11/11/2024

HB‑Therm AG: the epitome of top quality, reliability and durability

Since 2013, the family-run company HB‑Therm has been the largest manufacturer of temperature control units for the injection moulding industry in the world and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. Its main markets are the plastics processing industry and, in particular, injection moulding production. The innovative temperature control technology is therefore primarily used in the production of precision parts, e.g. in automotive engineering, medical technology or the electronics sector. If you compare the units from HB‑Therm with other manufacturers, the extensive standard equipment is particularly striking.

HB-Therm's corporate philosophy is clearly customer- and service-orientated. Through accelerated development activities and constantly optimised processes, HB‑Therm is constantly taking decisive steps to advance both the market as a whole and its own technology. Current examples include the new Series 6 range of units, whose technology is consistently focussed on quality and durability. Proof of this: Lifetime warranty on the heater and flow meter. "Just better", the slogan of the Series 6, stands for the consistent further development of high-end temperature control technology.

The company's vision is clearly focused on sustainability and digitalisation in order to achieve a minimised CO₂ footprint and lower emissions while increasing production efficiency and quality.

The foundations for sustainable success

The company achieves competitiveness not least by optimising its process chain. The keyword here is insourcing at the Swiss site in order to ensure the required high quality throughout. To this end, HB‑Therm is consistently optimising and investing, most recently in the new company headquarters in St. Gallen and in the renewal and expansion of its own machinery.

Height investment readiness is complemented by the consistent use of IT. With the digital access and working options via unit-based apps and Gate-6 data preparation, HB‑Therm is also making this possible for its customers from Thermo-6 onwards. 

High-tech, digitalisation and sustainability go hand in hand

Expertise and a cooperative corporate culture make HB‑Therm an attractive employer. In 2023, the consolidated turnover of HB‑Therm AG was around EUR 55 million. The sales and service network supports all users in the design, use, operation and maintenance of units. HB‑Therm is clearly export-orientated: The export share is 90 %. The main sales markets are in Europe, followed by Asia and North and South America. According to CEO Reto Zürcher, HB‑Therm is experiencing “sustainable growth thanks to our global presence in the promising emerging markets such as Brazil, but also in Asia, China and India. For us, sustainable means not only supplying the markets, but also advising and supporting our customers as if they were based in Switzerland. High-tech from HB‑Therm is therefore available worldwide and at the same high level without compromise. After all, high-quality applications are no longer limited to Europe or North America.”

New company location in St. Gallen

A total of around 15,000 square metres of floor space is available at HB‑Therm's new site, including 2,200 square metres for production, 2,150 square metres for storage, 4,000 square metres for assembly, 2,800 square metres for administration and technology and 3,500 square metres of parking space for cars, motors and bicycles underneath the building. The building shows that corporate interests and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. The building not only allows for optimised process flows and can be adapted to future requirements, environmental aspects were also consistently taken into account from the restart. A solar system with 340 kWp output, 19 geothermal probes with a depth of 150 metres each for building air conditioning (geothermal heat), automated shading of the building and charging stations for electric vehicles are part of the "standard equipment" and, as with the temperature control units, set a high level of sustainability. Electricity production for machines, units, lighting and technology is solar-based with a self-coverage ratio of around one third. The new buildings take up around two thirds of the construction area. The rest has been renaturalised.

Sustainability firmly anchored everywhere at HB-Therm

Responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly - in addition to production and global distribution, the products themselves are also developed and realised in accordance with these requirements. A good example: energy efficiency. Reto Zürcher states: "If we can protect the environment and reduce costs at the same time, then we have achieved our goal. To achieve this, we consistently optimise our own internal processes and only invest in our own machinery after taking energy costs into account. Our products are mainly used in the energy-intensive injection moulding process. Even there, a lot of energy can be saved through appropriate measures. Our product developments are therefore always carried out with energy efficiency in mind, as the running costs must also be included in the overall calculation from an economic perspective. The following premises apply here: 'correctly sized temperature control units and frequency-controlled pumps save energy', 'digitalisation and intelligent control features help to reduce consumption', 'clean temperature control channels optimise heat transfer', 'parallel mould temperature control shortens cycle times' and 'short, insulated hose lines with large diameters minimise radiation and pressure losses'." The list could be continued. The most important fact in this context, however, is that at HB‑Therm every optimisation is also considered in terms of the CO₂ footprint. And this is very important both for our own production and for all our customers. HB-Therm is a pioneer and think tank for the entire industry in this respect.

CO₂ savings in the manufacturer

The CO₂ footprint of each temperature control unit is made up of two factors. 

• From development and manufacturing to delivery 
• About the entire product life cycle from delivery to the end of its life

HB‑Therm is committed to implementing measures for both aspects in order to design and operate the units in the most environmentally friendly way possible over their entire life cycle.

