Controls - Berghof

Berghof remains cautiously optimistic 

despite some clouds on the economic horizon 

Dear reader, 

As for many companies, the year 2011 was a 

good year for the Berghof Group and it will go down 

as the best business year to date in the history of 

the company. Incoming orders, turnover and profit 

exceeded all expectations, although in the second 

half of the year, especially in the field of controls, a 

few dark clouds appeared on the horizon. 

As agreed in the company policy, the proceeds 

are being invested in further developing and modernising 

the Group of companies. For example in May 

2012, after a construction period of approximately 

12 months we moved into the new building in Mühlhausen, 

Thuringia. With the Corporate Architecture 

it has chosen and implemented in this building, 

Berghof has set the course for a corporate policy 

Nikolaus Rombach, 

Managing Director of the Berghof Group 

Controls 

Hanover Fair 2012: 

Efficient control solutions for energy applications 

Energy supply and mobility are currently in a 

state of transition between the energy carriers of the 

past and renewable energies. This development will 

cause many things to change significantly. Many 

decentralised energy producers require new storage 

concepts. Furthermore, plants must be networked 

intelligently and optimally monitored. Berghof 

PLC controls and industrial PCs have been used 

successfully in combined heat and power plants, 

biogas plants and for efficient climate control. 

The products from Berghof ensure reliable and 

continuous energy production round the clock. 

Therefore, the Berghof product line is absolutely 

in line with the “Green Intelligence” motto of the 

Hanover Fair. 

Visitors had the opportunity to inform themselves 

about the potential applications in the “Energy” 

sector at our trade fair stand. Here are the highlights: 

Berghof News 1/2012 

reaching far into the future. This new orientation is 

also visible in the current project for implementing a 

new corporate design in the form of a fundamentally 

modified logo. The project is to be completed by 

the end of the year and its introduction is scheduled 

for the beginning of 2013. 

In terms of its equity capital the Berghof Group 

is extremely well-equipped. This is confirmed by 

the ratings given by the banks. Therefore further 

important developments and investments can be 

implemented which will enable the strategic business 

units to grow organically. The course is already 

set for this. Never before have so many projects 

involving the optimisation of the corporation and a 

future-oriented strategy has been in process simultaneously 

at Berghof. This also includes changing 

the name from Zundel Holding to Berghof Holding. 

In our growth strategy, known in the company as 

BeSt 2026, the shareholders, the management and 

the employees have concentrated these activities 

in order to achieve sustainable success in future in 

a more difficult environment. 

I wish you, dear reader or employee, great pleasure 

when you read this edition of the Berghof News. 

Burner controller with maritime approval: 

CoDeSys display controller keeps fire at bay 

Modern firing systems meet highest requirements. 

Minimal emission values are achieved by 

means of optimal combustion with little solid matter 

yet guaranteeing maximum efficiency. The high 

operating reliability is guaranteed by state-of-theart 

controls from Berghof. The Berghof technology 

News for 

interested parties 

and employees 

1/2012 

Content 

Berghof remains optimistic .........................................1 

Controls at the 2012 Hanover Fair ...............................1 

Process Control controls joining, press-fittingand 

welding processes ...............................................3 

Integrated Seat Measurement Module SMM2 ..........4 

Successful diploma thesis – Philipp Miska ...............4 

Mühlhausen: Berghof presents a donation ..................5 

Berghof Analytics undergoes reaccreditation ............5 

Successful GMP audit .................................................5 

Reinforcement at Chemnitz – Simone Hinke ..............5 

New service: Local sample collection .........................5 

Analytic Quality Assurance in Baden-Württemberg .....6 

Reiner Söhlmann: Acknowledged expert in 

Baden-Württemberg ...................................................6 

NICOLE Technology Award 2012 for the 

Thermal Flowmeter .....................................................7 

BioFlow MBR system at Vanitec Ltd. India ..................8 

Retrospective view to Analytica and Workshops .........8 

Easier working with high-pressure reactors ................9 

AEO Certificate for the Eningen location .....................9 

Oleophobic pressure-compensation membranes ....10 

Inauguration: New company building in Mühlhausen ..10 

Berghof customer satisfaction in 2012 .................... 12 

Jubilees ..................................................................... 12 

Imprint ....................................................................... 12 

underlines its robust and durable character by the 

fact that it features maritime approval. Thus the 

latest Berghof technology can also find its way 

into shipbuilding. 

Air-conditioning control with the BACnet 

Library: CoDeSys display control creates 

the best climate 

Its very broad range of applications takes airconditioning 

technology into computing centres and 

medicine and also into clean-room technology for 

semiconductor and pharmaceuticals production. 

The objective is always to ensure optimal climatic 

conditions. The Berghof control and regulation 

technology components guarantee this as do the 

energy-optimised use of the resources. It goes 

without saying that today the many components of 

an air-conditioning system are networked. Berghof 

offers a BACnet Controller Library which distin- 

1

guishes itself by the minimal effort required for 

configuring a system. 

Highly efficient controller for combined 

heat and power plants: Panel PCs monitor 

and visualise combined heat and 

power plant (CHP) 

More cleanly and efficiently generated energy 

is required of automation engineering for modern 

CHP, and it must be reliable and uninterrupted. 

