Meteor is one of the leading manufacturers of elastomer sealings with around 1,500 employees worldwide. For more than 60 years, Meteor has been developing and producing complex sealing systems for the automotive industry, environmental technology and construction industry at its headquarters in Bockenem and at four other locations.
The elastomer sealings produced at the Meteor plant in Bockenem are stored in a high-bay warehouse on the company premises until they are further processed. It is particularly important that the products are stored at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. The implementation of a cooling system at Meteor would lead to a consistent and optimized production process. Kenji Koch, employee in the sales and technical trade department, searched the Internet for a suitable supplier of mobile cooling systems. In the next step, the purchasing department issued an invitation to tender, in which also the rental specialist Hotmobil took part. During an on-site appointment, Hotmobil field service operative Hildebrand Ahrens was given an idea of the task and he developed, in close cooperation with Meteor, a temporary rental refrigeration concept that optimally supported the existing air conditioning system of the high-bay warehouse and was able to ensure the required temperatures inside. "We were glad to have found such a competent and reliable partner in Hotmobil. From the beginning, the cooperation was very productive and goal-oriented," comments Koch on the joint rental refrigeration project.
Already in mid-May, the mobile cooling units were delivered to the Meteor headquarters in Bockenem by the service technicians of the Hotmobil branch in Hanover. A COOLUNIT mobile cooling unit with a cooling output of 147.7 kilowatts was installed outside the high-bay warehouse. The COOLUNIT chiller is operated with the refrigerant R-32 which allows to reduce the environmental impact to 68%, compared to systems with R-410A. It is equipped with highly efficient scroll compressors, a condenser with an enlarged surface area and a plate evaporator with lower pressure drop and refrigerant charge.
Inside the warehouse, directly under the roof, a COOLAIR mobile ventilation unit with an air flow of 20,000 cubic meters per hour was installed. The two units were connected via 40-meter-long outdoor air hoses. In this way, the cold air could be transported from the cooling unit into the hall. The indoor air hoses were connected to the COOLAIR ventilation unit and distributed the cold air in the warehouse over a total distance of 120 meters. The Hotmobil service technicians were responsible for the delivery, installation and commissioning of the cooling and ventilation systems. Meteor employees laid the ventilation hoses in the warehouse. "The support and cooperation with Meteor was very well organized in advance and could be realized smoothly", explains Christian Buchtzik, manager of the Hotmobil branch in Hanover.
Another component of the rental refrigeration concept are two mobile cooling cells, each housed in a 20-foot container and set up outside the high-bay warehouse. This increased the limited storage capacity by 2 x 30 cubic meters.
"Even for me as an experienced rental refrigeration professional, this task was not an everyday occurrence and a particular challenge in its implementation. I am all the more pleased about the success of the project, which was only possible thanks to the excellent and committed cooperation of all those involved", concludes Hildebrand Ahrens.
Hotmobil, the pioneer in the sector, is one of the leading suppliers of heating, cooling and steam rental units in Germany. Thanks to nine company-owned branches in Germany and competent advisors who are available around the clock, Hotmobil, which was founded in 1994, is recognized as an extremely service-oriented and capable company. You can always rely on Hotmobil – satisfied customers confirm that time and again every day.