Factory Tour - CHT Beitlich, Dusslingen

Report: "Visit to CHT" by Rudolph Francois van Schalkwyk

The South Africa/Tübingen exchange group of 2010 visited the CHT plant in Tübingen on Friday the 15th of January. After being issued with PPE (professional protection equipment), the group was shown around the plant by our tourguides, Deniz and Mauck.

We learned that CHT started its first production facility for chemical additives in Tübingen more than 50 years ago. Since then CHT has grown to a worldwide supplier in the textile industry, with a very broad range of products. These include additives used for fibre production, pre-treatment of textiles, dyeing processes and textile printing, as well as for finishing and coating.

The visit proved to hold something interesting for everyone in the group. While those with some chemical or engineering background could learn more about the details of the manufacturing processes, those with a more humanitarian outlook could ask uncomfortable questions about hazards in the working place and about the general safety of workers on a chemical plant. Due to the company’s excellent safety record, the CHT representatives could answer these questions with confidence. Although it was sometimes difficult to keep track of exactly what all the equipment was doing, everyone was certainly awed by the multitude of pipes, machines, wires, reactors, sensors, microscopes, valves, computers, and other intricate and complicated-looking things.

Highlights of the day included seeing reactors for producing textile additives in action and seeing where printing sheets for some of our favourite brands come from. The quality laboratories and the product storage and distribution facilities were also very impressive. We also learned some unexpected facts, for instance that pet food is given a rotten smell by adding enzymes (and that dogs like this) and consists mostly of water and thickening agent. Another surprising fact was that thickening agents for paints can be made from different types of beans that are ground to a powder and then chemically modified. If anyone had not been impressed by the morning’s visit, their minds were certainly changed by the excellent lunch that was served in the cafeteria.
The visit was ended by singing a song to the CHT staff, to thank them for receiving us and for giving us our first glimpse of german engineering. Thank you once again to CHT and to all those involved for giving us a day that will certainly be remembered!

by Rudolph Francois van Schalkwyk