The Berghof Controls trade fair team 

at the 2012 Hanover Fair 

Complete, comprehensive machine-management 

systems, plant protection and monitoring: our 

customers place their trust in the state-of-the-art 

industrial PC technology from Berghof. Longterm 

availability of the products and integrated 

visualisation software enable Berghof to provide 

reliability and a certain future. 

CoDeSys controller takes care 

of complex data management 

The monitoring and optimisation of processes 

is becoming increasingly important. And last but 

not least, this also helps track problems in plants. 

The methods are the same, no matter if regenerative 

energy production is concerned, or an industrial 

process. For this purpose a PLC controller today 

must not only control your „core business“, it must 

also manage, process and represent recorded data. 

Berghof controllers provide a large on-board flash 

memory for fast data storage. File management is 

simple because there is a file system. Long-term 

archiving on an SD card and representation of the 

data can be carried out directly in the display. All 

this is programmed by means of a single tool: 

CoDeSys. 

Jürgen Wanner 

controls@berghof.com 

New “Basic-Plus” display 

controllers 

Basic-Plus is the name of the new product 

line which supplements the established CoDeSys 

DC1000 display controllers from Berghof Automation 

Engineering. The second Ethernet interface, 

the SD card interface and the snap-in assembly 

are an asset. This simple assembly technique requiring 

no tools enables the PLC controller to be 

installed from the front directly into the machine. 

Then the switching cabinet contains only the I/O 

components which are connected via EtherCat 

or CANopen. It goes without saying that the new 

Basic Plus display controllers use tried and tested 

CoDeSys libraries, such as the Profinet and Bacnet 

Library, for the purpose of communication. 



2 Berghof News 1/2012

Process Control controls 

joining, press-fitting and 

welding processes 

High-performance Berghof I/O extension cards 

for display control help to improve the performance 

of the riveting controllers of Werner Krayer 

Systemtechnik. 

Berghof supplies Werner Krayer Systemtechnik 

with DC1000 controllers with displays and I/O 

extensions. Based on this controller Krayer has 

developed its own process control, “proMY”, with 

which it is possible not only to monitor riveting 

processes perfectly; it can also control them 

with regard to the process parameters, also providing 

100% quality control. The process control 

is designed for a wide variety of applications in 

the joining, press-fitting and welding sector. 

The range of applications mainly involves time, 

distance and force measurement. The highlight 

for riveting machines: for riveting machines the 

Krayer process control guarantees that a consistent 

rivet head height is achieved and the tolerances 

for matching components can be compensated. 

The specification: Higher performance 

with minimal dimensions 

The more compact machines become and the 

more varied their requirements profiles are, the 

more flexible and efficient the controls – including 

the I/O modules - must be. As a response to 

this requirement, Berghof has developed a new, 

extremely compact and variable I/O extension 

card for its PLC DC1000 device series for very 

diverse I/O signals measuring 108 mm in width 

x 56.6 mm in height. Its system identification is 

DC-I/O. It saves space in machines or switching 

cabinets and frequently also dispenses with the 

necessity for additional I/O hardware. Besides 

their compactness, what convinced Werner Krayer 

Systemtechnik regarding the Berghof I/O extensions 

was primarily their performance. “Other 

providers were neither able to offer this price – 

performance ratio, nor the high scanning rates”, 


Display controllers DC1000 with 

digital/analog I/O extension cards 

Ready for connection Process Control proMY with 

built-in display controller DC1000 

company owner Werner Krayer states for whom 

– besides the 1-ms scanning rate – primarily the 

value added thanks to the many multifunctional 

digital and analog inputs and outputs was crucial. 

A high bandwidth was needed here for a variety 

of electric connection techniques. 

The Challenge: to reduce rejects 

In order to guarantee optimal results rejects in 

the process must be reduced. For this purpose control 

of the riveting process must be able to select 

freely in different operating modes, according to 

riveting position, time or force (kN). In this process 

compensation of component mating tolerances and 

fluctuating thicknesses is an essential element. 

Krayer offers integrated length and rivet-projection 

measurement for this purpose. “Exact measurement 

of the riveting force is a complex matter” 

Control riveting processes with Process Control proMY. 

Display controller DC1000 with digital/analog I/O extension cards 

Werner Krayer states, which is why the directacting 

force is measured via a high precision Piezo 

strain sensor. Analyses and reactions take place 

in realtime. For such challenges I/O extensions 

are required with which these requirements can 

be met as affordably and efficiently as possible. 

This means that performance can be extended in 

a variable, space and hardware saving manner 

and furthermore requires only minimal additional 

programming. The Berghof I/O extensions unite 

these characteristics in a compact form. The DC 

I/O extension card occupies only one slot in the 

housing. With Prime Interface up to three extension 

cards can be installed in the DC1000 series. 

Multi functional and compact 

Berghof DC-I/O extension cards are distinguished 

by the multi-functional digital and analog 

inputs / outputs and by the high measuring accuracy 

and 22-bit resolution. 

Simple programming via CoDeSys 

All extension cards are integrated in the control 

configuration of the CoDeSys development 

environment. Berghof supplies the I/O extensions 

already pre-assembled and function-tested. Communication 

takes place via an internal bus system. 



3

Process Engineering 

Integrated Seat Measurement 

SMM2 module for vehicle seats or 2 nd generation components for the interior 

The Berghof SeatMeasModule was developed 

in order to carry out the entire electrical testing of 

vehicle seats in the end-of-line tester for the sake 

of process reliability. 

