Modern production at HORA: optimized processes through cell ...

horapower 2nd Edition | August 2011
Your Power Technology Update
A Fresh Look
A new logo and a completely
revamped website
Page 9 – New Corporate Design
Clearly structured production hall: A light, well-arranged work station is a definite asset. HORA employees enjoy a comfortable work area.
Modern production at HORA:
optimized processes through
cell manufacturing
Order management center and new factory layout create
the perfect framework
Recap
Looking back to the Sales
Meeting in November 2010
Page 11 – Coming Together
HORA had already been manufacturing valves for 40 years
when, in 2007, the implementation of a new production
system was considered in the Power Technology business
unit. Up to that point, valves had been produced using a
workshop orientation, which involves classifying production
steps according to the manufacturing technology: bo-
Award
TOP Innovation Prize
goes to HORA
Page 11 – Outstanding Processes
ring, milling or lathing. However, internal studies revealed
that production in line with component segmentation,
also known as cell manufacturing, would offer HORA a
number of advantages. Its efficiency, punctuality, and costeffectiveness
would all mean greater reliability in the interests
of customer satisfaction. Yet the greatest value of
cell manufacturing lies in the specialization of employees
in one particular component group, resulting in enormous
improvements to product quality. Cell manufacturing also
results in greater personal initiative and responsibility in
employees’ daily work, because the basic idea of the cell
concept is very simple: what used to be controlled centrally
is now shifted to the cells and managed decentrally.

COvER STORY PROGRESS
Organizational Structure
“Group work“ is the official terminology for cell manufacturing
in a work organization. Within a defined task area,
a group of employees independently manages the division
of tasks in a particular production process. After all, employees
directly involved in production are in a better position
to evaluate and carry out work steps in their own cells. An
autonomous manufacturing cell can manage itself. And it
functions on the basis of a customer-supplier relationship:
every cell has the status of a supplier that delivers parts to
an internal customer – for example, the cell that carries out
the next step in production. On-time delivery plays an important
role here, too, because at the end of the process,
power plant customers expect the products they ordered
to be shipped on time.
Roland Liedtke joined HORA in 2009 as Director of Manufacturing
right in the middle of the ‘hot phase’ of this
transformation, and the cell concept was implemented
under his leadership. “At the beginning, some of the employees
were naturally resistant to the new approach and
uncertain about it,” says Liedtke. “But we were convinced
that a more structured work method would optimize our
production processes. We actively involved the employees
in the project phases, because their experiences were extremely
important for layout planning and the design of
the work stations.“
PT’s new approach to production also led to a new factory
layout and the HORA order management center, so that
the project would have a framework that enables its success.
The order management center synthesizes the organizational
output of all HORA‘s departments as efficiently as
possible, and controls order planning with view to quality,
cost and time. A daily cross-departmental order management
meeting at 1:00 p.m. makes sure that all the necessary
decisions can be made together on the spot.
The assembly and pressure testing cells have moved to a
new location. “The new hall has a much higher ceiling,“
says Reinhard Kruse who operates the pressure test facility.
“It’s much easier to use the crane to mount large valve
bodies in the test bay.” Moreover, the four test stations
allow tasks to be divided up much more sensibly. The result:
“Pressure testing is now simpler, faster, and physically
less demanding,“ explains Kruse, “and that means we can
generate higher unit numbers.“
In spite of an investment of approximately three million
Euros, Director of Manufacturing Roland Liedtke still isn‘t
quite satisfied; instead, he’s committed himself to ongoing
further developments and improvements with the goal
of increasing productivity. Internal workshops are taking
place in 2011 in order to identify and maximize potential in
the cells. We plan to order submerged arc welding equipment,
for example. With its expertly trained employees,
modern equipment and professional methods, HORA is
able to master the complexities of high-end valve production
and ensure the cost-effective, lean execution of even
the largest projects.
The introduction of the 5S method was an important element in restructuring
production. The principle “order and cleanliness” is based on the Japanese
production philosophy: seiri (sort), seiton (place in an orderly fashion),
seiso (clean), seiketsu (standardize) and shitsuke (practice self-discipline).
The result is visible everywhere in the production areas. Manfred Krypczyk
opens a drawer at his work station. The blue background space indicates
that a tool is not at its place.
