drive components. Within the market of gearbox production, both Bierens in Tilburg and Defawes in Ghent have gained strong reputations as large players. “Bierens is located in Tilburg and Ghent, with 50 and 30 employees respectively. The Tilburg location is more focused on the marine market, with the specialism on spiral bevel gears, while the Ghent location is more focused on the industrial market, with the overhaul of gearboxes,” explains Henk Meijer, CEO of Bierens Group. “Of all spiral bevel gear manufacturers, Bierens is the most technology driven as we focus on technology in the design of the product, as well as technology in spiral bevel gear manufacture. Through our drive for innovation, we created a new era in manufacturing of spiral bevel gears in 2002 and, although there are many followers, Bierens is still the only one who uses the mathematical basis for the manufacture of gears.”

Founded in 1880, the Bierens Group of companies has been the leading gear specialist for more than

70 years; this coveted position has been held thanks to its ongoing care and passion for the manufacture of gears, gearboxes, mechanical drives, special machines and overhaul work. Indeed, key to the group’s ongoing success is its focus on the development of new and innovative gear shapes, as well as the optimisation of existing tooth shapes and the diversity in production possibilities.

Within the group is Bierens BV, a specialist in manufacturing gears and gearboxes; Defawes NV, a Ghent-based sister company that specialises in the design and manufacture of mechanical drives; HPG Nederland BV, the go-to partner for firms requiring innovative, high-precision gears, and Blom Tandwielen, which fully specialises in the production of

Indeed, a major milestone for the group took place in 2002, when it developed the five-axis free form milling methodology that could produce a range of gears. This innovation, created by the technology and development department of Bierens, further ensured the group remained competitive as multiple tooth shapes could then be milled on one machine. Moreover, this technology can develop tooth shapes or corrections that can’t be manufactured with standard tools, it is also applicable to all gears for which a mathematical description is developed; this includes cylindrical gears with straight, helical or V-shaped teeth, conical gears with straight of curved teeth, worms and wormwheels, crownwheel and racks.

The technology is particularly suitable for finishing milling products that have specific surface requirements or gear quality; the most revolutionary

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Profile: Bierens

Changing gears

and that the company as a whole is delivering more sustainability by using less energy, which has led to a smaller environmental footprint. Furthermore, we have invested in two new DMU 210P machines and one Mazak Integrex 670II, which have been added to the fleet of five-axis milling machines, as well as a new horizontal bevel gear tester.”

Keen to exploit the strengths of the new factory, Bierens is certain to have a prosperous future as it looks to expand into locations such as Asia and Brazil, where the benefits of using high quality and innovative marine technology are yet to be fully understood.

example of this is the Bierens S-Shape, which is known as the ‘golden solution’. The benefits of the unique Bierens S-Shape include a 30-35 per cent increase of power transfer, less heat and noise, increased efficiency and the possibility of accuracy up to quality class DIN class 1 (AGMA 15). In addition, there is no need for axial fixation and there is also the possibility of using alternative materials.

Discussing in more detail the bespoke solutions that Bierens delivers to its customers, Henk highlights: “New technology naturally leads to new solutions and benefits for our customers; for example, free form milling makes any tooth profile possible and also ensures more power transfer and enhanced design solutions. Meanwhile, free form crowning ensures an enhanced contact pattern, a longer-life cycle of the product, increased efficiency and less noise and head. Free form profiling also delivers benefits as it makes smaller designs possible.”

Due to the high accuracy of the gears that Bierens creates, the requirement for gears to be individually adapted to one another is eliminated. As such, the company has earned the trust of blue chip organisations that operate in the most demanding of industrial environments. Business segments that the company produces gears and gearboxes for include the maritime sector, infrastructure and structures sector, the mining industry, industrial applications, the heavy machine construction sector, glass industry, steel industry and the transport industry. Despite this impressive diversity, approximately 60 per cent of sales come from maritime applications. “The main customers within the shipping industry are thruster companies such as Wärtsilä, Rolls-Royce, Schottel, Veth Propulsion and ZF Marine,” says Henk.

To stay ahead of the competition and ensure ongoing quality to its clients, Bierens began building new premises in December 2014. The new factory provides a new logistic plan that has boosted efficiency in the manufacturing process, as Henk notes: “In this new ‘smart industry’ setting

we have created, we can achieve more machine hours per man-hour, so the whole chain of production can be less costly. In addition, the factory has also been air-conditioned so accuracies of 1.2 micron are now possible. These developments also mean the S-gear is now tested for high-speed trains

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Profile: Bierens

• Specialists in manufacturing gears and gearboxes• Sixty per cent of sales are in marine applications• Continuously invests in machinery

Bierenswww.bierens.com