Workshop around 1918

Roller press around 1918

Roller bearings already in use in the 1930s

Roller press for briquetting of ore, 1936

Roller press with inner bearings, 1957

Coal briquetting roller press, 1965

Roller press platform “Zeche Concordia”, 1966

Electro-chemical machining, 1969

Roller press for briquetting of coking coal in South Africa, 1981

Assembly of roller press for comminution of cement clinker, 1993

Roller press for cold briquetting of sponge iron, 1995

HPGR for Cement, Diameter 1750, 2011

Hot Briquetting Machine, Diameter 1000, 2011

A Brief Look at a Long History

Steady development since 1898

Founded in 1898 in Hattingen, Germany, Köppern remains a family-run enterprise reflecting its traditional values of technology leadership and highly dependable manufacturing quality, coupled with a unique regard for the individual needs of its customers. Köppern’s global network of subsidiaries provides customized service on all continents.

The company’s history is very much linked to the briquetting of hard coal, a process that goes back to the mid-17th century. But it wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that the manufacture of briquettes became a modern industrial process. Mechanical presses were then used for the next 50 years to generate briquettes for use as domestic and industrial fuel, until coal began to be gradually replaced by oil and gas.

Wilhelm Köppern, a mining company director, acquired the ‘Berninghaus-Hütte’ in Hattingen, on the River Ruhr, in 1898. Refining the original Belgian design of the roller presses made there, he profited greatly from the growing demand for briquette production. His son and son-in-law, Leopold Köppern and Otto Schäfer, took over the company in 1926, renaming it Maschinenfabrik Köppern. They steadily expanded the family business, gaining market share and extending its customer base throughout Europe and as far away as South America and China. 

After the Second World War, the declining need for domestic coal forced Köppern to seek new applications and to develop their technology accordingly. This for example included the processing of refractory materials, fertilizers, chemical products and sponge iron.    

Following the introduction of high-pressure grinding roller presses (HPGRs) in the 1980s, Köppern also successfully expanded into the cement industry, building a strong position through innovative press designs as well as the unique HEXADUR® wear protection system. Köppern’s HPGRs are now widely used for the comminution of raw materials, clinker and slag for cement production as well as a variety of ores and minerals, including iron ore, gold, copper, nickel, bauxite, vanadium, molybdenum and diamondiferous ore.

In order to meet the requirements of highest plant performance operating with HPGRs, Köppern expended its product portfolio with the Koesep-air classifiers. The first industrial-scale application of the combined air classifier “2-Stage Koesep” was in 2015.
Köppern has sold several hundred roller presses in over 60 countries for briquetting, compaction and comminution. In collaboration with our customers, optimized processes have been developed by our dedicated staff of process engineers and tested in Köppern’s own pilot plant, backed up by trials involving more than 2,000 different materials.

Ruhrallee 6
45525 Hattingen
Germany

T +49 (2324) 207-0
F +49 (2324) 207-207
info@koeppern.com

Company Chronicle

From the 19th to the 21st Century
2018

K.R. Komarek and Euragglo S.A.S join the Köppern Group

2009

Koeppern Service Canada Inc., Saskatoon

2006

Koeppern China Holding GmbH, Beijing

2002

Köppern Entwicklungs-GmbH, Hattingen, Germany

1998

Köppern 100 years:
167 employees,
96 mill. DM turnover, 95% export

1997

Koppern Maco Services Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, India

1996

Koeppern Machinery Australia Pty. Ltd., Perth

1993

Köppern Aufbereitungstechnik GmbH  & Co. KG, Germany

Maquinarias Koeppern Venezuela C.A., Puerto Ordaz

1983

Koppern Equipment Inc., USA

1926

Company taken over by Leopold Köppern and Otto Schäfer.
Renamed Maschinenfabrik Köppern & Co. KG

1913

First export of a roller press to England

1898

“Berninghaus-Hütte” in Hattingen acquired by Wilhelm Köppern