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Stop energy going up in smokeConsumption and costs under control

A pearl in the desert sandQatar relies on natural gas liquefaction

changesThe Endress+Hauser Magazine www.endress.com/changes 2012 edition

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Curiosity

Our search for knowledgeWhy we try to get to the bottom of things

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4 Quest for knowledgeHumans can’t help being curious. What drives us, what holds us back? Let’s give our curiosity free rein as we retrace the origins of this urge.

34 Hi-tech oasisShell operates the world’s biggest natural gas liquefaction plant in Qatar: Pearl GTL. This mega project has put Endress+Hauser to the test.

46 A giant puzzleTechnical plants are made up of many parts. Integrating the manufacturers’ information helps to keep ahead of things.

4 Curiosity Curiosity’s perennial allure

10 TheAmishcommunities Getting away from it all

12 Wherecuriositymeetsitslimits

Circling at the speed of light?

14 InterviewwithCEOKlausEndress

“We won’t run out of work”

18 Megatrends A model of the future

20 Howmegatrendsinfluenceourfuture

“Technologies can have offspring”

22 TheGorecorporationanditscultureofinnovation

The stuff ideas are made of

24 DeveloperThomasBürgler A nose for the right solution

26 Productcarbonfootprint Our footprints in

the environment

28 Howenergymonitoringcutsconsumptionandcosts

Stop energy going up in smoke

30 Theenergyefficiencycon­sultantsoftheSystemplanengineeringbureau

Energy efficiency’s hidden treasure

32 Copenhagen’snewsludgeincinerationplant

A landmark in engineering

33 IvanpahSolarElectricGeneratingSystem

Instrumentation for the energy turnaround

33 Flowmeasurementengineering A boost for biogas measurement

34 Shellbuildingtheworld’sbiggestnaturalgasliquefactionplant

A pearl in the desert sand

39 Endress+HauserintheMiddleEast

A tight network of support

40 EnterpriseFrameworkAgreementwithShell

At home in the oil & gas business

42 Wirelesstechnologyfitforeverydayuse

A crystal-clear view of production

46 Plantassetmanagementopensupsavingspotential

The final piece of the puzzle

48 SAPandthefutureofplantassetmanagement

“Integration is a truly exciting issue”

50 Coriolisflowmeasurementheadingfornewdimensions

A Hercules for the oil business

51 NewLiquilinecontroller Plug & play in analysis

52 ServicemissionattheMonteRosahut

Service from the skies

54 Modernfirefightingengineering

Red alert for the hidden heroes

55 Endress+Hauser’sonlinelearningprogram

Our virtual campus opens its gates

56 CoursesintheApplicationTrainingCenter

Just like real life

58 TemperaturemeasurementengineeringMadeinItaly

Hot on innovation

3Editorial

Where will our curiosity take us?

Aren’t you keen to know what the future holds in store or at least to know what tomorrow will bring? Curiosity, I believe, is one of the inherent driving forces of humanity.

Striving for new and unknown frontiers, for news and new things, for knowledge and truth – all this is deeply engrained in us. We are driven to leave well-trodden paths and to conquer new territories, both figuratively and literally. Driven time and again to develop new solutions that save time and money and conserve natural resources.

Sufficient reasons, then, to take a closer look at curiosity: where does it come from, what inspires it, where and when does it meet its limits? Can we really suppress our curiosity and be content with what we have achieved, with what is known and preserved? ‘changes’ is in search of answers, exploring the crucial issue: where will our curiosity ultimately take us?

So let’s discover the unexpected: learn about the influence of corporate culture on the powers of innovation and explore one of the world’s biggest wireless installations deep in Colombia’s hinterland. We find out why SAP has set up a direct interface with the huge data-base on Endress+Hauser’s instruments and we discover what the younger generation of the Endress family are doing in boiler suits.

Join us and look around in a world with infinite possibilities and opportunities. To quote Pericles: it is not so much a matter of predicting the future, but being prepared for the future. Curious? Then why not immerse yourself in the world of Endress+Hauser!

Yours Klaus Endress

60 In a man’s worldWomen in technical jobs are still the exception. Monika Heisterkamp and Maximiliane Engler believe: “This also has its advantages.”

60 Howwomenstandtheirgroundintechnicaljobs

“A woman stands out – that has its advantages too”

63 SuccessfulyoungscientistCarolinLachner

No fear of the man’s world

64 Corporatenews The world of Endress+Hauser

66 EndressFamilyCamp Young shareholders in blue

68 Swappingapprentices Seeing how the others work

69 Researchwork A system for clean water

70 Ludwig­ErhardawardforEndress+Hauser

The big picture

72 Facts&figures2011 A year far exceeding expectations

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5Focus: Curiosity

Curiosity’s perennial allureThe impulse to explore, to investigate and dig down deeper, begins at an early age. What keeps it going? What holds it back? Let us give free rein to inquisitiveness as we retrace the origins of this (un)reasoned urge.

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Curiosity, a quality that is not so easy to describe as a rule, now has a namesake with a precise technical description: the Curiosity rover. Mass: 900 kilograms. Dimensions: a compact 3.1 meters long by 2.7 meters wide. Destination: 567 million kilometers from the Earth. Curiosity generates its own energy, sufficient to cover about 150 meters of Martian terrain per day. The expected scientific benefits: immense. Overall mission cost: around 2.5 billion dollars. Immediately useful knowledge: zero.

What motivates us humans to such stupendous effort? To launch a 30-ton rocket into space, carrying a probe to a far-distant planet, in order to harvest at best a few frag-ments of knowledge – from today’s perspective, the mission can hardly be deemed key to our survival. Yet there is something key underlying it: human curiosity. And that is undoubtedly a survival factor.

Curiosity by any other name Historically, researchers have coined a variety of terms to circumscribe curiosity. For exam-ple, ‘weltoffenheit’ – openness to the world – was the term employed by the German philosopher and anthropologist, Arnold Gehlen. He used this to describe an outstandingly active form of openness: venturing, searching, absorbing the environment, trying things, observing, listening, touch-ing, tasting, smelling. And all this without any prior notion of how the experience acquired might eventually become useful or where it might lead.

That dimension of the unknowable can sometimes prove painful, as discoverers through the ages learned in the course of their travels. And, talking of travel: in an earlier age, when the only journeys made aside from crusades tended to be either sales travels or religious pilgrimages, many Christian moralists lamented that the pilgrims were less interested in pious deeds than in satisfying their curiosity and accumulat-ing adventurous tales.

For Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot and primary builder of the Cistercian order, curiosity was but a detracting and unstable state of mind that alienated people from God – in other words, a vice. Doubtless he had in mind the biblical story contained in the Book of Genesis, which equates the quest for knowledge with seeking forbidden fruit. So, is curiosity indeed a sin, something to be repressed and kept in check?

Granted, in our era there is a renewed case in favor of this viewpoint: when celebrities, wannabes and total nobodies have the most intimate details of their lives exposed for

ephemeral media spectacle, that latter-day call for firm restraint on curiosity takes on a new lease of life. Even so, Saint Bernard’s admonishments might yet be considered extreme today.

A chemical compound for curiosity From infancy onward, humans cannot help but be curious. ‘Creatures of curiosity’ was how Austrian ethnologist Konrad Lorenz referred to us – whilst numerous other animals exhibit curiosity, humans outdo them all. Psychologists today are unanimous that curi-osity plays a crucial role at many stages of child development.

There is evidence that curiosity is genetically imprinted – and even a biochemical ‘curiosity fuel’ seems to have been identified: NCS-1, neuronal calcium sensor 1, discovered by Dr John Roder and Bechara Saab at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. In experiments with mice, dosing supplementary NCS-1 into certain regions of the rodents’ brains not only made them a great deal more explorative, but also improved memory.

Yet for all their newfound boldness, the mice never behaved rashly. Indeed, they only exhibited such behavior in a safe and secure environment. A similar phenomenon is observed in early childhood development, where a sense of security is most important in situations where something new is involved. Putting everything on the line is atypical human behavior. Progress is fine, but please – without too much risk.

Between reason and unreason Exploring new opportuni-ties, seeking innovative solutions – how could anyone today not be in favor of that? After all, most such activity has nothing to do with Mars and concerns thoroughly earthbound matters. The world has technical, economic and social problems aplenty. Here, curiosity holds potential to open any number of scientific and technical perspectives on solutions awaiting discovery. However, that is wishful thinking as it underestimates the human need for security, which often enough channels free agents into clearly defined roles.

Society does not necessarily welcome change, and even when it does, opinion is certainly never unanimous. On one side are the inquisitives and the progressives; against them are the critics, the anxious and the holdfasts. The latter groups ask: Where will all this curiosity end? What about the good old days? Do humans really have to know every-thing and achieve without limit? Would it not be smarter to

7Focus: Curiosity

Whilst numerous other animals exhibit curiosity, humans outdo them all.

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People are more enticed by risk than by supposedly secure prospects.

9Focus: Curiosity

restrain the exploratory urge in order to stay human? It is Bernard of Clairvaux all over again, only this time in secular form.

Arguments such as these find support from a very different angle as well. In a zeitgeist where sobriety and rationalism prevail, people who let their intellectual curiosity wander freely tend also to be the ones who make question-able moves, allow costs to spiral out of control and underes-timate results with moneymaking potential. Basic research with no concrete applications in sight; time and leisure to reflect on new things outside of the work sphere; those are debit items on a balance sheet with an uncertain bottom line. Heroes of unconventional thought – take Steve Jobs as a recent example – are feted only after their success is proven. Before that, it is better not have them too close – and least of all in your own business.

Learning enjoys indubitably good standing these days, especially in technically-oriented industries. Or to be more precise: lifelong learning. That little qualifier matters; vir-tually no vocational training program or publicly funded stimulus project wants to do without it. To augment learning is to continually adapt to ongoing changes in state-of-the-art technology and the ups and downs of the marketplace. People become particularly effective achievers when such necessity goes hand in hand with inner motivation.

Success is a spur – failure, too None of this is anything new. The will to learn has often enough been cited as a means to success, with the prospect of its achievement as the foremost motivation. However, the thesis of quantum physicist and science journalist Michael Brooks purports things might work much better the other way around: unpopular mathematical, technical and scientific profes-sions and studies could be made much more palatable and attractive for young people if it were emphasized just how challenging these fields of enterprise really are.

Constant struggle, failures, marginalization, risk – the stuff that PR departments airbrush out of reports on scientific and technological success – that is what Brooks believes to be the true incentive for attracting young people. He writes that it is science’s clean image, promoted not least in reaction to the role of scientists during the Second World War, which has resulted in important areas of research being depicted as bloodless, dispassionate and dull. So is it any wonder, he argues, that apathy is so widespread?

People – and this is the upshot behind Brooks’ suggestion to give natural sciences a truly bad name – are more enticed by risk than by supposedly secure prospects. While it is not necessary to agree with Brooks all the way, there is some-thing compelling about his idea. Stimulating curiosity rather than holding out a safe option – could that be the success formula for academia, the workplace and business in general?

The ultimate driving factor Deciding just how far to take this approach is difficult, without a doubt. But intrinsically it is not so outlandish, as a small, exploratory study by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA has shown. ‘What makes employees tick?’ asked the authors Henry Sauermann and Wesley M Cohen – if the intent is to get a company’s people working innovatively, what drives them to give their best?

There is obviously a whole bundle of motivations, among them the usual business incentives of remuneration and bonuses of all kinds. Yet from the study’s findings, surprising as they may seem at first glance, it becomes apparent that intellectual challenge delivers greater commitment and bet-ter qualitative results than job security or even levels of pay.

But is that really so surprising? Would we not do better to contemplate why it is that in our developed societies, curiosity is so often underrated when it comes to ‘serious’ subjects such as economics, technology and the world of work? Fact is that when sending a probe to Mars costs 2.5 billion dollars, ‘mere’ curiosity no longer holds up as official justification for the expense – understandably, at a time when budgets are stretched. So it is all the more extraordinary that this project, which has been at the brink of cancellation a number of times on financial grounds, has nonetheless taken off.

Curiosity is indeed a powerful mainspring, even when it is sometimes hidden or disguised. We only need look closer to see it resurface in virtually everything.

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Anyone permanently shunning the conveniences of modern-day life could be viewed as a little strange. However, more and more people seek a temporary escape.

In 2004, the US TV station United Paramount Network showed some sequels of a rather unusual reality show. Now reality shows are not uncommon – particularly in the United States – they are a kind of mass commodity for light and easy entertainment. But this time things were different.

Long before the actual broadcast, the series was already the subject of hot debate. The affair was even addressed in the House of Representatives – some politicians were seriously concerned that some leading members of the cast would be shown as figures of ridicule for the amusement of the public. They worried about five young Amish who were expected to live for the TV series in a house near Los Angeles with five ‘normal’ young people of the same age, always watched by cameras.

Since the 18th century, the Amish have lived in their communities in the United States, Protestant exiles mainly from the Alsace region (today a part of France), the German- speaking territories of Switzerland and southern Germany.

In the New World, at first mainly in Pennsylvania, all they wanted to do was follow the strict rules of their faith with-out being persecuted. Handled with slight differences from one community to the next, this also includes shunning the conveniences of the modern age.

For the Amish, the modern age not only means cars and electricity, but also brightly colored fabrics and buttons on clothing. When talking to each other, and especially during their in-house worship, they use an antiquated German, with the occasional English word thrown in. With their horse-drawn carriages, their broad-rimmed hats and the men’s goatees, the Amish in a way belong to American folklore.

Up to date They seem like relics of a bygone era. And yet, the five young ‘Amish in the City’ cut anything but a poor figure. Much of what was perfectly normal for their modern- day counterparts was completely unknown to them. But with their attentive manner and their unexcited curiosity, they soon became the real stars of the series.

Guests visiting the Amish have reported similar experi-ences. The rules of the community and the more or less strict interpretation among the individual parishes allow some gentle tourism. An evening meal with the Amish? No problem. In Nappanee, Indiana, you can book an all-inclusive package with (non-Amish) bed and breakfast.

The hospitable people welcoming visitors from all over the world are anything but uncouth hicks. The Amish are remarkably well informed about what goes on around them

Getting away from it all

11Focus: Curiosity

in the outside world. At least about things what you might call ‘important’ – even without electricity, radio and TV.

Peace rediscovered There are other places where keeping your distance from the noisy outside world is appreciated. For some of the oldest Christian orders, living a solitary and contemplative life is at the core of the brand, as in words of modern marketing. And yet it is rather surprising that, with all the worries about the lack of monastic recruits, a minor counter movement has proved a hit. Temporary monastic life, whether it’s only for a few days or for several weeks, is an up-and-coming – well, ‘industry’, for lack of a better word. These are retreats rediscovered – and needed.

The Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, whose home monastery is Mount Savior in the USA, has become a world celebrity with his publications and lectures in which peace and tranquility are the central themes. The Benedictine monk is, as it were, a restless ambassador of peace. His ‘House of Silence’ at the foot of the Hochkönig mountain in Austria, which he co-founded, is always well frequented.

Steindl-Rast and the Benedictines, and the Amish any-way, are specialists in withdrawing from the world. More and more people are trying out a small-scale temporary withdrawal to simpler life. The corresponding keyword is ‘Internet sabbatical’: the computer stays switched off over the weekend, the smartphone is left untouched – no Internet, no emails, no text messages, no business calls. More advanced practitioners try as much as a whole week ‘without’.

Withdrawal symptoms are almost inevitable. We are used to everything around us calling for our attention. And here we go again, falling into the curiosity trap. What if I missed something? Unthinkable. Being modern, always being accessible, available, knowing everything, joining in every-thing… but the principle ‘always in the middle of things’ gradually but steadily reaches its limits. The sheer volume of news and information can overwhelm even the calmest of people.

Strenuous curiosity Always waiting for the next news item saps energy more than we imagine. How about a few days of friendly indifference and detachment from the world? Ask David Steindl-Rast. Read a book, maybe one about the Amish. Or simply switch off – you know what, don’t you!

Tradition versus the modern age: the Amish renounce modern conveniences for religious reasons. More and more people are searching for a temporary escape to find inner peace.

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The outcome has given physicists sleepless nights. Tiny neutrinos were shot twice through the particle accelerator at Cern, Europe’s nuclear research institute near Geneva, Switzerland. And twice they reached their destination faster than light. As the theory of relativity says that the speed of light is the measure of all things, the world sud-denly turned upside down: neutrinos are faster than the laws of physics allow! Today we know it was nothing but a measurement error, although it wouldn’t have been the first time that our perception of the world had been shattered.

Time and again, new discoveries have challenged the course of our history. Once old certainties begin to crumble, the path to general recognition is stony. Copernicus knew that when, around the year 1500, he put paid to the belief that Earth was at the center of the universe. Not to mention Darwin, who questioned the teaching of divine creation with his theory of evolution.

The crux of the matter Doubts and resistance have always been with us. Why should it be any different today? Perhaps it is part of our strategy of survival to cling doggedly to our view of things. Nobody wants to grope through the dark and scientists will not be satisfied with half-truths. Some time in the future, say the progress optimists, we will find the last piece of the puzzle and the triumph of science will be total – an all-encompassing world formula will give us a coherent explanation.

But experience also teaches us that every answer opens up new questions. Knowledge is not a slow-filling vessel.

Circling at the speed of light?Our curiosity has its limits. We may believe that we hold the one and only truth, yet the question remains: what can we know, what do we want to know and, above all, what are we allowed to know?

Instead, says the mathematician Pascal, it is like a ball float-ing in a sea of ignorance: the more it grows in size, the big-ger its surface in relation its dark surroundings. The more we know, the more we are aware of what we don’t know.

Knowledge at any cost? One thing is certain: we cannot explain everything. In theory, our quest for knowledge is unlimited – but, in practice, this is not the case. Mathema-ticians have shown that there are problems in their field of science that simply cannot be solved.

In medicine and biology, we are faced with boundaries that are crossed at great risk. This is where ethical and moral issues keep research on hold. Do we really want to know if we have a disposition to certain illnesses? Are we free to decide over life and death if a genetic defect is found in an unborn child? At times we may be well advised not to force progress at any cost – the consequence could well be a step back.

The wheel of science appears to turn faster and faster – but this is a double-edged sword. Everybody is talking of mobility and acceleration although every motorist in central Europe spends on average around 50 hours a year in traffic jams. Our computer systems become more and more powerful. However, the next software version will diminish the gain in performance. Medicine has the power to decipher complex genetic codes yet there is still no quick fix for hair loss…

Another boundary lies in the way reason is organized and in the way the scientific community works. Anyone looking for certain answers will ask certain questions. Specialization and division of labor narrow our point of

13Focus: Curiosity

view. “An individual, no matter how intelligent, will today not accomplish much alone,” says Felicitas Pauss, Professor of Particle Physics. “In today’s world, knowledge is a joint effort.” The magic word is interdisciplinarity. At Cern, the deliberate emphasis is on collaboration. The scientists’ egos are curbed by listing their names alphabetically in publica-tions – no matter how big or important their contribution has been.

