International career at Vogelsang
Careers abroad
One in every eight Germans dreams of
emigrating permanently. More than a third
of Germans would like to spend some time
abroad, and for those under 30 the figure is
as high as 50.3 percent. Almost one third of
respondents have already lived outside of
their home country, and more than one eighth
(13.1 percent) for longer than one year.
It should be noted that more than half of
Germans would only settle outside of
Germany after their retirement. More than
one third (37.1 percent) still see emigration
as an option for their professional life
however. The under-30s mostly see this
happening directly after school or education
and during their degree studies, and in any
case before starting a family.
The most popular destination countries
are the USA, Spain, Italy and Australia.
Today, planning and undertaking a placement
abroad at Vogelsang naturally takes
place with more preparation and not out
of necessity. Depending on the area of responsibility,
the subsidiary and the personal
motivation, there are various options to
work in one of the over 25 company locations worldwide
or to undergo training abroad.
… for trainees (vocational training).
The training program to become an international
industrial clerk at Vogelsang automatically requires a
placement of several weeks in a subsidiary abroad. In
other vocational training programs, the trainees themselves
can decide whether they would like to complete
part of their course abroad. In this way, Vogelsang
also supports participation in the European Union’s
ERASMUS program, and helps both with making contact
in the host country as well as with the planning
and organization of the placement, including support
with accommodation. With some commitment and
knowledge of foreign languages, trainees can fulfill the
dream of having an international career.
… for employees at the company headquarters.
Vogelsang employees in Germany can, under certain
conditions, either temporarily or permanently work
for Vogelsang abroad, for example as part of the deployment
of professionals or at their own initiative.
… for employees from outside Germany.
Employees and applicants from foreign countries
are always welcome to participate in training at the
company headquarters in Germany. In many cases,
international applicants first undergo training at the
German headquarters before then starting their job at a
Vogelsang subsidiary abroad. International employees
are also always welcome at the headquarters in Germany.
This intensifies exchanges with the subsidiaries and
creates understanding of work morale and cultural
practices on both sides.
Internationalization course opens up new oppertunities
Due to the enhanced international orientation
of Vogelsang, the options and opportunities
for working abroad and building one’s
own career have become more extensive in
recent years. “The corporate structure, with
its many subsidiaries and representatives
from abroad, opens up many opportunities for colleagues
today,” explains Thölke, the pioneer in this area. For
him there is no question that the demand for personnel
with experience abroad is there and will increase
further: “The need to deploy employees abroad is a permanent
one. During the construction of a new plant,
for example, it is always good, if not necessary, to have
experienced technical personnel from headquarters on
location.” In sales too, employees with international
experience have a decisive advantage: They know the
country-specific demands and needs of the customers
and are thus better able to reconcile requirements and
the solutions offered. Different countries, different customs
“The requirements of our work could not be more
different in some countries. In the USA and Asia, for
example, customers are much more impatient than
in Germany,” says Thölke. “While in Germany a customer
inquiry can be worked on over several days or
even a week without any trouble, customers in the
USA and Asia demand service within a short period,
ideally on the same day.” The expectations of a company,
the cultural traditions and individual work
processes vary from country to country and cannot
be equated to the customs in Germany. One thing is
important above all else in this context – ask lots of
questions, check information in detail, do not hang
on to old approaches and quickly get the right feel for
customers and culture. Thölke’s conclusion: “Anyone
who has worked abroad is better able to understand
customer wishes and concerns and to approach them
in a more targeted way – you only learn properly how
a contact thinks on location.”
Hola - and welcome to headquarters
José Gimeno Gómez, Regional Sales
Director for the region South America
on his move to Germany
Six years ago, the Spaniard José Gimeno Gómez came to
Germany to train in internal sales at the Vogelsang corporate
headquarters. Instead of then transferring to the Spanish subsidiary
as planned, José Gimeno Gómez decided to stay. THINK RED!: Mr. Gimeno Gómez, why did you leave Spain?