In terms of development and production, all research and development is done internally, which applies to both hardware and software, and all products are "designed & assembled in Switzerland", with a high proportion of in-house production. In addition, transport distances are short because HB‑Therm works with around 80 % regional suppliers. The company also utilises waste heat from test benches and machines, reuses cooling water, produces its own nitrogen, casts and hot-pressed parts made from brass to reduce metal scrap and recycles materials separately. Reto Zürcher also counts consistent teamwork among the sustainability factors. In his eyes, this is what makes a company, its products and environmentally friendly behaviour so successful.

• HB‑Therm has specifically reduced its own CO₂ footprint with the following measures: 
• Own electricity production with solar modules
• In-house, solar-powered nitrogen production for laser cutting
• Heating/cooling buildings with geothermal energy
• Heat recovery from unit testing and quality assurance
• Heat recovery test laboratory
• Minergie building standard, compared to the old building

At Series 6 unit level, HB‑Therm is even in the process of detecting concrete figures on the product life cycle. However, the standard features of the Thermo‑6 already provide some information on how sustainable these temperature control units are:

• In addition to the standard frequency-controlled pump design, the use of "Direct Drive" pumps adds an additional 20 %.
• The revised and further optimised hydraulic concept includes a new connection concept and specially developed hydraulic components which, thanks to their special design, reduce pressure drops and lower the energy requirement by 27 % for the same output.
• Thanks to the modularity of the units, individual modules can be easily retrofitted or replaced if necessary, which extends the overall life of the unit.
• HB‑Therm provides the option of taking back all its units for recycling after use from the Swiss market. Internationally, on-site recycling makes more sense, as the transport routes would have a negative impact on sustainability here.
• The cooling water module made of reinforced plastic instead of brass not only saves transport distances and costs, but also reduces the internal processing time and the overall weight of the temperature control unit. 
• In order to effectively prevent scaling of the cooling circuit and the cooler, the HB‑Therm temperature control units are able to control the cooling process by using a bypass control so that the measured cooling water outlet temperature of 60 °C is not exceeded. This ensures the longest possible service life and performance thanks to a consistently high level of efficiency.
• Many ventilation slots on a temperature control unit often indicate temperature problems, as the heat has to be dissipated and is thus lost. With HB‑Therm units, you will look in vain for such ventilation slots, as the units are thermally efficient. 
• The tankless cooling water system saves the most. Why? Because indirect heating without heat transfer medium contact and high isolation means less circulating volume and therefore less energy is required for control, less water is consumed and direct contact with the heat transfer medium (far less corrosion!) is avoided and the Controller works faster, more dynamically and more precisely with proportional valves and solid-state relays 
• The longevity of the temperature control units and their high quality also contribute to their sustainability. The purchase of HB‑Therm units is not just a purchase, but a (sustainable) investment. This is demonstrated by the lifetime warranty promise on the Heater and Flow meter and the chrome steel frame of the units, as well as a look at their life and grey energy

CO₂ savings during operation and recycling

Some users of Temperature control units argue that they prefer to purchase "cheaper" units from HB‑Therm due to the rather high purchase costs, then simply dispose of them after a short time and buy new ones, which significantly worsens even the CO₂ balance.

• The average life of a unit from HB‑Therm is at least 10 years, much longer depending on how it is used, as the previous Series 3, 4 and 5 models clearly demonstrate. Such a long life improves the CO₂ footprint, as the grey energy used to manufacture the temperature control unit can be offset over a much longer service life.
• Functionality and spare parts management: HB‑Therm continues to support the technology of the units for up to 10 years after their purchase, in most cases even longer. One example is the Series 5 units. They have been around since 2008 and the first versions were replaced by the Series 6 at the end of 2023. This means that Support will continue for another 10 years, i.e. until at least 2033, and therefore less grey energy will be generated over the extended service life.
• The advantage of comprehensive digital functions and services: The Energy‑Control software assistant for finding the optimum operating point, Gate‑6 & e‑cockpit, remote maintenance with the new digital services such as Remote Support to avoid long journeys, the ticket system for securely sending analysis data to the representative or headquarters and the digital knowledge database with all of HB‑Therm's expertise and the global paperless provision of operating and assembly instructions without wasting paper were developed for this area.

This also speaks in favour of a sustainable investment in long-lasting technology instead of a short-term strategy of buying new and disposing of old.

The future can come

The future is almost always a mixing of enduring values and new challenges. Reto Zürcher also has a clear opinion on this: "Customers have and will continue to place high demands on the efficiency, reliability, availability and sustainability of our units, while price sensitivity remains high. That's why, with our Series 6, we have also focused on digitalisation as an immediate helper in the event of problems, as well as on the longevity of our built-in components - with the familiar result of the Lifetime warranty on the heater and flow meter." 

HB‑Therm intends to keep innovation and investment high in the coming years - at a central production site with a high proportion of in-house production and the shortest possible supply chains. The units' cost-effectiveness and sustainability will be reflected in their maintenance-free operation, quality, energy efficiency and user-friendliness, for example through process and energy consumption monitoring. Parallel and variothermal control will continue to penetrate the markets. Flow rate measurement remains a key topic. By using it, flow rate changes in serial and parallel temperature control circuits can be detected at an early stage and remedied preventively.