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Tag: GERWIN Silotechnik

METZEN ensures system-critical efficiency in thermal Waste-to-Energy

Written by Ines Luther on . Posted in All topics, Conveying Technology, Environmental Technology, Grab Technology.

Thermal waste-to-energy plays an increasingly stable role in Europe’s waste management and energy infrastructure. Rising waste volumes, high requirements for plant availability, and the need for predictable energy generation are driving continued growth in the Waste-to-Energy sector. With Germany as the largest single market in the EU, home to 68 thermal waste treatment plants with an annual capacity of 19.6 million tonnes, the market is expected to grow from around €20 billion in 2025 to approximately €26.5 billion by 2030. In 2024, 25.9 million tonnes of waste were thermally treated in Germany, producing 10.5 million megawatt-hours of heat and 15.5 million megawatt-hours of process steam fed into energy and heat networks.

Against this backdrop, operators of thermal plants face increasing demands: efficiency improvements, strict emission limits, and fluctuating waste streams shape plant operations. In Germany, 61 per cent of plastic waste is used for energy recovery, with 38 per cent processed in conventional incineration plants. Efficiency gains can be achieved not only through modern combustion and energy recovery technologies but also significantly through optimised material handling. High-quality conveying systems ensure a steady fuel supply despite variations in calorific value, stabilise furnace temperatures, reduce the use of auxiliary fuel, and increase electrical efficiency.

METZEN takes a holistic approach to conveying technology, developing solutions tailored to the needs of modern waste incineration plants, sewage sludge utilisation, and alternative fuel production. We maintain material flow even with challenging, abrasive, or bulky waste. Wear-optimised materials, modular designs, and intelligent control systems enable high plant availability, reduce downtime, and lower operating costs by five to ten per cent per year. In a typical plant with an annual throughput of 500,000 tonnes, a one per cent increase in availability corresponds to around 5,000 tonnes of additional throughput.

The full potential of conveying technology in thermal waste-to-energy is realised when combined with robust grab systems. KRÖGER rope and motorised grabs, a METZEN product brand, are designed for high cycle rates, deep reach, and abrasive operating conditions. They maintain reliable performance while minimising manual intervention. Together with conveying solutions, they ensure a stable fuel supply, reduce thermal load fluctuations, and provide the foundation for automation, digital process control, and predictive maintenance.

METZEN delivers solutions specifically tailored to the individual challenges faced by plant customers, creating a long-term, future-proof concept. This ensures that operators can manage increasing throughput, maintain consistent fuel quality, and maximise energy recovery. At the same time, we account for future circular economy requirements, stricter emission regulations, and climate goals. METZEN supports customers from planning through implementation and ongoing operations, combining technical expertise with decades of experience in conveying technology, grab systems, and sustainable energy recovery.

 

Interview with Lars Netzel, CSO of METZEN Industries “When it matters – METZEN delivers.”

Written by Ines Luther on . Posted in All topics, Conveying Technology, Corporate, Energy, Environmental Technology, Grab Technology.

Executive Summary

METZEN stands for premium engineering, consistent customer focus and technical excellence. In this interview, CSO Lars Netzel speaks about productivity in consulting, prioritisation, deal flow, customer value, digitalisation, AI initiatives, sustainability and the unique strength of METZEN’s teams.

“Technology creates speed. Expertise builds trust. People make the difference.”

PART 1 – PRODUCTIVITY IN CONSULTING

 Focus on what truly matters

Question: How do you define productivity in the consulting process?

Lars Netzel: Productivity means achieving more with the same time resources – more customer interactions, more projects, more results. It is not about doing more things, but about doing the right things. Productive consultants plan consciously, set clear priorities and generate significantly higher output from the same input. Focus directly improves consulting quality.

The right customers, not too many customers

Question: What role does customer selection play?

Lars Netzel: Customers differ in their strategic and economic value. Success comes from focusing energy on customers who are both relevant and profitable. Quality over quantity is our principle. This is how we ensure real value for our customers. At the same time, only those who are active have the freedom to choose. Sales quality therefore emerges from quantity. Put simply: those who have many options can select the best ones. This applies not only to us, but equally to our customers when choosing solution providers.

 

Consulting quality equals deal flow

Question: What does consulting quality mean to you?

Lars Netzel: A professionally managed consulting process is fast, structured and efficient. We call this deal flow. The smoother the process, the more orders per unit of time and the higher the productivity. The greatest and fastest growth potential lies in structuring consulting processes, for both our customers and our company. Shortening the consulting process while maintaining the same high quality excites the customer. The desired outcome, or the potential process optimisation, is implemented faster, and the improved earnings situation on the customer side takes effect earlier.