José Gimeno Gómez: I found out from a colleague at my
previous employer that Vogelsang in Spain was looking for
someone to train in internal sales for two years at the corporate
headquarters in Germany. For me it was a chance to gain secure
employment and better opportunities for advancement in an
international company. When I was making this professional
decision in 2012, the economic situation in Spain was poor,
with unemployment very high at around 25 percent.
How did your start at Vogelsang in Germany go?
When I arrived, Vogelsang had already organized an apartment
and supported me with administrative matters. This was a great
help. At work I was first trained in production. After just a couple
of months, I was already working on the coordination of
orders and offer preparation for the countries Spain and Norway,
among other things, and for Turkey too a few months later.
You originally wanted to return to Spain after two years
and then decided to remain in Germany? Why?
I got on extremely well with my colleagues, felt very happy in
the team and wanted to further improve my German. Working
in the corporate headquarters also has a lot of advantages, for
example I have direct contact with the engineers. If I have questions
about a product I can have everything clearly shown and
explained to me.
To what extent do you benefit as a Regional Head
of Sales from your Spanish roots and the experiences
that you have had in Germany?
Contact with customers in South America is easy for me, as Spanish
is spoken in many countries there. I can also understand the temperament and wishes of customers from this region well.
My experiences in Germany and the building of my expertise
in German engineering, on the other hand, help me to create
and maintain a trusting relationship with customers. “Quality
& Technology Made in Germany” is a first-class quality seal of
approval not only in South America, but all over the world.
What differences do you see between the Spanish and
German working cultures?
There are some. In Spain, for example, you are less organized,
which can be chaotic, but it creates more flexibility in workflows.
It is also interesting how mistakes are dealt with in the
different countries. In Germany, you try to rectify mistakes and
find the cause, so that everything functions smoothly in the
future. In Spain, you concentrate more on the mistake and the
possible consequences, rather than working on solutions.
How do you see your future at Vogelsang?
My main task will be to consolidate the business in South America,
increase our market share and position the company as a
benchmark for high-quality products in the sector. Due to the
constant expansion of Vogelsang, there are always new opportunities
to develop further within the organization, and move
between jobs and areas. These opportunities to evolve professionally,
while still having a secure workplace, are absolute
strengths of Vogelsang to me as an employee. Despite a modest
recovery in the labor market, a Spanish company could not
offer me this.
Meanwhile, the advantages were convincing. Unlike in conventional progressive cavity pumps, it was no longer necessary to dismount parts of the discharge-side pipe, thanks to the new design. This not only simplifies the pipeline construction, it also means less space is needed for servicing and maintenance work. But far more importantly, the rotor and stator pumping elements can easily be removed and replaced as a single unit. The pump itself can be put back into operation while the replaced unit is reconditioned. This is an impressive advantage in systems where pumps are not kept redundantly in reserve but where long standstills are unacceptable. And the concept doesn’t only apply to small, manageable pumps.
It didn’t take long for the specialists in the development department to realize that replacing parts would be even easier and, above all, quicker if the connection between the drive and rotor could be detached from the stator output. Thanks to the innovative construction, this connection is now easily accessible once the rotor/stator unit is swung out. In addition to standard mechanical engineering solutions, such as a multi-tooth or feather key connection, it soon occurred to the engineers to look into a friction-locked cone joint. They were familiar with the concept from other projects, where it had proven useful. The key advantage is that the drive shaft and the rotor do not need to be positioned precisely to one another. In addition, the connection is self-centering, thanks to the taper. It can simply be tensioned or released using a threaded rod via the through bore in the rotor. With this connection, there is no need for laborious removal of small pins in a tight suction housing or other complicated tasks.
