Bukh-Farymann expands with emissions compliance, new sales partners

After a period in administration, the builder of Farymann brand diesel engines is well and truly back in business. With a new senior management team and trading under the new name Bukh-Farymann Diesel GmbH, the engine builder based in Lampertheim, Germany, is part of a larger, Danish-owned group with strong engine interests. In fact, the company, a specialist in single-cylinder diesels, now sees itself well beyond the consolidation stage and is developing what it sees as its core products, including certification of engines to Tier 2 of North America's EPA off-highway emissions legislation and Stage 2 of the EU's NRMM directive.

"We are part of an organization based in Aabrenraa, Denmark, which also includes the builders of Bukh Diesel and Callesen Marine Diesel engines and we are now the official source of all the products and services previously offered by Farymann Diesel GmbH," noted Bukh-Farymann Managing Director Rainer Smermer. "The Bukh group is a world leader in manufacture of lifeboat engines. It also produces marine engines for standard applications, which is a market long served by Farymann diesels. Thus, there are obvious synergies between our single-cylinder diesels and the other engines made in the group. As a result, the Lampertheim works--with its technical resources--is now home to a company-wide engine development center for all its diesel engines."

In terms of products, the company is concentrating on its well-established 290 cc displacement vertical cylinder diesels, the air-cooled 18D and water-cooled 18W (bore 82 x stroke 55 mm), as well as the 709 cc, air-cooled horizontal cylinder, low-profile type 43F (bore 95 x stroke 100 mm). The 18D and 18W are offered with ratings from 6.1 to 6.9 hp at 3600 rpm, while the standard rating of the 43F diesel is 14.75 hp at 3000 rpmWith the emphasis on these engines, we aim to expand on the traditional applications of Farymann brand engines, like small construction equipment, including building site dumper trucks, vibration plates and drills, etc., small generator sets, the propulsion of small boats and onboard power supply on larger craft," said Stuermer. "Naturally, Tier 2/Stage 2 emissions compliance for our engines is central to our plans, and hence our 18D, 18W and 43F diesels are presently in the process of certification."

It was the popularity of these engines--and especially the horizontal cylinder 43F with its overall height of only 14.5 in.--which maintained the company as a going concern, reported Sales Manager Walter Knitel. "Our customers kept faith with Farymann diesels and continued ordering, and it was this which allowed us to come through to the point where we are now ready to expand our offering again," he said. "Of course, the 43F's extremely low profile makes it a unique selling proposition and a very difficult power unit to replace in its applications."

The upgrading of the Bukh-Farymann engine range takes two forms--the 18D, 18W and 43F diesels will be offered in Tier 2-compliant versions and responding to demand from customers, the company will also present the 43W diesel, which is a water-cooled version of the 43F engine.

Arnold Schoenbeck, senior manager of development, outlined measures taken to attain Tier 2 compliance. "We have increased injection pressure, optimized the angle and spray pattern of the injectors and changed the combustion chamber shape via a new form of piston bowl," he said. "At the same time, with applications such as building site dumper trucks in mind, we have also made modifications to give our engines a more flexible range of engine speeds.

"In power generation applications on the other hand, where we enjoy an excellent position with OEMs of smaller generator sets, we will be making our engines available using an electric governing system from Governors America Corp. which allows switching between 50 and 60 Hz frequencies."

In step with these development projects--as engine development center for the whole Bukh group--investments are being made in new equipment, including new test stands for emissions measurements.

"We have also formed a new application engineering task force," Schoenbeck reported. "The aim is to be faster in developing new solutions for existing customers and to respond faster to demand from potential new customers."

At the same time, Bukh Farymann is also revising its sales arrangements. "Our important markets are North America and Central Europe and we are currently looking for new sales partners all over the world. We are presently refining our arrangements in North America to better take advantage of the considerable potential of this market for our engines. There are chances for the right organizations to enter into collaborations," Knitel concluded