EnviTec Service International: Serving the customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

It's 21:15 hours on Saturday, and the fermenter's temperature display has broken down. For biogas plant operators who haven't signed a satisfactory service contract, it's an uncomfortable position to be in on a weekend. But not for customers of EnviTec Service GmbH & Co. KG: In most cases, putting a call through to the 24-hour hotline is all it takes to obtain a long-distance diagnosis that ends up solving the problem. If the defect turns out to be more serious than anticipated, EnviTec promptly dispatches one of its 23 technicians who are on-hand throughout Germany. Thanks to the comprehensive supply of warehouse equipment that is available in Lohne, Friedland and Burg, acquiring important spare parts is no problem, either. "In more than 90 percent of cases, we can repair the damage in under 24 hours", according to Martin Brinkmann, managing director of EnviTec Service.

Being a global company, the manufacturer of biogas plants, based in Lohne, in the state of Lower Saxony, has successfully established its service division abroad. In 2011, a wholly owned subsidiary of EnviTec Service was founded in Italy, which is a growth market when it comes to biogas. In the meantime, full maintenance contracts representing a total power rating of 12 MW have been signed with 12 clients, and the number is expected to increase as time goes by. In Italy, EnviTec Biogas Service Italy s.r.l. employs a total of 11 people, 3 of whom are biologists who, just like the biologists in Germany, can carry out an independent laboratory determination of the key biological parameters.

EnviTec Biogas Service s.r.o., which operates in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and is headquartered in Velké Mezirící, is another pillar of the organisation's service offerings in Europe. Its 7 employees are responsible for providing 'on demand' services which are billed based on the actual expenditure to EnviTec's customers. Full maintenance contracts represent the primary market in the United Kingdom, where 3 service personnel work for EnviTec Biogas Service UK ltd. At the end of 2011, facilities representing a capacity of 4.5 MW were either operational or under construction in the country, of which the facilities that were subject to a full-service contract represented a remarkable share of 3.5 MW.

EnviTec's service offerings are also targeting the markets in the Baltic countries and France. EnviTec operates in these two regions through its construction companies, namely, EnviTec Biogas Baltic SIA and EnviTec Biogas France SARL. At the end of 2011, facilities with a capacity of 2.9 MW were either operational or under construction in France, of which the facilities that were subject to a full maintenance contract represented a share of 1 MW. "When it comes to setting up our service offerings in other countries, our main focus is naturally on the technical expertise of the personnel", stresses Christian Fürste, head of the Service International department. All new employees are apprenticed and trained at EnviTec's headquarters in Lohne.

Just like their clients in Germany, EnviTec's foreign clients can choose between per-call maintenance and full maintenance. In the latter case, EnviTec assumes the repair-related risk. Furthermore, the biological service offerings include the monitoring of all biological processes - such as the process of inspecting the digestate. Based on all the inspections, EnviTec can provide the customer with suggestions regarding how he can make his facility more efficient. For example, the forecast for the gas can be compared to the actual production of gas on a daily basis, which, in case of discrepancies, makes it possible to immediately implement the appropriate countermeasures.