GEA Refrigeration Germany celebrated its 75th anniversary with more than 1,000 guests earlier this month.
Celebrations were held at its Berlin site although GEA Refrigeration Germany also has sites in Schkopau near Halle and GEA AWP in Prenzlau. Their employees were also invited to the anniversary celebrations in Berlin.
At its sites in Berlin and Schkopau near Halle, GEA Refrigeration Germany develops, manufactures, and sells screw compressors, compressor units, liquid chillers, and heat pumps.
GEA AWP develops and manufactures valves and components for industrial refrigeration systems and machines in Prenzlau.
The most quoted man at the official anniversary celebration was refrigeration researcher and university rector Rudolf Plank.
He is considered the founder of scientific refrigeration technology. Plank, also known as the “cold pope,” died in 1973.
Plank once said: "It is necessary to look back in order to recognize the possibilities of the future. Looking back should not be a matter of sentimental complacency and childish pride in what others have achieved. The past, however successful it may have been, lies behind us. Only the future can captivate a creative spirit, only the unsolved tasks that appear in ever greater numbers as we progress."
At the celebration the managing directors of GEA Refrigeration Germany, Tom Trinkaus and André Krychowski, said in unison: "With the passage of time, Rudolf Plank's message remains as relevant as ever. We, too, look to the future with creative enthusiasm and a spirit of innovation. At our Berlin location, ideas take shape, challenges are mastered with ingenuity, and progress is driven forward by visionary people.“
The history of GEA screw compressors dates back to 1950. The first compressors from 1952 were based on aircraft engines and were manufactured in nine sizes with flow rates from 112 to 880 m³/h in a star-shaped design.
Two technological breakthroughs were decisive:
- The rotor profile: In 1976, the symmetrical profile was replaced by an asymmetrical profile generated by a moving point, which improved efficiency and service life. The tooth ratio was changed from 4:6 to 5:6.
- The Vi adaptation: In the 1980s, a new slide valve system was introduced that adapted the internal compression to changing operating conditions – for example, with different refrigerants or seawater temperatures.
These technologies can now be found in all 24 screw compressor sizes from GEA.
A wide range of compressors are manufactured at the GEA plant in Berlin. Each one starts as a precision-cast housing developed by GEA engineers for maximum durability – with a unique design and shape that allows for quick and easy maintenance.
GEA technicians machine the housings with the utmost care on CNC-controlled machines, paying close attention to every detail.
The precise fit of the male and female rotors is the decisive factor for the performance of each individual unit.
The GEA compressor portfolio includes 48 different rotor types, each of which is turned, milled, and hardened—perfectly machined for many years of reliable operation. Each rotor uses GEA's patented 5/6 rotor profile, which is compact, rigid and designed for higher energy efficiency.
The GEA quality control room stands for maximum precision. Specialized measuring instruments record 50 reference points to ensure that the rotors are manufactured with a tolerance of only a few micrometers.
To guarantee this, the room is temperature and humidity controlled to prevent material deformation. This attention to detail ensures that less refrigerant flows past the rotors without being compressed – which means that the efficiency and performance of the compressor meets the defined GEA standards.
New development
The Validation Test Center (VTC) enables new products and components to be tested under real operating conditions and new applications to be identified – particularly in the field of heat pumps.
New requirements for heating temperatures above 95 °C and solutions for refrigeration based on natural refrigerants can be developed together with our customers and tested under the necessary conditions.
An example: GEA high-pressure compressors for heat pumps, which achieve water temperatures of up to 95 °C in heating systems, were developed by GEA engineers and extensively tested at the VTC to reduce costs.