As of: February 29, 2024, 4:59 a.m
By: Charlotte Borst
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The robot charges a gas bottle: At Linde, transport work is now carried out automatically.
© Dieter Michalek
With automation and digitalization, Linde is making the production of specialty gases faster, more precise and more effective.
The group opened its automated factory in Unterschleißheim on Wednesday.
Unterschleißheim
– A two-meter-long driverless car slowly drives through the factory hall to a gas bottle.
A gripper grabs the heavy vessel and carefully places it on a sled-like loading area.
The machine then makes a wide arc and transports the bottle to the next production location.
Seven of these robots roll through the factory on Carl-von-Linde-Strasse.
500 employees produce specialty gases in mixtures of hundreds of components in countless variations
Linde has been based in Unterschleissheim since 1959 - and the company has continued to grow.
500 employees produce specialty gases in mixtures of hundreds of components in countless variations.
Customers such as Osram, Intel, BMW, Carl-Zeiss AG, the Fraunhofergesellschaft and the Technical University of Munich are just a few of the clients to whom Linde supplies in 40 countries worldwide.
Worked on automating the plant for two years
Linde worked on the automation of the plant for two years and achieved the desired goal with the “emerald”, as the employees called the project based on the green gemstone: “The work processes will be faster, more precise and more effective, delivery dates will be easier to calculate and the Customer satisfaction will be further increased,” says project manager Tina Olbrich: “Such an automated system, specifically tailored to specialty gases, is the only one in the world.
Linde has invested 20 million euros to create the conditions for growth.”
Cutting the ribbon: (from left) Stefano Innocenzi and Oliver Pfann from Linde, 3rd mayor Annegret Harms, Florian Herrmann.
© Dieter Michalek
At the center is a software system that, like the conductor of an orchestra, coordinates all sub-processes and makes them visible on screens: from emptying the gas bottles, through cleaning, filling and storage to handing them over to the customer.
Gases for the chemical, food, medical or electronics industries
The specialty gases plant, which includes several halls on the extensive site, is less a factory than a manufactory, explains Tina Olbrich: “We produce according to customer requirements.
Every order is different.” Maximum to minimum quantities of special gases, such as neon, krypton or xenon, are measured and filled.
Linde supplies its specialty gases to markets such as the chemical, food, medical and electronics industries.
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“Gentry” machine recognizes barcodes on every single gas bottle
During a tour of the site, guests experience the third pillar of automation in a warehouse: a long bracket whirs along the ceiling and organizes the loading and unloading of gas cylinders, over 4,000 of which are close together, completely independently.
The “Gentry” machine recognizes the barcode on each individual gas bottle, picks them up and moves them depending on the contents and order.
This means storage capacity is used optimally.
Without Linde there is no energy transition
Where there is otherwise a lot of hustle and bustle in the delivery zone of the factory, at the opening ceremony Stefano Innocenzi, Business President for Western Europe, emphasized the importance of the location - "without Unterschleißheim there are no semiconductors" - but also the importance of the production of green and blue Hydrogen at the Linde site in Pullach with over 1000 employees: “Without Linde there is no energy transition.”
Where there is otherwise a lot of activity, guests can find out how the special gases plant was automated.
© Dieter Michalek
Automation and digitalization realized in Unterschleißheim during ongoing operations
He is grateful for the know-how of the employees and is particularly proud that the automation and digitalization in Unterschleißheim was implemented during ongoing operations, “like open-heart surgery,” while at the same time customers all over Europe were waiting for the products.
There was no longer any talk of dry spells yesterday.
In the meantime, Linde had suffered due to the sanctions against Russia: orders were lost and staff was cut.
The valley has been crossed.
“We are desperately looking for skilled workers,” says Tina Olbrich.
State Minister Herrmann: “Keep pushing, from special gas to full throttle.”
As a representative of the Bavarian state government, Florian Herrmann (CSU) praises the investment of 20 million euros as a “clear commitment to Bavaria as a location”.
He thanked the group for its innovation: “Linde is a central player.
Keep going, from special gas to full throttle.”