Upcoming projects revolve around efficiency
Efficiency is a major topic for the production
team at HORA. Harald Wick,
Director Operations, explains: “Efficiency
is all about doing things right.
We are always looking for ways to
optimize time and efforts used for the
intended task or purpose.“ The production
team is currently working on
a few projects to improve efficiency:
1. Advance actuator assembly to save
time
2. Design for optimized production to
lower manufacturing costs
3. “Cell-hopping“: better allocation
of the components to the cells
4. Work queue per cell: hedging the
3-day horizon
During the first quarter of 2011, students
from a local college in Bielefeld
spent eight weeks at HORA working
on their technical theses. They improved
the planning and control of the
annealing process after welding in
order to achieve greater process efficiency.
Harald Wick looks into ways
to continue this transfer process with
universities over the course of the
year. An additional project is to increase
the machine availability. Total
productive maintenance (TPM) is a standardized method
to increase machine availability and to reduce unplanned
idleness during production processes to a minimum.
A new device called “EnergySave” now shifts four Gildemeister
lathes automatically into power-saving mode during
unproductive hours. The yearly energy savings from
EDITORIAL
Matthias Dirbach and Harald Wick
Dear Partners and Customers,
Last November we met with many
of you at the HORA Sales Meeting in
Schloss Holte. Your feedback was very
positive. We were impressed by the
in-depth technical conversations and
The portable 3D measuring arm is an example for investments in greater reliability enabling great
measuring accuracy and improved quality. Tobias Ottensmeier, industrial engineer in PT Production,
with the new measuring machine, which has a range of 2.5 meters. The portable 3D measuring arm
enables a high degree of accuracy in the manufacturing process, even in spots that are difficult to
reach.
the ideas and experiences you shared.
It makes such a difference when we
“come together to grow together” –
that was our slogan for the event and
it proved to be true!
HORA Power Technology needs your
input to continue to develop reliable
and innovative high-end products.
Our goal is to improve our processes
to better serve your needs. Exciting
things happen at HORA: here you’ll
read more about our improved production,
our new logo and web site,
and new products.
We’ve had an exceptional year in
2010 and are going strong in 2011 as
this step amount to around 45,000 kWh. A new clamp used
with the EX-CELL-O machining centre helps reduce machining
costs for angle valve bodies by around 50%. “There
is a special aspect of this project,” stressed Wick. “Our
trainees from the engineering and manufacturing departments
were involved in its implementation. Improving efficiency
is a cross-departmental effort.”
well. We are proud to present to you
the second edition of our newsletter
HORApower. Don’t hesitate to contact
us with any feedback or questions
you may have! We look forward
to continue our partnership.
2 3
Best regards,
Matthias Dirbach
Director Sales
Power Technology
Harald Wick
Director Operations
Power Technology

PHOTO STORY
The route through the PT Production process
There’s no standard route through production for valves
from HORA’s PT business unit, since they’re made to order
for each project. Even so, at the component level there
are several stations within the production process that all
valves must pass.
1. Supply (incoming goods / raw material stock)
The photo shows outdoor bar material storage. An
intelligent and flexible disposition system controls all
supply processes.
3. Machining (lathing, boring, milling)
Component machining takes place in the production cells,
which are divided according to product groups and managed
independently. In the photo, you see a Gildemeister
Gamma 2000 turning-milling center at the bonnet cell.
2. Sawing
The employees at the logistics cell manage material
supply for the production cells. The photo shows one of
three band saws for bar material.
4. Welding technology (welding, heat treatment,
material inspection)
Welding technology, including heat treatment, is integrated
in the valve body cell in order to enable the complete
manufacture of complex valve bodies at one station. The
photo shows the welding process for a forged-steel body.
5. Commissioning
At HORA, commissioning is located at the logistics cell to
ensure material supply to the assembly cell. In the photo,
you can see the paternoster storage in the assembly hall.
7. Pressure testing
Following final assembly, pressure tightness testing of the
valves takes place in HORA‘s own testing department. The
maximum test pressure used is up to 280 bar when the
test medium is air, and 1600 bar with water. Here you see
a cast steel valve mounted in the test bay.
6. Final assembly
Final assembly of HORA valves takes place in close cooperation
with the quality assurance department. After the
individual components have been released, the valves are
assembled. The photo shows completely assembled valves
that are ready for pressure tightness testing.
