SGL Group, a specialty graphite manufacturer, is investing €25 million in expanding its production capacities at its Bonn site to meet the growing demand for solutions based on specialty graphite in the automotive industry. The company's graphite materials are used in applications such as water pumps, exhaust gas management, vacuum pumps, and seals, contributing to green driving, energy efficiency, and lower CO2 emissions. SGL Group recently secured a major order from Rheinmetall Automotive - Pierburg to supply rotors and vanes for generating a vacuum in brake boosters. The company will also be attending industry trade fairs to showcase its solutions.
Wiesbaden, January 17, 2018. The demand for solutions based on specialty graphite from SGL group for the automotive industry has grown steadily in recent years. The material enables solutions in applications such as bearings for water pumps and exhaust gas management, rotors and vanes in vacuum pumps or sealing rings for seals – both for vehicles with alternative drives and for standard combustion engines. Here, they play a major role in green driving, increased energy efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.
Thereby, the projects are developed, tested and implemented in long-term collaboration with customers from all over the world. Due to the increased demand by the automotive industry for solutions and components based on specialty graphite, SGL Group is investing approx. 25 million euros in expanding its production capacities at the Bonn site over four years, including not only new production systems, but also a new hall. Initial measures have already been implemented, with the expansion set to be complete by 2020.
Burkhard Straube, Head of Graphite Materials & Systems (GMS) at SGL Group, says, “By investing in the capacity expansion and state-of-the-art, efficient production systems, we will significantly reinforce our position in the market segment of mobility and strengthen the Bonn site.”
The company was recently commissioned with a major order from “Rheinmetall Automotive – Pierburg”, where SGL Group will supply the centerpiece, rotors and vanes, for generating a vacuum in the EVP 40 for brake booster. The annual order volume is in the low two-digit million euros range.
“We are pleased with the trust Pierburg has placed in us. Our solutions are often used where classic materials reach their limits due to ever more complex requirements. Here, low friction values, temperature resistance and a long service life are crucial,” states Werner Müller, product group director at SGL Group.
To continue presenting its versatile new solutions, SGL Group will attend various industry trade fairs this year, including the ACHEMA in Frankfurt am Main, the Japan Automotive Engineering Exhibition (JAEE) in Nagoya and the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg.