For the last 60 years, AKW Equipment has been specialising in custom process design and equipment manufacturing for wet mechanical application
The company has attributed its success to its employees, their know-how, expertise, and culture of collaboration. The company has been proactively globalising, and as a result, has a successful JV in China.
Furthermore, the company benefits from two important sales and service offices for the Russian-CIS and Middle East, as well as a pool of professionals and competent agents in those regions. The company also practises more than 300 test works in its technical centre, with material samples coming from all geographical areas.
In this technical centre, both lab-scale and pilot-scale test works can be organised, which gives AKW unique insights to improve their existing knowledge as well as staying close to the market’s concerns which allows them to evolve requirements and find the best solutions for their client’s problems.
In terms of markets and project successes, there have been multiple milestones reached for AKW. It became one of the major references worldwide in hydrocycloning solution design. Furthermore, they developed some unique expertise in the fields of clay and silica sand treatment, and introduced new classification solutions in alumina processing. AKW also recycles blast furnace sludges, and developed and implemented the first soil-washing recycling plant in the
Swiss market, apart from supporting the coal-fired power plant to improve its environmental footprint through the flue-gas-desulfurisation process. When it comes to digitalisation, the company’s general manager Thibaut Richard is cautious about implementing trends without understanding the implications. “I also believe that we must remain cautious not to simply obey a trend that likes to push you to increase the digitalisation level on all your equipment and solutions too quickly, especially when the results behind are not proven.”
“Digitalisation at AKW Equipment + Process Design will never dictate the customer experience, but rather improve it in a meaningful way,” he added.
AKW recognises the need to remain a profitable company to keep capabilities for investing in new resources, ideas, partnerships, and manufacturing capabilities. However, the focus on growth should not be done at the expense of “our service and customer focus. In a similar way, we have always been positioning ourselves as a company offering customised and tailor-made solutions, and We do not aim to move away from this motto,” said Richard.
Looking forward, the frugal approach which AKW has for growth and profit generation, which is supported by the shareholders, will help the company’s sustainable growth and success.
“We are proud of what we have achieved over the past 60 years and are excited about what’s next - a future full of innovations, success, collaborations, and great teamwork,” concluded Richard.