8. After painting, valves are shipped.
After the valves have passed tightness testing and been
painted, they are packed for shipping and turned over to
the freight hauler. A large valve is being loaded.
4 5

PRODUCT INNOvATION
Fascination and challenge:
Newly developed PT products for emerging markets
Dierk Joachim of the Product Innovation team with three of more than 60 minimum flow valves that
wait in the PT Assembly to be delivered to India.
Power plants in India and China are designed differently
than comparable plants in Europe, and that’s why HORA
developed special valves for this market. The PT product
portfolio has been expanded to include two new products
– minimum flow control valves and low-pressure turbine
bypass valves – so that HORA could take on two orders
from India in 2010 that will be delivered this year. “These
projects have a volume of several million euros,“ says Matthias
Dirbach, Director Sales PT. “But since such project packages
can only be commissioned as a whole, we wouldn‘t
have received the order for our existing products without
our new ones.”
The new minimum flow control valves represent an extension
of PT’s product portfolio in the direction of cus-
Construction engineer Horst Seidlitz and welder Ulrich Mickan inspect the
progress of welding on the new low-pressure turbine bypass valve.
tomized high-end solutions: Chinese
and Indian power plants with unit
output in excess of 500 megawatts
increasingly plan a straight-through
installation of these globe valves.
With the new globe valve body, the
modular minimum flow control valve
series is complete, and HORA can now
offer its customers a large selection of
tailored combinations of valve body
designs and inner trims.
Currently, HORA is working on a new
series of low-pressure turbine bypass
valves (TBV) for steam temperatures
of over 600°C. These valves are destined
for power generation units with
outputs in excess of 600 megawatts –
a type of large power plant that will
be built especially in Asia in the coming years. And with the
order it received in April 2010 for two units each with two
high-pressure and two low-pressure turbine bypass valves,
HORA qualified as a supplier for one of the first supercritical
800 megawatt power plants in India. Because of the
high temperatures, the valve bodies will be manufactured
in forged steel instead of cast steel.
Through the further development of its injection nozzle,
HORA can now expand its market share in the low-pressure
turbine bypass valve segment. These new injection nozzles
deliver a significantly finer spray of water in the partialload
range and thus improve steam desuperheating. The
most important goal of this development was the optimization
of droplet size.
velocity dispersion in the new pressure-controlled injection nozzle.
PRODUCT DETAILS
Heavy Duty Control valves now available
The HORA Heavy Duty Control Valve is a versatile, modular
globe valve designed for severe duties. This type of valve
can be utilized to regulate and control the flow of gases,
steams or liquids in all industrial applications. “It is particularly
suitable for the water-steam cycle in high pressure/high
temperature power plant applications,” explains
Franz Hansknecht, Director Product Innovation PT. “Working
in close cooperation with end-user facility engineers
and technical staff, we identify common problems. Due to
our long-standing expertise in valve design we are able to
eliminate them.” The result is the HORA Heavy Duty Control
Valve, which incorporates a number of sophisticated
design improvements:
• For optimum flow, the internal geometry of the valve
body has been designed and validated using FEM and
CFD techniques.
• Operating and maintenance costs are minimized by the
use of quick-change trims and highly wear-resistant
materials.
• A modular design with an extensive array of standard
trims as well as tailor-made solutions provides optimum
performance in flow control.
• An exchange of trims is possible so the valve can be
adapted to meet revised process conditions, e.g. plant
upgrades.
• A wide range of actuators is available: manual, pneumatic,
electric and electro-hydraulic.
• HORA maintains a stock of valve bodies and modules,
so product lead times are short, which in turn makes
planning for maintenance and plant outages easier.
Careful material selection and proven design eliminate
common issues associated with control valves such as erosion,
corrosion, cavitation, vibration, noise and poor controllability.
By combination of optimized design and costefficiency,
the HORA Heavy Duty Control Valve is an ideal
choice for severe service operating conditions.
The HORA Heavy Duty Control Valves can be combined
with all types of actuators. Electric or pneumatic actuators
are used by default, however, other types are available on
request. For applications in pressure classes lower than PN
63 or Class 600, please refer to the HORA Standard Duty
Control Valves.
The interior geometry of the valve has purposely designed
large spaces to allow easy access with serviceability in
mind. The body can accommodate various trim designs and
exhibits high flow coefficients as well as low turbulence.
