SGL Carbon expands production for graphite components
January 22, 2020 - Germany
Due to continuously increasing demand for advanced solutions and products made from graphite in the automotive sector, SGL Carbon has modernised and expanded its production capacities for specialty graphite automotive components at the Bonn site. As part of this, the company has also constructed a new, large hall for production of the parts.
Over the past three years, SGL Carbon has invested a total of around 25 million euros in this process. The expansion project was completed at the end of last year and has been inaugurated officially.
Due to its durability, high strength, low friction behaviour, and high conductivity, graphite is suitable for many different automotive applications. Examples include rotors and vanes in vacuum pumps for brake boosters, bearings for exhaust gas management, and sealing rings and bearings for seals in coolant pumps. These solutions include applications for vehicles with conventional combustion engines as well as for e-mobility, thereby making an important contribution to clean driving, higher energy efficiency, and lower emissions.
“Automotive components made from specialty graphite are increasingly becoming the standard in many different applications in the automotive industry. Due to their special properties, they are more and more frequently replacing the materials previously used in pumps and seals, such as plastic and metal. By investing in the modernisation and expansion of production in Bonn, we are consolidating our leading position in this market and offering our customers real added value in the close partnership with each other. Through the expansion, we are also strengthening our site in Bonn,” explains Burkhard Straube, president of the business unit Graphite Materials and Systems at SGL Carbon.
In Bonn, SGL Carbon produces a variety of customer-specific solutions made from specialty graphite for different growth markets. The main products are applications made of fine-grain graphite for the production systems in the solar, LED, and semiconductor industries, as well as the graphite-based automotive components. Various trainings and apprenticeships - from becoming industrial mechanics to cutting machine operators - are also offered at the site
Over the past three years, SGL Carbon has invested a total of around 25 million euros in this process. The expansion project was completed at the end of last year and has been inaugurated officially.
Due to its durability, high strength, low friction behaviour, and high conductivity, graphite is suitable for many different automotive applications. Examples include rotors and vanes in vacuum pumps for brake boosters, bearings for exhaust gas management, and sealing rings and bearings for seals in coolant pumps. These solutions include applications for vehicles with conventional combustion engines as well as for e-mobility, thereby making an important contribution to clean driving, higher energy efficiency, and lower emissions.
“Automotive components made from specialty graphite are increasingly becoming the standard in many different applications in the automotive industry. Due to their special properties, they are more and more frequently replacing the materials previously used in pumps and seals, such as plastic and metal. By investing in the modernisation and expansion of production in Bonn, we are consolidating our leading position in this market and offering our customers real added value in the close partnership with each other. Through the expansion, we are also strengthening our site in Bonn,” explains Burkhard Straube, president of the business unit Graphite Materials and Systems at SGL Carbon.
In Bonn, SGL Carbon produces a variety of customer-specific solutions made from specialty graphite for different growth markets. The main products are applications made of fine-grain graphite for the production systems in the solar, LED, and semiconductor industries, as well as the graphite-based automotive components. Various trainings and apprenticeships - from becoming industrial mechanics to cutting machine operators - are also offered at the site