News

The 1st HOF technical forum –<br />a reflection with information and impressions

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary HOF Sonderanlagenbau held its 1st technical forum. Renowned specialists reported on latest research subjects and innovative applications during pharmaceutical production. To exchange first-hand practical knowledge, more than 100 attendees came to Lohra and turned this little town near Marburg to a central point for this highly specialized sector for this specific day.

Here you will find a review of the event with pictures and the german video

 

The information of our event appear shortly.

Important information about SCADA systems Lyocom I + II of Siemens

In 2015, the guaranteed availability of spare parts for Siemens S5 components will discontinue, for the components of the S5-135U series too. 

In 2015, the guaranteed availability of spare parts for Siemens S5 components will discontinue, for the components of the S5-135U series too.
From now on, we cannot ensure the supply of computer hardware for Lyocom I and II systems anymore. Therefore, since the company HOF can no longer ensure the availability of the spare parts, we now announce the termination of the support for the SCADA systems Lyocom I + II with effect from 31st of December 2015. This means that any changes to do at the systems after this date are then only possible in exceptional cases. In each individual case, it will be checked whether defective systems can be repaired or not. We will be glad to assist you in developing a concept for the migration of the system control.

Energy independence by means of own soft commodities

Current discussions about renewable energies reported in the daily media are also an important issue for our company. Expenses for electricity and heat for an office and production area of over 12,500 m² are considerable.

Current discussions about renewable energies reported in the daily media are also an important issue for our company. Expenses for electricity and heat for an office and production area of over 12,500 m² are considerable. Since sustainability is top priority in our corporate philosophy, HOF has been using a technology since the beginning of this heating season, so far unique in Germany. The company owner and hobby farmer Hans -Georg Hof is a pioneer in concluding the entire value chain by working straw into combustible to generate its own heat supply.

The straw-by product resulting from the cultivation of grain is worked into straw pellets during a complicated procedure in the family-owned pellet plant. The pellets are then burned in the special biomass boiler for CO2 neutral heat production. The ash obtained by burning is then further of use as an excellent fertilizer for agricultural areas.

The heating system itself has a modular design consisting of five 20 ft containers.
It is composed of the burning boiler with control system, the pellet storage on top, the laterally connected unit for flue gas cleaning and two large-sized buffers for heating water.

By means of this system, it was so far possible to heat successfully the 5,700 m² large part of the factory in Gladenbach-Mornshausen. The straw needed for this procedure is covered at 100 % by the family’s agricultural land. The pellet plant is operated thanks to a photovoltaic system installed in sufficient dimension, so that even the production of pellets happens in a self-sufficient way.
This newly established innovation is already widely approved and HOF is pleased to make this contribution to sustainability.

HOF received the award for medium-sized companies

The Grand Prix of me­dium-​si­zed com­pa­nies of the Oskar Pat­zelt Foun­da­tion is the most co­ve­ted busi­ness award in Ger­ma­ny. This year, a total of 4035 small and me­dium sized-​com­pa­nies, banks and in­sti­tu­ti­ons, were no­mi­na­ted na­tion­wide for the com­pe­ti­tion. After se­veral se­lec­tion rounds, there were 34 lau­rea­tes.

The Grand Prix of me­dium-​si­zed com­pa­nies of the Oskar Pat­zelt Foun­da­tion is the most co­ve­ted busi­ness award in Ger­ma­ny. This year, a total of 4035 small and me­dium sized-​com­pa­nies, banks and in­sti­tu­ti­ons, were no­mi­na­ted na­tion­wide for the com­pe­ti­tion. After se­veral se­lec­tion rounds, there were 34 lau­rea­tes.

The com­pany HOF re­cei­ved in 2011 the award as a fi­na­list and was now no­mi­na­ted for the third time for its in­no­va­tion and so­cial re­spon­si­bi­li­ties. HOF won this time the “win­ners sta­tue” ­For the com­pa­ny, this is a si­gni­fi­cant re­co­gni­tion and an en­cou­ra­ge­ment for the fu­tu­re.

Ho­we­ver, it would not have been pos­si­ble to win this price wi­thout de­di­ca­tion of our em­ploy­ees and wi­thout the trust of our cu­sto­mers. The­re­fo­re, we would like to take this op­por­tu­nity to thank each of them.

Steady growth also in the anniversary year

On Oc­to­ber 1st, 2013 the HOF Son­der­an­la­gen­bau GmbH ce­le­bra­ted its 25th an­ni­ver­sa­ry. In this re­gard, the com­pany looks back on many years of ex­pe­ri­ence in the field of freeze-​dry­ing sys­tems, in which in­no­va­tion and per­for­mance were al­ways of ut­most prio­ri­ty.