The module assumes all requisite resistance measurements 

incl. protective circuits for measurements 

on airbags. All the consumers in the seat continue 

to be supplied with voltage from the module and are 

switched on and off separately. Each of these supply 

channels for the seat is equipped with a fast ammeter 

channel in order to assess the correct functioning of 

the components in different operating states. Therefore, 

in principle this measuring module is suitable 

for testing a multitude of other components in the 

automotive interiors sector. 

At present the SMM2 module is in use in final 

testing lines for car seats (driver and front passenger) 

and lorry-driver seats. 

The complexity of the functions in a vehicle seat 

should on no account be underestimated. Besides the 

main well-known functions such as seat adjustment, 

seat heating and the airbag, many more functions 

can be installed in a vehicle seat. The following are 

examples of this: massage mats, lordosis support, 

Philipp Miska 

automatic child seat recognition 

(AKSE) in the front passenger seat, 

bladder mat (weight recognition of 

front passenger), SBR: seat belt 

reminder, AV fan (active ventilation), 

crash-active headrests, ambient 

lighting, foot room lighting 

and multi media screens in the 

headrests. This extremely wide 

variety of functions requires, for example, current 

measurements in a broad measurement range (e.g. 

seat adjustment with 6 seat axes and with currents 

up to 80 A and sensors in the mA range). The separate 

evaluation of current values and the analysis 

of current curves is feasible here. 

Internally the SMM2 comprises a high-performance 

power supply unit for currents up to 80 A, an 

integrated measuring board from our alliance partner, 

“National Instruments”, and a development of our 

own for resistance and output measurement which is 

connected directly to this measuring board. Contact 

with the vehicle seat is directly via a Harting plug-in 

connector installed at the rear. All the components 

are installed in a 19” housing which is supplied with 

230 V operating voltage. 

The SMM2 is connected directly to the PC via 

the USB interface of the measuring board. Software 

developed by Berghof can be used to enable all the 

measuring functions of the SMM2 and calibrate the 

measuring channels. 

In the final testing lines already implemented in 

the production of vehicle seats the SMM2 is often 

used together with CAN or LIN interfaces for commu- 

Successful diploma thesis 

Mr. Philipp Miska did his industrial internship at 

the Mühlhausen location. Thereafter he was offered 

the opportunity to also write his diploma thesis 

at Berghof. The subject of his diploma thesis is 

“Implementation of an automation system 

for regular charging of micro processorcontrolled 

high voltage memories in the 

hybrid vehicle sector“. 

In October 2011 Mr. Miska began to implement 

the task in the context of a project for BMW, the 

car manufacturing company. He was successful 

in developing a concept for the cyclical charging 

of high-volt accumulator batteries (NiMH accumulators) 

from the automotive sector. A special 

challenge was vehicle simulation of the internal 

accumulator controller without which the charging 

process is impossible. 

nicating with the control devices in the vehicle seat. 

Furthermore, additional leak-testing devices are used 

to test the pneumatic components in a vehicle seat. 

Peter Deckelmann 

prozesstechnik@berghof.com 

For automated charging of the approx. 800 highvolt 

accumulators it was necessary to connect them 

to the conveyance system controls. He developed a 

communication and routing module for this purpose 

in order to convey the accumulators out of a high 

rack to the individual charging points. Both modules 

were integrated successfully into the LabView project 

and put into operation. The system has meanwhile 

carried out over 2,000 charging cycles. 

On 27.04.2012 Mr Miska was awarded the top 

mark of 1.0 for his diploma thesis and is now working 

as a project engineer at Berghof in Mühlhausen. At 

present he is developing a driver to connect endof-line 

testers for the BMW project. 

Jürgen Schütze 

prozesstechnik@berghof.com 


Inauguration celebration in 

Mühlhausen: Berghof presents 

the District Administrator 

with a donation 

On 15.06.2012 at the celebration to inaugurate 

the new Berghof company building in Mühlhausen, 

Thuringia, branch manager Dietmar Sieland surprised 

District Administrator Harald Zanker with a special 

kind of gesture. He handed over a cheque for 500,- 

euros to the District Administrator for the “Childfriendly 

County” project. Now the money is put to 

expedient use in the county schools, for example, 

specifically to procure model construction kits. The 

District Administrator expressed his appreciation and 

thanked Dietmar Sieland and the Berghof Group on 

behalf of the county. 

Analytics 

Berghof Analytics 

undergoes reaccreditation 

in compliance with 

DIN EN ISO 17025 

Berghof Analytics will be reaccredited in the 

autumn this year. This extensive DakkS procedure 

(National German accreditation body) must 

take place every 5 years. It entails examining the 

conformity of the entire management system, the 

relevant specialist departments and competence 

of the personnel involved. 

These assessments ensure that the audited 

processes, services or systems are reliable with 

regard to their quality and safety, that they correspond 

to a minimum technical level and comply 

with the specifications of the relevant standards, 

directives and laws. This examination according 

to objective criteria is also known as a conformity 

assessment. 

Quality assurance and control with the painstaking 

documentation that goes with them are a very 

time-consuming and increasingly central issue in 

daily routine. In order to meet this high demand it 

is imperative to have constant monitoring, updates 

and adaptations to the state-of-the-art at Berghof 

Analytics. We are required to examine the quality 

of our work and products on an on-going basis 

and to stay in line with the specified directives. 