PART 2 – STRUCTURE, SELF-MANAGEMENT & CHALLENGES

Self-management as a success factor

Question: How important is self-management?

Lars Netzel: Strong self-management ensures that our Senior Engineers operate in their optimal performance range, neither underchallenged nor overloaded. This creates focus on value creation. Of course, there are peak workloads. What matters is recognising these temporary phases and returning to a productive flow state. Do we always succeed? No. But our open and transparent communication helps us identify issues early and respond together as teams.

Challenges in technical sales

Question: Where do you see the greatest challenges?

Lars Netzel: Our projects are technically complex, sometimes time-critical, and often involve customised or one-off solutions. This is exactly where our strength lies: we deliver when it matters. Calmness, experience, mental presence and the ability to guide customers through different scenarios, even during ongoing projects, are key strengths of our Premium+ consulting approach. These are core challenges in technical sales. “They can do it,” our customers say about us, and I say the same about our teams. Another major challenge is the often practised principle of “One Face to the Customer.” We always consult individually, either through a single contact or via team selling. Our consulting model is consistently aligned with customer needs, whether that requires one specific Senior Engineer or a team of Senior Engineers with complementary expertise.

PART 3 – CUSTOMER LOYALTY & CASE STUDIES

Customer loyalty through results

Question: How do you build sustainable customer loyalty?

Lars Netzel: Through transparent, measurable success. Our case studies show real challenges and concrete solutions. Transparency is the foundation of respectful and long-term collaboration. My fellow Managing Director, Andreas Groth, described this perfectly in his blog: long-term success requires trust, and trust only grows through honesty and transparency. I fully agree. This is also the working environment we cultivate within our teams. Our METZEN Code clearly and concisely describes this model of success.

PART 4 – THE FUTURE: STRATEGY, SUSTAINABILITY & DIGITALISATION

Future strategy

Question: Where is METZEN heading?

Lars Netzel: We clearly focus on high-value engineering: demanding projects, premium systems and sustainable solutions. This allows us to use our consulting expertise to create tangible value for our customers. For us, consulting expertise also means optimising existing premium customer installations or fine-tuning established solutions.

Let me illustrate this with a real customer requirement. One of our long-standing customers in the food industry produces mochis, traditional Japanese rice cakes. The customer uses a production line from a Japanese premium manufacturer that is well established in the bakery industry. The product quality is excellent, but the output per hour needs to be increased. The limiting factor is the sorting process before product placement. These are exactly the challenges we address with our individual Premium+ solutions. This is our Senior Engineering DNA and a core element of our future strategy.

The third pillar of our future strategy is the co-creation approach. In short, solution quality improves when our customers and our teams co-create on equal terms. We intend to strengthen this approach further. METZEN continues to evolve. In the current financial year, we successfully integrated GERWIN as a METZEN brand. The value lies, among other things, in the Senior Engineering expertise within this unit. By combining this experience with our existing Senior Engineering teams and approaching new projects across business units, we create Premium+ solutions for our customers. We call this Co-Creation 2.0.

Sustainability

Question: What role does sustainability play?

Lars Netzel: Sustainability means durable solutions, energy-efficient systems and resource-saving technology. We build systems designed for the future. Our customers want efficient solutions, and efficiency ultimately equals sustainability. For us, sustainability is also closely linked to modern ways of working and modern tools. Sometimes it starts with small things. Personally, I have not printed a single document in this financial year.

PART 5 – DIGITALISATION & AI INITIATIVE 2026

AI as an accelerator

Question: How do you use AI?

Lars Netzel: In 2026, we will launch a comprehensive AI training initiative. AI enables faster processing, greater precision, automated pre-analyses, validated data and optimised processes. At the same time, we are deliberately broadening our capabilities as a company. We invest in employees with strong AI expertise and follow a clear AI roadmap that we are already implementing consistently over two financial years. A logical step was the creation of the role of AI & Analytics Engineer. I am particularly pleased that we were able to fill this position with a woman.

What matters most is that digitalisation liberates sales. It frees our consultants from administrative tasks and creates more time for customers. The core task of our sales organisation remains unchanged: turning contacts into opportunities and opportunities into sustainable customer solutions.

Artificial intelligence is already part of METZEN’s daily work. I invite you to read my white paper on this transformation process, which will be published in the METZEN blog at the beginning of 2026.