Economic limits and boundaries are also important. Similar to the exploitation of natural resources, research has to dig deeper and deeper for ever smaller yields and results. Research work for exploring the Top Quark at Cern kept 450 scientists busy for 20 years; work of that magni-tude can only be funded by 20 countries sharing the costs.

The other side of curiosity Is all this effort worthwhile? Today, the skeptical attitude prevails that there can be no definitive ‘truths’. This is not necessarily a bad thing, considering that we can live with that awareness much better than with the ‘knowledge’ that there is nothing left to explore or discover. After all, isn’t it the lack of knowledge that fires our imagination and awakes our ambition?

Truth and error, knowledge and ignorance are interde-pendent – one cannot exist without the other. Once we are aware of this, we’ll also be able to harness the powers that awaken our curiosity.

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“We won’t run out of work“Sovereign debt crisis and turbulences in the foreign exchange market have caused economic uncertainty. Klaus Endress describes in an interview how Endress+Hauser will hold its own in unsettled times.

2011 was another best year ever for Endress+Hauser – and yet, Mr Endress, the mood is not lighthearted. How do you cope with the current uncertainty?Just one year ago I sometimes felt like a scaremonger because I repeatedly questioned the sustainability of the upswing despite the good figures… but the crisis had never disappeared! It might have been invisible to many – but it

was always there. As far as the causes of the crisis are concerned, nothing has fundamentally changed since 2008 – any changes that have occurred have been for the worse. But as long as those responsible do nothing or fail to do more, nothing will change. We have to accept that our world has become more volatile and will remain so for some time.

15Focus: Curiosity

And what does that mean?This volatility means uncertainty – a situation where nothing can be relied on. A boom today, a slump tomorrow: almost anything can happen, at any time, without any warning. And these developments are completely detached from the real economy – they come from outside, from politics and the world of finance.

What conclusions do you draw from your findings?For us, that means that we have to make ourselves as independent as possible as a company. Independent of banks because they are unreliable and can sell customers thoroughly bad products, independent of currency specula-tors as the enormous fluctuations in exchange rates put pressure on our consolidated profit and loss statement and our balance sheet, and also independent of politicians and their decisions, which cannot be relied on as shown by the phasing out of nuclear power in some countries in Europe for example.

Making the company as independent as possible – how can that be achieved? Thanks to our healthy provision of equity we are already largely independent of banks. We want to further increase this share and so maintain the necessary freedom for invest-ments and acquisitions for the company. With regard to currency speculation and exchange rates, there is more to be done. We can become more independent through more local production in the key economic regions, through more global sourcing – that is: through even more natural hedging. And in general, we must broaden our base as a company even further. We have to better support ourselves via the geography and the industries, orientate ourselves better to the markets and customers – and supply them with what they need even more efficiently.

But all in all Endress+Hauser is in quite a strong position… Yes, we came through 2009, the difficult year, better than many other companies, and we have developed more

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dynamically in 2010 and 2011 than most of our competitors. We have a good worldwide network of sales and production. Our range of products and services is excellent. But without doubt we should bear in mind the virtues that helped us in 2009, in particular our consistent concentration on markets and customers.

If there is a downslide in the economy, that alone won’t be sufficient.In a world in which nothing is certain, where we can no longer rely on anything, nothing is certain and there is no guarantee of success. We are well aware that if the market slumps, we will also be affected. But that is why it is so important that we prepare for this eventuality. We must stay alert and flexible. We cannot take anything for granted and we have to question things critically. We can only make progress and remain in top form as a company if we do not rest on our laurels.

How can a company stay in top form?By continually asking: ‘What can we do better?’ – particularly in terms of our customers. When business is good, we cannot simply distribute the money we earn, but we must invest it in the company as efficiently as possible. Kaizen, that is the process of continuous improvement, is the right way. Our objective in all this must be to avoid ‘muda’ – the Japanese expression for bad performance. No customer will pay us for unnecessary efforts, for something which is of no benefit to them – and will definitely not pay us for mistakes. We have to check time and again: is there anything that could be done faster, simpler, better?

That doesn’t sound like a big wheel you are turning. All around us the world is in turmoil and upheaval – is it enough to streamline processes and products here and there?The important issue is not the individual improvements, but thinking about the links. Look at nature… the organ-isms that thrive are those that adapt best to their environ-ment, that can successfully find a niche for themselves. That means, for example, for a company: only those who learn to work highly efficiently, who succeed in being flexible, will survive. We have to look at our world through the eyes of our customers, then we can see the direction we have to take!

What do you have in mind?I’m thinking, for example, of our internal organization, our processes from customer to customer. We often develop

our operations to meet our needs and habits – instead of looking at what our customers want and expect from us. A change in perspective also supports the development of new products and services… and fires our imagination how our markets will change in the coming years.

What direction do you think process automation will take in the future?There are a whole host of driving forces at work here: mega-trends, with major impact on the development of the whole environment in which we operate. First of all there is the demographic change that affects everything, a world population that continues to grow and age… against a back-ground of urbanization and an increasing proportion of people enjoying wealth. Added to this are the unsolved environmental issues, climate change, the shortage of natural resources – as well as technological developments such as the expansion in biotechnology.

All of this influences the industries in which we operate today. Demand for food is growing. More power, both conventional and alternative, will need to be generated. More pharmaceuticals will be required. There is a growing demand for clean water. More raw materials will have to be mined and recycled. Infrastructure in general needs to be expanded. And all this has to be done in an energy- saving and environmentally sustainable manner. There are endless opportunities for us here, for process automation is indispensible in all of this. I am certain that we will not run out of work, even in a hundred years!

You mentioned the keyword ‘biotechnology’. How does the stake in Finesse Solutions fit into this changing business environment?Biotechnology will permeate more and more industries in the future. It will develop into an enabling technology, a basis allowing more things to be produced faster, safer, more easily and more sustainably – not just in life sciences, where bio processing is already widely used today, but everywhere, in food production, in the chemical industry, even in mining.

In mining?Yes, for example microorganisms are used to extract ore from rocks. And in chemical industry, fermentation can replace current environmentally harmful manufacturing processes. The use of disposable equipment, in which Finesse Solutions specializes, not only reduces costs but is also environmentally friendly since equipment no longer requires costly cleaning using aggressive chemicals.

“Our customers do not simply want modern products or new products – they want products that solve their problems.”

17Focus: Curiosity

Klaus Endress (born 1948) completed his studies at the Berlin Technical University, graduating in Industrial Engineering. He worked for various companies in the United States before joining Endress+Hauser. In 1987 he became Managing Director of Endress+Hauser’s largest production center in Maulburg, Germany, before moving in 1992 to the holding company in Reinach, Switzerland. At the beginning of 1995, Klaus Endress took over the operative management of the Group from his father, company founder Dr Georg H Endress, who died in 2008. Klaus Endress is married with two grown-up children.

Listening to you speak, your great enthusiasm for the business shines through… Yes, I am always interested to see what tomorrow will bring. Of course, if I could choose, I would wish for a calmer economic and political environment. Then we would be able to concentrate more on the long-term, sustainable develop-ment of our company and would not have to spend so much time on short-term changes in our environment. But in the end the things that help and serve us well in times of uncertainty will also maintain our success in better times.

In our mission statement we say: we strive to sustainably generate outstanding value for our customers… in the final analysis that is the only constant, the only reliable point. Our customers do not simply want modern products or new products – they want the right products, products that solve their problems. If we can offer the best solutions, then our customers will reward us and purchase from us. We will continue to grow above the market average in good times – but also when things are not so good!

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A model of the futureMegatrends such as urbanization, communicative networking and demo-graphic change alter our world, the way we work and how we look at things. Once you understand their dynamics, you’re ahead of the pack.

The person with foresight is the mas-ter of the day – German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe knew this. But where to look? Whether you trust in ratios, read the cards or look to the stars: there are many questions, and the fact that the economy does not work with clockwork logic has (once again) been demonstrated these past few years. The market follows its own laws, and even experts are smarter with hindsight.

The 1982 bestseller ‘In Search of Excellence’ published a list of the most outstanding US companies of the day; among these names such as Atari, US Steel, Enron or Singer. Only two years later, a third of these companies were in serious trouble. Ten years later, half these companies were either insolvent, sold or relegated to the second division.

So, forecasts should be taken with a big pinch of salt. More often than not, they burst like bubbles on the sharp edges of reality. But there are also quite effective and clearly identifiable forces at work “that have shown themselves to be remarkably robust, continuous, tenacious, and virtually reliable,” as the German futurologist Matthias Horx has put it. Forces that help to shape tomorrow’s world – and which are therefore important for the develop-ment and orientation of businesses: the macro or megatrends.

Creeping development Demographic change, scarcity of re sources, urbaniza-tion, growing health awareness, shifts in the use of media, a growing propor-tion of women working – all these are megatrends. Effective on a global scale but progressing at different speeds, they don’t overrun us a like a tsunami, they slowly erode the way we live and see things.

Megatrends work slowly but stead-ily. Multi-faceted and unspectacular, they shape our social, economic and political world. The term was coined

by the American political scientist John Naisbitt in his book of the same name. He writes: “The super smart futurologists are wrong in most cases because they erroneously believe that new technological developments move in a straight line. They don’t. Instead, they move in an irregular up and down, in waves, and at times in leaps and bounds.”

Incisive events such as the catastro-phe of Fukushima, the Arab Spring or the euro debt crisis are not meant here. Their effect is eruptive, not evolution-ary, and hardly anyone had them on their radar. Real megatrends need time.

Surprising results Change often comes in through the back door. Who would have thought that a technical innovation like the washing machine would decisively advance emancipation by suddenly giving good housewives the time to read books? Some mega-trends are so all-encompassing that they provoke a conservative backlash. Globalization, for example, has kindled a new sort of patriotism. Matthias Horx states: “Megatrends are conservative and progressive at the same time.”

In fact, megatrends don’t play by the rules of the present, often inducing people to draw the wrong conclusions: contrary to what many believe, the growing mega cities have no bigger environmental impact than the open countryside, in fact, their carbon diox-ide balance is much better. And many more people growing to a ripe old age does not mean a longer phase of demen - tia – the period of old-age impairments drops faster than the life expectancy increases.

Since these tectonic plates collide at different speeds and with different strengths, and as these forces can mutually intensify or weaken, the whole system is subject to permanent change. The rise in life expectancy in the industrialized countries has effects

on the public health system, consumer behavior, energy consumption, envi-ronmental pollution and much more. Scarcity of resources, increasing popu-lations and growing demands influence the markets, politics, societies… so, where does the journey take us?

One thing is certain: while the world is getting more and more complex, people will always strive to make knowl - edge useful and beneficial. This grow-ing networking or ‘connectivity’, often experienced as acceleration, is the hidden driving force behind progress – a meta megatrend underlying many developments.

Strategic advantage The megatrend model can help us free ourselves from the clutches of complexity and to counteract the negative effects of the markets which – think of credit crunch – can paralyze whole national economies. Anyone succeeding in including the power play of the megatrends into their strategic plans will not necessarily be immune to crises, but may be better prepared and equipped. And – as ‘master of the day’ – be at best a nose ahead of the competition.

19Focus: Curiosity

Globalization, urbanization and demographic change will alter the world as we know it. But where does the journey end? The megatrend model may help us to understand the dynamics behind all these different developments.

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Mr Ziesemer, what do megatrends mean for Endress+Hauser?Every business is part of society and is therefore exposed to political, demographic and economic changes. Everything is interconnected, but not always to the same degree. There are megatrends that affect us only indirectly, others that influence our business like any other company – and there are megatrends that will have a crucial impact on our future.

Which megatrends are these?The trends that are relevant for us are those that are relevant for our custom-ers. The demographic change drives the demand for pharmaceutical products. Urbanization calls for new solutions in infrastructure. Energy consumption

in technical process engineering is not only a major cost factor, it must also be cut back for the sake of the environ-ment – today on a voluntary basis, tomor -row by law. As you can imagine, every-body in the industry is striving to make processes more efficient and safer.

Is the energy issue something like a super megatrend?From our point of view, certainly. The consumption of primary energy will double by the year 2050 and the con-sumption of electrical power will treble. Investments will be made both in con-ventional and alternative methods and this will open many doors for us. The business field of water & wastewater is also growing in importance. Desali-nation and treatment plants require

sophisticated technologies and highly sensitive methods are being developed for measuring quality parameters.

But megatrends are unreliable indicators. How does a thesis turn into a strategy? Do you work with probabilities?That would be dangerous! You cannot use the linear method to convert the impact of megatrends into hard and fast figures. Focusing on just one devel-opment would be negligent. What’s more, it would make no sense to have a bespoke solution for each and every potential case or application. We must therefore be prepared for a whole range of scenarios – with modular products and solutions that can be selected according to actual requirements.

“Technologies can have offspring”How do megatrends change process automation? Michael Ziesemer talks about future strategies and potential ways of going astray.

21Focus: Curiosity

Michael Ziesemer is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Endress+Hauser Group. The graduate engineer in telecommunication technology joined Endress+Hauser in 1981 and has held various executive positions before holding overall responsibility for Sales at Group level. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2002. As COO he is also the CEO’s deputy. The 61-year-old German is married and has two grown-up daughters.

“Where we feel we don’t have the competence, we make up the deficiency with cooperations and acquisitions.” Michael Ziesemer, COO of the Endress+Hauser Group

Wouldn’t it be better to wait and respond to our customers’ actual needs?Once our customers send their enquir-ies to us, it’s already too late. To be able to respond with competence and speed, you have to be involved at the earliest possible stage. Think of biotechnology, which is becoming increasingly impor-tant in different areas. Over the last five years we have been involved in pilot projects for the second generation of bio ethanol, where virtually every part of the plant can be used by deploying decomposition. Today, this technology is as yet not fully developed, but experi - ments are going on worldwide – and it’s the same with biomass. Once the breakthrough comes, we’ll be ready and waiting with the necessary know-how.

And if not?Then we’ll have other avenues. Electric mobility, for instance, is one way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Developing highly efficient batteries or particularly light or insulating materials will open up new business fields for

us. Technologies can have offspring – and we’re well advised to be there at the birth!

And if the megatrends should lead Endress+Hauser astray? Where we feel we don’t have the com-petence, we make up the deficiency with cooperations and acquisitions. Systemplan, specializing in the com-plete analysis of energy cycles, joined the Endress+Hauser Group last year. By acquiring an interest in the US com-pany Finesse Solutions, which has developed an efficient and seminal method with single-use solutions for bio reactors, we have made our way into bioprocess technology.

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The stuff ideas are made ofVirtually everybody has heard of Gore-Tex membrane – but hardly anyone knows that the same base material is also used to make cable insulation, guitar strings and even vascular prostheses. The variety of products reflects a unique corporate culture.

It was the end of the 1950s when US chemist Wilbert Gore faced a difficult decision. Working in R&D, he was used to questioning conventional thinking and trying out new approaches, but what should he do if his employer forbids him to do precisely that?

Bill Gore, as everybody called him, was a leading employee of a major chemical company. His speciality was polytetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) – a synthetic material with many useful properties. It is firm, hard-wearing, heat-resistant, hard to wet and virtually non-stick. The non-stick coating Teflon is the first widely marketed product made from this material. Now Bill Gore wanted to insulate cables with PTFE but his superiors intervened – a complete waste of time and money, they told him.

Disappointed, the inventor handed in his notice after 16 years with the company. With his wife Genevieve and son Robert, he set up his own business. Today, over 50 years later, W L Gore & Associates is a well recognized company in the use of fluoropolymers. The private US group of companies employs over 9,500 people in 30 countries and generates annual sales of more than three billion US dollars.

Innovation driven by culture Today, PTFE-sheathed cables are only one of many other products, the best known being the membrane sold under the trade name Gore-Tex, made of expanded PTFE. Tiny pores, 20,000 times smaller than a drop of water, make the material water and windproof and still allow it to breathe.

New uses and applications for this versatile material are being found all the time. It is used as a fiber and as a coating, from heavy-duty fabrics right through to medical engineer-ing and industrial goods. A very special corporate culture, marked by freedom and personal responsibility, promotes this creative spirit. “We keep on driving ahead new ideas that strengthen our expertise with PTFE and other fluoro-polymers,” says Michael Haag, spokesperson of Gore Ltd in Putzbrunn, Germany. “This allows us to give our people plenty of freedom for innovation.”

In addition to their regular duties, all employees can spend half a day every week to pursue their own ideas – as long as they don’t neglect their main tasks. The general

principle is: mistakes may be made as long as they don’t harm the company’s reputation. Before a new project is started, two questions must be answered: is it worth invest-ing so much energy? And, if everything goes wrong, can we come to terms with the failure?

Collective creativity Small units and flat hierarchies are a hallmark of the company to this day. People know each other and decisions are taken in teams. People can voluntarily join a project they find interesting. This creates dynamism. “In effect, the company works like a big market for ideas,” explains Michael Haag. “If someone doesn’t find a sufficient number of comrades-in-arms for his or her project, the idea may not have been as brilliant as it seemed at first.”

The fact that Gore today is among the leading makers of guitar strings is also owed to such a successful project. The strings originally came to the laboratory as mere test speci-mens, intended to try out coated Bowden cables. But the PTFE coating made the strings unusable for their original purpose. Some hobby guitarists were not discouraged and carried on. The outcome is the Elixir product line: the strings protected by an ultrafine polymer hose hold their brilliant sound as much as five times longer.

If the developers had had to march through the insti-tutions of a normal technology company – the world of music would most likely be poorer today.

23Focus: Curiosity

Useful membrane To ensure that measuring instruments always work reliably even under harsh conditions, the housing of sensors and transmitters must be dust and waterproof. Endress+Hauser uses Gore’s pressure compensation and ventilation elements for flow, level and pressure devices. A permeable membrane made of expanded PTFE – the principle of the Gore-Tex membrane – allows the exchange of air without water penetrating the housing. High standards in terms of quality and function also drive innovations at the German-based maker of syn-thetics who has supplied Endress+ Hauser’s production plants in Rein-ach, Switzerland, and Maulburg, Germany, for the last 15 years.

www.gore.com

Success formula: The plastic polytetrafluoroethylene – the diagram symbolizes the chemical structure of a single C2F4 molecule – has many unique properties and is used for a wide range of products. The photos show (clockwise from above) the Gore-Tex membrane, cables, industrial pressure compensation and ventilation elements, guitar strings, yarns and medical implants using the material.

