Case: Drachen-Propangas, Germany (2013)
Customer
Drachen-Propangas, Germany (2013)
The customer's challenge
To avoid having to make a large investment in new equipment.
Our solution
Careful daily maintenance by the customer with the continuous support of Kosan Crisplant's skilled service technicians.
The outcome
60-year-old filling carrousel still in action, filling LPG cylinders every day of the week.
The filling carrousel at Drachen-Propangas’ filling plant in Frankfurt, Germany dates back to 1954 but just keeps on spinning. The explanation: Careful daily maintenance by the customer and continuous support and original spare parts from Kosan Crisplant (today known as MAKEEN Energy). The filling carrousel supplied by Kosan Crisplant in 1954 is still one of the largest in Germany and a both the carrousel and the traditional chain conveyor system are still fully functional. The reason for the plant's good state is above all the careful maintenance carried out by Drachen-Propangas with the help of skilled service staff and original spare parts from Kosan Crisplant.
Keep the old or buy new?
There is no doubt that modern filling equipment is more precise, more automated and easier to maintain than first-generation mechanical equipment, but whether to continue operating with old equipment or to modernise in part or in whole is ultimately a strategic decision. For Drachen-Propangas it has proved to be the right decision to keep on using the existing equipment for all these years.
Product lifetime extension
With the continuous support provided by Kosan Crisplant, it has been possible to extend the lifetime of Drachen-Propangas' existing equipment beyond expectations. For example, when the central column of the carrousel leaked gas in 2010, Kosan Crisplant stepped in with both the old drawings and the experience that made it possible to disassemble the column, replace all the worn parts, reassemble it and carry on operating.