Depending on pressure class and valve size, end connections
are available as socket-weld, butt-weld or flanged.
For gas and steam applications involving high pressure
drops or high velocities, outlet extensions with integrated
perforated discs can be supplied.
“The temperature distribution of insulated valves is analyzed
by extensive CFD simulations,” says Franz Hansknecht.
“At temperatures above 400°C (752°F), an intermediate
yoke is utilized to protect the actuator and any optional
accessories from overheating and resulting damage.”
The Heavy Duty Control valve is
available now. Please contact
pt@hora.de for more information.
6 7

WORK PLAN
PT’s logistics hall is now more clearly structured
PT’s logistics hall contains the incoming goods, incoming
goods inspection and shipping departments. In recent
weeks, noticeable changes have been made: the arrangement
of these areas is now significantly clearer.
Stefan Fritze, project engineer in the Process Innovation
team, describes the project: “First, shelving was moved or
dismantled to create space precisely where it was needed.
We then moved the existing groups of tables, and we improved
the work systems so that we can do without some
of the workbenches in the future. Finally, we moved the incoming
goods, inspection and shipping departments. The
different areas are now separated and signed, floor spaces
INNOvATION PEOPLE
HORA now developed its own iPhone app called valveMate,
the ultimate tool for sizing control valves for water and
steam. Initiator Dr. Klaus Mehnert works in the PT Product
Innovation team: “For everyone interested in matters concerning
controls for water-steam-cycles, HORA now offers
an easy-to-use calculation tool. This application for modern
smart phones is basically a new version of the sliderule,
just with a lot more functionality.”
For one, the sales personnel, developers and engineers
at HORA can use the app, but on the other hand, HORA
also targets customers, resellers, engineers at power plants
along with students from relevant fields of studies with
this app available for download at www.hora.de/en.
The necessary thermodynamic properties of the fluid are
calculated using the formulations of the International Association
for the Properties of Water and Steam. Based
upon the input data, valveMate automatically detects the
aggregate state of the fluid and applies the respective formulae.
valveMate‘s intuitive user interface with the simple
input-output approach lets users get straight to the results.
All calculations are done in real-time, no extra calculation
button is needed.
are marked and we’ve created space for supply.”
The reorganization has shortened paths and reduced both
the work needed to find things and possible sources of error
– and all this makes the work process here more effective
as a whole.
The next step will be a detailed look at each department to
discover its individual optimization potential. At Ostwestfalen-Lippe’s
University of Applied Sciences in Lemgo, the
Ergonomics group in the Logistics department has scheduled
a project on the detailed examination of the workstations
in the PT logistics hall for later in this year.
MARKETING
A fresh look: New logo and a completely revamped
website for HORA
In the second quarter of 2011 HORA
introduced a new logo in a more intense
shade of blue and a new shape.
The new look is fresher and more
modern and signals a new chapter in
the company’s development: HORA
adapts its external presentation to reflect
its increased importance on the
market and its global orientation. As
part of the new corporate design, the
Power Technology business unit received
its own logo. The final touch will
continue to be the slogan “Excellence
is our standard” as an expression of
HORA’s general commitment to highest
quality and expertise.
As part of the new appearance, the
HORA website was completely revamped.
Enlightening pictures tell the
story of a successful family-owned
engineering business. We invite you
to take a closer look at the PT business
unit on the new website and discover
more about HORA’s service and
its products:
www.hora.de/en
Discover the new HORA iPhone App valveMate Dr. Dieter Dresselhaus
receives honorary professorship
iPhone App valveMate: Within the first
weeks of valveMate‘s publishing in the
Apple AppStore the app got downloaded
several hundred times, half of it
from outside Germany.
Engineer Dr. Klaus Mehnert’s primary
job is to develop the product configurator.
As a side product of his daily work,
he now came up with valveMate.
Processes in the logistics hall are now much
more effective: The clearer arrangement of
work areas means shorter paths.
Wareneingangsprüfung = Incoming goods
inspection
Wareneingang = Incoming goods
Warenausgang = Shipping
A journey into the history of our logo
A look at the predecessor version
of our logo is a journey into our
company’s past, which began in 1967,
when the first company logo was
created with the founding of Holter
Regelarmaturen GmbH & Co KG.