C Carbon F Fluorine

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A nose for the right solutionA mysteriously-named technology, a sensor with top-seller potential and a tenacious developer. A recipe for concrete innovation? Perhaps. But the jury is still out.

The Toggenburg region in northeastern Switzerland is a tranquil area of undulating mountains where the people are known for being reliable and industrious. Any hi-tech company that decides to settle here has to be like Innova-tive Sensor Technology IST: unpretentious and down-to-earth. For more than 20 years, IST has been producing best-in-class sensors tailored to the needs of the market and its customers.

Sensor manufacturer IST is a specialist in thin-film tech-nology. The company’s temperature, humidity and flow sensors are used in building services engineering and medi-cal technology as well as in automobiles, kitchen appliances and measurement instruments. It is a company eager to capture new markets such as gas sensors. Based there is 33-year-old Thomas Bürgler, a seven-year veteran of IST. He completed vocational training as an electrician before study-ing electronics engineering. And he is a young man who soon realized he wanted to broaden his career even further.

Mission: blackbody radiation This led to what IST Man-aging Director Dr Mirko Lehmann calls a “supplemental personnel development measure”. Thomas Bürgler decided to pursue an extra-occupational master’s degree in micro- and nanotechnology at the University of Applied Sciences in Buchs, Switzerland. His thesis? The development of a blackbody.

Blackbody? “This is what physicists call a body – or cavity – that fully absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation at every wavelength,” explains the 33-year-old. Because they can send out electromagnetic radiation across a wide spectrum at the same time, blackbodies are ideal emitters for use in gas sensors. “Every gas absorbs electro-magnetic radiation in a very defined area,” adds Thomas Bürgler. That means conclusions can be drawn regarding existent gases and their concentrations.

The interest centers on carbon dioxide measurements. A CO2 molecule typically absorbs radiation at a wavelength of 4.3 micrometers, in the middle range of the infrared spectrum. “You can save a lot of energy in air-conditioned buildings by supplying fresh air only when the interior space has become stale – or, in other words, when the CO2 concen-tration is high,” explains Mirko Lehmann. But other areas hold great promise as well, such as the detection of ethanol (alcohol breathalyzers for instance) or ammonia (which can appear in fermenting cellars). “Our aim is to produce a cost-effective emitter based on thin-film technology.”

Thomas Bürgler then set out to develop an “infrared wideband emitter based on a ceramic substrate”, which is the rather benign title of his master’s thesis. The ceramic

substrate will be furnished with a platinum thin-film that acts as a heater, in addition to a coating designed specifically to give the emitter the characteristics of a blackbody.

The developer carried out one series of tests after another, analyzed different substrate materials, dimensions and strengths and also examined various coatings. From time to time he augmented his systematic approach with a dose of intuition. “To find the right solution you also have to rely on your gut,” says Thomas Bürgler. The results are very promising. He sums it up by explaining that “you can design an emitter with an aluminum oxide or zirconium oxide sub-strate which radiates with sufficient intensity in our key wavelength range.”

Sink or swim? One unresolved issue is the modulation capability of the emitter. To deliver reliable measurements, the emitter needs to operate at a minimum frequency of five hertz. That means the less than fingernail-sized com-ponent has to heat to 700 degrees Celsius fives time per second, and then cool down again as best as possible. The plan is to experiment with a thinner substrate. For now though, the young developer is occupied with the commis-sioning of a new production line.

Although just as confident, Mirko Lehmann tries to tamp down expectations: “Only one out of ten developments is successful.” This still doesn’t keep Thomas Bürgler from enjoying his new responsibility. He also knows that should the blackbody eventually become market-ready, he can thank his colleagues and supervisors for their support, along with his thesis advisor, Professor Dr Jürgen Wöllenstein from the Department of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

To show his appreciation, Thomas Bürgler took his colleagues and advisors on a mountain hike on the spur of the moment. After all, in Toggenburg you can reach new heights even if you keep both feet on the ground!

25Focus: Curiosity

Inquiring mind: Thomas Bürgler is developing an infrared emitter designed for gas measurements.

Great potential: It could eventually supplement the IST product portfolio, but several hurdles must be overcome before the infrared emitter is market-ready.

Meeting of minds: Jiři Polak, Head of R&D, Managing Director Mirko Lehmann and developer Thomas Bürgler (from the left) discuss the latest results.

Sensor specialist Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG, founded in 1999, was acquired by the Endress+Hauser Group in 2005. The company has 85 employees at its headquarters in Wattwil, Switzerland, and an additional 60 employees at a pro-duction facility in Roznov, Czech Republic. IST also has a six-person sales and market-ing team in Las Vegas, Nevada. A new production and administration building in the adjacent community of Ebnat-Kappel is scheduled for completion in late 2012.

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Our footprints in the environmentAll production activity leaves its traces. The carbon footprint shows which steps have how much weight – and how the ecological impact can be kept as low as possible.

We are heating up our planet. Whilst nobody can predict the true effects of climate change, most scientists agree that humans play a key role in global warming – and virtually no clima­tologist denies that the emission of greenhouses gases must be drastically reduced to counteract these develop ­ ments.

“Climate protection will play an increasingly important role in future,” Frank Steinhoff believes. The 49­year­old is Director of Technology of the Endress+Hauser competence center for flow measurement engineering in Reinach, Switzerland. “As a production facility,” says Frank Steinhoff, “we must be prepared if our customers ask perti­nent questions or if legislation changes one day and tells us what to do.”

Complex concept But how should we measure the contribution to climate warming made by each single product? “An initial idea came with the concept of the product carbon footprint,” explains Frank Steinhoff, “where the greenhouse gas emissions are detected and balanced along the whole life cycle of an instrument.” The Director of Technology has investi­gated a number of different products and scenarios to review the concept in terms of its suitability and usability.

Raw materials, procurement logis­tics, production, distribution logistics, use and recycling are all taken into consideration in the calculation of the product carbon footprint. “A wealth of data,” says Frank Steinhoff, “as each individual flowmeter is made up of several hundred components.” The bottom line shows equivalent carbon dioxide values for every step in the fulfillment process. Even the

country­specific fuel mix and regional emission standards are considered.

“The concept suffers from a certain degree of fuzziness,” Frank Steinhoff admits. “After all, you can’t go into detail indefinitely.” Also, there are no internationally approved standards as yet. “But the product carbon footprint brings transparency. It makes things comparable and gives us a basis for decision­making,” believes the Director of Technology.

New insights The investigation confirmed the obvious, but also held some surprises. “We knew that trans­portation logistics play a key role in devices with large nominal diameters. What we didn’t know was how much more economical ship’s freight is compared with air freight,” says Frank Steinhoff. Not surprisingly, the entire logistics chain from deadline schedul­ing to the means of transportation has a significant impact on the footprint. “Working closely with our customers, we can accomplish a great deal here.”

The results also underscore the importance of the choice of materials. “We can make the footprint substan­tially smaller if we use recycled steel – function permitting. Also, by keeping the material weight as low as possible at the earliest stage in product design.” As the concept looks at the entire product life cycle, the operation of the instrument is also a significant factor. “This speaks clearly in favor of energy­saving two­wire technology that operates with a low voltage,” says Frank Steinhoff. “This is where we have found the right direction in the Endress+Hauser Group with our uniform platform for two­wire devices for flow and level measurements.”

Additional production facilities in the United States, China and India support Endress+ Hauser’s efforts to keep transportation distances as short as possible. “We’re moving in the right direction,” Frank Steinhoff summarizes. “But we still have a long way to go!”

27Focus: Curiosity

Carbon footprint of an instrumentThe product carbon footprint measures all emissions that affect the climate throughout the life cycle of a product. The example shows the ecological impact of a Promass 83H: the mass flow­meter with a 50 millimeter nominal diameter, much used in the chemical industry, is made up of almost 60 kilos of steel. This is shown in high carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents for raw materials and recycling. (Production in Switzerland; operation in Germany; life span 20 years)

Recycling: 130 kg CO2

Production: 24 kg CO2

Procurement logistics: 8 kg CO2

Distribution logistics: 3 kg CO2

Raw materials: 437 kg CO2

Use: 561 kg CO2

How to reduce the ecological impact

Use New transmitter electron­ics recently allowed the use of energy­saving two­wire tech­nology in Coriolis flowmeters.

Distribution logistics An order in Shang­hai delivered from Cernay, France, by air or ship, or directly from the plant in Suzhou, China.

Raw materials The new Promag L electromagnetic flowmeters consist­ently minimize materials usage. The comparison shows the improvement.

4,145 kg CO2

2,745 kg CO2

699 kg CO2

596 kg CO2

4,714kg CO2

165 kg CO2

103 kg CO2

-98 %-96 %

-15 %

-34 %

Promag 50 WWeight 850 kg

Promag 50 LWeight 537 kg

Promass 83HFour­wire device

Air freight France – China (8,162 km)

Promass E 200 Two­wire device

Ship cargo France – China (20,482 km)

Truck load Suzhou –Shanghai (100 km)(Nominal diameter 1,200 mm; operation

in Switzerland; life span 20 years)(Nominal diameter 50 mm; operation in Switzerland; life span 20 years)

(Promag 50 L; nominal diameter 1,200 mm; weight 537 kg – distribution logistics only)

Total: 1.163 kg CO2

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Being energy-conscious means keeping an eye on where energy is used or wasted. But when does energy monitoring pay off and what does it achieve? We answer some of the key questions.

What is the idea behind energy monitoring?Utilities keep industrial processes running. For converting substances and processing materials, manufacturers rely on water, air, gas, electricity and steam to feed in or extract the required energy. This is exactly where energy monitoring – measuring, displaying and monitoring energy flows – comes into play.

What conclusions can be drawn from energy monitoring?Measurements reveal how much energy is being consumed, including where, when and for what purpose. They shed light on the energy efficiency of individual plants, systems and machines and show how the figures compare to other businesses. “Most companies could reduce their energy costs by 15 percent without major investments,” says Michael Hager, Managing Director of Systemplan, an energy effi-ciency consultancy in which Endress+Hauser took a major-ity stake in 2011. (See company portrait on the following pages.)

Energy monitoring is what makes identifying the flaws and their causes possible in the first place. Last but not least, the measurements show just how quickly an invest-ment will pay off. That helps companies determine the priority level of their projects.

How are such systems set up?As a first step, precise measurements have to be carried out on all of the utilities, followed by a reasonable allocation of the consumption according to the machinery, systems or the relevant cost center. “This is why energy monitoring solutions nearly always call for engineering expertise,” emphasizes Tobias Ruta, Marketing Manager for Endress+Hauser in Germany. That means addressing several questions. Which systems are consuming the most energy? How and what can be measured? Where does additional measurement technology have to be integrated? How are the measuring signals transmitted and integrated into the energy monitor-ing system?

Installation of the measurement technology also calls for professional expertise. An improper measurement principle, selection of the wrong measuring point or a lack of pressure compensation can all have a major impact. “Even the small-est error can negate the validity of the measurement data.”

How can Endress+Hauser help?“We bring a wealth of experience in the design, planning and installation of energy monitoring systems, in addition to the required engineering expertise in measurement and automation technologies,” says Tobias Ruta. “With our

Stop energy going up in smoke

29Know-how

devices we can measure water, air, gas and steam, and recently we have even added electricity measurements. To top it off, our energy monitoring solutions are flexible and modular.”

Simple low-end solutions include a flow calculator that monitors preset limit values. In the mid-range, an energy manager — or intelligent recorder — logs and displays the measurement data and produces reports. Sophisticated energy monitoring solutions depend on high-level soft - ware that provides a high-resolution display of the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, indicates peak energy demand and generates alarms when deviations occur. Detailed analyses and comparisons are also supported.

The key aspect is analysis and interpretation of the mea-surement results however. By virtue of its majority stake in Systemplan, Endress+Hauser can now offer a comprehen-sive range of energy efficiency consulting services through a single source. “Our experts bring in-depth knowledge of process and business interdependencies,” adds Managing Director Michael Hager.

What measures are typically undertaken after installing an energy monitoring solution? It’s not uncommon for companies to use their engineering systems and plants for decades. Energy monitoring exposes the weak points with respect to energy efficiency. “Com-pressed air systems waste on average a third of the energy due to leakage,” says Michael Hager, who speaks from experience. When it comes to compressors and engines, it frequently pays to replace them with new, energy-efficient

models. Lighting is one of the most commonly neglected issues. For example, motion detectors instead of conven-tional on/off switches go a long way toward saving energy. Dimming in the daytime, and of course energy-saving light bulbs, also help.

When operating multiple production lines, it makes sense to utilize the most energy-efficient systems to full capacity. Peak demand frequently transpires within a specific, narrow timeframe. If the agreed-upon peak load is exceeded, elec-tricity providers apply hefty surcharges. “In this case it’s worth considering shifting the capacity around to take advantage of cheaper rates, such as implementing nighttime production. Another savings measure involves keeping energy-intensive processes from running simultaneously.”

What are the stumbling blocks to more energy efficiency and reduced costs? “To date, only one in five German companies have dealt with the issue of energy efficiency at all,” says Michael Hager. He believes this can be traced to a number of causes, including the fear of disrupting tried-and-tested processes and the impact on workloads. His conclusion: “We have to raise the awareness level before anything will change. Until then, most companies will continue to understand energy costs only from what they see on the electricity bill.”

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Energy efficiency’s hidden treasuresMany companies throw money out the window — literally. Wasted energy flows unchecked out of leaky ducts and pipes. Endress+Hauser’s engineering consultancy Systemplan helps companies to become energy efficient.

In his dark-blue suit, impeccable tie and perfectly-parted hair, Michael Hager doesn’t come across as the adventurous type. In his mid-50s, he appears downright serious. Although he chooses his words carefully, he can create a dynamic atmosphere when it comes to his favorite topic – energy efficiency.

When he finally lets loose, Michael Hager spews out numbers, facts, exam-ples and explanations faster than a spinning electricity meter. German industry consumes a quarter of the country’s primary energy and energy often accounts for more than a third of the total cost in process industry. Most companies could reduce their energy costs on average by 15 percent “without major investments”.

The Managing Director discovered his calling more or less by accident over 20 years ago after launching a career as an independent contractor in the compressed air industry. Ten percent of industrial electricity goes into the production of compressed air. Still, many companies waste around a third through leakage en route from com-pressor to consumer. It soon became clear to Michael Hager that “energy efficiency is at the core of the issue”.

Consulting from A to Z  Michael Hager shifted his entire focus to energy efficiency in 1998 by creat-ing the engineering consultancy Sys-templan, adding heating and cooling to complement the compressed air segment. These days the focus is on the production, distribution and con-sumption of electricity, gas and water. The Managing Director emphasizes: “Instead of being an isolated issue,

energy efficiency is always the interac-tion of several different things. That is the real challenge.”

Systemplan consultants use the same approach with each customer. The first step is to analyze the energy flow in the company, then look for potential savings by relying on a multi-tude of comparison statistics. The final step involves thoroughly examining the most promising areas for savings. This last step is the key. “We also help the customer implement and track the success of the energy savings meas-ures. That is our greatest strength.”

This is where Systemplan combines its unique know-how. “We understand the processes, as well as the measure-ment technology,” says Michael Hager. The company has a staff of more than 20 full-time employees — electrical and process engineers, technicians and salespeople — plus freelancers who support the team when needed. The high average age of the employ-ees is rather conspicuous: “What other companies turn their back on is in great demand at Systemplan – years of experience.”

The customer base includes steel works, automobile and tire manufac-turers, glass plants, pharmaceutical companies and food producers. The company’s specialists analyze projects such as the utilization of heat recovery systems. They even optimize individ-ual machines themselves. The key is better efficiency. “Our measures often pay off in less than three years,” says Michael Hager. This makes lots of eyes light up. “The most important technical unit,” adds the Managing Director with a mischievous grin, “is still the euro.”

Safeguarding the future  Michael Hager has thought about the future of the company more than once over the past few years. “I was preoc cu-pied with the succession issue, but most important was the thought of how Systemplan could continue to evolve.” A technical relationship had been in place with Endress+Hauser for many years. “You can only evaluate some-thing if you measure it correctly. That makes properly designed and installed measurement technology very impor-tant when managing energy.”

This is why the Systemplan founder considers the 2011 majority-stake acquisition of his company by Endress+Hauser a “stroke of luck”. For Michael Hager it’s about more than just safe-guarding his life’s work. “It’s about the chance to take energy efficiency to the world stage together with a global player.”

Michael Hager finds it inconceivable that Systemplan will ever run out of work to do. The demand for energy is growing and prices are rising. Added to that is political pressure to reduce greenhouse emissions and the plain fact that many companies are still in the dark about ways to improve effi-ciency. “To date, only one in five Ger-man companies have dealt with the issue of energy efficiency at all.” The team at Systemplan will be busy for a long time to come.

31Know-how

On the path to growth The Endress+Hauser Group acquired a majority stake in Systemplan GmbH in June 2011. Based in Durmersheim, Germany, the engineering con­sultancy will retain its indepen­dence. Systemplan brings a wealth of expertise in energy efficiency, which the Endress+ Hauser sales centers plan to exploit in order to win new customers for the consulting company. Under the Endress+ Hauser umbrella, Systemplan will expand these activities step by step, beginning in Germany and Austria, eventually extending its reach to Switzerland, France and Italy. Other countries will follow.

www.systemplangmbh.de

Experienced advisor: Michael Hager (54) has guided companies on the path to improved energy efficiency for 14 years.

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A landmark in engineeringThe world’s most energy efficient sludge incinera‑ tion plant gave Endress+Hauser engineers the opportunity to show their potential.

The modern Lynetten sludge incinera‑tion plant at Denmark’s biggest waste‑water treatment works could well become Copenhagen’s new landmark building due to its bold architecture and pioneering technology. “There is no place in the world where sludge is incinerated as efficiently as here,” says Ralf Kieselstein, project leader at Endress+Hauser Germany.

Located not far from Copenhagen’s port, Lynetten treats the wastewater of over a million inhabitants. Built in 1980, the sewage plant has since been refitted and upgraded a number of times. A real milestone was recently the replacement of the two multiple‑hearth incinerators by a fluidized‑bed furnace.

A single source The work was carried out by German plant builder Bamag Waste to Energy who, in turn, took Endress+Hauser on board as general supplier of the whole automation and electrical engineering. “Bamag wanted a main automation vendor. We’ve handled the entire engineering – right down to the lighting concept.”

