Customised System Helps Surface Finishing Centre Monitor Process Baths

Lufthansa Technik AG is one of the world’s largest providers of repair and maintenance services for airplane parts and components. At their facility centre for surface finishing in Hamburg, Germany, they operate a customised Metrohm ProcessLab system to monitor 70 different process baths.

Approximately 40.000 repair jobs p.a. are handled by Lufhansa Technik AG‘s centre for surface finishing in Hamburg, which is one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe. Dr Carsten Thoene is in charge of the process baths. Together with his team he monitors 140 analytical parameters complying with 38 official guidelines.

To cope with the huge amount of samples and the many different analytical parameters, Lufthansa Technik AG decided to install a fully automated Metrohm ProcessLab in the same building where the process baths are operated. The major benefit of this at-line multi-parameter measuring system are evident: Samples don’t need to be shipped to an off-site laboratory but can be analysed onsite enabling the process baths to be operated with maximum efficiency.

The versatility of the Metrohm ProcessLab is another key-benefit. The system is entirely modular by design and can be extended at any time. “Our processes are continuously developed and optimised further,” said Dr Thoene. “That’s why our ProcessLab system has to be highly flexible. In fact, integrating new methods is very easy. Ultimately, this helps us to reduce costs per analysis significantly.”

Dr Thoene benefits from the professional service and support he gets from Metrohm Germany, who have a local office in Hamburg.