Since then, our logo has changed
along with the times: the 1967 logo
was replaced after just five years, and
since then we’ve updated it every ten
to fifteen years. The slogan “Excellence
is our standard” was added at
the end of the 1990s to represent the
start of a new phase in company development.
Prof. Dieter Dresselhaus and Prof. Wilfried Jungkind of the University of Applied Sciences have been
working on joint projects for more than ten years.
In October 2010, Dr. Dieter Dresselhaus
was named an honorary professor
of Ostwestfalen-Lippe’s University
of Applied Sciences. With this step,
the university expressed its appreciation
for Dresselhaus’ long years
of work as a lecturer: “Mr. Dresselhaus
understands how to win students‘
interest and enthusiasm even
for complex and demanding topics.“
Since last winter semester, he has
also taught courses on strategic management
for the Master of Business
Administration (MBA) program. Dieter
Dresselhaus notes: “This honor
recognizes a cooperation of more
than ten years between the university
and HORA, and it‘s one with great
benefits for HORA in particular. We
focus on method transfer through
the implementation of ideas from
Bachelor’s theses, and especially on
early contact to the university‘s graduates.
Students discover HORA very
early on, and that stimulates an exchange
of knowledge.” It’s a volunteer
commitment that pays off for
both sides!
8 9
1967
1972
During the 1980s
As of 1998
As of 2011

DEvELOPMENT
A special kind of employee qualification
The HORA participants in front of the Kraftwerksschule, which calls itself the “PowerTech Training Center”.
HORA offers 20 of its employees a tailor-made power plant
excellence study course at the renowned Kraftwerksschule
(Power Plant College) in Essen, the only company in this
sector to do so. HORA covers the entire costs. Furthermore,
two-thirds of the time invested by the participants is working
time. The lecture series started in mid-May and will
continue until September 2012. It teaches an interdisciplinary
understanding for fossil fuel-fired power plants. The
interdepartmental participants come from the areas of PT
Sales, Service, Design and Product Innovation. The group includes
more experienced colleagues in addition to younger
employees. Two participants even come from the Dutch PT
representative Advanced Valve Solutions (AVS). The goal is
to deepen the knowledge individually and across departments,
so that HORA experts develop even more marketoriented
products. The course incorporates the following
modules: Design and operation of power plants, power
plant instrumentation and control, steam generation with
fossil fuels as well as steam and gas turbines. It requires
three attendance weeks in Essen spread over 18 months as
well as 17 weekends at HORA.
We asked two participants why they are taking part in the
training, and what they expect.
Heike Böckhaus (44) is responsible for sales in Germany in
the Power Technology division. “My goal is to find optimized
solutions for our customers. It helps to understand
the overall situation and the demands placed on the individual
power plant components.”
Ulrich Brentrup (40) works as a supervisor in the forged
steel group. The focus of his work is in the strength calculation
of valves. “I would like to know what happens with
our valves; what are the effects of the start-ups, start-up
frequency as well as the other influences on the valves. The
knowledge is intended to help me when assessing problems
and to help my understanding of the causes of the
problem. I hope to gain an insight into the processes of the
entire power plant and particularly into the function of the
valves in the power plant. I hope to discover some additional
insights for optimizing our final control elements.”
The Kraftwerksschule Essen and the KWX
The Kraftwerksschule in Essen has being training operating
personnel for German power stations for more
than 50 years and has for a number of years offered a
university semester in power plant engineering in cooperation
with the University of Applied Sciences Aachen
(Fachhochschule Aachen). Employees at HORA
now have an exceptional opportunity to gain university
level power plant academic knowledge in the course of
an occupational qualification measure.
The lectures are generally held on Fridays and Saturdays.
The participants at several seminars in Essen are
offered laboratory experiments and training on modern
power plant simulators. It is the management‘s intention
to secure their long-term position in the sector by the
high-value qualification of the employees.
Kerstin Kofink
PowerTech Training Center Essen
HORA “students” have a control room for simulating a complete power
station all to themselves.
AWARD
TOP Innovation Prize 2010 goes to HORA
Best company in TOP Innovation Network
At the TOP Entrepreneurs’ Meeting in Berlin at the Federal
Ministry of Economics and Technology, State Secretary
Jochen Homann presented HORA with the TOP Innovation
Prize for 2010. More than 120 representatives of the
companies that host TOP, a technology-oriented visitation
and innovation program, took part in this event. The prize
has been awarded yearly since 1993 to the company within
TOP’s network of over 100 enterprises that best demonstrates
its innovative power.