On Oc­to­ber 1st, 2013 the HOF Son­der­an­la­gen­bau GmbH ce­le­bra­ted its 25th an­ni­ver­sa­ry. In this re­gard, the com­pany looks back on many years of ex­pe­ri­ence in the field of freeze-​dry­ing sys­tems, in which in­no­va­tion and per­for­mance were al­ways of ut­most prio­ri­ty.     

The suc­cess of the com­pa­ny, which just had one em­ployee be­side the two ow­ners at its foun­da­tion in 1988, is still gro­wing, after 25 years too. With new mem­bers in 2013, more than 200 em­ploy­ees now be­long to the team.

HOF family is now entirely in the company

The com­pany HOF is an­xious to shape the future in the same suc­cess­ful way as in the past. The­re­fo­re, the time has come for a new ge­ne­ra­tion to be in­vol­ved for a suc­cess­ful future. Be­si­des the daugh­ter Diana Hof-​Schnei­der, who star­ted 11 years ago to work in the com­pa­ny, Dr. Alex­an­der Hof, the son of the fa­mi­ly, has now joi­ned the com­pany to re­in­force the ma­na­ge­ment area.

HOF family is now entirely in the company

The com­pany HOF is an­xious to shape the future in the same suc­cess­ful way as in the past. The­re­fo­re, the time has come for a new ge­ne­ra­tion to be in­vol­ved for a suc­cess­ful future.

The com­pany HOF is an­xious to shape the future in the same suc­cess­ful way as in the past. The­re­fo­re, the time has come for a new ge­ne­ra­tion to be in­vol­ved for a suc­cess­ful future. Be­si­des the daugh­ter Diana Hof-​Schnei­der, who star­ted 11 years ago to work in the com­pa­ny, Dr. Alex­an­der Hof, the son of the fa­mi­ly, has now joi­ned the com­pany to re­in­force the ma­na­ge­ment area. 

Steady growth also in the anniversary year

On Oc­to­ber 1st, 2013 the HOF Son­der­an­la­gen­bau GmbH ce­le­bra­ted its 25th an­ni­ver­sa­ry. In this re­gard, the com­pany looks back on many years of ex­pe­ri­ence in the field of freeze-​dry­ing sys­tems, in which in­no­va­tion and per­for­mance were al­ways of ut­most prio­ri­ty.     

The suc­cess of the com­pa­ny, which just had one em­ployee be­side the two ow­ners at its foun­da­tion in 1988, is still gro­wing, after 25 years too. With new mem­bers in 2013, more than 200 em­ploy­ees now be­long to the team.

New CD for HOF-Prüfsysteme

The relaunch of a corporate design (CD) is subject to, as is every other type of advertising in the market, the spirit of the time since viewing habits change and reflect the image of a company. During the course of the relaunch of the CD for HOF-Prüfsysteme, the company logo was first reworked based on the company colors. The communicative effect of the company logo should convey a high-quality impression and the reliability, competence, and creativity of the company and the reference to technology should be expressed graphically.

Relaunch of the company logo and the company configuration

The relaunch of a corporate design (CD) is subject to, as is every other type of advertising in the market, the spirit of the time since viewing habits change and reflect the image of a company. During the course of the relaunch of the CD for HOF-Prüfsysteme, the company logo was first reworked based on the company colors. The communicative effect of the company logo should convey a high-quality impression and the reliability, competence, and creativity of the company and the reference to technology should be expressed graphically.

After the relaunch of the company logo, the company configuration as well as the image brochure will be adapted to the new image under consideration of the factors mentioned above. The development of HOF-Prüfsysteme’s Internet presence was based on the new CD.

The Internet Presence of HOF Prüfsysteme

The most important goal concerning the Internet presence of HOF-Prüfsysteme GmbH was to first ensure that it is optimally structured for usability and that these principles are implemented. In order to cope with high communicative demands, the pages were, among other things, positioned with portrait orientation. HOF is constantly growing and therefore requires sufficient space for communications. The portrait orientation offers HOF the opportunity to configure its Internet presence in a very client-oriented way in order to respond to the special needs of users.

Another important goal for the Internet presence was to emphasize the company’s depiction of itself in addition to featuring clear and appealing visual aspects and giving consideration to the information desired by clients. The fresh breeze through Web 2.0 with the ideas it brings should make itself known in this area.

Content is comprehensively and meaningfully formulated and the navigation paths are set up according to content in consideration of logical factors so that users can find the desired information quickly with only a few clicks. In order to optically support this, the navigation technique will be adapted accordingly.

