In-house exhibition of the BAUER Maschinen Group: an exciting journey through time to yesterday, today and tomorrow

In 1976, the BAUER BG 7 rotary drilling rig arrived on the construction scene, dramatically eclipsing a lot of competing equipment on the market. It was the start of a success story – for the BG 7 and for Bauer. Since then, things changed primarily from a technical point of view: a multitude of assistance systems relieve the burden on rig operators today and increase driving comfort. But what does the future of digitalization look like? And how has Bauer machinery manufacturing changed over the past few years? During its traditional in-house exhibition at the end of April, the BAUER Maschinen Group took over 1,800 visitors from all over the world on an exciting journey through time to yesterday, today and tomorrow.

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In early summer temperatures and beaming sunshine, Dieter Stetter welcomed guests for the opening of the three-day exhibition in Schrobenhausen on April 21. "This year too, we did everything we could to make our customers, guests and partners feel like they are at home here", says the Managing Director of BAUER Maschinen GmbH. Over 35 exhibits with a total value of over 30 million euros were showcased this year, including several brand new models, but also countless smaller innovations.

Prof. Thomas Bauer also welcomed the guests and looked at the political circumstances and the market environment in which the company currently finds itself. Despite a lot of trouble spots, the global economy has demonstrated constant growth. "This development brings along excellent opportunities for the construction industry", says the Chairman of the Management Board at BAUER AG, "it will create outstanding prospects for our specialist foundation engineering and equipment segments." The previous fiscal year also developed very satisfactorily for the Group from an operative perspective.

After the official part, the guests had plenty of opportunity to visit the exhibits. The brand new machines that were being presented for the first time also included the entirely new developed BG 15 H from the ValueLine series. This specifically meets the requirements of a highly functional and efficient device in the small drilling rig segment whilst also scoring points thanks to its extremely compact transportation dimensions. The entirely re-developed BT 50 base carrier now brings along an entire range of benefits, even for small devices. The integrated service platform enables convenient access to all maintenance areas in the uppercarriage whilst at the same time meeting the highest standards when it comes to occupational safety. Coupled with a transportation width of just 2.5 m, this system is the only one of its kind in the world. Low sound emissions ensure a pleasant working environment. The hydraulics, that are optimally attuned to the engine performance, have an entirely positive impact on fuel consumption and give the BG 15 H a high level of efficiency in daily drilling operations.

With the unveiling of the BAUER MC 86, BAUER Maschinen GmbH already had showcased a real trade fair highlight last year. This year’s highlight was the presentation of the innovative and highly functional MC 76 which rounds off the medium platform of the Bauer duty-cycle crane series. "Thanks to consistent alignment to the customer's benefits, functionality and efficiency, we offer an excellent price-performance ratio with the new 90-ton duty-cycle cranes", explains Steffen Fuchsa from the duty-cycle crane division. The BAUER MC was specially optimized for use with grabs, but also presents itself as being very universal in dynamic soil compaction applications, as a lifting crane or carrier for other equipment, for instance such as silo vibrators or deployments with leaders. Just like the MC 86, the MC 76 scores with what are currently the fastest winches in the Bauer duty-cycle crane portfolio and new universal mast head for grab and lifting operations. The completely redesigned undercarriage with its reliable components to be extremely robust and compact was specially designed for the MC 76.

Although the innovative free-fall technology had hitherto primarily been used for the duty-cycle cranes, BAUER Maschinen GmbH now showed for the first time this also being applied in the area of diaphragm wall technology. In combination with the compact special equipment GB 50, this development marks a milestone among hydraulic grab systems. "By doubling the impact speed, we multiply the impulse", explains Leonhard Weixler, head of the diaphragm wall technology business division. This has the decisive advantage whereby using grabs even on difficult soil conditions will be possible.

In the BG 23 H PremiumLine class, Bauer Maschinen also demonstrated a highly efficient, innovative base carrier with enhanced diesel engine and the latest multi-award-winning Energy Efficiency Power technology (EEP). "With this systematic further development of our product portfolio, we seek to expand our philosophy of being a leading technology provider in the area of PremiumLine entry level", Christian Heinecker, head of the PremiumLine business division, explains. Particularly for the drilling of piles using high-performance drilling methods, this further development scores with optimal efficiency and additional dynamics, meaning that this equipment serves as an example with its FoW twin rotary drive DKS 50 /140 from the latest generation. With the BG 33 H, Bauer Maschinen presented a highly flexible PremiumLine machine, which scores compared to the previous model thanks to significantly increased torque and a further improved ratio between weight and performance. An optimized mast design and an extended crowd system in the BAUER BG 45 now allow a drilling depth of 36 m using the continuous flight auger drilling method. The giant among the exhibited rotary drilling rigs – including the single-pass attachment – looms 43.7 m into the sky.

As always, the subsidiaries of the BAUER Maschinen Group were also represented with numerous new and further developments. The KR 801-3GK and KR 909-3G of KLEMM Bohrtechnik GmbH had a new controls system and a new engine. BAUER MAT Slurry Handling Systems presented its new plunger pumps from the PP-range, which thanks to flow rates of up to 750 l per minute will be perfectly suitable for soil mixing and for flushing during anchor drilling. Besides the tried-and-tested SKC-30-K suspension flow mixer and the BD-90/75 decanter centrifuge, MAT also presented a new range of charge mixers of type SCA-40-K. Another highlight was the impressive BE-2550 from MAT, made up of six individual systems. This could be viewed in the nearby factory premises. In 2017, it was used for several months in Switzerland for the construction of the Eppenberg tunnel.
Furthermore, the subsidiaries RTG Rammtechnik, Hausherr, Prakla and ABS were also represented with exhibits. In the inside of the Old Welding Shop, the Parts & Service business division as well as the R&D division for electronic and control systems of Bauer Maschinen and the BAUER Training Center GmbH were situated. Here, not only the drilling simulator but also the virtual reality technology was met with lively interest. BAUER Maschinen GmbH, Schlumberger and NEORig took booth visitors on an impressive virtual tour to explore an oil and gas drilling rig. On the training grounds in the nearby machinery plant in Aresing, live equipment demonstrations took place, which were attended by over 1,000 visitors.
Finally, BAUER Maschinen GmbH offered its guests from all over the world more than ever before with its accompanying program. An unforgettable trip into an authentic past was experienced when visiting an old Bavarian farming village on the Schliersee. The impressive history of Bauer was experienced with exclusive tours in the BAUER Museum and an excursion to the Munich Olympic Stadium was reminiscent of the early days of specialist foundation engineering – ultimately, the tented roof was fixed in the ground in 1971 with Bauer permanent anchors that still stand strong today 47 years later. The event was once again be rounded off by the Bavarian evening, whereby numerous guests from all over the world celebrated on into the night in traditional costumes such as Dirndles and Lederhosen.