In order to be able to assess Berghof Analytics 

exactly the DakkS auditors receive access to all 

areas of the company. This starts with sampling, 

includes the various analytical processes and the 

evaluation of the results through to passing these 

on to our customers. 

The application, assessment and receipt of the 

confirming accreditation certificate is a long, cost- 


From left to right: District Administrator 

Harald Zanker, Nikolaus Rombach 

intensive process and can take up to three-quarters 

of a year. The external costs alone come to around 

25,000 euros. All the colleagues are working on 

it for the sake of continued first-class results and 

to obtain excellent reaccreditation, as the DAkkS 

auditors repeatedly confirm to us. 

Kerstin Reik 

analytik@berghof.com 

Successful GMP audit at 

Berghof Analytics 

The regular Berghof Analytics GMP audit was 

carried out on 01.02.212 by the regional authority 

in Tübingen, Central Office for Pharmacovigilence. 

The areas: quality management, personnel, 

rooms, furnishings and equipment as well as 

documentation and quality control (laboratory 

organisation, equipment, qualifications, test 

methods and validation) were all inspected. All 

areas were inspected and rated by way of random 

samples in the course of the day. The personnel 

sector is taken as an example here: The present 

organisational chart, qualifications of the employees, 

the distribution of responsibilities at the 

management level and the deputisation list were 

all checked. The structure of the training system 

was examined; and the process for determining 

the general need for training, the training schedule 

and the in-house and external trainings was 

reviewed. Familiarisation plans for new employees 

were checked and scrutinised. 

The conclusion for all areas was once again 

good results without any critical or serious faults 

and deficits. Only a few miscellaneous faults and 

deficits were found which are now being processed 

and eliminated within the framework of a corrective 

and preventive action plan (CAPA). It goes without 

saying that the up-to-date certificate is available 

on our homepage under Contact and Information. 

Reinforcement at the 

Chemnitz location 

Bernd Kapp 


Since Dr. Jacobi went into his highly deserved 

retirement at the end of 2011, per 01.04.2012 Ms. 

Simone Hinke entered employment in the field of 

laboratory management and sales to support the 

location manager, Mr. Thielemann. 

Thanks to her qualification as a chemistry graduate 

and many years’ practical experience in the 

field of analytical chemistry and her specialisation 

in spectroscopy, Ms. Hinke is able to provide both 

sales-oriented customer care and the requisite interface 

work between laboratory management and 

laboratory personnel. 

With her help we are in a position to offer a very 

broad product range with the appropriate contacts. 

Customer care is faster and more direct, a circumstance 

which gives us an advantage and reinforces 

our market position on the highly competitive market 

for analytical services. 

Mario Thielemann 

analytik.chemnitz@berghof.com 

New Service: 

Local sample collection 

Simone Hinke 

As of late Berghof Analytics provides a nationwide 

logistics solution for collecting and transporting 

samples which complements the analytical services. 

With GLS as our logistics partner we offer our 

customers an inexpensive nationwide parcel service 

for collecting samples. By prior telephone or written 

5

agreement the logistics service provider GLS picks 

up the samples on a workday as stipulated by the 

customer. As a rule the samples are delivered to the 

Berghof Laboratory the day after they are collected. 

On request the customer also receives sampling 

vessels, dispatch boxes and labels for marking 

the samples. The system is uncomplicated and is 

processed with a minimum amount of bureaucracy 

for the customer. 

You will find more information on our homepage 

at www.berghof.com > Analytics > sampling and 

training. 

Manuela Saller 


Environmental Engineering 

Analytical Quality Assurance 

in Baden-Württemberg 

(AQS) 

By tradition the training course for samplers 

takes place at the beginning of March every year 

at Stuttgart University. In course units I to V the 

sampling techniques in different compartments 

was explained and demonstrated in practice. 

Sampler training course III occupies itself with 

taking samples of groundwater in polluted areas 

and where there are harmful changes to the soil. 

For many years Mr. Haaff from Berghof Analytics 

+ Environmental Engineering has been a 

mainstay of the teaching course in his capacity 

as a teacher. His practical examples illustrate 

the problems of sampling ground water on areas 

suspected of being polluted and with the imponderability 

of harmful substances which may 

be present in phase and in the different ways of 

conserving samples of the individual hazardous 

substances etc. For generating “correct” analysis 

values sampling is an essential prerequisite. 

Faults during sampling are many times greater 

than the analytical measured-value fluctuations 

in the laboratory. 

Another instructor in this year’s samplers’ 

training course III stressed that the university 

is glad to take recourse to the experience of 

Berghof in knowledge transfer. Mr. Söhlmann from 

Berghof Analytics + Environmental Engineering 

was invited to hold the introductory lecture on“. 

The importance of groundwater investigations in 

processing historical burdens”. Besides the general 

legal conditions, the systematic processing 

of historical burdens in Baden-Württemberg and 

the differences between sampling the groundwater 

network and historical burdens. 

If they succeed in the examination the participants 

receive a certificate. 

Reiner Söhlmann 

umweltengineering@berghof.com 

Reiner Söhlmann is an 

acknowledged expert in 

Baden Württemberg in 

compliance with § 18 German 

Soil Protection Act. 

Since Baden-Württemberg has meanwhile 

also implemented the approval of experts in the 

ordinance dated April 2011, based on his many 

years working in the field of soil protection and 

historical burdens, Mr. Reiner Söhlmann from 

the Environmental Engineering business unit 

decided to go through the accreditation proceedings. 

