Profile
The Hövelmann beverage group was founded in 1905 in Duisburg Germany. This family-owned company produces approximately 600 million fillings per year at their Duisburg-Walsum site for worldwide brands including SINALCO, and mineral water brands such as Rheinfelsquelle and Römerwall.
Situation
The Walsumer Rheinaue nature reserve is a symbol of the sustainable corporate culture of the Hövelmann beverage group. In 1984 the mineral spring in the nature reserve was opened and is crucial to Hövelmann’s mineral well operation.
To align with sustainable spring management, only two-thirds of the authorized quantity of mineral water is extracted each year from the spring source. With this in mind, Hövelmann invests in groundbreaking technologies as important building blocks that help them reach their sustainability milestones.
The operation’s filtration component plays a key role in increasing energy efficiency while improving process and product integrity. In mineral water filtration, it is important that particles carried by the product are removed before bottling without any influence on the character of this unique mineral water from the Rheinaue nature reserve spring source.
Solution & Outcome
Hövelmann and Donaldson have worked together for many years in the area of compressed air preparation. This resulted in the discussions about offering additional solutions for the company’s mineral water filtration.
Donaldson technologies have been involved in the growth of the Hövelmann Group from the very beginning and thus are contributing to an energy-saving beverage production.
Following discussions, onsite visits, and specialized engineering, LifeTec™ liquid filter elements have been installed on Hövelmann’s production line 5 at their Duisburg-Walsum site. This production line for mineral water filling has a capacity of 30,000 bottles filled per hour.
Hövelmann and Donaldson continue to work together to ensure that the optimal filtration solution is utilized for this high-performing system. Currently, filtration points on this line include one PG-EG housing for pre-filtration and one for final filtration, each featuring 24 LifeTec™ filter elements. Mineral water volumes of up to 30 m³/h run through these filters – allowing for consistent and reliable performance which is vital to the company’s success.
The specialized structure and unique filter housing configuration engineered by Donaldson allowed Hövelmann to achieve a very compact and space-saving design, high flow rates and long filter service life.
In addition to liquid filtration optimization, energy-efficient compressed air supply has also been a key priority for Hövelmann. Donaldson has contributed to this initiative by providing high-performance filter elements and a refrigeration compressed air dryer for the stretch blow molding machine for disposable PET bottles used for final product packaging.
Torsten Schneider, Managing Director of Technology and Production at the Hövelmann Group said: “In order to operate in a resource-saving manner, regular monitoring of our key figures and goals is necessary. In this way potential savings can be recognized and implemented - for example by using filtration solutions from Donaldson.”
Donaldson Customer Testimonial- Beverages
To maintain the natural properties and purity of the water during bottling and process - and to ensure flexibility when reacting to the growing requirements of the beverage market Donaldson LifeTec™ membrane filter helps to support product and process integrity.
