Paul Wurth Italia S.p.A. (Genoa, Italy):

Hansmann T., Dr., Managing Director

DMT GmbH & Co. KG (Essen, Germany):

Kaiser M., Dr., Head of Division

ThyssenKrupp Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany):

Reinke M., Dr., Head of Production
Worberg R., Dr., Head of Division, e-mail: rainer.worberg@thyssenkrupp.com

In the past decades, optimizations of specific investment and operating costs and, to a significant extent, the improvement of working and pollution control conditions have been the essential driving forces towards remarkable new developments. On the whole, the progress made in these fields has enabled the coke plant operators to shake off their reputation for being the source of serious environmental pollution. This has now been recognized also in non-European countries with strict pollution control requirements and even in regions which to date have not paid much attention to this issue. A combination of the aforementioned pollution control features and commercial aspects has resulted in the European coke oven plant engineering and construction business gaining a good standing worldwide. Development of coking equipment and technology in Germany is observed, meaning construction of coking plants, size of a chamber and hardness of a wall, automation, heating, pressure adjusting in a single chamber, as well as coke quenching, coke gas cleaning, fabrication of carbon-bearing compounds. It is concluded that stabilization and development of European machine-building in combination with high-qualified management should rise its competitiveness at diff e rent markets. Additionally, large expenses for environment protection at coking plants in Western Europe will support competitiveness of European companies.