Besides the formal application, appropriate 

qualified expert reports must also be submitted 

to the admissions office. If the expert reports are 

acknowledged by the board of examiners, an oral 

examination will take place. 

Mr. Söhlmann sat this examination on 

16.02.2012. He was given a warm welcome by 

the Chairman, Prof. Jörg Menzel, as he was the 

first candidate for the exam in Baden-Württemberg 

at the State Institute for the Environment, Measurements 

and Nature Conservation (LUBW). The 


board of examiners orally tests and assesses the 

specialist knowledge an expert must have. After 

the oral exam Mr. Söhlmann was congratulated on 

passing and it was confirmed that the specifications 

for an expert according to §18 had been met. 

Written confirmation of his accreditation was 

issued on 20.03.2012. 

Mr. Söhlmann is now an expert in compliance 

with §18 Federal German Soil Protection Act 

(BBodSchG,) subject matter 2.2 “Hazard assessment 

for the exposure pathway of soil-waters”. 

Accreditation is limited to 5 years and can be 

extended by providing evidence of attendance at 

advance training sessions on the subject matter, 

and by submitting experts’ reports. Publication 

in the interstate research system for measuring 

stations and experts (ReSyMeSa) took place on 

20.03.2012. 

. 




NICOLE Technology Award 

2012 for the Thermal Flowmeter 

For the development of the thermal flow meter 

Berghof Engineering in Tübingen and Stuttgart 

University (VEGAS) received second prize in the 

NICOLE Technology Award 2012. NICOLE, the Network 

for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe, 

is coordinated by industrial stakeholders and 

represents a platform for exchanging experiences 

at the scientific and technical level in connection 

with all aspects of contaminated industrial sites. 

The project was launched in February 1996 for 

a period of three years as part of the Environmental 

and Climate Program of the European Union. It has 

been financed out of contributions by the participants 

since 1999. Participants in NICOLE come from 

industrial and research and development sectors 

from 15 EU and eastern European countries. 

The objectives of NICOLE are: 

• The exchange of ideas in connection with 

subterranean and soil contamination caused 

by industrial and commercial activities. 

• Determination of the need for research and 

the fostering of cooperation. Representatives 

of industries are to obtain support in order 

to be able to define and assess contaminated 

locations and to then manage them 

efficiently. 

• The skills and information of relevant planners 

in the EU or the member countries are 

to be passed on via publicly-funded research 

projects; future research needs and priorities 

are also to be established. 

Since the year 2010 a prize is awarded for innovative 

technologies for the risk management of 

contaminated areas. In 2012 the prizes were awarded 

for work in the field of „Innovative solutions for soil 

monitoring on contaminated properties“. 

The prize, which is worth 750 euros and includes 

three years’ free membership in NICOLE and 

vouchers for the network meetings for the next three 

years, was awarded to Messrs N. Klaas from Stuttgart 

University, R. Söhlmann and P. Halla from Berghof 

Engineering during the Conference Dinner on June 

14th at this year’s NICOLE Network meeting which 

was held from 13th to 15th June in Baden-Baden. 

Link to http://www.nicole.org/news/Display- 

NewsItem.asp?NewsID=815 




From left to right: Paul van Riet, Peter Halla, Norbert Klaas, Reiner Söhlmann 

The thermal flow meter in use at a measuring point in Reutlingen 

7

Membrane Technology 

A BioFlow MBR system successfully commissioned at Vanitec Ltd India 

From left to right: Mr. Balaji, engineer, Mr. Abdur Rahman, Managing Director of Vanitec Ltd., India 

Vanitec Ltd India is responsible for treating the 

tannery wastewater of a total of 133 tanneries in 

Vaniyambadi, India. Tannery wastewater is distinguished 

by very high freights of organic and inorganic 

substances and is therefore very difficult to treat. In 

all 4,000 m³ of wastewater is processed per day by 

means of MBR and reverse osmosis to be used again 

as process water. 

Owing to an existing MBR membrane system of a 

competitor, Vanitec Ltd, which functioned only inadequately, 

was extremely wary regarding the membrane 

technology. “Based on the many years‘ experience 

Laboratory Technology 

Retrospective view of the 2012 Analytica 

and Workshops in Eningen 

Two novelties were presented at the 2012 

Analytica in Munich between 17.04 and 20.04.212 

in the form of the easyH2O water detection device 

and the HotBlock systems from Environmental Express 

(USA). Both met with a positive response 

and Berghof Laboratory Technology had 20% more 

contacts than in 2010 - a big rise in the number of 

visitors. At over 30,000 visitors the Analytica is the 

leading international fair for laboratory technology, 

analytics and biotechnology. We wish to thank all 

visitors for their interest in our laboratory apparatus. 

in the treatment of complex wastewater we asked 

Berghof to support us in solving the problem” Mr. 

Rahman, Managing Director of Venitec Ltd, remarks. 

“The performance profile of the PVDF membranes 

from Berghof really is superior to the competition“. 

Furthermore, the further development of the module 

size to a 10” diameter and a 4-m length was decisive 

in making the volume of the investment interesting. 

We were therefore able to process the entire volume 

of generated wastewater in just 4 UF loops. 