Sand is added during the incinera‑tion in the fluidized‑bed furnace. This method keeps the temperature up and power consumption low. While a sophisticated cleansing system using electrofilters, spray coolers, pocket filters and scrubbers minimizes flue gas emissions, the pride of the plant is the integrated heat capture system: for the first time ever, a condenser is used in a sludge incineration plant. Rather than being blown into the atmosphere, exhaust heat is captured and supplies heat to 3,000 households.

“Although we’ve handled a number of bigger projects together with Bamag, Lynetten was a formidable challenge for us,” remembers Ralf Kieselstein. “The plant is highly complex in technical

terms and, of course, we didn’t want to disappoint our customer.” So Ralf Kieselstein’s team accepted the chal‑lenge and took over responsibility for Endress+Hauser’s biggest main automation vendor project to date.

Despite installing close to 200 Endress+Hauser instruments, the actual measurement engineering was almost a sideshow. The contract included project and site management, hardware and software engineering, configuration of the plant controls and installation work. Ralf Kieselstein is full of praise: “We delivered switchboards and transformers and even planned and provided the indoor lighting. The whole team has done an excellent job!”

“Lynetten has shown once again that projects of this magnitude can only be successfully completed in a strong partnership,” underlines Ralf Kiesel‑stein. What counted was the good rela tionship with Bamag and open communication. “You have to be ready to learn from your project partner. Over time, you’ll have a better under‑standing of the processes and find better and more efficient solutions.”

Royal glamour On the day that Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, started the ultramodern plant with a push of a button, Ralf Kieselstein admits that it was a proud moment: “Now that really was the crowning glory of the project!”

Engineering at its best: the colored silos behind the steel and glass facade of Copen-hagen’s innovative sludge incineration plant are illuminated at night – an impressive sight.

33Know‑how

Instrumentation for the energy turnaroundThis project puts everything in the shade: covering 15 square kilometers and boasting a nominal power of 370 megawatts, the world’s biggest thermal power station is under construction in California’s Mojave Desert. From 2013 on, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will supply 140,000 households with renewable energy.

The plant consists of three units: over 50,000 single‑tracking mirrors, each 2.20 by 3.20 meters in size, bundle the sunlight and focus it onto the boilers of the central solar towers where superheated steam drives power‑generating turbines. “Feed‑water heaters deliver high system efficiency,”

explains Ravi Jethra, industry manager at Endress+Hauser USA. Twenty‑three Level flex FMP51 devices will be mounted in these feedwater heaters to monitor the water level. Using guided radar technology, they deliver reliable measurement even if the surface is agitated or in the presence of steam.

“Accurate and reliable measurements are crucial when it comes to optimum plant operation,” stresses Ravi Jethra. “We have managed to convince our customer with cutting‑edge technology and our proven industry expertise.”

Billion dollar investment: the world’s biggest solar thermal power plant is under construction in the Mojave Desert.

A boost for biogas measurementRising energy prices and growing environmental awareness means that the market for biogas is booming. In terms of measurement engineering, such processes present a significant challenge: biogas, fermentation gas and landfill gas are typically characterized by high moisture and low pressures, and the formation of condensate and pollutants. “Prosonic Flow B 200 is the first flowmeter of its kind, specially developed for the biogas industry. It guarantees stable and reliable measurement even under heavily fluctuating conditions,” says Lukas Hablützel, Endress+Hauser’s Global Industry Manager for Renewable Energies. The instrument detects the volume flow with ultimate precision and reliability. In addition, the ultrasonic principle allows the continuous measure‑ment of the methane content. Prosonic Flow B 200 even detects a reversal of the flow direction. Lukas Hablützel: “This, in turn, allows a quick response to process disruptions and ensures high efficiency.”

changes34

Iran

Saudi Arabia United Arab

Emirates

QatarDoha

Ras Laffan

North Dome

Natural wealth The North Dome Field, discovered in 1971 offshore Qatar and stretching over 7,000 square kilometers, is the world’s biggest gas field. It holds 900 tril-lion cubic feet (25 trillion cubic meters), a fifth of all known natural gas deposits – sufficient to supply an industrialized nation such as Germany for 250 years.

35Know-how

A pearl in the desert sandThe world hardly took any notice when the first cargo of gas oil was loaded in Qatar. Yet the gas-to-liquids plant at Ras Laffan could be the herald of a new energy age.

36 changes

Project of superlatives: At peak times, almost 52,000 people from 60 nations worked at the Pearl GTL site in Ras Laffan.

The world’s largest building site was visible from outer space. Covering an area of 2.3 square kilometers, the size of 320 football fields, a gigantic industrial plant has risen from the desert sands in the north-east of the emirate of Qatar in just five years: Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GTL), the world’s biggest natural gas liquefaction plant.

It is a project of superlatives: no fewer than 500 million hours of work have gone into Pearl GTL. At peak times, 52,000 people from 60 nations worked at the site. 600,000 cubic meters of concrete were cast, enough to build seven Wembley stadiums. 120,000 tonnes of steel have gone into the construction, equal to a dozen Eiffel Towers. Cabling extends over 12,000 kilometers, the distance from Qatar to Japan. The source code controlling the gigantic plant boasts 12 million lines – about three times more than the first Windows operating system.

Multinational oil and gas giant Shell has invested almost 19 billion US dollars in this joint venture with state-owned Qatar Petroleum, the largest single-project investment in the company’s history. Pearl GTL has enlarged Shell’s pro-duction capacities by no less than eight percent. No wonder that CEO Peter Voss talks of a “very important growth driver” for the company.

It is the sheer size, and above all the complexity, which makes Pearl GTL unique. The plant covers the entire value-added chain, from production of the gas to oil products, from the source to the gas pump. “The complexity of the building was immense, from engineering to commission-ing,” reports Thomas Vogel, Director of International Key Accounts at Endress+Hauser in Reinach, Switzerland, who has accompanied the mega project in Qatar for a number of years.

Decades of experience The name ‘Pearl’ hints at the refine-ment of the base product. The Ras Laffan plant processes 1.6 billion cubic feet (45 million cubic meters) of natural gas every day. Two platforms 60 kilometers offshore exploit the rich North Dome Field, with resources expected to last for decades.

Back on land, the gas is first dried and cleaned: in addition to ethane for petrochemical processes, the plant separates liquefied petroleum gas that is marketed regionally along with condensate that serves as raw material for further refinement – all in all the equivalent of 120,000 barrels (19,000 tonnes) of oil per day is processed, plus 600 tonnes of elemental sulfur that is used as base material for fertiliz-ers and other valuable products. What’s left is highly pure methane, which is then liquefied in a three-stage process.

Over a period of three and a half decades, Shell has refined and improved the GTL process – 3,500 patents bear witness to this immense know-how. Shell has run natural gas liquefaction on an industrial scale since 1993. “Bintulu in Malaysia was the first plant of this kind,” recalls Andy Brown, Managing Director of Pearl GTL and Executive Vice President for Shell in Qatar. “It took us 10 years before we were confident of having the technology, operational experience and commercial knowledge to develop a world-scale GTL plant.”

Air separators first generate the pure oxygen needed for the gas synthesis, 28,800 tonnes every day – “as much as 1,000 truckloads,” says Andy Brown. At a temperature of 1,350 degrees Celsius, the oxygen reacts with the methane. The synthesized gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is then liquefied using the Fischer-Tropsch pro-cess into long-chained paraffin – waxy hydrocarbons – and

Know-how 37

Nerve center: The control room masterminds the gigantic Pearl GTL plant.

water, using a catalyst developed by Shell. The paraffin is ultimately split in the cracker.

The plant produces 140,000 barrels (22,000 tonnes) of high-grade gas-to-liquid products every day. The main product is a virtually sulfur-free GTL gasoil that is added to standard diesel fuel. Pearl GTL also produces kerosene, base oils (for synthetic lubricants), paraffin (a raw material for cleaning agents) and naphtha, a base substance for the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Process engineering challenge With all these superlatives, it’s no wonder that Pearl GTL also boasts the world’s biggest fieldbus installation. Endress+Hauser alone has supplied over 1,700 measuring instruments for the mega project. Air separation, gas treatment, gas liquefaction, water treatment, infrastructure, power generation and utilities sections work with ‘blue’ engineering. Endress+Hauser instruments measure flow using vortex, electromagnetic and Coriolis flowmeters and determine levels with a range of technolo-gies including radar, guided radar, ultrasonic, vibronic, hydrostatic, capacitive and conductive measurement.

“The sheer order volume is quite extraordinary,” stresses Thomas Vogel. “The work and effort involved in coordination and communication was considerable.” Spread over several years, deliveries were made through nine sales centers to plant-building companies and contractors in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea, as well as directly to Qatar.

“Working in our field of instrumentation, we have taken on the job of base and detail engineering and have eventu-ally supervised the instrument integration, commissioning and start-up in Qatar,” says Thomas Vogel. In particular the

last stage, so important for the smooth interaction of the individual components, proved to be a formidable challenge for the crew of five. “Everything had to work perfectly in the end. To get the job done, we didn’t just stop after eight hours’ work.”

The commitment of all the people involved has paid divi-dends. “We achieved a flawless start-up,” says Andy Brown. “Over 99 percent of all components have worked right first time.” The first GTL products were shipped in the summer of 2011; the plant is expected to run at full capacity by mid-2012.

Steep learning curve Thomas Vogel is certain: “We have learned a lot in the course of the Pearl GTL project.” Endress+ Hauser has created new organizational structures to cope with such mega projects at all stages. “One important thing we found: the earlier we are involved in planning, the more we can contribute.”

Endress+Hauser was one of the many suppliers on the Pearl GTL project. An Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell has been in place since May 2011. “Initially for five years, we are now Shell’s general supplier for process measurement engineering,” says Thomas Vogel. “For a project such as Pearl GTL, this would mean we would be involved right from the start and could talk about measure-ment technology much earlier with contractors and plant builders, discuss requirements, specifications, configuration and work out a harmonized and optimized concept with the other parties involved.”

A group full of energy With net sales totaling around 470 billion US dollars in 2011, Royal Dutch Shell plc is one of the world’s leading groups of companies in the oil & gas business. Headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, the British-Dutch company counts almost 97,700 employees and operates in over 140 countries. In hydrocarbons, Shell operates along a whole value-added chain: from exploration, devel-opment and production of mineral oils and natural gas to processing, transporting and marketing to the petrochemical industry. While the company generates about 50 percent of its sales through natural gas, Shell is also commit-ted to the development of renewable energies and hydrogen systems.

38 changes

Challenge: The immense industrial complexes on the Arabian Peninsula must be operated and serviced.

“A catalyst for our business”Bahman Dastvareh runs the sales center in Qatar. The Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell, he believes, will change his business.

Mr Dastvareh, the establishment of Endress+Hauser Qatar has a lot to do with Pearl GTL… You’re right – in fact, the Pearl GTL project was one of the key factors that prompted us to set up this sales center.

What role did you and your team play in this project?We were involved in the project from an early stage. We organized fieldbus training and later on supervised com-missioning and supported the Shell people during the start-up phase. There were peak times when we had five service engineers at the plant.

From your point of view, what does the Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell mean?Anyone who knows Shell will also know that agreements of that kind don’t happen overnight but are the outcome of a long process that involves a lot of people throughout the company. The Enterprise Framework Agreement is like a long-term loan – it calls for great commitment on our part. Our partners gave it to us in writing, as it were, that they can place their trust in us and our capabilities and now it’s up to us to deliver our full support.

How do you want to bring the Shell contract to life?We see many chances beyond the actual instrumentation business. We are currently in talks with our local Shell part-ners on maintenance concepts, spare parts management and options for harmonizing the installed base. We’re also discussing training offers and calibration services – things that allow us to create sustainable value and provide effec-tive support for our customers. We are also committed to

setting up a service center in the Ras Laffan area, close to Pearl GTL.

Which opportunities do you see in the long run?The Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell shows the whole of the oil and gas world how strong and capable we are in this field. It has strengthened our position well beyond the industry. I believe that it will act as a catalyst for our business worldwide, but especially here in the Middle East region.

Bahman Dastvareh (49) is Managing Director of Endress+ Hauser Qatar. He has studied technical management and has worked for Endress+Hauser for 20 years in Germany, Switzer-land and latterly in the Middle East Support Center in Dubai. He is married with two children.

Know-how 39

Growth region: The Middle East is developing rapidly – skyscrapers dominate the skyline of Qatar’s capital Doha.

A tight network of supportThe Middle East region is currently in economic boom. Endress+Hauser supports its customers with a strong presence on the Arabian peninsula.

The dramatic change in the Middle East is striking – industrial complexes bear witness to the rapid development and skyscrapers demonstrate a new self-confidence. However, tradition and the modern age are not in conflict: “If you want to have business success in this region, you have to be familiar with the Arab culture,” stresses Andreas Parpas. He is Managing Director of the Middle East Support Center set up in 2006 in the United Arab Emirates by Endress+Hauser Instruments Inter-national – a subsidiary dedicated to developing and supporting interna-tional business.

“Important mainstays of our presence in the Middle East are our representatives,” states Andreas Parpas – companies working in close partnership with Endress+Hauser. The growing importance of the region has been recently reflected in the founda-tion of two Endress+Hauser sales centers: Endress+Hauser Qatar was established in 2009 to support the Pearl GTL mega project and in Saudi Arabia, Endress+Hauser has operated a joint-venture with the Anasia Group since 2011.

Iraq

Jordan

Lebanon

Syria

Bagdad

Damascus

Amman

Bint Jbeil

Kuweit

Qatar

Kuweit

Jeddah

Riyadh

DohaAl Khobar

Yemen

Saudi Arabia

Taiz

Iran

Oman

United Arab Emirates Muscat

Dubai

Pakistan

KarachiAbu Dhabi

Endress+Hauser Middle East Support CenterManaging Director: Andreas Parpas28 employees

Sales centerBranch officeRepresentative

Endress+Hauser QatarManaging Director: Bahman Dastvareh8 employees

Endress+Hauser ArabiaManaging Director: Craig Horan30 employees

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Partners in industry: Endress+Hauser is Shell’s global main supplier for process measurement engineering.

At home in the oil & gas business From newcomer to general supplier: the Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell has made Endress+Hauser a player in the oil & gas industry.

Production sites were inspected, questionnaires were completed. A whole basket of products was packed and prices, services and terms were negotiated. The last round of talks continued well into the night and had to be carried on the next day. In the end, the hard work was rewarded: Shell selected Endress+Hauser as its contract partner for process measure-ment engineering and related services.

For Thomas Vogel, the Enterprise Framework Agreement was the crown ing glory after many years of commitment. “We gradually got a foothold in the oil & gas business, acquired the necessary application knowledge and developed products tailored to the industry’s needs,” says the International Key Accounts Direc-tor at Endress+Hauser in Reinach, Switzerland.

The Enterprise Framework Agree-ment is initially valid for five years, with an option for another five years. Endress+Hauser supplies the energy company worldwide with engineering and technologies for flow, level, pres-sure and temperature measurement and liquid analysis. Endress+Hauser also supports the group as service

partner, for example in project man-agement, engineering, maintenance, repairs and site services in Shell facili-ties all over the world.

Virtually no other manufacturer, says Thomas Vogel, offers such a broad range of high-quality measuring instru-ments for the oil & gas industry and has the same wealth of experience in fieldbus integration. “We’ve shown with Pearl GTL that we can successfully tackle and complete even the biggest of projects.” A rich experience in integrat-ing business processes and web-based solutions for life cycle management also helped.

Arrived “At one time, we were almost unknown in the oil & gas business, vir - tu ally a nobody,” says Thomas Vogel. Today, according to its share in sales, the industry is actually one of the biggest business sectors for Endress+ Hauser. “The Enterprise Framework Agreement with Shell has shown without doubt: Endress+Hauser has arrived in the oil & gas industry!”

In good hands A global network of international key account managers takes care of Endress+Hauser’s major customers oper-ating worldwide. Since 2011, Peter Ammerlaan coordinates the development of the global Shell account and leads the roll-out of the Enterprise Framework Agreement. “Along with my team, it’s my role to provide out-standing value for Shell, whether it be day-to-day operations and maintenance or working on new projects,” the 35-year-old Dutch Key Account Manager says. “We strengthen our long-term rela-tionship with Shell and continue to develop our internal support network.”

Know-how 41

Global player: Shell runs plants all over the world. Close cooperation with selected suppliers will ease construction, operation and maintenance.

“We wanted a reliable supplier”Why has Shell chosen Endress+Hauser as a main instrumentation supplier? Instrumentation Specialist Rong Gul tells us why.

What is the aim of the Enterprise Framework Agreement between Shell and Endress+Hauser?The aim of this agreement is to develop key relationships with a selected supplier in order to better manage costs and execute projects through improved standardization.

What are the most important aspects of the contract?This approach reduces time and resources spent to come to an agreement. It also allows us to involve Endress+ Hauser earlier in an application engineering project with the EPC contractor. We envision that the Enterprise Framework Agreement will also result in fewer device types and manu-facturers, allowing faster commissioning and start-up and a lower number of suppliers needed to support a project. The maintenance organization will benefit by having fewer spare parts, less maintenance contracts and less training needed to support and maintain the installed base.

Why did Shell select Endress+Hauser as one of the suppliers for award of the Enterprise Framework Agreement?We wanted a reliable global operating supplier who could offer Shell a wide range of high quality measuring instru-ments at a competitive price. The supplier must be able to provide all their products globally with the same quality and service. Endress+Hauser matched the criteria.

What role did your experiences in Pearl GTL play?Pearl GTL was basically the first mega project where Endress+Hauser was supplying a wider range of instrumen-tation. During commissioning a major device configuration

mismatch was discovered. The immediate action and sup-port from Endress+Hauser showed the company’s capacity to act professionally in situations like this.

What are the biggest challenges in the implementation of the Enterprise Framework Agreement?The Enterprise Framework Agreement will work fine on greenfield projects, however we need to gain experience specific to how the EPC contractor will align with the new concept. The biggest challenge will be to roll out this agree-ment on our brownfield sites. Sites that have been working for a long time with different device vendors tend to prefer to continue doing business with these suppliers for various reasons.

How do you hope the relationship will develop?Shell’s vision is that under this agreement a good working relationship between both companies will develop. This will help facilitate early feedback from Shell on Endress+Hauser’s R&D plans, so that new products will be better suited to meet Shell’s requirements.

Rong Gul is Senior Consultant Instrumentation Plant & Automation at Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He works since 1980 for the British-Dutch oil & gas company.

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Growth spurt: Colombia is rich in natural resources. Pacific Rubiales Energy is developing the heavy oil deposits of the Llanos basin.