No need to disconnect the protective sleeve from the cardan shaft
And this design has another advantage: It is also possible to fulfill the customer’s wish for a well-protected and long-lasting cardan shaft. Detailed studies have shown that robust cardan joint shafts are also a suitable means of transferring forces in challenging applications, provided they are protected reliably against the contaminated medium. However, if this protection has to be dismounted every time you take out the rotor, there is an increased risk that it will be incorrectly reinstalled, causing contamination to reach the cardan shaft. A narrow suction housing also means that the protection is rubbed off. With a friction-locked cone joint, there is no need to dismount the protective sleeve, either when changing the rotor or during a sealing change. Furthermore, the engineers designed a generous suction housing. The idea was that this would prevent rubbing against the protective sleeve, as well as significantly reducing the risk of clogging in the suction housing. And tests proved they were fully justified in their assumptions.
Progressive cavity pump of CC series: a new kind of sealing change
The developers also envisaged the connection between the motor and cardan shaft as a friction-locked cone joint. The pump is driven by a parallel shaftgeared motor with a hollow shaft. This may sound complicated and elaborate, but in practice it makes life easier for users. Thanks to this design, the cardan shaft or even the entire rotating unit can be dismounted in one piece. And more importantly for practical purposes, the shaft seal can be replaced from the outside without opening the pump.
Award for excellent work
The developers’ painstaking work and perseverance with the development was amply rewarded. The new pump proved itself superlatively in tests on its dedicated test bench and in the field. In May 2014, the patent was registered. That same year, the new design from Vogelsang won over the jury of an innovation competition. As part of EnergyDecentral 2014, the unique concept of the CC series was awarded the silver medal.
The market had a far more important reward in store: The new concept inspired strong interest from customers, especially in the biogas sector, for which it had been developed. Established competitors on the market soon followed with similar concepts. However, thanks to its patent protection, the original from Vogelsang remains unsurpassed. And to ensure that it stays that way, the CC series is being constantly developed further, as you would expect from Vogelsang. Today, Vogelsang offers single-stage and two-stage geometries in four series with volume flows of up to 300 m3/h.
The most interesting thing about the CC series, however, is not the large range of different models, it’s the fact that Vogelsang developed it itself. Because the entire construction is made in-house, it is also possible to combine pumps and cutters to create compact system solutions. These include the CC-Cut, the direct combination of a CC series progressive cavity pump and a RotaCut to form an exceptionally compact pump system. Or the PreMix liquid feeding system for biogas plants. In the PreMix, a CC series progressive cavity pump is combined with a RotaCut RCX and a flange for connection to a screw conveyor for solid matter. In this way, the PreMix brings together four steps in a single compact system, mashing different substrates with a liquid suspension to create a homogeneous suspension, while simultaneously chopping up and treating the suspension. Any heavy material in the suspension is separated out right at the beginning. Biogas plant operators who ferment a wide variety of different substrates are particularly impressed by the PreMix. Variants of the RedUnit are also based on a progressive cavity pump from the CC series. Here the progressive cavity pump is combined with an XRipper twin-shaft shredder and/or a RotaCut, which makes it possible to turn solid matter into a pumpable medium in the tightest of spaces.
The original from Vogelsang remains unsurpassed.
Today, Vogelsang offers single-stage and two-stage geometries in four series with volume flows of up to 300 m3/h.
There are few manufacturers who can boast such wide-ranging knowledge and experience of the individual components and their possible combinations, while also being in a position to offer the corresponding control technology. And so it is these combined products that are opening up new applications and markets to Vogelsang, ensuring the company’s position at the front of the pack. In upcoming issues of THINK RED! we will be presenting some exciting application examples.
Overview of the characteristics and advantages of CC progressive cavity pumps
Specifically developed to pump highly viscous and abrasive media
- Generously dimensioned cardan shaft
- Robust protective sleeve to protect the cardan shaft
- Rotor and/or stator can be changed without disassembling the protective sleeve
- Large suction housing with continuous free passage
- Suitable for delivery rates of up to 300 m3/h
Fast and easy servicing
- Stator/rotor element swings out
- Stator and rotor can be replaced as a unit or individually
- Sealing can be changed without opening the pump
- Minimum space requirements for service work