SIEMENS

The large white buildings look unspectacular. American semitrailers with long hoods are parked outside. Far away, the Monserrate can be seen, a small white church high above Bogotá. But the commercial buildings in the foreground are something special. They are part of a new Siemens plant located in Tenjo just outside Colombia's capital city, and could set an example not only for South America, but for the world.

The Tenjo plant is a “green” factory with its own sewage system, intelligent illumination, low energy requirements and extremely low water consumption. About 1,200 people work there, manufacturing various products for all of Siemens' sectors. This includes the assembly of transformers and electronics for power transmission networks, electric motors and hearing aids. The plant in Tenjo was built in accordance with LEED, the stringent U.S. environmental certification system for new buildings that examines various metrics such as water and energy consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions. Thanks to water-saving production processes, the plant's own sewage system and waterless urinals, the plant uses just 32 % of the water required by comparable factories. The sewage system cleans 250 m³ of water each day.

Energy consumption is approximately two thirds less than that found in a conventional factory. There is so much daylight inside the factory that hardly any artificial lighting is required during the day. At twilight, the lights are turned on and off automatically as required. Osram T8 fluorescent lamps are used, which consume 63 % less electricity than those in the old Siemens plants in Bogotá. And the compressed-air system is more efficient as well. It operates at 18 kW instead of 24 kW as in old factories.

Siemens has been active in Bogotá for 55 years and used to operate several factories within the city. They were originally located on the outskirts, but were gradually swallowed up by the growing metropolis. When the new plant opened, the old ones were closed and their operations were transferred to Tenjo, increasing productivity and reducing costs. Another advantage of the new area is that it has space available for future expansion, unlike the sites in the city. And increasing traffic volumes were also a factor. Transporting 70-t transformers through crowded streets was too inefficient. This problem no longer exists thanks to the new Tenjo location. Trucks leaving the plant turn straight onto a highway.

The plant is classified as being in a special economic area, where the Colombian government has granted Siemens some degree of tax relief. “With Tenjo, we have created a productive site for Central and South America,” states Daniel Fernández Krappmann, the Siemens executive responsible for the region. “Approximately 75 % of our products are destined for export.” And the market is growing. The UN Economic Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean estimates the volume of investment required in the South American energy sector until 2030 to add up to more than a trillion U.S. dollars. This will include tremendous investments in power transmission and distribution technology — solutions that Siemens Energy is in a position to satisfy.

Furthermore, Siemens plans to develop its wind energy business in the region, which will also boost demand for transformers. A delegation of environmental scientists from Germany was recently invited to visit the unusual site in Tenjo by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). “Colombia suffered from internal political turmoil for a long time,” says Marc Bovenschulte, coordinator and innovation researcher for the BMBF. “But for several years now, the country's development has been very dynamic. Commitment to Colombia such as that shown here by Siemens sends just the right message.” About 70 million euros has been invested in Tenjo — a site that will serve the growing demand for technical products in the South American continent in coming years with a range of environmentally-friendly products.