43Know-how

A crystal-clear view of productionWith 20 new wells sunk month after month, the oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy has great ambitions. But how can measurement engineering keep pace and guarantee efficiency? The solution: wireless technology.

It’s a veritable black gold rush that has erupted in Colom-bia. After years of unrest, the South American country can finally tap its vast resources. Mineral oil is the resource that is expected to give the economy a major boost: the National Agency of Hydrocarbons has plans to raise the production from the current 900,000 barrels of oil per day to 1.3 million barrels by 2015.

Pacific Rubiales Energy is set to play an important role in this growth. The company extracted 250,000 barrels of oil per day in 2011 and in doing so has increased production more than tenfold in just five years. The plans for expansion are ambitious: “We want to get 20 new wells in production every month,” says Carlos Alberto González Pico, Head of Automation, Instrumentation and Control Engineering.

The center of production lies in the Llanos Basin, the low-lying area covering large parts of eastern Colombia. This is where Pacific currently develops the Rubiales, Pirirí and Quifa fields – the Rubiales field offering the highest yield in the country. Production is expected to expand rap-idly: “We want to increase the number of productive wells from 370 to 580 in the future,” explains Carlos González.

Extracting the best The heavy oil underneath the red earth of the Llanos Basin has a high viscosity and is not easy to extract. For a high yield, Pacific relies on intensive process automation. “We need a continuous flow of infor-mation on the capacity of each well and the quality of the oil for the best possible control of our oil processing, water treatment and water injection,” says Carlos González.

Pacific always employs the same method. Several bore-holes, five on average, are clustered together to form a ‘pad’. Piping manifolds collect the oil from the different wells and convey it to the nearest pipeline. “We measure pressure and temperature at every well, and flow and pressure again at the manifolds,” explains Carlos González. The design of the manifolds allows the oil from the different wells to pass individually through the flowmeter. “Thanks to Coriolis technology, we can also determine density and volume in addition to the mass flow.”

In terms of measurement technology, all this is no prob-lem. But, with conventional cabling, the complexity would be enormous. Pacific has therefore opted for Endress+ Hauser’s WirelessHART technology. Dr Andreas Rampe, Endress+Hauser’s Wireless Product Manager, supervises

Young player Pacific Rubiales Energy is Colombia’s biggest independent oil and gas group, evolving from the merger of Pacific Stratus Energy and Petro Rubiales Energy in 2008. The centers of activity are in Colombia, Peru and Guatemala. With a workforce of almost 1,300 people, Pacific generated a turnover of around 1.6 billion US dollars in 2010.

Black gold Colombia’s biggest oil and gas deposits stretch in a broad sweep from Ecuador to Venezuela right through the middle of the Latin American country. The fields hold mainly heavy oil. The assured reserves are estimated today to be over two billion barrels; new extraction technologies will substantially increase the yield in future.

EcuadorPeru

Venezuela

Heavy oil belt

Colombia

Brazil

changes44

the project in Colombia. “At the final stage, over 800 field instruments will transmit their information wirelessly,” he says. “It will be one of the world’s biggest wireless installations.”

Wireless fitness Endress+Hauser’s solution builds on adapters for wireless communication. These fit on every measurement instrument with HART protocol. A Fieldgate gateway receives the signals from the surrounding adapters and feeds these into the control system’s network.

“Our adapter solution is extremely flexible in terms of installation,” stresses Andreas Rampe. The wireless net-work operates on the mesh principle: the individual nodes are intermeshed; the signals are passed on from adapter to adapter until they reach the gateway. At the same time, Endress+Hauser’s battery-operated wireless adapters supply the installed two-wire measurement instruments with power. “This has made the installation at Pacific’s oil fields a great deal easier.”

“If we had used conventional cabling for the process measurement installation, we would have had to move 100 cubic meters of earth to carve electrical duct banks for every pad and route 400 meters of cable,” Carlos González reckons. “Ten people working 15 days would have been needed.” The wireless network cuts this work input down to a fraction: “The instrumentation of one pad with wireless technology requires just two technicians. Everything is up and running after three working days.”

The reduction in labor requirements for wireless solu-tions was a decisive factor. “Experts are in short supply in Colombia,” says Carlos González. “And flying in specialists from abroad is very expensive. The wireless technology saves us a lot of money – and gives the people in my division the time to deal with more important things.”

Full transparency “The wireless installation at Pacific has worked reliably right from the start,” reports Andreas Rampe. Fears that the use of mobile drilling rigs between transmitter and receiver could interfere with the signal proved to be unfounded: thanks to the mesh technology, the wireless network instantly reorganizes itself when disrupted – the signals simply look for another path across other adapters. “This is where WirelessHART has shown itself to be extremely robust.”

Some rework was required for the adapter housings: initially, they couldn’t cope with the large variation in temperature and the high humidity. “Endress+Hauser has responded very quickly and has found a practical solution to the problem,” says Carlos González full of praise.

After one year of trouble-free operation, the head of Pacific’s automation, instrumentation and control engi-neering division is happy all round. Carlos González: “We now have a crystal-clear idea of what’s going on in our production – and can go full steam ahead in opening up new oil fields!”

A clear idea thanks to wireless technologyWireless solutions for monitoring and optimizing processes are used where conventional cabling would involve too much effort and expense or would be altogether impossible. Using wireless signal transmis-sion, even mobile installations or moving parts of a plant are easily and cost-effectively integrated.

One for all Endress+Hauser relies on the open WirelessHART standard. With the help of an adapter, each device with HART protocol can be turned into a wireless instrument. Measured values and instrument data are transmitted to the nearest WirelessHART Fieldgate – the gateway receiving the signals and feeding them into the plant network.

Smart signal engineering Endress+Hauser’s Wire-lessHART solutions operate along the mesh network technology: the individual adapters form an inter-meshed network that organizes and repairs itself. The signals are passed on from one adapter to the next until they reach the gateway. If the line of trans-mission is interrupted, the devices switch to another transmission path.

Live wires Endress+Hauser’s battery-operated Wire-lessHART adapter also supplies two-wire instruments with power. Depending on the type of instrument, the measurement intervals and the ambient conditions, the life span of the battery can last up to several years.

Flow of information: In order to optimize production, each and every well has to be monitored with measurement technology.

45Know-how

“We must look ahead”Modern engineering is good – solid support is better. Carlos González relies on a clear automation strategy and on dependable partners.

The strategic view: Engineer Carlos Alberto González Pico heads the Automation, Measurement and Control Engineering division at Pacific Rubiales Energy in Colombia.

“The Endress+Hauser and Rockwell Auto-mation alliance is one of the biggest benefits to customers in the oil & gas industry.” Carlos Alberto González Pico

Mr González, what role does Endress+Hauser play for Pacific Rubiales Energy?We’re using over 3,300 Endress+ Hauser measurement instruments. The installed base is growing steadily as we have expanded – and will con-tinue to expand – our pro duction capac ity. Today, Endress+Hauser is our principal supplier for process measurement technology.

How did this close cooperation come about?We work with a control system from Rockwell Automation. Thanks to the alliance with Rockwell, Endress+Hauser fits perfectly into our automation strategy. Both companies guarantee full compatibility between process measurement technology and control system, so integration is much easier. I believe that this alliance is one of the biggest benefits to customers in the oil & gas industry!

But surely, this isn’t all … We have total trust and confidence in Endress+Hauser’s engineering and expertise. But what really swings it for us is to have competence here on site. Excellent technical support is extremely important for us. The sup-port by Colsein, the Endress+Hauser representative in Colombia, and by Saytech, the authorized service pro-vider, is the real reason why we like working with Endress+Hauser.

How much do you use Endress+ Hauser’s W@M portal for life cycle management?We must look ahead, over and beyond the ongoing projects, and maintenance is a major challenge. Endress+Hauser’s W@M portal supports us in this field. For each and every instrument in our system, there are operating instruc-tions, customer service reports, cali-bration certificates, spare parts data… W@M is our most important tool to manage this wealth of information –

both for Endress+Hauser and third party instruments. We use the W@M portal to retrieve the latest device information, whenever and wherever we want.

What do you expect for the future?Our business software is SAP. Our aim is to integrate asset management and therefore also the W@M portal into SAP, a step which will make our work even more efficient. We’re also trying to intensify the transfer of know-how. We want to get as much return as possible from our investments in mod-ern automation technology.

changes46

The final piece of the puzzleThe parts of process engineering systems interlink like the parts of a giant puzzle. Managing these assets means keeping track of things and getting current information on every detail – a task made a great deal easier with a new interface in the widely-used enterprise software SAP.

The automation of process engineering systems and plants has progressed in leaps and bounds. While operational expenditure has dropped, the risk of failure right down to shutdowns has increased – particularly when the latest information on the state of the plant, its components and the ongoing processes is unavailable.

Plant asset management concerns more than just main-tenance. “It stands for the value safeguarded by efficient asset management,” says Dr Axel Kuhn – a value that can therefore be extremely high if defects in quality or loss of production are the benchmarks. Kuhn is professor of factory organization at the University of Dortmund, Germany, and head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logis-tics, a German research institute focusing on applied sciences.

Even when seen in economic terms, the figures are impres-sive: according to a study, the service and maintenance costs in the 15 member states before the 2004 enlargement of the European Union totaled 1,500 billion euros per annum. Experts estimate that the indirect costs – expenditures for replacement purchases or the follow-up costs of plant down times – may even be as high as 9,000 billion euros per year.

No-one really knows, admits Fraunhofer scientist Axel Kuhn, if the figures reflect good or bad service and mainte-nance. His estimate of the savings potential in payroll costs, warehousing, downtimes and disruptions is somewhere between 15 and 20 percent. A quarter of which, he believes, can realistically be achieved.

47Know-how

All information from a single source Endress+Hauser’s W@M Life Cycle Management supports asset management throughout the entire life cycle of a plant. This web-based information platform supports every process – from plan-ning and the procurement of single components, their com-missioning and operation right through to maintenance and ultimate replacement.

“Our aim is simple: it’s the customers themselves who can retrieve all necessary information from us – information becomes a service,” explains Jürgen Schrempp, head of division at Endress+Hauser’s IT service provider in charge of developing this platform. Using a secure portal, custom-ers have access to an extensive pool of specific instrument data and items of information – “ranging from operating instructions and software drivers right through to calibration protocols, service reports, spare part lists, the delivery status of the instrument or potential alternative products.”

The key to this wealth of information lies in the serial number of the instrument. This guarantees that the instru-ment is always linked to the correct and most current infor-mation. The first factory-provided details and documents are generated during production, regardless of where in the world the instrument is made. The logbook shows details of delivery, installation, configuration, calibration, maintenance events and repairs. Endress+Hauser has no less than 15 million data records at the ready.

W@M Life Cycle Management achieves its full potential when directly linked with the customer’s IT system, with various application programs allowing, for example, the remote configuration of measurement instruments, main-tenance planning, bespoke calibration and the ordering of consumables and spare parts online. “Depending on what they need, customers get the exact information they want,” says Jürgen Schrempp. “Things that they had to laboriously collect or request in the past are now accessible any time and any place.”

SAP opens interface Customers of SAP, the world’s leading maker of enterprise software, now have an even easier job. Working with Endress+Hauser, SAP has developed a stand-ard functionality for SAP Enterprise Asset Management that allows access to manufacturer’s information via a simple mouse click from the standard user interface.

“In the past, we’ve individually programmed access points of this kind for our customers. Now it’s an SAP standard,” explains Jürgen Schrempp. “Working straight from SAP, many functions all around plant asset management are now directly accessible.” If a flowmeter needs to be calibrated every nine months, the SAP system can now send an auto-matic message – including details on where the sensor is located in the plant. “The whole of the service process can then be planned: from requesting a service technician right through to ordering new instruments.”

For Jürgen Schrempp, opening up SAP is also a sign of recognition of Endress+Hauser’s pioneering work. “Today, our customers have the unique opportunity of using device and instrument information. Access to that information is now even easier.”

The functionality remains stable, even after software updates and version changes, which makes W@M a secure investment. “What’s more, in future we’ll be able to integrate many more suppliers into our SAP system in a standardized way without any extra programming effort,” adds Fons

Postma, IT and Automation Specialist at the Dutch soft drinks maker Vrumona, a Heineken subsidiary.

Untapped potential For Dr Achim Krüger, SAP’s Vice President for Enterprise Asset Management, the integration of business processes is currently the most exciting subject of all (see the interview on the following pages). One prac-tical example, he says, is the replacement of an instrument: “The procurement manager can order a product selected by the technical personnel directly via SAP. At the same time, the technician gets informed about delivery times.” The people in both departments access Endress+Hauser’s manufacturer’s information directly from their respective SAP application.

Without losing any time – and without leaving any mismatches in the data inventory – the plant operator’s employees add one more part to the giant puzzle with their order. They generate the first bits of information on the device that will be followed by many more. Everything there is to know about this particular piece of the puzzle will be only a mouse click away in future.

Integration in SAP A new functionality in the enter-prise software SAP ERP now gives direct access to manufacturers’ information such as the one provided by Endress+Hauser with its W@M Life Cycle Man-agement. Thanks to the direct integration, plant per-sonnel can now work with the usual SAP operating interface without having to log in again – the data is transmitted in the background via the Internet.

Manufacturers’ information

Manu- facturer

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Manu- facturer

B

Internet

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“Integration is a truly exciting issue”What’s important in planning, maintaining and upgrading plants and systems? Achim Krüger tells us what role asset management plays for SAP – and how the software corporation learns from its partners.

Mr Krüger, what’s the significance of plant asset management for SAP’s customers? As entrepreneur, I not only think about how to keep my technical systems functioning or what I do in terms of maintenance – my first thought is the entire plant portfolio and the resulting investment projects. SAP mirrors all this: I initiate and supervise the project backed by the appro-priate software, realize it with the help of IT and monitor the progress on the computer. So it’s only logical that the required plant-related data is integrated into the system at the earliest time possible. This also helps once the plant is operational because, as an entrepreneur, I need transparency at every stage.

What is the role of the functionality developed with Endress+Hauser that allows customers to access manufacturers’ information directly from SAP?It’s very important for me to know as much as possible about my plants and systems and their components, both at the construction stage and later on in their life cycle. Risk-optimized maintenance means that I have the latest information on every product. This allows me to select and implement a targeted service and maintenance strategy.

Can you give us an example?Decisions on when to replace components, maintenance scheduling and even job outsourcing all depend directly on up-to-date manufacturers’ information. Of course I don’t replace lights in the office before they are defective but when it comes to technical systems, I may be forced to replace components after a certain period of time or if they are in a certain condition to avoid costly production down-times. For the replacement, I need data on the spare parts: is the component still available? If not, what is the alterna-tive? When is the replacement available and how much will it cost? Being able to retrieve this data directly from the manufacturer makes things a lot more efficient!

What has convinced you to pick up Endress+Hauser’s idea and to upgrade the SAP software at this point? Basically the demand. My team mainly supports customers who work in the relatively narrow field of maintenance and service and who have to rely on information provided by manufacturers. No matter which conference I attended during the last two years: the master data for technical plants and systems has always been a central topic. The problem is how to adequately mirror the business reality in the IT system. This is why it’s important that the master data is of high quality right from the beginning – and it’s just as important to maintain this quality level. If the manu - facturer provides the latest device information, things are a lot easier.

So your customers benefit from the growing digitalization?What we see is that the availability of data involving tech-nical plants and systems is on the increase. We often find that the data is already available in digital form when a component is being designed or built. But the crucial issue is: how do I get this data to the user? Imagine how helpful visualization is for repair instructions. You have all the information right in front of your eyes and, if necessary, you can order the spare parts straightaway. As far as Endress+Hauser is concerned, customers even have access to all necessary information such as order data, price and delivery periods. This speeds up the process and enhances the data quality.

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In the SAP Future Factory in Dresden, Germany, you test new software concepts with partners such as Endress+ Hauser. What is your aim? As the name says, we’re trying to mirror the future in a model. What could a manufacturing business look like in future? Which technologies will be called for? How can they be used? Can they be combined with ongoing business processes? The really exciting issue today is how to integrate new developments and updates.

How does Endress+Hauser benefit from the cooperation with SAP? A partner who participates in the development of SAP functionalities has a head start – and takes a clear lead over the competition. The advantage for our mutual customers is that Endress+Hauser is capable of offering its information services directly in the user’s SAP system.

In future, will SAP intensify its product development in conjunction with its business partners?There is no other option. As software developers, we must stay up-to-date and cooperate closely with our customers, regardless of whether they are plant operators, suppliers or service providers. The times are over when the development department came up with some idea that eventually sold. As IT specialists, we must solve our customers’ business problems – and, ideally, be one step ahead.

Dr Achim Krüger is SAP’s Vice President for Enter-prise Asset Management Solutions. The 47-year-old, who has a PhD in Space and Aerospace Engineering, gathered his professional experience in the German army before joining SAP in 2002. SAP, headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, is one of the world’s biggest software corporations with over 183,000 customers in more than 130 countries. In 2011, the company’s 55,000 employees generated net sales of around 14 billion euros. SAP supplies software for the full range of business processes; from accounting, controlling and purchasing right through to production, warehousing, sales and human resources.

www.sap.com/eam

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A Hercules for the oil businessOil is a precious commodity, calling for outstanding measurement accuracy. The Promass X flowmeter sets new standards, both in size and performance.

Whether on land, on water or in the air: our mobility depends to a large extent on the availability of oil. But before fossil fuels reach the tanks, they have usually come a long way – and sometimes change their owners. At every transshipment point, a lot of money is at stake both for the buyer and the seller. Even the smallest of measuring deviations has a massive effect – no wonder the oil & gas indus­try increasingly relies on Coriolis flow technology.

New market – tried technology  The big advantage of Coriolis tech­nology over turbine, orifice plate and ultrasonic devices is the direct meas­urement of the mass flow. Originally, this highly accurate measuring method has been used predominantly in the chemical industry. “Small to medium nominal diameters were usually suffi­cient,” explains Dr Martin Anklin, head of Coriolis flowmeter develop­ment at Endress+Hauser in Reinach, Switzerland. However, the oil & gas industry needs instruments for large transshipment and cargo handling

volumes. “Until recently, we had met our match here.”

Promass X, designed for diameters ranging from 300 to 400 millimeters, now sets new standards. Bulk flows of as much as 4,100 tonnes per hour are now feasible – a true “Hercules of mass flow metering,” says Martin Anklin. At 1.70 meters long and weigh ­ ing 700 kilograms, the giant Promass X is extremely gentle and sensitive – it measures with a maximum deviation of 0.05 percent of the measured value. This is the amount of one glass of Champagne in a bathtub holding 200 liters of water! The accuracy is guar­anteed. “Our calibration plants are accredited worldwide,” states Martin Anklin. Comparative measurements are fully traceable – right back to the original kilogram in Paris.

