Customer case - ENDEGS - Germany

David Wendel is Managing Director of ENDEGS in Pförring, Germany, near Ingolstadt.

ENDEGS and KOKS first met during the StocExpo fair. After seeing and talking about the ESOT robotic system, a follow-up appointment was immediately made. In the meantime ENDEGS purchased such a tank maintenance robot from KOKS in order to rent out it to professional cleaning companies and its core customers.

David Wendel: "At those companies there is great interest in avoiding the deployment of work force when it comes to cleaning activities in ATEX Zone 0 and thus reducing the risks to people and the environment."

''Replacement of manual tank cleaning by no-man tank cleaning with a robot is much safer and more efficient. The feedback from our customers about the KOKS ESOT robotic system is great. Most appreciated are the optimal safety for the operators, less emissions, savings on personal protective equipment and 24/7 a constant output during work."

David Wendel: “When looking for suitable, new equipment on behalf of expanding our fleet, we also look at which company fits well with the ENDEGS philosophy. After my visit to the KOKS factory and acquaintance with export manager Jeffrey van Veen and the rest of the team, it turned out that we, as quality-driven family businesses, had many points in common. And that inspires confidence in doing business.

We now benefit greatly from the excellent quality of the products and the well-qualified employees who are available at KOKS. The training our entire ENDEGS team has received upon delivery of the robotic system certainly contributed to the success. KOKS Academy visited our head office in Pförring in order to teach us everything about the start up, operation, maintenance and storage of the robot."

• Further reduce hazardous emissions in industrial maintenance every year. 
• Protect workers involved in the degassing process to the greatest possible degree. 
• Prevent the creation of hazardous waste, as sometimes happens through the use of other technologies.
• Further reduce the operating materials.
• Address new applications where degassing was not formerly used, and where gases and vapours are still released into the atmosphere.

On behalf of Compamedia, organizer of the TOP 100 innovation competition, innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team examined the innovative abilities of ENDEGS, based on around 120 criteria in five categories: Support for innovation by top management, innovation climate, innovation processes and organization, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success. 
At the core, the question is whether innovations are the result of planned processes or come about by chance, in other words, whether innovation performance is repeatable, and whether, and how, the resulting solutions are successful on the market (for more on the judging criteria, see www.top100.de/ pruefkriterien). Due to the current situation, there was also a special category for company response to the corona crisis. 

"We want to not just do a job but use every opportunity to reach our goals. That takes ongoing innovation”, says Kai Sievers, founder and CEO of ENDEGS.

In 2008 ENDEGS developed the first mobile fully equipped, trailer-mounted, autonomously operating mobile incinerator for combusting gaseous hazardous materials but did not stop there. In recent years, the company has also developed systems that use heating oil instead of gas for auxiliary firing. That means degassing can be performed in places where gas cannot be used. ENDEGs has also developed and certified systems for Group IIC products (like hydrogen). Thus, ENDEGS can offer and safely perform services for all hazardous substances of explosive classes IIA, IIB and IIC. This is unique on the market. 

“The industry needs partners who comply with environmental regulations and continue to innovate in solutions. With our experience, technology and drive for innovation, we can help our customers make their cleaning and degassing process safer, more efficient and emission-free”, says David Wendel.

David Wendel: “Tank cleaning was previously carried out by three or four men in protective suits and with self-contained breathing apparatus, in four shifts of approx. two hours. This ESOT robot is of course a welcome innovation for that. The operator who controls the robot sits at a safe distance in a mobile, ventilated cabin. This has undeniable benefits for health, safety, the environment and the quality of work. Thanks to the compact construction and mobility of the robot and the movement options of the arm, our new robotic system can be used in many industries and for all kinds of substances.”

With the KOKS ESOT-robotic system, the first with certification for ATEX Zone 0 and fully in accordance with German safety requirements, ENDEGS adds something extra to the current range. This helps customers to carry out their tank cleaning jobs more safely and efficiently and to run this in parallel with the degassing process.
David Wendel: “Before the robot enters the tank, the tank is connected to a mobile ENDEGS combustion unit. This creates a slight negative pressure in the tank, so vapours cannot escape when opening the man gate. As soon as this unit and the robot have finished their job, the VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) concentration in the tank has dropped to almost 0% LEL, meaning there is minimal risk of explosion. After that the manual fine cleaning can start, where the operators only need a respirator with filter and only have to remove a small amount of material. Our combustion unit not only degasses the tank, but also the vacuum truck. The materials being removed from the tank by the robot end up in it and then create dangerous gas concentrations. ENDEGS incinerates these at a combustion rate of almost 100% instead of releasing these into the atmosphere, which is unfortunately a frequent but harmful practice. This process has been patented and used by ENDEGS since 2009.

KOKS had the pleasure to deliver a new product to this customer that fits perfectly with the company, the existing fleet and the activities. But, it got even better… With the robotic system, ENDEGS was able to tap into new markets and do business in regions where ENDEGS was previously not active. David Wendel has already enthusiastically announced that he will certainly contact KOKS for future expansions.