HORA was honored for its continual efforts to translate
innovations into solutions. Both Product Innovation and
especially Process Innovation have contributed to the ongoing
success of the company. Prof. Dresselhaus commented:
“I see the TOP Innovation Prize as recognition of all of
HORA’s employees. It rewards the enthusiasm of our staff
and is a great incentive to us to continue on this path.”
“HORA has served the TOP program as a host since 2006.
When we hold meetings at HORA on the topic of implementing
the balanced scorecard or lean management in
made-to-order production, we always receive above-ave-
SALES MEETING
24 Sales Partners from Australia to Finland visit HORA
The second PT Sales Meeting in the
company’s history took place from
November 24 to 26, 2010 and was a
complete success. Two dozen sales
partners from Spain, Finland, Greece,
Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands,
Great Britain, Austria, Portugal, Russia,
Sweden, China, India, Australia,
the USA and Canada were our guests.
The slogan of the event, “Growing
together means getting together”,
was borne out by discussions on networking
the company’s worldwide
business and HORA’s compliance policies,
among other things. In addition,
we used the occasion to present
our partners the brand new product
brochure from the new heavy duty
series, hot off the presses. Our partners
also received the PT newsletter
HORApower for the first time, with
its reports on current developments,
projects and successes. A pleasant
An interested look at the new PT Production
rage positive feedback from participants,” says Patrick
Merke, Deputy Program Director at TOP.
Best company in TOP Innovation Network 2010 (from left): State Secretary
Jochen Homann, Prof. Dr. Dieter Dresselhaus, Ralf Schulz, Georg Bode and
Harald Wick in Berlin at the award ceremony.
change from the meetings was a visit
to Wiedenbruck’s Christmas market.
The next sales meeting will take place
in conjunction with the Achema congress
in Frankfurt in June 2012.
Prof. Dresselhaus with Wilhelm and Christian Friedrich, Austria Matthias Dirbach explains the significance of flow simulation
10 11

SALES MEETING
Our foreign sales partners with their HORA contacts at the conference hotel in Marienfeld
Prof. Dresselhaus responds to questions
Henning Brock explains a HORA work plan
The 5S reference workstation in the CNC department
International interest in a HORA valve
Reinhard Kruse proudly presents the new test area
Arousing curiosity: the COMTES 700 prototype Partners from three continents
“It was my first experience to be a part of HORA Conference.
I gained understanding on many aspects of ‘new
HORA’, which is evolving from 2008 onwards. I have a lot
of ideas / points to share.”
Vikash Agrawal, Hi-Tech Systems & Services,
Kalkutta, Indien
“There is a Chinese saying: Seeing is a hundred
times better than hearing. The sales meeting
was a very good opportunity for us employees
to speak directly to many partners and to find
out more about the needs of the global valve
market. It is important for us to know which
new technical and commercial requirements
our worldwide customers have. This helps us to
individualize our sales and product strategies.‹
Yang Cao, PT Sales, Schloss Holte, Germany
“It was interesting to see so many other reps from
around the world. We found the presentations by
the reps showed different approaches to business
that illustrate the good qualities of a successful
global business… Thank you all for being good
hosts.”
Ian Braff, Armour Valve Ltd., Toronto, Canada
“Besides the fact that this was a well-organized
meeting, the HORA sales meeting provided additional
value on the background of other partners
and distributors. It was interesting to find
out what products they focus on. I had open and
transparent discussions with other guests about
different markets and pricing structures. In Finland
for example we have a lot of OEM customers.
At the meeting I also got an idea in which
way the company will face the future. I‘ve got a
positive impression.”
Johan Bäckström, Kokko Control Oy,
Espoo, Finland
12 13

SALES MEETING
Mr. Sun with Yang Cao
Jose Figueiredo from Portugal and Roland
Liedtke
Our foreign sales partners with the new PT brochure
vikash Agrawal from India during his
presentation
Exchange of business cards between India and Ireland
Johan Bäckström from Finland
AROUND THE WORLD
HORA exhibited
for the first time at
valve World Expo
The HORA booth drew crowds of visitors.
