It‘s almost upon us again...

More or less 250 days of demanding work are behind us. In the final analysis, careful thought, concentration, and much painstaking planning are the essential ingredients in the success of continuous production processes. Ultimately, man and technology, backed up by experience and detailed knowledge of all factors and interactions, play the decisive role.

For this reason, ZKG INTERNATIONAL recently enabled some sixty students to take a close look at a real operational cement plant and get to know a range of suppliers as potential future employers in a two-days excursion.

So it can happen, dear reader, that you encounter one of these enthusiastic new graduates, maybe on a first customer call. If you do, please don‘t be too hard on them – deep inside, you‘ll remember that the first steps are always the toughest, and the subject matter is never easy!

And, although this issue essentially revolves around the apparently simple topic of “handling”, you‘ll also find more in-depth items on belt scrapers, improved measurement of filling levels, an article on a potentially record-breaking five-kilometre-long pneumatic conveyor and a discussion of MRO ... and what was MRO again? – You‘ll know it, when you‘ll see it!

By the way you‘ll see, in 2014 ZKG INTERNATIONAL will become much more “globalised”. From Issue 1 of 2014 onward, our journal will appear exclusively in English, bringing good engineering even closer to you around the world.

We sincerely wish you, your employees and your family a Merry Christmas, good health and all success for 2014!

Dr. Hubert Baier
Editor-in-Chief
ZKG INTERNATIONAL