Active fire prevention also protects lentil curries

Company founder Rainer Welke laid the foundations for Davert GmbH back in 1973: his "Makrohaus" was one of the first five organic food stores in the whole of Germany. Back then, the company was still run with a lot of improvisation, but today the company, based in Ascheberg in Münsterland, is one of the largest organic food suppliers in Germany. The products, whose raw materials come from South America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Germany, can be found in organic retailers, health food stores and drugstores. Davert also supplies industrial customers, bakeries and canteens directly with raw materials. The medium-sized company with around 130 employees generates an annual turnover of 70 million euros.

Efficiency also in the fire protection system

This development - especially the strong increase in turnover in recent years - is due to the concentration on one location and the highly efficient structures in the logistics area, Davert announces. The fully automated high-bay warehouse, which went into operation in summer 2017, has a volume of 38,400 cubic meters. Up to 7,400 pallets can be stored in the 24-meter-high racks. An electric pallet truck with an autopilot solution handles the internal transportation of goods. The fire protection solution from Wagner ensures further efficiency: Davert specifically decided to use an oxygen reduction system for fire prevention in the new building. It was not only the financial cost of an oxygen reduction system compared to a sprinkler system that was decisive, says Davert's Managing Partner Friedrich Niehoff. "For our warehouse, a fire prevention system costs around two thirds of a sprinkler system," he says. The maintenance costs are also considerably lower. A nice side effect of the oxygen reduction: insects avoid the oxygen-reduced air. When storing rice, pulses and dried fruit, cereal products, nuts and seeds, this should not be ignored, says Niehoff.

"The installation was unproblematic and the service is excellent."

Friedrich Niehoff Managing Partner of Davert GmbH

Lowering the oxygen concentration

The core of the fire protection solution installed by the Wagner Group consists of an OxyReduct system with VPSA technology and early fire detection with Titanus air sampling smoke detectors. As the warehouse is fully automated, the oxygen concentration is reduced to a level below the ignition threshold of the materials present in the warehouse. A special feature of the solution is the power supply. In keeping with the company's commitment to sustainability, the oxygen reduction system is supplied with electricity from photovoltaics. The cells are located on the roof of the warehouse and can generate around 400,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

However, Davert GmbH not only likes the solution, but also Wagner as a service provider. "Fire protection must be problem-free and easy to maintain," says company manager Niehoff. The technology installed meets these requirements. "The installation was unproblematic and the service is excellent." What also set the plant manufacturer apart from its competitors was its ability to generate nitrogen from the ambient air at very low cost. Finally, the large reference list was also convincing, says Niehoff: "This gave us confidence in Wagner as a partner."

www.davert.dewww.wagnergroup.com