Drive technology specialist Flender has celebrated its 125th-year anniversary by, it says, reflecting on milestones as well as looking towards the future.

Flender CEO, Andreas Evertz, at the grand anniversary party at the main site in Bocholt on June 7, said: “We have always been and will always be a large Flender family. Whether employees, customers, suppliers, partners, or owners – today we all feel like Flenderans. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team and to advance the energy transition with you. Because without drive technology and Flender, nothing moves in this world.”

The company had invited all employees from the Bocholt, Mussum, and Voerde sites, as well as representatives from customers, suppliers, associations, politics and regional partners. Around 2,500 guests were there for the evening celebrations.

Throughout its history, Flender has developed into a pioneer for industrial and wind drives. In 1991, the Flender gear unit (short: FSG) was the world’s first gear unit series based on a platform. It remains the industry standard to this day and is the basis for thousands of derivative programs and application specific gear units, the company says. The successor “Flender One” has been gradually introduced to the market since 2022, setting new standards in energy efficiency and optimal resource utilisation with fully automated configuration and engineering processes combined with AIQ digital gearbox intelligence, the company added.

AIQ, Flender says, stands for best-fit solution packages that use intelligence, knowledge and extensive experience to meet customer requirements for diagnosis, early fault detection and process optimisation. In the field of minerals and mining, particularly the AIQ Core Torque, Flender says, offers a cost-efficient and helpful technology that combines sensor technology and analytics. It continuously monitors the drive and evaluates operationally relevant data. In addition to torque, AIQ Core Torque also measures oil temperature, speed and vibration values.

Flender says it is at the heart of the energy transition, recognising the significant leverage that energy-efficient industrial production can have. This also includes returning raw materials to the cycle so that they can be reused, with up to 99% of a gearbox able to be recycled, and Flender’s global service network ensuring that the lifespan of the drives is maximised.