![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fst-sw-2022_03_11_26_uebergabe-an-Kunden-e1654037208930-1160x939.jpg\")
Looking for help, the farmer turned to the manufacturer of the component, FST in Remagen. \u201cI still know the part from my earlier days,\u201d said Process Technician Erich K\u00f6rbel, as Operations Manager Marcus Darms handed the job over to him. Today, K\u00f6rbel is mainly appreciated as a specialist in electron beam welding. But in his long career at FST in Remagen, he has handled many other tasks. But restoring a 44-year-old piece of equipment was not yet one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old Drawings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
K\u00f6rbel went to work systematically. First of all, he obtained the old technical drawings and specifications from the company archive in Remagen. Then he did an error analysis and procured the replacement parts that he needed for the maintenance work. Most of them were seals from FST\u2019s stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key challenge facing K\u00f6rbel was the reassembly, not the analysis. Based on his experience, he quickly understood that the repair shop had simply installed the sleeve used to block the cylinder backwards. But it turned out to be much more difficult to reassemble the individual parts without the series-production equipment from decades earlier. At times, he even retreated to his workbench at home to solve the problem. He could be sure of the gratitude of the client and praise from his supervisors for his ability and commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen our colleagues in the test bay prepared a test rig so we could examine the cylinder\u2019s flawless operation in a hydraulic test,\u201d said Darms, paying K\u00f6rbel another tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Was this a costly undertaking for the customer? No, the work on the vintage vehicle mainly polished FST\u2019s image. For one thing, it showed the high quality of the component, which still functioned flawlessly after more than four decades of use and regular professional maintenance. For another, it pointed out how Freudenberg operates sustainably even on a small scale: Repairing is better than throwing away. Not to mention the costly investment in a replacement that the farmer would otherwise have had to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe solved the financial part of this special situation pragmatically,\u201d Darms said. The farmer has long been a donor to the existing social funds for employees in need. And who knows? When the harvest rolls around in the fall, perhaps there will be a sack full of potatoes for K\u00f6rbel and his colleagues.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fst-pflugwendezylinder_1200x710-1160x686.jpg\")