Steam and hot water boilers from Köthen are robust, long-lasting and of the highest quality. With its “Made in Germany” certificate, VKK Standardkessel Köthen GmbH is a successful global player. Now, the boiler and system manufacturer from Saxony-Anhalt wants to tap into the Iranian market.
“To give you an impression…”, Lars Velde, Managing Director of VKK Standardkessel Köthen GmbH, puts on his blue helmet. He is leading a tour through the production site. Also there is Enrico Marschall: “Right now, we need every free space in our halls”, says the production manager, stating that there are currently orders from Austria, the Netherlands and Slovakia being processed. VKK stands for Vorwärme- and Kesselbau (pre-heater and boiler construction) Köthen.
Velde and Marschall gladly show off their modern machines. Two million euros have been invested in the production facility in the past two years. The pride and joy of the company is the corrugated pipe machine, a custom piece of machinery with precise measurement technology. “The corrugated pipe is the most highly stressed component in a boiler”, explains Marschall. The steam boilers by Köthen are used in industry for the generation of process steam and the hot water boilers are used to provide heat.
The mundane term “boiler” is understated. “Now, we are constructing whole systems, and they are becoming bigger and bigger. Our manufacturing halls aren’t…”, says Lars Velde, then adding: “But we always think of something”.
This is what boiler manufacturing in Köthen has been like for over 150 years. In 1865, a coppersmith and boilermaker workshop was founded here. “Our plant is demonstrably the oldest in Germany”, says today’s managing director. He later places an anniversary brochure on the table. A considerable amount of historical documents narrate the highs and lows the boiler making plant has experienced through the ages – the people on this site have always managed to cope. Clever and resourceful minds, the best craftspeople and talent for improvisation built the boiler manufactory up again after the war, guided it through the GDR years and even rescued it in an economy of shortages.
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Caption: Production Manager Enrico Marschall (left) and Lars Velde, Managing Director of VKK Standardkessel Köthen GmbH, standing in front of a double-flue boiler. (Photo: IMG / Kathrain Graubaum).
