Meet our Member: SCHAAF – Leading joining technology for a sustainable future
The international group of enterprises, SCHAAF, has specialized in the development and production of joining technologies. The company became an APQP4Wind Company Member to enrich and improve the current standards of the wind industry.
Turnkey solutions for your business
SCHAAF offers unique technical solutions which enable safer, material-saving, and maintenance-reducing wind turbine designs. SCHAAF was founded in 1977 in Erkelenz, Germany. The company started as a manufacturer of hydraulic high-pressure tools and has since developed into a specialist in the field of joining technology and a worldwide active group of companies as they now supply to more than 40 countries worldwide every year. About the vision of the company, Limited Partner at SCHAAF, Lennart Koellges, says:
“We develop world-leading technology in the field of joining technique and thereby inspire our customers. Together, we want to create a future in which material will be saved, resources will be sustained, and life will be easier.”
Providing knowledge for safer connections
SCHAAF’s business is based on the knowledge that hydraulic tensioning is the tightening method of the future since this method has proven to be the most accurate way to achieve the highest tightening forces. In combination with SCHAAF products like TTG Nuts and Bolts or GripCon, customers can expect to achieve the highest possible quality in their connections and, thereby, optimize their complete turbine design with less material and less maintenance.
SCHAAF delivers system solutions to whole industries. For the wind industry, special solutions are needed, including connection elements for the foundation, tower flanges, blade connections, and drive train connections. Furthermore, for each connection element, SCHAAF aims to provide the most accurate hydraulic high-pressure tooling, equipment, and documentation for the mounting process. Depending on the customer’s needs, these solutions are available for manual usage or fully automated. Additionally, SCHAAF Service assists their customers during the mounting process onshore and offshore in the attempt to raise awareness for other critical influences on different connection types, says Manager Technical Design at SCHAAF, Thomas Loenes, and continues:
“Over the last couple of years, we have seen a lot of towers with different types of flange gaps. No matter which type of flange gap is present, it always leads to losses in the pretension force of the bolt. This has a very large impact on the operating loads that a bolt is exposed to and, ultimately, it strongly decreases the lifetime of the bolted connection.”
The need for a common language
SCHAAF started implementing APQP4Wind due to customer requirements in 2020, and the idea of process standardization and a common language immediately fitted into the company’s philosophy. This is why SCHAAF has prioritized the implementation of APQP4Wind by having 10 employees trained in APQP4Wind and, in 2022, became an APQP4Wind Company Member to actively push the APQP4Wind framework.
SCHAAF believes that a framework like APQP4Wind is the only way for the wind industry to keep up with the increasing demand whilst ensuring a high-quality standard, says Lennart Koellges and adds:
“We are proud to be part of the pursuit of ever more powerful systems, and joining APQP4Wind has been one of our latest efforts to fulfilling our vision. By increasing the quality and knowledge transfer within the booming wind industry, SCHAAF actively shapes the direction of the future so that together we will be able to create a safer, more sustainable future.”