Thomas Quarg (left), Director Facility Management at ams-OSRAM International, shows Cyrus Ardjomandi, Business Development Manager at GF Piping Systems, around the OSRAM plant in Regensburg.
A sustainable collaboration
If you want to guarantee your customers high quality and consistency, you need reliable partners who share the same values. The industrial services provider Bilfinger relies on GF – not least because one of its consultants has trusted GF for 30 years. The success of this partnership speaks for itself: GF products now also ensure safety in a new system from ams OSRAM, the world’s leading supplier of intelligent sensors and spotlights.
Michael Kiefer, Product Manager in the Technologies division of Bilfinger Life Science GmbH, has trusted GF products for three decades. If you ask him, he will certainly be able to give you his technical reasons. But perhaps even more important to him is the social factor: “For example, I still recall this one inspiring meeting with customers in Singapore at the end of the 1990s: I have those contacts in my network to this day.”
When he joined Bilfinger in 2014 to set up the semiconductor division within the company, turning to GF was a no-brainer. “GF products are unique and we had excellent ties, so the planning basis for all projects was almost always material from GF.” Communication with partners is particularly important to Michael Kiefer: “I know I can always reach someone at GF promptly and get help. And above all, the statements are reliable.”
For these reasons, he chose GF products for a major project with a special focus on safety: the construction of the plant for ams-OSRAM International GmbH in Regensburg (Germany), which Bilfinger planned and realized about six years ago. ams-OSRAM International GmbH uses the CONTAIN-IT Plus double containment system from GF Piping Systems for its semiconductor production. The inner pipe, through which the liquids are transported, is encased in a containment pipe – an effective accident prevention measure. The containment pipe is transparent in many sections, so any damage to the inner pipe can be seen immediately.
© GFHigh demands on systems
Semiconductor production is complex. High-purity water must be provided and treated, highly toxic liquids such as mixed waste fluids containing sulphuric, phosphoric, hydrofluoric and nitric acids are used. GF’s double-tube system is suitable for a wide range of substances, which was important to OSRAM when awarding the contract for the new plant. “Choosing the right material for the media-carrying inner pipe of our CONTAIN-IT Plus double containment system has increased safety enormously,” says Cyrus Ardjomandi, Business Development Manager at GF Piping Systems. He was also supporting the last expansion of OSRAM in Regensburg. The GF pipes lead from the “wet workstations” to the wastewater management in the plant. “This is where the surfaces of wafers are etched with acids, among other things,” says Thomas Quarg, Director Facility Management at ams-OSRAM International. He says the double containment system not only ensures the safety of employees, but also of the entire plant. “If, for example, fluids containing hydrofluoric acid leaked into a production area, we would have to evacuate immediately, material would be destroyed and everything would have to be cleaned at great expense.” GF’s double containment solution can prevent this
© GFThomas Quarg
Position: Director Facility Management
Division: ams-OSRAM International
Location: Regensburg (Germany)
“The double pipes not only protect employees, but also the entire plant.”
Thomas Quarg, Director Facility Management at ams-OSRAM International
The GF double containment pipes were recommended by Bilfinger for this project. “We install piping technology for semiconductor production’s entire water system,” says Michael Kiefer. The company guarantees customers that “the process runs smoothly, from water supply to disposal.” Michael Kiefer’s demands on piping systems are accordingly high. “Quality and reliability are imperative. And for these double containment pipes, GF is the only supplier. I don’t know of any comparable system that is also so easy to install.”
© GFCyrus Ardjomandi
Position: Business Development Manager
Division: GF Piping Systems
Location: Albershausen (Germany)
Joined GF in: 2017
Bilfinger therefore connects GF with outstanding customers like OSRAM. In addition to the piping systems themselves, GF Piping Systems also offers complete solutions in the form of project planning and costing, and the adaptation of special components to the customer’s requirements. For example, the GF Piping Systems team from the site in Albershausen (Germany) dedicated to the project in Regensburg helped to optimize the piping concept during the planning phase. According to Michael Kiefer, innovation also plays a major role: “Semiconductor technology is constantly evolving. When new wastewater media are used, and we are not yet sure which materials are compatible, we’re happy to draw on the materials expertise of our GF colleagues.”
© Getty Images / Yiu Yu HoiThe relationship deepens
Bilfinger is currently implementing a sustainability program with the aim of becoming CO2-neutral in classes 1 and 2 by 2030. This is where the double containment solution can excel. Accidents can cause environmental damage and material is wasted. The pipes help conserve resources and save costs. What’s more, the fact that a manufacturer like GF produces in Europe and can offer short delivery routes “will naturally have an influence on purchasing practices in the future,” says Michael Kiefer. “The whole package is just right.”