Designing smarter for a sustainable future

How innovation and sustainability go hand in hand at Selmers

Twenty years ago, machine building was mainly about functionality, price and delivery times. Machines had to be reliable, quick to build and, above all, do what they were designed to do. “At the time, aspects such as energy consumption and service life played a less prominent role in design choices” says Technical Manager Enno Lokkerbol. “If a machine worked, we would simply make a heavier version for a larger pipe.”

That has changed. Today, sustainability and energy efficiency play an increasingly important role in the development of new machines and processes at Selmers. Not only because customers are asking for it more explicitly, but also because experience has shown how much impact smart innovations can make.

Smarter cleaning, significantly lower energy consumption

One of those innovations emerged from a process that, for many years, had been carried out in virtually the same way all over the world: cleaning the inside of steel pipes before applying a coating. Traditionally, this is done using large fans and extensive filtration systems that remove grit and dust from the pipe through powerful airflows, requiring a considerable amount of energy.

With a smart solution internally known as the centipede, grit is no longer removed using heavy extraction systems. Instead, the system blows the grit out through the bottom of the pipe, significantly reducing the number of filters and fans required. At an installation in Mexico, this will result not only in less maintenance and downtime, but also in an estimated annual energy saving of 300,000 to 400,000 kilowatt-hours.

“That’s where you really see innovation and sustainability coming together,” says Enno. “Not just because it saves energy, but also because customers notice that their processes become more reliable.”

Major innovations and small improvements

At Selmers, there is a continuous search for ways to design machines that are smarter, more efficient and more sustainable. To achieve this, knowledge from different parts of the organisation is deliberately brought together. Engineers, workshop employees, buyers, service managers and sales staff all contribute ideas during joint brainstorming sessions where every idea is welcome. “There’s an enormous amount of knowledge within the company,” Enno explains. “Everyone looks at a problem in a different way.”

Sometimes, it is the relatively small adjustments that make a big impact on a larger scale. For example, by designing constructions more intelligently so that less welding is required. Or by producing parts as smart “puzzle pieces” that fit together without additional processing. This reduces transport movements, lowers energy consumption and uses materials more efficiently. “In the end, you still save a huge amount throughout the entire production phase,” says Enno.

A fresh perspective on sustainability

Young employees also play an important role in this development. Last year, a graduate intern at Selmers was tasked with mapping sustainability opportunities within the organisation and gathering new ideas. With a fresh perspective, she organised several brainstorming sessions and collected improvement opportunities from across the company. “She asked questions that

experienced engineers sometimes no longer stop to think about,” Enno says. “That fresh perspective worked incredibly well.”

He also sees this development reflected in a new generation of engineers. Whereas sustainability was hardly ever a topic of discussion in the past, young technical professionals are now consciously looking for opportunities to contribute to more energy-efficient and future-proof machines. “Five years ago, I hardly ever got those questions,” he says. “Now engineers join the company who genuinely want to contribute to sustainability. That awareness is growing enormously.”

The entire lifecycle

As a result, Selmers’ approach to innovation is changing as well. Where machines were once designed primarily around functionality, there is now much greater focus on the entire lifecycle of a machine: energy consumption, maintenance, reliability and long-term performance. “In the past, the focus was mainly on functionality,” says Enno. “Now we look much more at energy efficiency, maintenance and the impact across the entire lifecycle. That’s where we make the difference today.”