The four-tube trick Promass X could throughput the water for a 150­foot Olympic pool in about half an hour. The design of the measurement in ­ strument is nonetheless relatively compact: “Inside, we have four meas­uring tubes instead of the usual one or

two,” discloses project leader Marcel Braun. The curved tubes are paired in a mirror arrangement. The symmet­rical structure makes the Promass X insensitive to vibrations. As the four measuring tubes fit neatly into a round connecting profile, the pressure loss is low – in turn lowering the pumping capacity.

Oil tankers in the port of Hamburg: high accuaracy pays off when transshipping valuable goods.

Gentle giant: developers Marcel Braun (left) and Martin Anklin with a Promass X.

51Know­how

Coriolis force FCMeasuring points

Coriolis flow measurement

Top view

Measure-ment

Without flow With flow

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Good vibrations Coriolis flowmeters work with measuring tubes that are made to vibrate. If there is no flow, the tube vibrates evenly at measuring points A and B. If fluid or gas flows through, the tube is set into a snake-like pendulum motion – a result of the mass inertia of the flowing medium. A phase shift occurs between the signals of the measuring points as a direct measure for the mass flow.

Coriolis instruments are versatile because they detect several measurement variables at the same time: using the vibration frequency, the density of the medium can also be determined. The volume flow can be calculated from the mass flow. An addi-tional sensor also measures the temperature of the medium. 3D animation of the Coriolis flow measurement principle:

www.endress.com/video-coriolis

Plug & play in analysisConnecting and taking off: the Liquiline controller makes life easier.

We’ve come to expect it from our technology at home: we simply plug in the new device and off we go. Now the Liquiline multichannel controller for liquid analysis brings plug & play into process automation. It allows sen­sors to be changed during operation. Even connecting additional sensors or a parameter change poses no problem for Liquiline.

Multi-talent The new four­wire controller simultaneously handles as many as eight sensors and a maximum of 12 different parameters. Thanks to the Memosens technology, Endress+Hauser’s analysis sensors have built­in intelligence: they identify themselves when plugged in. Liquiline recognizes the sensor type, reads out the config­uration and displays the measured value – instantly and without any user intervention.

Well connected Due to its modular structure, Liquiline offers great flexi­bility. Standard designs are easily retrofitted and extended any time with additional functions. An integrated web server allows secure online access via the Internet.

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Service from the skiesHelping with installations? That’s all part of the daily routine for an Endress+ Hauser service engineer. But what if the site is right in the middle of the Alps?

High up in the Pennine Alps, the aluminum façade of the Monte Rosa Hut glistens like an oversized rock crystal. In the distance behind towers the Monte Rosa Massif, Swit­zerland’s highest mountain. Just below, the Grenz and Gorner glaciers merge into a mighty confluence of ice.

The futuristic architecture of the Monte Rosa Hut is matched by its advanced building services engineering: solar panels generate electricity and solar collectors heat water. Rain and melt water are collected in a cavern to supply the chalet. The wastewater is treated before it is used as service water or flows off without polluting the environment. “This

is where we come in,” says Endress+Hauser Service Engineer Daniel Woodtli. “After all, we’ve supplied the wastewater treatment system.”

No surprise, then, that Endress+Hauser was again included when it came to upgrading the systems. After it opened in 2010, the Monte Rosa Hut literally became a victim of its own success. Last year, almost 13,000 Alpine mountaineers and architecture fans, twice the number expected, stayed overnight at the chalet of the Swiss Alpine Club. Daniel Woodtli: “This has stretched the infrastructure to its limits.”

53Know­how

Equipped for heavy traffic When Daniel Woodtli was told to install new measurement equipment to upgrade the cha­let’s in­house sewage treatment system, his first thought was: the only way to get there is by air. “When we built the sewage treatment plant, we came by helicopter,” remembers the employee of Endress+Hauser Switzerland. “Of course, we could also walk, but then we’d need two days to get there and back… and we’d have to carry our equipment across two glaciers!”

A helicopter transported Daniel Woodtli from the Swiss mountaineering and ski resort of Zermatt to the Monte Rosa Hut at an altitude of 2,883 meters. In his bag he carried his tools – and a whole array of mobile measurement devices for liquid analysis. “We measure dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, redox, conductivity, ammonium and nitrate levels. These parameters tell us all about the quality of the water – fundamental for a treatment plant.” The purification is based on the principle of ultrafiltration: membranes with

tiny pores retain all solids and activated carbon removes the last traces of turbidity.

All in all, a routine job for the service technician – if it weren’t for the rather unusual journey to his destination. “The flight up to the hut is spectacular,” says Daniel Woodtli. “And who else can say that they have seen Switzerland’s highest peaks from the air on the way to work?” The job, at any rate, was quickly done. “The new Monte Rosa Hut is now fit for the next rush!”

Hi-tech in the middle of the Alps: The new Monte Rosa Hut is a laboratory for pioneering building services engineering. The in-house treatment plant cleans and conditions the wastewater.

Mission unusual: Endress+Hauser service engineer Daniel Woodtli has been airlifted by helicopter to the Monte Rosa Hut, as well as materials and tools.

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Red alert for the hidden heroesEvery second counts in an emergency – and so does the right equipment: modern fire fighting engineering helps firefighters in their job.

12 meters long, three meters wide, 50 tons in weight: the sheer size of the airport crash tender FLF Z8 XXL made by the fire engine makers Ziegler from Giengen in Germany is impressive. Two engines drive all eight wheels with 1,400 peak horsepower. After 21 seconds, the colossus reaches 80 kilo­meters per hour and the speedometer doesn’t stop before a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour.

“Airport crash tenders are the engi­neering pinnacles in their class of vehi­cles,” says Matthias Arnold, Special Fire Engines Product Manager at Ziegler. “For this one, we have designed an especially powerful extinguishing system.” At its heart is a centrifugal pump with a 480 horsepower drive and a rated output of 10,000 liters per minute at a pressure of 10 bar. At full spray power, the extinguishing agents are delivered in less than a minute; depending on the scenario either through the elevated extended extin­guishing arm, a frontal cannon or via an additional self­protect system.

The right mixture Ziegler’s flagship has 12,500 liters of water for extin­guishing fires on board and 800 liters of foam agents, plus a 500 kilogram

powder extinguisher. “Everything can be electronically controlled – the ejec­tors, the pump capacity, even the foam admixture,” explains Rudolf Schmid. In his free time the German Endress+ Hauser sales engineer is a voluntary part­time firefighter in his home town of Markt Indersdorf, Bavaria. He knows what’s needed.

“Good training and a wealth of experience are essential for successful firefighting deployment,” says Rudolf Schmid. “But the engineering side must also work reliably and with precision.” Covering the landing strip with a foam carpet requires a different consistency to that of a fire fighting mission in an aircraft cabin or around a plane. This is why Ziegler uses Endress+Hauser’s Promag electromagnetic flowmeters in its Z8 fire engine to guarantee that the water and foam agent are blended with ultimate precision.

As the instruments are difficult to access once they are installed, the company uses the FieldCare software to parameterize the measuring instru­ments via the Hart protocol. “The data is recorded for each vehicle and is retrievable at any time – that makes operations a great deal easier,” explains Rudolf Schmid.

Close to practice The exact metering of the water and foam agent is also necessary for compressed air foam systems such as those made by Micro­CAFS PBK in Oberhausen in Bavaria, Germany. “Loss of pressure in our pat­ented mixing chamber is negligible,” says Managing Director Karl Perr. “This gives us a higher flow volume with less air consumption.”

Solutions fit for everyday use: Fire extin-guishing systems expert Karl Perr (left) has found a competent partner in Rudolf Schmid.

55Know­how

Compressed air foam adheres to surfaces. “Fires inside rooms can be extinguished quickly and safely with a minimum of water, so the risk of water damage decreases dramatically,” outlines Karl Perr. The graduate engi­neer develops, manufactures and sells portable units, vehicle systems and stationary installations for compressed air foam. Inside these units, Endress+ Hauser instruments measure flow and water pressure and ensure that the dosing pump and the foam agent tank don’t run dry. “Endress+Hauser even supplies us with the controls.”

More and more fire brigades, busi­nesses and institutions rely on fire extinguishing systems based on the MicroCAFS technology. Continuous improvements strengthen the market position of the small business. Karl Perr is pleased to have found a competent partner with Rudolf Schmid. “We sup­ply units made by practical experts for practical experts. We count ourselves lucky that our measurement engineer­ing supplier speaks the same language as we do!”

Our virtual campus opens its gatesLearning – any time, any place: Hans­Peter Maas shows how it’s done.

Mr Maas, what’s behind the term ‘My E-Campus’?Under this name we offer high­quality online learning programs for industrial process engineering. ‘My E­Campus’ starts with eight mod­ules in German and English; other technical training modules will follow later this year. The focus is on our measurement engineering products, the way they work, where they are used and what to look out for.

Who do you think will take up the offer?We believe it will be those people working in technical businesses or studying, who are keen to learn and want to find out about the practical and technological basics of process engineering.

What’s the advantage of online learning?You can learn at any time and any place – as long as you have an Internet connection. Online learning is as flexible as you are and helps to keep the cost of learning down. It’s up to you how quickly you learn. Our training modules use animations and interactive elements. We check your learning progress by asking specific questions. If you successfully complete the module, you’ll get a certificate.

Who had the idea for ‘My E-Campus’?We have used online learning programs for four years for basic technical courses in internal training. So we thought: What’s good for us must be good for our customers too!

But this is also a business field……of course, our offer is not free, but profit isn’t necessarily what we are aiming for. Education is the base material of the future! We have an incredible amount of know­how and expertise in our company – why shouldn’t we make it available to our customers?

https://endress.my­e­campus.com/en/

Web-based learning programs: Hans-Peter Maas builds up ‘My E-Campus’.

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Gathering experience without the fear of making mistakes: the concept of the Application Training Center rests on plants simulating real processes. Holger Knau explains to Yulia Meier the function of a training rig.

International exchange: Philipp Morawietz (center) of the Application Training Center with Yulia Meier from Switzerland and Scott Richardson from the US.

Practice for internal sales staff: James Gray and Caroline Lawson from the UK explore the problems that customers have to contend with every day.

57Insights

Just like real lifeChildren learn by copying – they slip into roles and try them out. This ‘experience gathering’ learning method is also great for adults.

There are times when Holger Knau can’t hide the fact that he once wanted to be a teacher. But after studying physics and biology and a doctorate in natural sciences, he finally decided in favour of research – attracted by the prospect of working abroad. After joining Endress+Hauser, he initially worked in the international business for automation solutions. Today he is in the fortunate position where he is able to combine the worlds of teaching and technology – as the Head of the Endress+Hauser Application Training Center, he is fully committed to imparting knowledge.

“If you want to advise and support customers properly, you must know what they are doing and speak their language,” says Holger Knau. What is needed is a thorough understanding of the specific requirements of the industry and of the special properties and characteristics of the process. The 47-year-old knows: “Most of our people are specialists in a certain field. We help them to apply their skills and expertise in the context of customer requirements.”

Hands-on experience At the heart of the Application Training Center are the rigs specially designed and devel-oped for training purposes – training plants that mirror parts of or indeed the whole production process. “This allows us to create a highly realistic training environment, from sensor to control system,” explains Holger Knau. The participants of the course experience first hand what it means to run a system: How do the components interact? What are the most important key elements? What must you do when something breaks down?

The courses are tailored to the course members’ knowledge and needs. The offer ranges from the basics of process

Modern training infrastructureSet up in 2010, the Endress+ Hauser Application Training Center in Reinach, Switzerland, has 500 square meters of space for two fully equipped training rooms and 10 modern workplaces for development, marketing and organization. The training rigs and device simulators are built and serviced in a spacious workshop. The team has a broad spectrum of skills and competences – from the design and construction of training equipment right through to the development of training concepts.

www.endress.com/atc

automation right through to specialist knowledge in terms of industries or applications. But the true strength of this training concept lies in the inte-gral approach.

“We delve into our customers’ world and explore the problems that they have to contend with every day,” says course member Yulia Meier who works in flowmeter sales. James Gray, sales engineer at Endress+Hauser UK, adds: “The mixture of theoretical lessons and practical exercises is perfect for effec-tive learning.” Holger Knau stresses: “The people taking part in the course can learn from their mistakes without impairing a real process.”

Customized training The Application Training Center has a team of six peo-ple and their knowledge covers a whole range of skills and competences: they develop course offers, prepare teaching material, build training rigs and run training sessions. “These are service offerings that can also be utilized by our customers,” says Holger Knau. “They can complete an in-house course here, order their own rig including training, or ask us to work out a com-prehensive training concept.”

The Application Training Center team already delivered a training con-cept including a comprehensive train-ing setup for the floating production, storage and offloading platform of a Nigerian oil group; a training rig with bio reactor has been developed for a pharmaceutical training and research center in Ireland. Customer feedback has been positive throughout. Holger Knau: “Training means not standing by and watching, but getting right into the thick of it!”

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Strong bond: The employees of Endress+Hauser Sicestherm are closely involved in improvement processes and change management.

No tourists find their way to Pessano con Bornago. The urban expressway linking Milan with the suburb is lined with plain uninspiring industrial zones, with the odd derelict farm acting as a reminder that this was once a thriving agricultural area.

Endress+Hauser Sicestherm’s façade is a pleasant sight in the otherwise gray industrial landscape: the building welcomes visitors with plenty of glass and even more greenery, which also makes for an agreeable atmosphere inside the building. Large windows next to the reception desk open up the view over a well-structured production hall where high-grade temperature measurement instruments are made on almost 5,000 square meters of floor space.

Hard to imagine that this business was once considered a wallflower! Five years ago the site was renovated from the bottom up as part of a special investment program. First the outer shell was refurbished and later the interior: distances have been short-ened, warehouse and storage areas have been minimized, and processes streamlined. Today, the working envi-ronment is bright and modern, and the ambient air clean and conditioned. A visible symbol of change is the new photovoltaic system on the roof that generates a significant amount of the power required for this site.

The investment of several million euros has paid dividends: sales doubled, while headcount rose from 100 to 150. “The restructuring has heralded a new

era for us it,” says Managing Director Martin Benoliel. “The engine is now ready, and we feel fit to compete in this difficult market.”

New corporate culture Although tem-perature measurement is technically mature, Endress+Hauser Sicestherm has succeeded in gaining market share through its innovations – most recently with the robust iTherm TM911 multi-point sensor, specially developed for the oil & gas business. The modular device allows for the simultaneous temperature monitoring of up to 12 measuring points and delivers reliable data even in the event of plant breakdowns.

Innovations of this kind are no mir-acle, but the outcome of a productive

Hot on innovationTo prepare for future challenges, temperature measurement engineering specialist Endress+Hauser Sicestherm relied completely on its employees. With great success: today, both productivity and commitment are at a high level.

59Insights

Mastering diversity: The Italian production site manufactures a wide range of sensors for industrial temperature measurement. The company focuses on applications in the oil & gas and primaries industries.

working atmosphere. “When we speak of innovation, most people think of the further development of products or processes,” says Martin Benoliel. “Promoting and using the powers of innovation in our people is just as important for us.”

Meeting places create space for discussions, where buzzwords such as lifelong learning, flexible organization, teamwork or lean management are no strangers. “Efficiency is not everything. We also want to create an environ-ment where curiosity can thrive and where people have the courage to voice unconventional ideas,” explains Gianfranco Migliarotti, Director of Controlling. “Today, the high level of commitment allows us to recruit our middle management from our own rank and file.”

Stunning effects The success is measurable: although production is extremely complex owing to the wide diversity and small batches – an average order involves only two instruments – delivery times were cut by 70 percent and the error rate has dropped drastically. Productivity in -creased by 50 percent, and nine out of

ten employees participate in in-house training programs.

“The mixture of creative spirit and skills allow us to address our customers’ needs with ultimate precision,” says Michele Pietroni of Product Develop-ment. This is also reflected in Endress+Hauser Sicestherm’s project business, which accounts for a growing share of sales. “Projects give us the chance to win our customers’ trust and confi-dence,” says Michele Pietroni. “And they open doors for selling standard products.”

Many applications are so specific that a tailor-made solution needs to be engineered. But every new solution augments the company’s know-how, which is carefully stored in a pool of ideas. After all, the next challenge is just round the corner and a standalone solution may evolve into a standard product.

Temperature under controlEndress+Hauser Sicestherm, with around 150 employees, specializes in temperature measurement engineering for process automation. The company, headquartered in Pessano con Bornago near Milan, has been part of the Endress+Hauser Group since 1998. In 2004 the business was tied to Endress+Hauser Wetzer in Germany, with the Italian branch focusing on sensor manufacturing and project business in the oil & gas and the primaries industries. Investments have been made in calibration and quality control, allowing Endress+Hauser Sices-therm to provide the required international certificates.

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“A woman stands out – that has its advantages too”Women are still in a minority in engineering and scientific professions. The chemist Monika Heisterkamp and the chemical engineer Maximiliane Engler talk about what it is like to work in a ‘man’s world’.

The discussion is between a woman with many years’ work experience and a young colleague at the beginning of her career: Dr Monika Heisterkamp, 42 (left), studied chemistry at the University of Dortmund, Germany, and completed her doctorate in Antwerp, Belgium. Since 2004 she has worked for Endress+Hauser Conducta in Gerlingen. In the competence center for liquid analysis she has been Head of Product Management since 2007. 28-year-old Maximiliane Engler (right) has been working as an engineer in Marketing Services since 2010. A gradu-ate in chemical engineering from Reutlingen University, she holds a master’s degree in bio and process analysis.

Ms Heisterkamp, Ms Engler, at work you are often the only women amongst many men. What are your experiences?Monika Heisterkamp: When I joined Endress+Hauser eight years ago I was the first woman in Product Manage-ment. Today the proportion of women in Marketing is about 20 percent. But a woman still stands out and you have to learn to assert yourself in a male-dominated world. At the same time there are nevertheless some advantages in standing out! For example, you are instantly recognized everywhere. Maximiliane Engler: I agree. As a woman, I stand out, but that doesn’t disturb me or my colleagues. I try to use the attention I attract positively in the team. To do this, you need to know exactly how good you are and what you can achieve. As a woman you also need healthy self-confidence when you are confronted with the typical clichés…

Do stereotypical clichés really still play such a role?Monika Heisterkamp: In a meeting with 10 men, you can guarantee that the only woman will be asked when the coffee is coming! There are two options: either I can get annoyed about it – or use this cliché to my own advantage. I have often used the time at the coffee machine – as in the role of the caring woman – to clarify important topics with bosses or colleagues. Maximiliane Engler: A woman also brings color and variety to a team. And only a woman can succeed in confusing her colleagues from one day to another with a height difference of 13 centimeters due to gorgeous new high heels… (laughs) Sometimes it’s really fun to stir up

the pack of men! But to be serious again: it is above all the differing perspectives of men and women to a task which makes working in mixed teams so interesting and effective. Monika Heisterkamp: That’s absolutely right. There are certain structures and patterns of behavior in pure male teams that suddenly change when a woman joins them. For example, in controversial discussions the tone is immediately less aggressive when a woman is at the table. But the decisive fact is that teamwork functions better when men and women work together. They bring different perspectives to a problem. In the end this leads to better solutions.