PART 6 – THE HEART OF METZEN: OUR COMMUNITY

The expertise of our Senior Engineers

Question: With all this progress, what remains the most important factor?

Lars Netzel: Personally, I find the term “resource” outdated. Batteries may be power resources, and incidentally, this is a business area we equip with Premium+ solutions. We will report on a very exciting project implementation in the coming financial year.

The heart of METZEN is our community – our people, who fully identify with our brand promise: METZEN is your partner for solving complex challenges in industrial plant and machinery engineering. We deliver results, from analysis to implementation. We are building the industry of the future. We design and manufacture individual solutions to make our customers’ processes more efficient and more sustainable. Precise, fast and decisive.

Closing statement from the CSO

“We deliver Premium+ solutions with speed, precision and a genuine passion for consulting depth. A great customer experience is never accidental. It is the objective of our consulting. And that is why we are the partner you can rely on when it really matters.”

 

2025 – A year of many records for METZEN

Written by Ines Luther on . Posted in All topics, Conveying Technology, Corporate, Energy, Environmental Technology, Grab Technology.

2025 was a year of decisive growth, bold decisions and clear investments in the future. Above all, it was a year that delivered tangible value. Everything we expand, invest in and evolve serves one purpose: to execute projects with greater performance, safety and efficiency.

Strong growth – A stable outlook for the future

METZEN looks back on a record year. The company’s total output grew by around 70 per cent in 2025, reaching an unprecedented level. This remarkable growth reflects the trust placed in us by our customers and confirms the long-term viability of our strategic direction. It secures our position as a high-performance partner with strong investment capability, offering our customers lasting stability and our employees clear prospects for the future.

Record-level investments – Delivering direct value for our customers

In 2025, METZEN invested in its capabilities on an extraordinary scale. The focus lay on strengthening our technical expertise, expanding production capacities and driving digitalisation forward with determination. The acquisition of Gerwin Silotechnik GmbH and G&S Oberflächentechnik GmbH has strengthened METZEN strategically. Our customers now benefit from an expanded value chain, from engineering and manufacturing to surface and corrosion protection solutions – all from a single source.

Another focal point was the modernisation and expansion of our machinery portfolio. At the Gochsheim site, a new state-of-the-art boring mill was commissioned. This new bed-type milling machine enables large-scale, high-precision machining with significantly enhanced performance. For our projects, this results in higher precision, the ability to process larger components directly, shorter throughput times and even greater process reliability.

The Sonsbeck site was also strengthened through the addition of another boring mill. This table-type machine expands local capacities sustainably and increases flexibility in manufacturing. With this, METZEN meets the growing demands for availability, on-time delivery and machining depth.

In parallel, substantial follow-up investments in digitalisation were implemented. Upgrading the ERP system, extending further IT applications and introducing modern document management systems have made processes faster, more transparent and even more reliable. The outcome: streamlined workflows, strong traceability and maximum planning security.

Growth within the team – Expertise as a success factor

This year, METZEN grew to around 400 employees. This development reflects our targeted expansion of knowledge, capacity and innovative strength. Our customers benefit from stable teams, deep experience and specialised expertise across every project phase.

The management team was also strengthened. The executive board was expanded with Marcel Funk and Dr Mark Herriger. The leadership circle grew further with the appointments of Adrian Hense as Director Material Handling and Hanna Buhmann as Head of Talent Management. This clear organisational structure ensures swift decision-making, strong reliability and a consistently customer-focused approach.

A crucial pillar for the future is the investment in our own emerging talent. Across all sites, METZEN currently offers around 30 apprenticeships – with numbers continuing to rise. This ensures long-term expertise for our projects.

Laying the foundation for the future

In 2025, METZEN not only increased performance but also established the foundations for sustainable growth. Technology, digitalisation, organisational structures and personnel were all aligned with long-term resilience. This provides certainty that METZEN will remain a financially stable, technically strong and reliable partner in the years to come.

A clear commitment to Germany

METZEN is firmly committed to its German locations. All major investments in production, IT and organisational development were made at our sites in Germany. For our customers, this means the highest quality standards, short communication paths, transparent processes and dependable supply chains.

Growth markets in focus: “Mineral Processing”

With the integration of Gerwin Silotechnik, we are purposefully entering the future market of mineral processing. Considerable investments are expected in this sector in the coming years. METZEN is exceptionally well positioned, with comprehensive system and plant expertise, strong in-house manufacturing depth and proven project capability. This enables reliable planning, high scalability and economically sustainable solutions.