The international industry event Valve
World Expo took place in Düsseldorf
at the end of 2010. For three
days, 536 international companies
from 37 different countries exhibited
the latest technologies, components
and systems from the vast field of industrial
valves. HORA displayed new
products from the two business units
Power Technology and Flow Control
(formerly Building+Automation) at its
booth. Hans-Jürgen Bracke, PT Area
Sales Manager Germany, Austria and
Switzerland, commented: “Our business
unit presented the new 89 series
for the first time. We also call them
Heavy Duty Control Valves. Its advantage
is the high-pressure clamp construction.
We also displayed the PRDS
(pressure-reducing and desuperheating)
valve with integrated steam assisted
desuperheater, which is very attractive
for our customers because it
safely injects the water downstream
the valve.“
Russia Power:
HORA at the most important industry conference
in Russia
Russia Power at the end of March 2011 in Moscow: Sven Podlech and Prof. Dieter
Dresselhaus present Ivan Shumeyko from HORA’s partner in Russia, the East
Energo Group, with all the product models used at the event, so that they can
be kept in Russia.
HORA at Russia Power: more than 5800 visitors from 50 countries attended this industry conference.
Partner Schubert & Salzer Iberica (BvALvE)
named Best Technology Supplier 2010
The 600 participants at the 4th International Concentrated Solar Thermal Power
Summit, which took place in November 2010 in Seville, named our Spanish partner
Schubert & Salzer Iberica “Best Technology Supplier” for 2010. The company
prevailed over both Foster Wheeler/Schott Solar and Siemens in this category.
Sven Podlech (front) at the booth of our Spanish sales partner Schubert & Salzer Iberica in Sevilla
with (l. to r.) Michael Mostolski (HORA) and Angel S. Tavira, Jose Luis Soriano, Carlos Pont and Francisco
Bort (all Schubert & Salzer Iberica)
14 15

16
PEOPLE
Industrial Engineer Tobias Ottensmeier optimizes internal
PT Production processes
Tobias Ottensmeier started working as an Industrial Engineer at HORA in August
2010. He studied mechanical engineering focusing on production engineering.
The 37-year-old takes care of the planning and optimization of internal
processes in the PT Production. Purchasing new manufacturing tools or new
machines belong to his tasks. Objective is clear: optimize the PT Production and
increase efficiency. Tobias Ottensmeier keeps in mind that at the end the employee
has to work with his ideas on a daily basis, so communicating with his
colleagues on the production floor plays an important role.
Sergej Kunz new CAM-Manager
In March 2011 Sergej Kunz became CAM-Manager (CAM=Computer Aided Manufacturing)
at HORA. The 31-year-old trained toolmaker used to work at a
different company as production supervisor gaining experience with CAM systems.
At HORA Kunz started to establish a central CAM programming. Right
from the start he’s spoken with colleagues from many different departments:
“They were all very friendly and cooperative,” said Kunz. He was also impressed
by the tidiness of the production area: “I have never seen such clean
production floors in other companies before.”
Nico Hillebrand becomes an engineer after his coop-studies
at HORA
Nico Hillebrand (30) graduated with a B.A. degree in mechanical engineering
with the best grade possible: 1,0. He wrote his thesis about the “Optimization
of fixing perforated discs in steam transforming valves“, for which he won an
award given by the regional business association. During his studies, Nico Hillebrand
also worked as a trainee at HORA. He belonged to the group of so called
coop-students combining an apprenticeship with a university program.
Today, Nico Hillebrand works as an engineer in the PT Design and Product Innovation,
where he focuses on the design of steam valves.
Dr. Gabor Bihercz development engineer
Dr. Gabor Bihercz joined HORA in early 2011 as a development engineer in
the Product Innovation department. The 33-year-old, who studied mechanical
engineering, had already been working in this position in several companies
for five years. One of his motivations to come to HORA was the prosperous
image of the company. “HORA is a company where everyone can bring on own
ideas. Working here is a great challenge for me,” says Dr. Bihercz. After just a
few weeks at his new job, he was impressed by how many highly qualified and
trained experts are working at HORA. One of his first projects was the development
of an internal norm for a specific material that is used in the production
process.
HORA | Holter Regelarmaturen GmbH & Co. KG | Helleforthstraße 58-60 | 33758 Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock | Germany
Telephone +49 (0) 52 07-89 03-0 | Telefax +49 (0) 52 07-8 80 37 | e-mail: mail@hora.de | www.hora.de