What interested you in science?Maximiliane Engler: I have been fascinated by this subject since my first chemistry lesson at school – I always found it an easy subject to learn. It was therefore clear to me from an early age that I wanted to study chemistry. I decided on a course in English leading to a Bachelor in Chemistry with Marketing. At the time I didn’t think about the fact that I would later be working in a male-dominated world. Monika Heisterkamp: As a child I was always interested in science, too, and decided on chemistry at an early stage. What I find surprising is that during my studies there were many women students, but few completed a doctorate. And today I meet very few women who work in technical fields, least of all in senior positions. I think that the problems for women begin at a higher grade in their careers.

Why?Monika Heisterkamp: The higher you climb in the hierarchy, the more it is a matter of asserting yourself and exploiting networks. In this regard, it is often harder for women than for men – perhaps also because they have no role models. Often I was ‘the first’ or the ‘only one’ in my position. Maximiliane Engler: Also, women are quicker and more likely to doubt their ability than men. Self-criticism is far more pronounced in women than in men!

How does that manifest itself?Monika Heisterkamp: I notice that at job interviews for example. A woman applying for a post will point out to me the only requirement in the job profile which she doesn’t fulfill. In contrast, a man may perhaps only meets two out

61Insights

“Women in technical and scientific careers lack role models.”

Monika Heisterkamp

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of ten requirements – but is nevertheless convinced that he’s the right one for the job…Maximiliane Engler: But have you noticed: job advertise-ments for engineering professions often focus so strongly on the purely technical aspects of the work that they don’t appeal to many women at all! Monika Heisterkamp: Perhaps that’s to do with the fact that women and engineering are still not seen as a unit – even though as many women study sciences as men nowadays. Even women in technical professions are not considered to be competent from the outset! Maximiliane Engler: As a woman you are tested more in the beginning. This was my experience, too. In the mean-time word has got around that I do understand something about my field…

What about the compatibility between career and family? Monika Heisterkamp: Well, I don’t have children... but in my department there are young mothers, some of whom are already working part-time again. In order to make a career a lot of dedication is needed, that is probably the case everywhere, even at Endress+Hauser. But a lot has changed for the better. Nowadays I don’t necessarily need to be present 100 percent of the time. It is easier to work from home now and again or to arrange your work flexibly. Incidentally it isn’t just working mothers who want this, but also an increasing number of young fathers.

What do you like in particular about your job?Maximiliane Engler: I really like the combination between technology and communication. One of the aspects of my job which I enjoy in particular is the contact and the support of colleagues from our global sales centers. But the fact that my job is so diversified is also exciting for me.Monika Heisterkamp: I also think that communication with other people is important. The beauty of Endress+ Hauser is that the individual operations are relatively small and close-knit, however you still interact with people all over the world. In my line of work I communicate with people from various cultures and groups who have different requirements for our products. The challenge is to find a solution that is successful at a global level.

What advice would you give to a young woman who is considering a career in a mathematical or science arena?Maximiliane Engler: She should choose a career because she enjoys science and technology and won’t let herself be put off. But she should also ask herself at an early stage whether she will feel comfortable in a male-dominated world.Monika Heisterkamp: First-year students should choose the subject and confidently rely on their strengths. If they then build up a functioning network during their study, all the doors will be open to them!

In purely statistical terms equality prevails at German universities: almost the same number of women and men share the approximately 2.2 million university places. But with regard to the individual subjects, the distribution of the genders varies widely. Particularly in the MINT study courses – math, IT, natural sciences and technology – women are underrepresented.

While the number of women doing maths and natural sciences is roughly 40 percent, in engineering science and computer science it is only 20 percent. A German problem? Not at all. Studies show similar tendencies around the globe, even if the proportions differ. Indeed, the higher up the career ladder you go (at universities as well as in business), the fewer women there are. The studies identify similar reasons for the low percentage of women, such as the lack of female role models in the MINT areas or the lack of networking between female graduates.

Electrical engineer Smita Pareek, lecturer at the BK Birla Institute of Engineering & Technology in India, emphasizes that many women are very interested in environmental protection and sustainable development. She is convinced: “If engineering schools would highlight the social and societal dimensions, they could be more successful in enrolling girls!”

Women and technology

A science in itself

“Job advertisements for engineering professions don’t appeal to many women at all.”Maximiliane Engler

63Insights

Successful scientist: With her work on the water bridge, Carolin Lachner reached the finals of the young researchers’ competition ‘Jugend forscht’.

At just 18, Carolin Lachner is already an acknowledged researcher: in the 2011 national finals of the prestigious young research scientists’ competition ‘Jugend forscht’ she reached third place. Her entry was a research project on water bridges: two beakers are filled with distilled water and a high voltage is applied. When the two beakers are pulled away from each other, the water forms a clearly visible bridge.

“This phenomenon remains largely unexplored,” relates Carolin. The grammar school pupil from Lörrach, Germany, carried out many experi-ments. She lacked the necessary test instruments for a comprehensive study – so she was all the more pleased about her achievement.

It is unusual for a young woman to spend so much of her free time on scientific research – and Carolin some-times had to put up with being called a geek by her schoolmates, particularly as she was generally good at school and finds learning easy. “However,

No fear of the man’s world Carolin Lachner is a young woman like many others – with one slight difference: she has a passion for physics.

since my success at ‘Jugend forscht’ interest in my hobby has increased. Many of my fellow students have congratulated me!”

Outside of school, Carolin plays sport and has waitressing and babysitting jobs. How does she manage it all? “My diary is pretty full but I’m well-organized.” The young woman was introduced to science at an early age by her father, an engineer. But it wasn’t until she had physics lessons at school, that she realized how much the subject interested her. Together with a friend, she joined the Lörrach school student research center ‘phænovum’, which is sup-ported by Endress+Hauser.

The rules are different for women Carolin frequently noticed that her interest in science and engineering took her into a male-dominated world. In her class she was the only girl working alongside the boys. Her fellow male students are highly competitive:

“If I get a better mark, then the boys are offended. And if I don’t do well in a test, they make stupid comments.”

Carolin has the feeling that, as a woman in sciences, she has to perform better than her male colleagues to be recognized. “Perhaps that’s the reason why only few women choose to study these fields.” She was also aware of the high proportion of men during her work experience at Endress+Hauser. Nevertheless, she would like to take the chance of working in a profession which still remains dominated by men: At present, Carolin Lachner sees her future in technical marketing – a com-bination of engineering and business management.

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Sales building inauguratedNaarden, Netherlands: Endress+Hauser opened a modern sales building with offices, workshop, logistics areas, conference rooms and a restaurant. The new building cost close to 8 million euros.

The world of Endress+HauserThinking globally, acting locally: in 2011, more than 85 million euros have been invested in the worldwide network for sales, service and production.

Campus keeps growingThe new production for tempera­ture measurement instruments has gone online in Greenwood, Indiana. A new building for flow­meter manufacturing is under construction, a second one is to be built for the production of level and pressure devices. Once occupied, the US sales center intends to use vacated spaces for service and training.

Visitor center openedEndress+Hauser inaugurated a customer center in Cernay, France. Featuring an audito­rium, conference rooms and a restaurant, the center offers modern infrastructure for the 3,000 annual visitors to the flowmeter plant.

Groundbreaking ceremonyInnovative Sensor Technology IST AG invests 13 million Swiss francs in a modern production and office building in Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland. Occupa­tion by the sensor makers is scheduled for the end of 2012.

65Insights

More space for analysisIn Waldheim, Germany, the sensor production for liquid analysis has expanded with new production, office and laboratory areas.

Competence center enlargedEndress+Hauser invested over 15 million euros in the competence center for liquid analysis in Gerlin-gen, Germany. New production and office space, modern laboratories, a seminar center and a restaurant have been built.

Sales center expandingA new sales building goes up in South Africa’s Sandton near Johannesburg. Additional offices as well as a modern customer and training center are being built. The new premises set standards in terms of energy efficiency.

Space for innovationExpansion continues in Maulburg, Germany. The competence center for level and pressure measurement engineering most recently invested over 8 million euros in a building that offers more space for production and R&D.

Sales center enlargedThe Sales Center Thailand expands its building in Bangkok. A three­storey block with offices, service area and a training center is being built for 18 million baht (430,000 euros).

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Young shareholders in blueWork clothes instead of leisurewear for the young members of the shareholder family: Tobias Endress tells us why.

Mr Endress, what are doing in a boiler suit?We’re looking for oil – right in the middle of Austria! (laughs)

Seriously?Seriously! Of course it wasn’t the Endress family that drilled for oil… we were invited by OMV, an Austrian oil & gas enterprise that operates globally. But OMV does, in fact, drill for oil in Austria – in the ‘Weinviertel’, a region famous for its viniculture, half an hour’s drive east of Vienna. They extract about six million barrels every year.

And what has all this got to do with you?More precisely OMV extracts oil with water – so to separate the oil from the water, they need Endress+Hauser’s engi-neering expertise. At our annual Endress Family Camp, we found out how exactly this is done.

What is the Family Camp?I have to go back a bit further… Endress+Hauser will survive as a family-owned business only if all its shareholders con-tinue to pull together. This is why the Endress family gave itself a charter in 2006. We’ve created a Family Council that decides on all important issues relating to interactions

between the family and the business. We’ve also created a number of occasions to bring the family together: the Family General Assembly that has more of a business character, the more private Endress Family Day, and then the Endress Family Camp, an event that takes place over several days and is especially for the younger members of the family.

What’s happening at these Family Camps?We’re always guests of an Endress+Hauser sales or produc-tion center – the last camp was in Austria. Mr Adelsmayer, the Managing Director, gave us a presentation of the sales center and accompanied us to OMV. We have also spent a great deal of free time together… the funniest thing was a Segway tour through downtown Vienna!

What are the aims of the Family Camp?The main thing is to strengthen the family ties and to inten-sify what we have in common. There are over 20 cousins in the third generation. We live in different countries and have different interests. Some of us still go to school, others are studying, and others are firmly established in their jobs and even have their own families. The Family Camp brings us together. We swap information and have fun together.

67Insights

The Endress+Hauser Group has a new Chief Financial Officer: Dr Luc Schultheiss succeeded Fernando Fuenzalida in early 2012. The 50- year-old has been Director of Controlling of the Endress+Hauser competence center for flow measurement engineering since 1999. His pre-decessor Fernando Fuenzalida (69, right) joined the Supervisory Board after 13 years as CFO.

Executive Board

New CFO for the Group

United Kingdom

HP Endress now Chairman

More than one year after the severe earthquake and the disastrous tsunami that followed, traces of the devastation in north-eastern Japan are still visible. The natural catastrophe also caused a great deal of human suffering. Endress+Hauser donated 25 million yen (about 200,000 euros) to the aid organization Ashinaga. The private organization gives psychological support to chil-dren who have lost their parents in the disaster and supports their education.

www.ashinaga.org/en

After 31 years with Endress+Hauser UK – and 26 years as Managing Director – Hans-Peter Endress (65) has withdrawn from the executive management with effect from 1 January 2012. He will con tinue to remain with the UK sales center as Chair-man with special duties – keeping close ties with the company as a shareholder of the Endress+Hauser Group.

Japan

Help for tsunami orphans

Prospecting for oil: members of the third generation of the Endress family at the Family Camp in Austria. Also in the picture: CEO Klaus Endress (back row, center), Wolfgang Adelsmayer, Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Austria (right), and engineer Rudolf Karner of OMV (front).

Tobias Endress studies geophysics and geo infor - mation at the Technical University Mining Acad-emy Freiberg, Germany. 26-year-old Tobias is the son of CEO Klaus Endress.

This is how we find out about each other and learn to understand each other. And, of course, we’re also dealing with our company.

Has the Family Camp done its job?Definitely. It has certainly brought us closer together – and I believe it’s getting better year by year!

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A new experience: OMV apprentices Ramona Varga and Michael Wuchty at the Endress+Hauser test center in Maulburg, Germany.

Seeing how the others workTraveling is a learning experience – this is certainly something the eight apprentices from OMV and Endress+ Hauser will endorse. The exchange between the Austrian oil & gas company and the production sites for flow, level and pressure measurement in Germany and Switzerland gave all those involved some exciting new insights.

During their two-week stay, four trainees each had the chance to see how the partner company worked. “In Maul-burg and Reinach we’ve seen how they make the measuring instruments that we use in our plants and systems,” said Ramona Varga (20), training at OVM in process control technology and electrics for industrial engineering. Achim Büche (20), in his fourth year of apprenticeship as electron-ics technician for industrial engineering at Endress+Hauser, finds: “Production of the instruments at our place and servic- ing them at the customers’ site are two very different things.”

Other countries, other customs The apprentices discov-ered some remarkable differences in the national systems of vocational training and education: “In Austria, it’s possible to learn two professional qualifications at the same time,” reported Achim Büche. Ramona Varga, on the other hand, was impressed by the cross-border collaboration of the Endress+Hauser sites in Switzerland, France and Germany.

Visiting the partner business went down well with the young apprentices – and Jens Kröger, Head of Training at Endress+Hauser in Maulburg, is happy: “If it fits into our training schedule, we’d be glad to continue the exchange of apprentices.”

Finesse Solutions

Access to bioprocess marketsBiotechnological processes play an ever more impor-tant role – one reason why Endress+Hauser now holds an interest in Finesse Solutions. The company, headquartered in San José, California, employs a staff of 50 and develops, manufactures and markets sensors, instruments and software for bioprocess engineering – especially environmentally-friendly single-use solutions. “We have many common customers who may benefit from this cooperation,” says Barbara A Paldus, CEO of Finesse Solutions. Klaus Endress adds: “This partnership will open up new and promising markets for us.” Endress+Hauser holds the same number of shares in Finesse Solutions as the previous majority shareholder, Skymoon Ventures.

Saudi Arabia

Sales center enhancing presence Economies in the Middle East show remarkable dynamics. To be even closer to customers in these rapidly growing markets, Endress+Hauser has set up a sales center in Saudi Arabia. The joint venture with the Anasia Group employs 35 people. The head - quarters of Endress+Hauser Arabia are in Khobar, with sales offices located in the capital Riyadh and in Jeddah, and a service office in Jubail.

Vietnam

Customer support strengthened Vietnam is a growth driver in Southeast Asia. An Endress+Hauser representative office in Ho Chi Minh City will look after major local customer projects and support the business with international key accounts – in close agreement with the long-time representative company in Vietnam, Tan Viet Bao Co Ltd.

Systemplan

Experts in energy efficiencyEndress+Hauser has acquired the majority share in the German consulting firm Systemplan. The company specializes in measuring, displaying, ana-lyzing and optimizing energy flows in plants and operations. Company founder Michael Hager (54) continues as Managing Director. Under the umbrella of the Endress+Hauser Group, Systemplan strives to expand and operate on an international level.

69Insights

A system for clean water Spring water sources can become polluted, treatment plants can fail, water supply pipes can be contaminated with germs: Rebecca Page talks about her research on an early warning system for water companies.

Drinking water wells have often been sunk next to rivers – not only here in Switzerland, but also in many other coun-tries. When a flood occurs, some of these wells are at times in danger: river water polluted with bacteria and microbes can reach the groundwater tapping area and contaminate the drinking water. The frequency and extent of these risks vary considerably and hardly allow general statements.

For the past four years, I have concerned myself with how to prevent a threatened contamination at the earliest possi-ble point in time. I had just graduated as an environmental engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, when I spotted the doctoral position at the University of Basel – a project with Endress+Hauser as industrial part-ner and sponsored by the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation.

Since 2004, the Applied and Environmental Geology Group at the University of Basel has investigated the com-plex relationship between groundwater and river water here in Reinach, Switzerland. Supervised by Professor Dr Peter Huggenberger, my colleagues and I went to work.

We first had to find out which parameters and measuring points deliver reliable indicators of a potential microbiological contamination. To do so, we installed measuring instruments at various points near the well and in the river in order to detect pressure, temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, spectral absorption, particles and turbidity of the water.

Nature as laboratory: scientist Dr Rebecca Page (31) developed an early warning system for water companies.

The difficult part of the project was to understand the dynamic nature of this system. Beside the quality of the groundwater and its flow characteristics, both of which vary in space and time, some individual events also add to the complexity. Time and again, floods tore away whole tree trunks – we are powerless in the face of these forces of nature. Another time it was a crayfish that found its home in our turbidity measuring point… that’s life!

Applied science Using the method of artificial neural networks, we finally detected the patterns that provide information on the quality of the groundwater, and we developed a method to inform the well master in good time when they should switch off the pumps. It is exactly this connection between science and real life that I find so compelling: I am deeply entrenched in science, but my work also has a practical benefit.

Meanwhile I have finished my doctoral thesis including all my examinations – but our project continues. We now want to expand our early warning system to include the zone between the water source and distribution network. We recently got the promise of more sponsorship funds and Endress+Hauser is again on board.

changes70

The big pictureIt’s the crème de la crème of German business awards, but for Endress+ Hauser Conducta, the reward was the journey itself. In the company’s quest for improvement it ended up winning the prestigious Ludwig-Erhard award.

From his office in Gerlingen, Germany, Dr Manfred Jagiella can see electronics specialist Bosch in the distance. A nearby community is home to engi-neering conglomerate Trumpf. And the largest Mercedes-Benz car manu-facturing plant is just a 10 minutes’ drive away. These are all world-class companies, explains the Managing Director of the center of excellence for liquid analysis.

“We want the best minds. And they want to work for the best companies,” says Manfred Jagiella. The mission of Endress+Hauser Conducta is to be one of the best. Just how hard they work at this is evidenced by no less than seven awards collected by the company in the past year alone: excellence in manufacturing, marketing, employ-

Putting processes to the test: Through participation in the Ludwig-Erhard award, the idea of business excellence is now deeply entrenched.

ment. These accomplishments are out-shined by the Ludwig-Erhard award.