Due to the complexity of the wastewater this was 

preceded by an extensive test phase by means of 

The easyH2O water-detection device with its 

hygroscopic P2O5 sensor facilitates selective detection 

of water entirely without additional chemicals. 

The user profits from an environmentally-friendly 

process which delivers fast and inexpensive results 

in the different phases of the process. Hence the 

easyH2O offers a very good, innovative method 

regarding “Karl-Fischer”. 

Since the beginning of the year the open HotBlock 

digestion systems from Environmental Express are 

being sold by Berghof Laboratory Technology in 

Hyperflux modules 

a Berghof BioFlow pilot system. The results of the 

experiment were the basis for reliable and safe dimensioning. 

The external MBR UF system has been 

running for half a year. Mr. Rahman says that the 

results are extremely satisfactory. The average flow 

rate of the plant is 110 – 120 L/m²h and is thus above 

the designed flow rate of 80 L/m²h. 

“The Berghof Team supported us optimally throughout 

the entire project phase” Mr. Rahman declares. 

“We are looking forward to continued long-term 

cooperation.” 

The Berghof BioPulse process, an energy-optimised 

process with backwashing PVDF LE membranes, 

has proved its worth for similar wastewater 

compositions. Experience has shown that energy 

savings of over 30% can be achieved without any 

problems at flow rates of 65 L/m²h. The decision 

as to which processing concept should be chosen 

depends on the composition of the waste water, the 

processing method and the way in which the bioreactor 

is operated. 

Eric Wildeboer 

membranetechnology@berghof.com 

Germany. The disposable principle is particularly apt 

for acid digestion of easy-to-digest samples, e.g. in 

the environmental sector. All vessels are delivered 

with a hygiene certificate and they are also suitable 

for HotBlock systems from other manufacturers. 

Directly after the fair two workshops took place 

at Berghof in Eningen. 

On 08.05.2012 the focus was on the digestion 

technique by means of microwave and conventional 

pressure digestion. Apart from a theoretical 

introduction, there was an extensive practical part 



The Berghof team at the Analytica 2012 in Munich 

in which the samples the participants had brought 

with them were digested. 

This was followed by a 2nd workshop on the subject 

of water detection with easyH2O on 10.05.2012. 

Here, too, the efficiency and simplicity of the system 

was demonstrated using the samples brought by 

the participants. 

These workshops have become a fixed institution 

and they take place in the spring and autumn. Alternatively, 

we are naturally also delighted to come to 

you to present the apparatus “live”. Further dates and 

exhibitions which Berghof Products + Instruments 

will be attending are to be found on our homepage. 

We will certainly also be in your vicinity. 

Dr. Dreblow and Mr. Severin are at your service 

for more extensive questions in the applicative sector 

and for the presentation of products. 

Andreas Severin 

Dr. Kerstin Dreblow 

laboratorytechnology@berghof.com 

highpreactor – Working 

with Berghof high-pressure 

reactors becomes easier 

The high-pressure reactors of the Berghof 

highpreactor series are impressive especially 

because of two features. Firstly due to the thick- 

walled PTFE inserts and PTFE 

linings which represent an affordable 

alternative to special alloys 

for use with corrosive media. And 

secondly the quick-release fastening 

systems make them easier 

to handle. For example, the user 

can easily remove all the fixtures 

for cleaning and remount them 

securely thereafter. 

From now on lifting systems 

are available to simplify handling 

the heavy, large-volume reactors. 

The lid is mounted firmly on a 

tripod and the vessel is automatically 

lowered and swivelled sideways. 

This gives easy access to 

all of the parts in the reactor and 

work which has to be carried out 

on it can be done conveniently. 

Berghof high-pressure reactors 

can be used anywhere where 

chemical reactions take place at a 

high temperature and pressure up 

to 300°C / 200 bars. They cover a 

broad range of volumes between 

25 ml and 5 lites in modular form 

and serve for developing the basic 

principles and optimising processes 

in laboratory and pilot-plant standards. 

Alberto Iglesias-Vila 


AEO Certificate for the 

Eningen location 

In compliance with the (EC) Directive 648 / 2005, 

as Authorised Economic Operators, AEO, companies 

domiciled in the European Community can enjoy 

great simplification and acceleration of customs 

clearance. 

AEOs are also recognised in the USA and are therefore 

of crucial importance for export-oriented companies. 

AEO can be achieved on three levels: 

• As AEO-C (customs), enables simplified 

customs clearance. 

• As AEO-S (safety) safeguards the 

supply chain. 

• As AEO-F (full) encompasses both 

modules mentioned above. 

The companies of the Berghof Group domiciled 

at the Eningen location: Berghof Membrane Technology 

GmbH & Co. KG, Berghof Automationstechnik 

GmbH and Berghof Products + Instruments GmbH 

have now received the AEO-C certificate from Customs. 

The aforementioned firms have appointed Ms. 

Elisabeth Haible as their Central Customs Officer. 

Elisabeth Haible 

Building measures at the Eningen location must 

be carried out before the AEO S certificate can be 

applied for. Therefore, approval as an AEO has 

been divided into two stages with the declared 

objective of meeting the specifications for AEO-F 

by the end of 2012. 

Nikolaus Rombach 


9

Fluoroplastic Technology 

permeaflon ® – Oleophobic 

pressure-compensation membranes 

Berghof pressure-compensation membranes 

made from permeaflon ® are capable of protecting 

electrical and electronic devices from undesired 

pressure fluctuations caused by temperature or altitude 

and against penetration by water, dust and dirt. 

