Founded by Peter Münch in the 1970s as a one-man operation in the steel trade, Germany-headed MÜNCH-Edelstahl as it is known today, emerged in 1981 thanks to a ring die design- and manufacturing innovation patented by Peter Münch.
In short, the patent “Die plate for granulation pressing, particularly for the manufacture of feed granules”, paved the way for manufacturing dies with significantly longer, and safer runtime.
Furthermore, they could be made with less waste in their production and maintenance, as certain components could be reversed or reused.
Taking the path less trodden
Located in the town of Hilden, almost equidistant between Solingen and Düsseldorf, the family-held firm has since grown to become a well-respected global brand in the biomass pelleting world and headed for over two decades by second generation Münch – sisters Sandra Münch and Mirja Gerlach who grew up with the business.
Like many of its peers, the company designs manufactures, and supplies pelletizers and ancillary equipment such as grinders, hammer mills, sieves, and counterflow coolers to the animal feed, biomass- and recycling industries.
This includes complete lines in the 0.05 – 4.5 tonnes per hour (tph) per press.
Today MÜNCH ring die pellet mills can be found operating on all continents, and under various conditions yet the company has no subsidiaries.
The entire business is run out of Hilden. From here we work directly with clients in Europe and Latin America. For other geographies such as North America, South East Asia, and Africa we work through a network of independent partners, representatives, and agents across the different sectors. For instance, our Southeast Asia partners have recently completed quite a large turnkey biomass pellet project in Indonesia, said Cornelis de Zwaan, Head of Sales at MÜNCH.
Robust and reliable
An observation is that MÜNCH biomass pellet mills seem to be found in small and mid-sized plants, many located off the beaten track in emerging economies. Or found in research laboratories and test facilities.
Our ambition is to help make our client as self-reliant as possible by designing and making our equipment robust and reliable while being straightforward and economical to maintain and operate. Many of our clients operate in regions lacking good transport infrastructure, or where specialized spare parts and trade skills are difficult to come by, Cornelis de Zwaan explained.
The equipment may be without flashy frills but it is designed and manufactured in Hilden with Made in Germany quality and materials.
External components such as electric motors are sourced from well-known global brands.
Furthermore, the company has a full in-house pilot plant for testing the “pelletability” of a feedstock.
Here a client can test a candidate feedstock through the various process technologies.
A peek inside the raw materials archive reveals all sorts of pelletized samples of exotic biomass- and other materials.
The company’s in-house research and development activities are focused on the continuous development of the product program, with special attention to energy, environment, and sustainability.
Start of a new phase
In February this year, the company announced a new development in the family-held and run business, the appointment of an external Managing Director.
Jens Dierksen replaces Sandra Münch, who remains within the company as a consulting partner, and he joins Mirja Gerlach on the management team.
As an owner-managed family business, this change in management marks a new phase for MÜNCH-Edelstahl.
The company aims to continue the “dynamic development and organic company growth of recent years. We are financially self-sufficient and can respond quickly to economic and political issues while ensuring the company’s continued existence.”
The business consequences of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine are one such “economic and political issue” case in point, and not just for MÜNCH.