“For us, it wasn’t about winning at all,” stresses Stephan Köhler, Head of Human Resources. The other com-petitions focused on the company’s strengths and on individual areas. “We wanted to know where we could improve, particularly from the overall standpoint of the company,” he adds. “In this case you have two choices: either bring in costly management con-sultants or participate in the Ludwig-Erhard competition.”

The devil is in the detail  The assessment is a complicated, long and drawn-out process. “We hired an advisor to help us become familiar with the methods and to train us to be

expert assessors,” says Quality Man-ager Frank Decker. “In the process, we analyzed the entire operation and worked on our application for the award at the same time.”

The result was an 80-page book that scrutinizes the processes in every area in great detail to determine how they flow and how they are docu-mented and validated. Transparent procedures and measurable indicators are important, but no less important is flexibility and innovation. For this reason, the underlying structure model of the Ludwig-Erhard award merges the processes of the individual areas, examines how well they are linked to one another and determines to what extent they bolster the company’s strategy.

71Insights

Prominent well-wisher: Managing Director Manfred Jagiella (right) at the awards ceremony with speaker Joachim Gauck, who was elected German President four months later.

Getting in competitive shapeThe Ludwig-Erhard award promotes excellence in business through a holistic view of how companies are managed. Its purpose is to strengthen competitiveness in the German economy by assessing cus-tomer focus, process optimization and innovation. Depending on the score received, participants can become a finalist, receive an award or win their particular category (large, medium-sized and small enterprises).The criteria is so strict that some years may go by without winners being declared. The assessors, most of which work for former partici-pants, play a key role in the evalua-tion process. By providing valuable feedback, they fulfill another central responsibility: sharing their knowl-edge and experience.

Analysis specialist Endress+Hauser Conducta serves as the center of competence for liquid analysis within the Endress+Hauser Group. The company has around 600 employ-ees located in Gerlingen, Waldheim and Groß-Umstadt, Germany, in addition to roughly 100 in Anaheim, California/USA, and Suzhou, China.

“Because we were forced to take a holistic view, we uncovered a wealth of interdependencies,” says Frank Decker. A partial strategy was derived for each functional area, which also served as the foundation for agreed-upon objectives. “We analyzed every-thing we do, down to the individual employees.” Gaps were uncovered here and there. The Quality Manager is pleased that these issues are viewed as an opportunity to identify potential areas of improvement, as opposed to simply criticism and deficiencies.

A leap forward The actual assess-ment was a massive effort executed alongside the daily business and build-ing projects. Stephan Köhler readily admits that “nerves were on edge from time to time”. The assessors were on-site for days, having discussions with both management and staff. “Real test anxiety surfaced on occasion!” At the end of the day, it became clear that the company was in good shape.

“We never dreamed we would come this far.” After all, Endress+Hauser Conducta did something that hardly any other competitor had achieved to this point: a trial-by-fire victory.

“We learned a lot about our com-pany,” summarizes Manfred Jagiella. Top-notch employees and a clear strat-egy are obviously critical for long-term success. “But the results of the assess-ment help us maintain the big picture and allow us to keep our activities more closely focused on the objectives of the company.”

changes72

A year far exceeding expectations Seldom has a business year brought us so many positive surprises – and seldom has a year been as challenging as 2011 with its adversities and changing conditions.

When we look back today over a thoroughly successful business year for Endress+Hauser, our feelings, our joy and our pride are tinged with more than a little disbelief. For the signs for 2011 – despite the good start – indicated a lot, but not necessarily another record-setting year.

There was the Arab Spring with unrest in North Africa and the Arab Peninsula. There was the disastrous earth-quake, the devastating tsunami and the catastrophic nuclear accident in Japan. There were the protracted floods in Thai-land. And finally, there was the continuing sovereign debt crisis, the turmoil in the European Monetary Union and the speculative highs of the Swiss franc.

Indeed, 2011 saw us struggling against a wide range of adversities. We had to overcome bottlenecks in the availabil-ity of electronic components. We had to respond to uncertain economic circumstances and fickle political policies, in par-ticular with regard to the use of nuclear power. Above all we had to cope with an increase in units and net sales that once again drove production, sales and service to their limits.

The fact that we have handled this so successfully is due first and foremost to our employees. Wherever they worked around the world, they again achieved remarkable feats last year and made the extraordinary possible. For this we owe them our sincere thanks.

New best results 2011 was a new best year ever – with a strong growth in sales, which increased by over 200 million euros (16 percent) and exceeded 1.5 billion euros, and with an even sharper increase in profits, roughly 177 million euros after tax (a plus of 40 percent).

This healthy result is at least partly due to significantly lower currency losses compared with 2010. Although the euro fell against the Swiss franc by a good 10 percent on average and almost reached parity in the course of the year,

by the end of the year, the key date in terms of financial accounting, the exchange rate was only 2.5 percent below the value of the previous year. Therefore, only relatively low sums were effective in the financial results.

We further reduced our bank loans (40 million euros), and substantially increased our cash and cash equivalents once again (443 million euros). This reflects the good net income of the previous year, a certain reticence regarding major investments as a result of the 2009 financial crisis, as well as the restraint of our shareholders.

The robustness of Endress+Hauser’s finances is evidenced by the high equity ratio, which has now reached almost 70 percent. We have used this strength in 2011 to specifically bolster our position through participation in the future growth areas of biotechnology and energy efficiency. In addition, we have further expanded our worldwide network of sales and production, investing over 85 million euros in buildings and plants.

This strong growth was linked with an equally strong growth in recruitment. By the end of 2011, the workforce at Endress+Hauser numbered 9,414 – 820 more employees than at the same time the previous year. The figures, how-ever, are not fully comparable, as employees on temporary contracts have been included for the first time. Personnel numbers have particularly increased in production, so many of the new positions have been created in Europe.

As early as 2010 our net sales had once again reached pre-crisis levels, at least when looking at the figures in euros. In this respect, we had recovered more rapidly than the industrial sector in general and also faster than the instru-mentation and automation sector as a whole. Last year we developed again strongly – in line with our sector and bet-ter than the average in industry. Since we outgrew most competitors in 2011, we once again gained market share.

73Insights

“With Endress+Hauser, we have access to the newest measurement technologies.”

Jörn KlettkeOperations Manager Verbandsklärwerk Wiesental, Germany

Use the QR code to view the full video statement on your smartphone. For a free barcode reader, please visit www.i-nigma.com

Financial highlights

(EUR in thousands) (CHF in thousands)2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change

Net sales 1,524,982 1,313,213 16.1 % 1,878,930 1,799,758 4.4 %EBIT / Operating profit 246,906 187,371 31.8 % 304,213 256,792 18.5 %

EBT / Profit before taxes 242,962 165,912 46.4 % 299,353 227,382 31.7 %Net income 177,220 126,605 40.0 % 218,352 173,512 25.8 %

Equity 1,058,816 888,470 19.2 % 1,289,320 1,109,699 16.2 %Equity ratio 69.5 % 68.3 % 69.5 % 68.3 %Total capital employed 1,522,991 1,300,914 17.1 % 1,854,546 1,624,842 14.1 %

Capital expenditures 85,098 56,961 49.4 % 103,624 71,144 45.7 %Depreciation and amortization 58,090 58,563 −0.8 % 71,573 80,261 −10.8 %Cash flow 235,310 185,168 27.1 % 289,925 253,773 14.2 %

Number of employees 9,414 8,594 9.5 %

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Employees of the Endress+Hauser Group

2010

8,594Europe 72.9 %

Americas 9.6 %

Africa/Middle East 1.9 %

Asia-Pacific 15.6 %

2007

7,855

2008

8,434

2009

8,419

2011

9,414

Net income (EUR in millions)

2009

59

2008

2007

2011

177

2010

127105106

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

36 48 575550

764705

833

735651

227210

353299

233172162

282224

162

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

36 48 575550

764705

833

735651

227210

353299

233172162

282224

162

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

36 48 575550

764705

833

735651

227210

353299

233172162

282224

162

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

36 48 575550

764705

833

735651

227210

353299

233172162

282224

162

Europe

Americas

Africa/Middle East

Asia-Pacific

Net sales and net sales by region (EUR in millions)Net sales (EUR in millions)

1,096

2009

1,211

2008

2007

1,113

2011

2010

1,5251,313

Europe 54.6 %

Africa/Middle East 3.8 %

Asia-Pacific 23.1 %

Americas 18.5 %

Net sales by region (in %)

Insights 75

Strong driving forces are behind this good business growth, long-term megatrends influencing heavily fluctuating global developments in economy, society and politics. The world-wide hunger for energy is far from sated. The pressure to use precious energy and scarce resources efficiently continues to grow, not least against the background of climate change and water shortages. The demographic change is evident in aging populations. At the same time, world population is still increasing, particularly in emerging countries, and the middle classes with purchasing power are growing fast.

Strong driving forces All these megatrends alter require-ments and create demand. We find them reflected in the many developments that have given us such strong growth, either directly by us or by our customers. A particular characteristic of recent years is without doubt the fact that we have developed across an extremely broad spectrum, both in terms of industries and regions.

Our business has grown in all our strategic customer industries, led by oil & gas where we were able to increase sales by almost 50 percent. This mirrors the megatrends in energy and is a sign that, after over ten years, we have finally established ourselves as a key supplier in this mar- ket. The Enterprise Framework Agreement with energy company, Shell, that makes us its preferred supplier for process measurement engineering and services, is the crowning achievement of this successful groundwork.

Strong development was seen in the chemical industry, our most important sector in terms of sales. Power & energy, food & beverage as well as primaries & metal industries all experienced robust growth. Good gains were seen in the life science industry. A small – but nevertheless sound – plus was reported from the water & wastewater industry, which did not experience a slump in the 2009 crisis.

Amongst the regions it was the Americas that once again clearly stood out. The dynamics were even stronger there than in Asia. There was no North or South American mar-ket that failed to grow by a two-digit number – led by Chile with its strong mining sector. In Asia it was Korea that once again surprised with the highest growth. Ship building and in particular the construction of floating production, stor-age and offloading platforms for customers from the oil & gas industry played a key role here. India, China and Japan also showed strong growth.

One thing we would never have expected: in terms of net sales, the United States once again ousted China from second place. This is by no means due to any weakness in China. We simply had brilliant growth in the USA and considerably increased our shares in the market.

But even Europe – and this came out of the blue – showed two-digit growth. The countries which stood out here were those which profited from the boom in energy and primaries, such as Russia and Norway, and those economies whose machines, plants and equipment are in demand around the world, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany, our largest market.

Southern Europe could not keep pace with this develop-ment, an economic consequence of the financial crisis. Africa and the Middle East also lagged behind our expectations. Here the unrest in the Arab region played a role. In contrast, our new sales center in Qatar, founded in 2009, has boomed, mainly by providing service to the world’s largest gas-to-liquid plant, Pearl GTL.

More than just instruments All product groups showed two-digit growth with the exception of liquid analysis, whose sales are dependent on the less cyclical water & wastewater business. In engineering terms, we are engaged

“We have an open relationship with Endress+Hauser.”

Michael SirkkaTechnicianBoliden Mineral, Sweden

changes76

in various developments. This includes the continuing trend towards non-contact measuring principles. There is also a focus on issues relating to fieldbus communication and system integration.

The wireless communication of field devices has moved on from the test phase. We expect that this technology will become firmly established and will supplement conventional cabling. Interest is growing in Ethernet/IP as a protocol on the instruments themselves, a result of our alliance with Rockwell Automation. The advantages for configuration and operation are impressive, and we anticipate significant growth here, particularly for high-level instruments.

We were also able to further expand our business with auto mation solutions and services. The strategic decision to support our customers through instrumentation and beyond continues to pay dividends. In South Africa we were only able to win the contract for the measurement engineering equipment of large power plant complexes because we could also offer a solution for Plant Asset Management at the same time – that is the computer-aided management of devices and systems installed in the plant.

225 patent applications filed with Patent Offices around the world are proof of Endress+Hauser’s powers of innova-tion. In 2011 we spent approximately 108 million euros on

Peter HimmelsbachManaging Director Warsteiner Gruppe, Germany

“The biggest hurdle is not so much becoming energy efficient, but staying energy efficient. This is where Endress+Hauser helps us.”

Bank loans and cash equivalents (EUR in millions)

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

51 40

141

182

377

443

63

244

6777

Equity ratio (in %)

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

6165

597068

Cash equivalents Bank loans

Insights 77

research and development. In relation to our strongly increased net sales, these expenses slightly declined – a fact that is of little significance in our eyes. More important to us is the esteem of market and customers. The steady gain in market share therefore seems to us to be a much better indicator of the success of the company.

Future potential One of the megatrends driving our busi-ness forward in many ways is energy efficiency. We have always been in a position to offer our customers comprehen-sive support in matters relating to measuring and displaying energy flows, with energy monitoring systems, for example.

With the acquisition of the German engineering bureau Sys-templan, we have now acquired the necessary competencies in-house to give our customers advice and support along the path to increased energy efficiency.

Another megatrend, biotechnology, is reflected in our minority stake in Finesse Solutions. The US company devel-ops, manufactures and markets disposable systems, such as those used in the life science industry. Disposable engineer-ing dispenses with the need for the complex and environ-mentally harmful cleaning of fixed plants. As this business today has only few areas that overlap with ours, we continue to pursue separate paths in sales. However, in the field of

“Endress+Hauser’s service division supports us very well.”

Diana UnigarroProject Engineer Pacific Rubiales Energy, Colombia

Patent applications of the Endress+Hauser Group

2011

200

2009

200

2008

2007

2010

219

182

225

Capital expenditures (EUR in millions)

2010

107

67

2011

2009

2008

2007

57

9585

changes78

services, we will provide support for Finesse Solutions in the future.

So, where is the journey leading us now? Our certainty here is scarcely more than it was a year ago. Our growth has already slowed somewhat in the last quarter of 2011 – not least because the need to catch up after the crisis has now been satisfied. There are individual markets that show signs of weakness, such as Southern Europe, for example. Also, even in China – and we still have to get used to this – growth is not quite as forceful at the present time.

Sound prospects However, there can be no question of recession or even crisis. Our figures are sound, the mood of the economy is optimistic. We therefore expect that our growth in 2012 will be in a good one-figure range. The instrumentation and automation sector predicts a plus of 4 to 5 percent; we ourselves are counting on 7 percent more in net sales – a level relating to local currencies, which could turn out to be higher when consolidated in euros.

In order to fulfill this, we are investing in people and plants. By the end of the year we should cross the 10,000 employee mark. We aim to create over half of these new jobs in Europe. We will be investing around 140 million

euros in buildings, plants and machinery – in the Old as well as the New World. Amongst other projects, we are going to establish new production facilities for flow, level and pressure measurement engineering in Brazil.

Of course our expectations are accompanied by a great deal of uncertainty. The state debt crisis – and the associ-ated euro crisis – continues to smolder. China is struggling with an economic slowdown, as well as structural problems. And past years have shown that we are never immune to surprises, whether these are political upheavals that sweep us along or natural catastrophes.

We cannot predict the future. But we can try to prepare ourselves as well as possible, remaining agile and alert. Our business is carried by strong driving forces, as we have learnt in the uncertain circumstances of recent years. These driving forces offer immense opportunities, not only when the economy booms, but also when it shifts sideways or even slumps.

Therefore we are convinced: if we continue in everything we do and take the markets and our customers as the yard-stick, we will be able to make good use of these opportunities – and will remain successful in 2012, whatever twists and turns the year holds in store for us.

Klaus Riemenschneider President of the Supervisory Board

Klaus Endress CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group

ImprintPublisher Endress+Hauser AGKägenstrasse 2, 4153 Reinach BL 1, Switzerland

Editors Klaus Endress, Martin Raab (editorial management), Monique Juillerat (project management), Silke Abu Mehri, David Bosshard, Christian Geiger, Susanne Gottschalk, Patrick Hell, Helmut Kalteis, Roland Kienzler, Stephan-C. Köhler, Rainer Kraft, Anna Kürzinger, Klaus-Peter Lindner, Kerstin Löffler, Alexander Marzahn, Uwe Timm, Stephanie Walther Editorial cooperation Thomas Adolph, Doris Banzhaf, Béatrice KochLanguage adaption Lisa Rothwell, Charlotte UrwinTranslation Peter Späth, Daniel Hawpe, Jan Sinstadt

Illustrations Ulrich Birtel, Anne Rapp

Photography Jürg Abderhalden, Fotostudio Fein, Christian Flierl, Axel Hupfer, Initiative Ludwig-Erhard-Preis e.V., Lynetten, Pacific Rubiales Energy, Reiner Pfisterer, Dominik Plüss, Photographic Services Shell International Ltd, Martin Spiess, Endress+Hauser

Production, design inVentiv Health Communications Europe GmbH, Freiburg, GermanyMadlen Birk Grafikdesign, Denzlingen, GermanyRüggeberg Werbe- und Medienproduktion, Freiburg, Germany

Print Straub Druck + Medien AG, Schramberg, Germany

Lithography vetter mediendesign, Reutlingen, Germany

29,000 copies of ‘changes’ are published once a year in German, English, French or Spanish. Further copies and a detailed annual report in German or English can be ordered via our website www.endress.com/changes or by emailing info@holding.endress.com

79Insights

VisionPeople for Process Automation

Customers identify Endress+Hauser as the international solution supplier, with a wide range of process measurement instrumentation and a strong presence worldwide.

We develop our associates, we foster a responsible attitude towards the community and our environment, whilst ensuring economic success.

MissionWe strive to sustainably generate outstanding value for our customers.

To achieve this we develop, manufacture and sell sensors, components and systems which gather, transfer and process information from industrial processes. In cooperation with partners, we help our customers to design their processes to be reliable, safe, environmentally compatible and efficient.

CredoCustomer We learn from the customers we serve.

Strategy We concentrate our resources on business we understand.

Autonomy We protect our status as an autonomous and independent corporation.

Organization We believe in autonomy and decentralization, but centralize a few core values.

Leadership We encourage our employees to take responsibility for their actions. We manage by open communication, agree goals and evaluate our success.

Quality We strive to set examples in the quality of our products and services.

Employees We seek motivated, committed and actively involved employees.

Communication We speak openly with one another. We handle information freely and responsibly.

Creativity We wish to create an environment in which ideas and progress can be cultivated. We encourage our employees to be innovative.

Profit We recognize profitability as the driving force of our corporation.

Additional copies of ‘changes’ in English, German, French or Spanish and our detailed annual report in English or German can be ordered via our website www.endress.com/changes or by emailing info@holding.endress.com

Contact

Endress+Hauser AGKägenstrasse 24153 Reinach BL 1Switzerland

Phone +41 61 715 77 00Fax +41 61 715 28 88info@holding.endress.comwww.endress.com

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