Especially as functioning parts in an automotive 

environment they are exposed to extreme strain but 

must always function reliably and continuously. 

In terms of its original characteristics the porous 

PTFE used in the permeaflon ® membranes – although 

it is extremely hydrophobic (water repellent) 

owing to its low surface energy – is only slightly 

oleophobic (oil repellent). If the customer requests 

it especially, it is possible to increase the oleophobic 

character of the porous PTFE a great deal by 

means of a special treatment, without diminishing 

the hydrophobia. We thus create a membrane 

which makes both water and oil and other typical 

automotive fluids drip off, hence providing perfect 

protection for sensitive electronics. 

In this way it is possible to meet the requirements 

specified by the automotive industry. 

According to them over- or underpressure which 

builds up in a housing must be compensated 

Rear test strips: untreated permeaflon ® membrane wet with oil; 

at the front a treated strip of membrane with drops dripping off. 

within a specified time. The value usually demanded 

for the air flow rate through the membrane is 

>15 Nl/h*cm². At the same time, the pressure at 

which the water enters via the membrane must be 

>0.6 bars (corresponds to a 6 m water column). 

In order to guarantee these values in the long 

term the membrane must not be wetted by oil and 

other typical automotive fluids because then the 

ventilation capacity would be reduced. 

The oleophobia of our permeaflon® membranes 

was tested and confirmed by Hohenstein 

Laboratories GmbH & Co. KG (oil repulsion test 

in compliance with AATCC 118). 

The test fluids used are aliphatic compounds 

with different chain lengths and therefore different 

surface energies which are dripped onto the material 

to be tested. After 30 seconds a test is performed 

to establish if the sample was wetted. The thinner 

the test fluid, or the lower the energy of the test 

fluid which has not yet wet the sample, the higher 

the oleophobia rating will be. 

. 

Dr. Michael Henes 

ptfe@berghof.com 

The Berghof Group of Companies 

Innovation needs space: Berghof Automation Engineering in 

Mühlhausen: The inauguration of the new company building 

It has taken a year to build: the Berghof Mühlhausen 

employees were able to move into the 

new building on Langensalzaer Landstraße 23 in 

mid-May. The colleagues celebrated the official 

inauguration on June 15th 2012 with bidden guests 

and friends of the company. 

With his architectural approach the architect, 

Bamberg from Pfullingen, succeeded in implementing 

the new Berghof Group corporate struc- 

ture which has been developed in recent years, 

by means of a „consistent, innovative“ building 

design. For example, the two-storey building 

opens up generously towards the outside thanks 

to its glass façade, promising transparency and 

openness – values which are firmly engrained in 

the Berghof Group of companies. The architecture 

of the building, the design of the interior areas 

and the office furnishings are regarded as a pilot 

project for the future design of buildings belonging 

to the Berghof Group. 

By investing in it the shareholders have honoured 

their trust in the many years of excellent 

work by the Process Engineering business unit in 

Mühlhausen and have given a clear, future-oriented 

signal. The new building, and the grounds that 

belong to it, create perspectives for further growth 

and they amount to a sustainable commitment to 

the region and its people. 

Berghof Holding 

info@berghof.com 


Controls 

Control technology system solutions from Berghof 

save time and cut costs. The solutions comprise 

our own hardware and software components supplemented 

by customer-specific developments and 

services. This is the way we prove our competence 

and win our customers‘ trust. Our system solutions 

are the basis for our growth. 

Eningen 

Holger Liedermann 

Tel.: +49 7121 894-137 

holger.liedermann@berghof.com 

Prozess engineering 

Berghof supplies innovative test technology to 

guarantee that growing quality demands and increasingly 

sophisticated product innovations in 

production and development are met. We support 

our customers in fulfilling their ever more complex 

assignments. We constantly face these challenges, 

improving ourselves and our skills, while retaining 

the self-responsibility of each employee. 

Eningen 

Thomas Müller 

Tel.: +49 7121 894-293 

thomas.mueller@berghof.com 

Mühlhausen 

Dietmar Sieland 

Tel.: +49 3601 4777-20 

dietmar.sieland@berghof.com 

Analytics 

Berghof performs chemical and physico-chemical 

analyses for companies in the pharmaceuticals 

and food industries as well as for environmental 

engineering and the waste management industry. 

We support our customers with the planning and 

interpretation. Beyond analytics and sampling, our 

objective is to identify customers‘ needs, be accessible 

for customers and implement optimal solutions 


in cooperation with them. The key to it is that we 

act as partners providing consultancy in matters 

concerning analytics and the relevant regulations. 

Tübingen 

Wolfgang Steinbrecher 

Tel.: +49 7071 9878-30 

wolfgang.steinbrecher@berghof.com 

Chemnitz 

Mario Thielemann 

Tel.: +49 371 334356-14 

mario.thielemann@berghof.com 

Environmental engineering 

As independent experts Berghof is responsible 

for expertises and consultancy. We are your partner 

for engineering services in the environmental 

sector. We take responsibility for the entire project 

control, starting with the planning, obtaining the 

necessary permits and through to documentation, 

support and supervision of the measures taken. The 

interdisciplinary employee structure enables us to 

find professional solutions even for very complex 

assignments. 