Conclusion: 2025 – A strong year for METZEN. An even stronger commitment to our customers

2025 stands for growth, investment and determined progress. Above all, it represents our clear ambition to remain a reliable, high-performing and future-ready partner in machinery and plant engineering. With cutting-edge technology, strong teams and a clear strategy, we are building the foundation for the long-term success of our customers.

 

METZEN strengthens customers through smart investments

Written by Ines Luther on . Posted in All topics, Corporate, Energy, Uncategorized.

With a clear future strategy and targeted investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, METZEN consistently enhances its performance with a single goal: to further expand the sustainable success of our customers. A current example of this is the expansion of the machinery fleet at the Gochsheim site with a new, highly precise drilling machine – the MTE bed milling machine, type RT-V 3500.

Investments That Directly Benefit Customers

Technological excellence is crucial today for productivity, quality, and delivery reliability. With the new MTE bed milling machine, METZEN specifically strengthens its manufacturing capabilities in Gochsheim. The powerful machine enables precise and flexible machining of large components, offering high rigidity, excellent accuracy, and ideal conditions for demanding industrial applications.

Thanks to the high-performance NC rotary table, heavy workpieces can be safely and accurately positioned, allowing complex machining operations to be completed in a single setup. This ensures high precision, shorter lead times, and maximum flexibility in production.

These performance characteristics open up entirely new possibilities for the precise machining of large, heavy, and complex components.

The investment in the new drilling machine provides customers with direct added value:

  • Higher precision: Tight tolerances and reproducible accuracy, especially for large components

  • Greater flexibility: Machining complex geometries from a single source

  • Shorter lead times: More efficient processes through modern CNC technology

  • Improved cost-effectiveness: Optimised production reduces unit costs and increases planning reliability

  • Future-proofing: Capacity reserves for growing production volumes

In demanding sectors such as machinery, plant, and special machine construction, this means that projects can be realised faster, more safely, and more economically.

Strengthening the Gochsheim Manufacturing Hub

With the new drilling machine, METZEN is strategically strengthening the Gochsheim site as a high-performance manufacturing hub. Customers benefit from expanded machining capabilities, higher delivery reliability, and process stability – from prototype to series production.

METZEN invests where it creates the greatest value for customers: in cutting-edge technology, process reliability, and sustainable performance. In this way, we continue to secure clear competitive advantages for our customers.

GERWIN Silotechnik integrates G&S Surface Technology

Written by Ines Luther on . Posted in All topics, Corporate, Uncategorized.

For our customers, one thing matters most: reliable quality, short project lead times and maximum process reliability. GERWIN Silotechnik, a product brand of METZEN, has always stood for well-engineered solutions and clear responsibility. This is exactly where the integration of G&S Surface Technology into GERWIN Silotechnik begins – directly at our shared site in Beckum. A step that brings clear and tangible benefits.

With the integration, GERWIN is specifically expanding its expertise in surface treatment. For our customers, this means no external waiting times, no long transport routes and no dependence on distant suppliers. Even demanding surface treatments can now be carried out directly on site in Beckum – quickly, efficiently and reliably.

This not only saves time, but also increases planning reliability and significantly accelerates complete project processes. A genuine competitive advantage for our customers.

Tangible added value for your projects

Thanks to the new in-house expertise, GERWIN customers benefit from significantly shorter lead times, much greater flexibility in scheduling changes, and consistently controlled quality. At the same time, short distances ensure more sustainable processes and faster overall project execution. Especially in times of high capacity utilisation and tight schedules, speed becomes a decisive success factor and a clear competitive advantage.

The integration expands GERWIN’s service portfolio with comprehensive and certified new capabilities:

  • Abrasive blasting in accordance with DIN EN ISO 12944-4
    For mobile steel structures up to 10 t unit weight, 2.5 m height, 2.5 m width and 14 m length

  • Glass bead blasting for stainless steel and aluminium structures

  • Surface coatings for all industrial applications
    According to corrosivity categories C1 to C6, with the relevant certifications

Of particular importance to many of our customers are the new capabilities in the highest corrosion protection classes:

  • Industrial (C5-I): Very high exposure to moisture and aggressive gases

  • Marine (C5-M): Very high exposure to salt and extreme environmental conditions

This positions GERWIN even more strongly for the future, enabling us to deliver durable and safe solutions even under the most demanding operating conditions.

The integration is more than an organisational step. It is a clear commitment to regional strength, sustainable action and genuine customer focus. Short distances mean fewer transports, lower emissions and greater efficiency – a benefit for customers and the environment alike.