KSB Itur Opens New Pump Testing Plant in Zarautz
KSB Itur has opened a state-of-the-art automated pump testing plant at its headquarters in Zarautz (Gipuzkoa), Spain.
The new automatic pump test facility in Zarautz, Gipuzkoa, Spain. (Image: KSB)
The opening on July 9th, 2010 was the culmination of a three year € 6m development project at the factory.
Formally opened by the President of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano, KSB Supervisory Board member Carl-Wilhelm Schell-Lind and KSB ITUR Director General Danilo Camilo, the pump testing plant contains nine test beds and can accommodate up to 75 pumps per day. Designed by KSB engineers from Germany, Brazil and Spain, the testing plant operates the same process management modules and programmes as those in the manufacturing plants in Frankenthal and Halle, Germany. These programmes will enable engineers in the Spanish manufacturing plant to synchronise work in real-time with their colleagues in Germany using an external communications network, and for test programmes to be managed and controlled from both countries. It will also contribute the setting-up of a Global Test Complex in which KSB production centres will share information, processes and data, improving significantly the service to customers wherever they are.
Addressing local civic dignitaries, customers and press from across Spain, Mr Danilo Camilo said that the new facility is one of the most comprehensive and advanced in the world and allows KSB ITUR to streamline pump assembly and undertake comprehensive testing procedures in accordance with many international standards and customer specifications. “KSB ITUR is addressing new markets and all of these have high levels of demand and highly specific requirements,” said Mr Camilo. “There is also a growing demand for inspection and test, so it is incumbent on us a leading pump manufacturer to respond to current and future market demands. That is why we are making this massive investment in our infrastructure.”
The testing plant comprises a closed-circuit water area containing six test beds, an open circuit water area containing two test beds and an oil test stand dedicated for gear and screw pumps. The closed-circuit area is dedicated to ‘End Suction’ and ‘In-Line’ pumps up to 750kW including variable speed by frequency converter, and all the beds are connected to an independent cooling system via a heat exchanger. This ensures that tests can be developed at a temperature below the maximum stated by the norms.
The two test beds in the open circuit water area are designed to test for high flow horizontal and vertical centrifugal pumps, as well as submersible, reciprocating or eccentric rotor pumps. Included in the area are two 180 m³ capacity tanks which are connected to the cooling systems and provide two open connections to standard pumps.
KSB ITUR is not scrapping its old test benches; they will now be used in its Training Centre for employees and customers, and be operated independently of its production lines.
Source: KSB SE & Co. KGaA
