead to one result; better
roll grind quality.
Herkules developed the MONOLITH TM grinder in an effort to reduce
overall roll grinder project costs for our customers without losing
quality. The MONOLITH TM does not require the traditional isolated
foundation block, nor does it require extensive installation labor.
Actual foundation costs are reduced by 50%. The variability of machine
location is sensational, as it is possible to move the MONOLITH TM
grinder to an alternate location with relative ease.
Since spring 2003, we have successfully put 5 MONOLITH TM roll
grinders into operation at our customer sites. The machines are machining
rolls in several different applications: for supplying rolls for skin
pass cold mills, stainless steel, aluminum cold mill, foil mill, and hot
strip producers.
Feedback from customers such as Alcan, Arcelor and Bao Steel confirm
that Herkules has achieved a quantum leap in roll grinder technology
development. This year, Herkules has received 20 additional
confirmed orders to supply the MONOLITH TM roll grinder to a variety
of steel and non-ferrous producers, which speaks for itself.
Bernd Gieseler
Herkules Monolith TM
WUHAN IRON AND STEEL CORPORATION
New roll shop for cold rolling mill
After tough but cleverly led negotiations, the Southern Chinese steel
company Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp. placed an order in April 2004 to
supply a new roll shop for their cold rolling mill No. 2. Maschinenfabrik
Herkules will plan and realize their new roll shop, designed for
a yearly production capacity of 2.15 tons, and will be one of the most
modern roll shops worldwide.
The new cold mill No. 2 will supply the market with first class sheet
metal for the automotive industry. It consists of a 5-stand tandem cold
rolling mill, temper mill, and a continuous annealing and hot galvanizing
skin pass mill. Wuhan intends to run the most modern mill in the
world. To fulfill this ambition, Wuhan has decided to procure the most
high tech components available on the market. Herkules will supply
three WS 450 CNC work roll grinders, one WS 600 CNC universal
grinder, and one WS 600 CNC back-up roll grinding machine. To
achieve fully automatic roll handling, Herkules will also supply two
automatic roll loaders and our roll shop management system.
The roll shop equipment will be delivered to Wuhan Iron and Steel
in June/July 2005, and final on-site commissioning is planned for
September 2005. Burkhard Neuser
Unterzeichnung der Verträge in Wuhan
TAIGANG GROUP CHINA
Taigang group places order with Herkules
Maschinenfabrik Herkules won the order from the Chinese Taigang
Group for the supply of another roll grinder type UWS 600. This grinder
will be used to support the manufacturing of new rolls and will
have the capacity to perform “oncenter”
grinding of rolls weighing
up to 40 tons. The Herkules grinder
will be installed at Taiyuan Iron and
Steel Co. Ltd, Taiyuan Shanxi, China
by the end of 2004. It will be equipped
with all apparatus required for
roll manufacturers. With this order,
Herkules further strengthens its
worldwide position as the leading
technology supplier for special roll
grinding machines for roll makers.
Dietmar Josche
Dietmar Josche & Chai Bin

HERKULES KART-TROPHY 2004
5. Herkules Kart-Trophy
In May this year the 5th “Herkules-Kart-Trophy” took place in Siegen.
26 teams from all over the world: customers, sub-suppliers, partners
and friends of the Maschinenfabrik Herkules arrived to participate in
this traditional annual 6-hour-race. Compared to the year before, this
year’s race-track was modified and extended to a total length of 650m
all around the Maschinenfabrik Herkules’ grounds to offer a new experience
to all of the 26 international teams. Even though temperatures
were extremely low for the season, almost 600 competitors and guests
“survived” a race that was positively influenced by fairness and sportsmanship
and made the whole event last for 24 hours.
The winners: This year’s winner is again the Maschinenfabrik
Herkules Racing - Team with its teamleader Christoph Thoma. Closely
followed by Team Rasselstein-Neuwied and Team Bilstein, who took
the second and third places. Achieving fourth place, Team Hydro Alu
was chased by the Austrian Team Voest Alpine, which took the fifth
place. Not only the winners celebrated until the early morning hours!
CONGRATULATIONS
60th Birthday
Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Frieder Saupe
President Maschinenfabrik
Herkules Meuselwitz
We congratulate Dr.Saupe and
sincerely wish him all the best
for the future.
Mitarbeiter & Geschäftsführung