The established base colors are the company colors of green and blue with gray tones and these project the overall impression in terms of color. The arrangement of content as relates to font size and typography are to remain very user-oriented. Different information will be packed into boxes with various different formatting, the so-called “header boxes” that support improved differentiation and perception of information.

Expansion of the HOF orbital department

Ever-increasing demands and quality requirements for transport lines of high purity media resulted in an expansion of the orbital department at HOF site.

Ever-increasing demands and quality requirements for transport lines of high purity media resulted in an expansion of the orbital department at HOF site. An opportunity was taken to restructure the production hall and expand the orbital department along with additional staff and new construction equipment.

The advanced manufacturing will ensure short reaction times for special cases. Furthermore, the stock of the required materials has been adjusted accordingly. The production hall of the orbital department now allows for large set-ups with pipe segments of up to 12m to be fabricated.

HOF further increased its high standards in weld quality and cleanliness to meet specific demands of large projects.
 

Energy-efficient transport of deep cooled diathermic liquids

Customized installations often require the separation of refrigeration systems from the processing equipment. Along with increasing distances, storage and transfer requirements of diathermic liquids are accordingly effected by losses due to increased heat intakes and ultimately influencing the efficiency of the freeze drying process.

Customized installations often require the separation of refrigeration systems from the processing equipment. Along with increasing distances, storage and transfer requirements of diathermic liquids are accordingly effected by losses due to increased heat intakes and ultimately influencing the efficiency of the freeze drying process. Therefore, highly efficient heat transfer lines are the answer to increasing demands.

HOF performed specific engineering and done development work for these enhanced requirements and extended its construction capabilities after a test phase. New systems are based on high-vacuum-insulated double pipes up to a nominal diameter of DN100. Those transfer lines are pre-fabricated at the HOF workshop and installed at customer’s sites in its final configuration.

This technology offers best possible long-term insulation and is setting new milestones in the market. The lines are completely executed from stainless steel and permanently leak-tight. All welds are performed in high-quality orbital welding technology. The manufacturing process is regularly documented and quality controlled, as in all production areas, ensuring the overall quality in the manufacturing process.

The design is available for heat transfer systems in the temperature range from -100 ° C up to +130 ° C, thus covering all current applications of heat transfer systems utilized for Freeze Drying Systems.

The new standard for loading & unloading systems

Loa­ding and un­loa­ding sys­tems for freeze-​dryers have a great po­ten­tial. In re­sponse of the in­cre­a­sing de­mand in the mar­ket for these sys­tems, the com­pany HOF has crea­ted new of­fi­ces, en­ga­ged ad­di­tio­nal staff and ex­ten­ded its ma­nu­fac­tu­ring ca­pa­ci­ty.

Loa­ding and un­loa­ding sys­tems for freeze-​dryers have a great po­ten­tial. In re­sponse of the in­cre­a­sing de­mand in the mar­ket for these sys­tems, the com­pany HOF has crea­ted new of­fi­ces, en­ga­ged ad­di­tio­nal staff and ex­ten­ded its ma­nu­fac­tu­ring ca­pa­ci­ty.

A new de­si­gn, ad­ap­ted to cu­sto­mer-​spe­ci­fic re­qui­re­ments, was de­ve­lo­ped. High per­for­man­ce, in connec­tion with re­lia­bi­li­ty, is a de­ter­mi­ning fac­tor in this case. The per­for­mance range co­vers ma­nu­al, semi-​au­to­ma­tic or fully au­to­ma­tic sys­tems.Spe­cial packa­ges, dual-​cham­ber car­pu­les or dual-​cham­ber sy­rin­ges are trans­por­ted. World­wi­de, pa­tents for tech­no­lo­gies are held.

The loa­ding & un­loa­ding sys­tems are in­stal­led and tes­ted in our own pro­duc­tion to­gether with the freeze dryer. All set­tings and func­ti­ons can be tes­ted ex­ten­si­ve­ly. It has the ad­van­tage that the in­stal­la­tion and tes­ting times are shor­ter for our cu­sto­mer­s.In order to meet the re­qui­re­ments, it is pos­si­ble to re­tro­fit exis­ting freeze dryers with loa­ding & un­loa­ding sys­tems of HOFDe­pen­ding on the re­qui­re­ments, the freeze dryer and loa­ding & un­loa­ding sys­tem can be cou­pled with RABS and iso­la­tor.

Your new contact person is
Mr. Jens Gemmecker

gemmeckerj(at)hof-sonderanlagen.de

Any questions?