Uth: Investment in solar power a reflection of success

FULDA, Germany—Sunlight may be the best disinfectant to aid transparency, but it also has proven to be the cleanest and most abundant source of power for rubber machinery manufacturer Uth GmbH.

With an eye toward "gentle and clean" processing of rubber and silicone, Uth has prioritized intelligent technologies in the construction of its fine-mesh straining and precise extrusion equipment.

The 100-employee, family-owned company is doing so once again with a $106,000 investment in a new solar array, which is fitted to the roof of a 107,600-sq.-ft. assembly center in Fulda, in the Muensterfeld area.

The system has been in operation since mid-February, while the assembly center was completed "at a seven-digit cost" in 2017.

"For us, environmentally conscious action is not just a corporate responsibility, it is also reflected in the company's success," Julia Uth, head of design and research and development at Uth, told Rubber News. "Efficient use of energy, water and raw materials leads to lower costs. And both customers and employees nowadays expect a credible anchoring of the concept of sustainability in the mission statement."

The new photovoltaic system comprises 267 modules installed over approximately 6,000 square feet, providing an output of 100 kilowatt-peak (kWp).

"In order to ensure the full potential of the system, the modules have been positioned to capture both the sun from the south and the east-west directions," Peter Uth, managing director of the company, said in a recent news release.

The energy created by the solar array will provide power, in part, for the production plant, as well as for nearby energy grids in Fulda.

The solar cells are expected to reduce Uth's greenhouse gas footprint by about 50 tons of CO2 per year, according to Julia Uth, and will contribute about 30 percent of the energy needed to run the manufacturing facility.

"Exact data will be shown by computation at end of the year," she said.

When production is not humming at full capacity on the Fulda campus, excess energy generated by the solar array will be routed to the community of Fulda's public power grid via an energy meter and associated data log system that collects and stores energy.

"Of course, this does not mean that the production will only operate when the sun is shining," Peter Uth said.

Julia Uth said the company had the foresight to commission the array before the silicone supply line chokes hit last year. Silicone currently is one of the most difficult materials to obtain, and remains an essential part of photovoltaic systems.

"Fortunately, we commissioned the project in good time last year," Julia Uth said. "The situation (silicon bottleneck) was not so (acute) at that time and the supplier we were working with still had (photovoltaic) modules in stock.

"But the time was quite tight, because after that, the delivery problems soon arose. Today, the situation would be very different."

The climate and 70,000-person city in central Germany will not be the only entities to benefit from Uth's green investments.

The relatively new assembly building contains modern LED lighting and "daylight domes," and a heat pump for hot water generation also is advertised as "environmentally and climate-friendly."

"As a business owner, you have a special responsibility, especially in today's world," Peter Uth said. "Continually improving the ecological footprint, keeping a close eye on possible CO2 reductions—this is an ongoing process that we will continue to actively shape."

Julia Uth said sustainable thinking is reflected in Uth's investments, its products and the manufacturing processes.

"We try to reduce emissions and waste wherever possible," she told Rubber News. "This means purchasing from regional suppliers to shorten delivery (times), optimizing heating control and lighting systems in the halls as well as avoiding rejects in production.

"A lot of ideas come from the work force, and especially from the younger employees."

Among other climate-friendly ideas, trainees at Uth recently initiated a tree planting campaign.

"Our customers pay attention to the energy efficiency of our machines, the space requirements and resource-saving handling of the material," Julia Uth said. "A few years ago, we developed a system that enables the efficient processing of returned materials (known as "Rework") in the tire industry. Around 98 percent of the process-related waste can be fed back into the manufacturing process."

Peter Uth and his brother-in-law, Winfried Schutz, founded Uth Machinery GmbH in Fulda in 1985.

Schutz now owns rubber machinery maker Deguma-Schutz GmbH.

Uth began by rebuilding and refurbishing older equipment with modern controls and systems. The company branched out into specialized equipment that wasn't available in the open market, such as the fine-mesh straining and counter-rotating gear pumps for which it has become known.

And that's where the company stands 37 years after its founding, providing machinery for "gentle and clean processing of rubber and silicone," as well as adding new capabilities that widen its appeal to potential customers.

Uth's capital equipment can function in serial production, system solutions or custom-made machinery. Applications can be found in tire manufacturing, automotive parts/other mechanical rubber goods, silicone compounding, threads for wire and cable goods, and adhesives and sealants.

"We (recently) adapted a new product especially for the adhesive market," Julia Uth said, adding the component is a "polymer-dosing system which allows the continuous and stable dosing of polymers of different viscosity into a continuous mixer."

"The system allows us to feed liquid, low-viscosity polymers as well as high-viscosity rubber bales, such as butyl," she said.

In addition, Uth is developing a new product for the silicone market which enables a continuous mixing of silicone compounds with a shortened cycle time, allowing for greater energy and time savings.

About half of Uth's business comes from customers installing new mixing lines and facilities, with the remainder resulting from retrofits into existing mixing lines.

Because its components are located between the standard components of a mixing line, the fine-mesh strainer can be added as an upgrade.

Uth also offers straining systems for silicone compounding, which has processing steps that differ from traditional rubber compounds.

Europe is Uth's main base, with all manufacturing and engineering conducted in Fulda. The company has subsidiaries in Japan, China and India, along with a global sales and service network.

Uth has been able to gain a greater market share in the U.S. in recent years, Julia Uth said.

"So far, our main business in the U.S. has been in the technical rubber and extrusion industry, (and) in the last couple of years our U.S. business has grown, especially with our two-roll plasticizer system for the ... tire industry, as well as our gear-pump extruders for mixing lines," she said. "Due to that, we have greatly expanded our services in the U.S. market."

Like so many other businesses in the rubber industry, electrical components have been causing delivery issues.

But with the same foresight that Uth had in commissioning its solar array, the company has been able to keep parts in stock to build its essential rubber processing equipment.

"We have spare parts in stock and can commission our machines and then send them off to bridge the time until the missing components arrive," Julia Uth said.