State-of-the-art database-related evaluation 

systems and innovative measuring systems help 

to save time and cut costs. Our customers benefit 

from our decades of experience. 

Tübingen 


Tel.: +49 7071 9328-12 

reiner.soehlmann@berghof.com 

Ravensburg 

Andreas Sonntag 

Tel.: +49 751 50921-62 

andreas.sonntag@berghof.com 

Membrane technology 

Berghof is a competent partner for membrane 

filtration. Our high quality organic tubular membranes 

and modules are used successfully in many 

interesting markets, such as external MBR tech- 

nology. We supply our OEM partners with a broad 

range of products including engineering, service 

and innovative process concepts to enable them 

to act with even greater economic efficiency and 

success in the market. 

Leeuwarden, Niederlande 

Eric Wildeboer 

Tel.: +31 58 2100912 

eric.wildeboer@berghof.com 

Laboratory technology 

The Berghof laboratory apparatus are based 

on high quality fluoropolymers. Pressure vessels 

produced from this are used worldwide in chemical 

laboratories in industry and research. We develop 

and market innovative concepts for apparatus for 

heating and reaction control for preparing samples 

and in trace analytics, as well as for syntheses under 

high pressure. 

Eningen 

Andreas Severin 

Tel.: +49 7121 894-108 

andreas.severin@berghof.com 

Fluoroplastic Technology 

Berghof develops new applications based on 

the most modern fluoropolymers and their special 

material properties. These include, for example, 

customer-specific pressure equalisation elements 

or optical reflectors made from porous PTFE. The 

processing technique we use is the isostatic compression-moulding 

method, which we continued to 

develop and have perfected. 

Over 40 years‘ experience is the guarantee for 

unsurpassed quality and competent consultancy. 

Eningen 

Oliver Walter 

Tel.: +49 7121 894-164 

oliver.walter@berghof.com 

11

Berghof customer satisfaction in 2012 

Customer orientation, customer satisfaction, 

quality assurance. These are no empty slogans 

at the Berghof Group of companies. 

Berghof is a company which has always focused 

on close collaboration with its business 

partners, ever since it was founded in 1966. For 

Berghof it is extremely important to know and 

understand its customers’ wishes in order to be 

able to implement them in customised solutions. 

However, we do not restrict customer orientation 

to aligning our products and services to a large 

degree with the requirements of our customers. 

Rather, we see it as a holistic process ranging 

from the first contact with a potential customer 

through to after-sales support for the customer, 

thus determining every single part of our performance 

and services. 

“To be credible one must constantly seek 

dialogue” (Heinz Goldmann *1920). 

Especially in the business sectors in which 

our firms operate, trusting, lasting and successful 

cooperation is based on good interpersonal relations. 

Our most important means for achieving this 

is dialogue. We therefore want to take absolutely 

every opportunity that arises to start the dialogue 

with our customers and to continue it constantly 

thereafter. Our customer-satisfaction survey which 

we carried out this year again provided a platform 

for our customers to express their experience 

and opinions as regards the cooperation with 

the Berghof Group of companies. Our customers 

thus had the opportunity to assess their overall 

satisfaction with Berghof and with individual elements 

of our performance and services, such as 

product quality, order processing or after-sales 

management. 

In order to reduce the time and effort required 

of our customers for the survey, this year we have 

chosen a web-based survey for the first time. 

With the aid of the reputable survey software, EFS 

Survey, we were able to make an online questionnaire 

available to the customers. It improved 

its availability to our customers, especially the 

international ones, and thus achieved a recourse 

of 39.35 % and a 25.10 % completion rate, which 

was equivalent to an 8 % increase compared to 

last year. This high participation rate is ultimately 

attributable to the reduced amount of effort for 

our customers thanks to the web-based survey. 

Furthermore, the average time for processing the 

questionnaire was only 6 minutes, and there was 

no need for the inconvenient task of returning it 

by post or e-mail. 

The next step is to aggregate the assessments 

of our customers and to evaluate the results of 

the survey, analyse the potential improvements 

and infer conceivable measures for improving 

our performance and the cooperation with our 

customers. 

However, first of all we wish to thank all of 

the customers who participated in our customersatisfaction 

survey sincerely for supporting us in 

making our performance and services even more 

customer-oriented in the future. 

Jonas Nicoll 

Marketing and Sales 

info@berghof.com 

Participation statistics for 

the 2012 Berghof customersatisfaction 

survey 

Jubilees in 2012 

We thank all those who are celebrating jubilees for all 

the work they have done and for their loyalty to Berghof: 

For 25 years 

• Steffen Bertsch 

• Rudi Link 

Steffen Bertsch, Nikolaus Rombach 

Franz Ott, Rudi Link 

Armin Huber, Franz Ott, Peter Reeth 

Imprint 

For 10 years 

• Armin Huber 

• Gerald Klein 

• Katrin Schwarzkopf 

• Peter Reeth 

Gerald Klein, Katrin Schwarzkopf, Dietmar Sieland 

Editor: 

Berghof Holding GmbH & Co. KG 

Harretstraße 1 | 72800 Eningen 

Germany- 

Tel.:+49 7121 894-0 | Fax: +49 7121 894-100 

info@berghof.com | www.berghof.com 

Contact: 

Bernd Kapp | Tel.: +49 7071 9878-20 

bernd.kapp@berghof.com

Controls - Berghof

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?