Press

Since its foundation in 1976, Binder GmbH from Crailsheim has specialised in manufacturing high-quality and individual products in the field of apparatus and tank construction made of stainless steel.

As a supplier for mechanical and plant engineering, the medium-sized company realises challenging projects. Last year, for example, several thousand working hours were spent on stainless steel centrifuge housings for a customer in Florida, USA. With the delivery of the fourth centrifuge, this project has now come to a successful conclusion.
Thanks to modern mechanical machining centres, Binder GmbH is able to manufacture special apparatus and customised solutions in addition to classic tank construction. The company is also increasingly producing system components or complete process engineering systems for packaging or special machine manufacturers. An in-house design department, equipped with 3D CAD systems, forms the basis for practical realisation. Binder GmbH can cover the entire vertical range of manufacture and react very flexibly to individual requirements.

In order to manufacture and fill the urgently needed COVID-19 vaccines, technically sophisticated processes and facilities are required. Crucial components for these processes come from Crailsheim.

The major manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines are widely known, and millions of people are waiting for their products. However, many other companies play a crucial role in ensuring that the coveted vaccines land in syringes with the desired quality, even though they are seldom in the public eye. One such company is Binder GmbH from Crailsheim. The specialist in apparatus and container construction is currently producing special stainless steel pressure vessels used in the filling of COVID-19 vaccines.

“On the one hand, we supply contract fillers in the pharmaceutical sector, and on the other hand, special machine builders who integrate these vessels into filling systems,” reports Thorsten Binder, who has been supporting his father Roland and his uncle Martin in the management of the family business since 2018. “These vessels generate a consistent pressure necessary to fill the same amount of vaccine into vials each time,” explains Binder. The first inquiries came in December 2020, and the buyers of these special vessels are located in Germany and Europe. “We also have customers directly here in the region,” reveals Binder.

The production of these vessels requires a lot of craftsmanship because mass production and off-the-shelf products are not part of Binder’s approach. “These are individual custom-made solutions tailored to the requirements of our customers. Accordingly, our technicians design the appropriate vessels with the desired properties,” says the mechanical engineer and business economist, who previously underwent training in apparatus and container construction in the family business. “The quality requirements in the pharmaceutical sector are high – from material selection to surface finish to documentation and monitoring of the manufacturing processes.” Surface treatment, in particular, is labor-intensive. The vessels must be finely polished so that they can be cleaned and sterilized without residue after filling a batch of vaccine. “We finely grind the vessels in-house, and then a partner takes over the electropolishing to create a homogeneous surface,” explains Binder.

 

Shortened delivery times
Demand is high, and time pressure is equally intense. Therefore, the 50 employees of the company are working at full capacity. “The production of a 500-liter vessel usually takes up to 30 weeks. We are currently doing it in 24. Smaller vessels take 16 to 18 weeks, and our customers receive them after ten to twelve weeks,” says Binder. The shortened delivery times are only possible because the entire team is putting in extra hours and working on Saturdays. Everyone wants to contribute to ensuring that the vaccines reach people as quickly as possible. “In addition, we have a high level of in-house manufacturing. We have all raw materials on hand and can react very quickly,” says Binder. This allowed the first vessels to be delivered already.

A pharmaceutical company had ordered special stainless-steel vessels in which blood plasma can be melted and stirred. Binder built the vessels and treated the surfaces according to the specific requirements of the customer. The two thawing vessels have a diameter of 1.8 meters and a total height of 3.5 meters. The heated and insulated component can hold 3000 liters. In the thawing vessel, blood plasma is melted and prepared for the stirring process before being pumped into the stirring vessel. The two stirring vessels measure 2.2 meters in diameter with a total height of 3.5 meters. They are also heated and insulated, holding 5000 liters. In the stirring vessel, the blood plasma is processed and enriched with additives so that it can be consumed by the patient. Access to the four vessels is facilitated by a platform, also created by Binder. This allows the processes to be conveniently monitored at the customer’s site in Lower Saxony.

“Every project at Binder is special because it always involves custom solutions for the customer. Each project is individually designed and manufactured for the customer,” says technical business economist Thorsten Binder. In the case of the four vessels, the polished and electropolished surfaces, as well as the stirring system with the container’s cleaning system, are a custom solution for the customer. “We met the new customer at the Achema in 2015 and are proud to be able to handle these projects with him,” explains Binder.

Binder employs a total of around 50 employees and six apprentices. The company was founded in 1976 and specializes in the construction of containers and apparatuses from stainless steel and special materials. Binder’s customers come from the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

However, the Crailsheim metal construction specialists deserve recognition, as their customers include well-known companies in special machine construction as well as traditional plant builders in the region. All of them rely on the stainless-steel vessel’s solutions of the medium-sized family business, which must meet the highest demands in surface treatment and technical design. “A large part of our success is due to our loyal employees,” says managing director and company founder Roland Binder.

A significant portion of the current 50 employees has been with the company for many years. Recently, Vladimir Kopp and Regina Fuchs (10 years), Erwin Lohrer, and managing director Martin Binder (25 years) celebrated long-term work anniversaries, and Master Manfred Weidenbacher has been with the company for almost 40 years, nearly since its founding. The renowned container builder values continuity, even at the company’s helm.

With Thorsten Binder, the next generation is now poised to continue the success story: The trained apparatus and container builder, who also qualified as a technical business economist and mechanical engineer, is stepping into big shoes. In its nearly 42-year history, the family business evolved from a manufacturer of storage containers for winemaking to a broadly positioned producer of containers and tanks for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The second economic pillar is the subcontracted pickling of containers, frames, and other welding constructions.

The company regularly invested millions in competitive production facilities and buildings; today, the location on Roßfelder Straße covers more than 5500 square meters. The use of high-end technologies such as orbital welding or water jet cutting is a matter of course at Binder, as are CNC-controlled machining machines or efficient inventory management. To meet the high-quality requirements of customers in the future, Binder relies on the younger generation. Currently, its own training workshop is being set up. “This will be built by young master Timo Seeger, and he will also train our skilled workers,” explains mechanical engineer Martin Binder, “because special and specific solutions are often required in our container construction, which still involves a lot of manual work.”

The result: The company is well-utilized. Roland Binder: “This, in turn, allows us to position ourselves as an attractive employer with a clear focus.”