On September 7th, around 70 distributors specializing in gaskets from 27 countries (in Europe, Africa, Middle East and South-East Asia) gathered in Kirchbichl, Austria for a sealing colloquium. TEADIT® Europe, which opened its new location here in 2021, invited. The participants were welcomed by the host, Frank Weber, CEO of TEADIT® Europe and TEADIT® India and Dipl.Ing. Max Kloger, the chairman of the industry division of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce. High level presentations were held, e.g. by Dipl.Ing. Ralf Vogel, the technical director of the European Sealing Association, Dr. Thomas Kasch, from the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, and Dr.-Ing. Manfred Schaaf, from the German measurement specialist AMTEC. They gave the participants insights and suggestions about the safety of oxygen systems or the quality testing of seals.
Things got particularly exciting in the afternoon: Dr. Nikolaus Fleischhacker, from the Innsbruck Green Energy Center, presented the various types of electrolyzers currently available in detail after a comprehensive presentation of the roles of the various energy production technologies and the classification of the energy source hydrogen. – With the help of electrolysers, water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen. How this can be done as energy-efficiently and safely as possible is already being tested in practice in a number of applications – including in Tyrol. Hydrogen is not only produced here, but is also used extensively in the operation of trucks for a regional retail chain. Dr. Fleischhacker also brought a hydrogen-powered car with him to touch and feel.
The participants then looked at the advantages and disadvantages of various sealing solutions for hydrogen in the TEADIT® laboratory using a test electrolyzer and also got in touch with the Application Engineers from TEADIT® about gaskets in various areas of the process industry.
The day ended in a relaxed manner with an evening event, which was accompanied by music by veteran Peter Aschaber from the Auner-Alpenspektakel and actively supported by the participants. Finally, some participants enjoyed engaging the speakers and sealing experts from TEADIT® in discussions until 2 a.m. The following day a number of them stayed for further discussions or collected impressions of the beauty of the Tyrolean and Bavarian landscapes so that they could take them with them to China, South Africa or the Philippines.
Courtesy of TEADIT.