Kutec AG
K-UTEC has also developed geographically from a local company to an internationally recognised and globally active contact partner for all process engineering, analytical, geomechanical and geophysical issues relating to salt. With about 100 employees we develop, plan and test for the raw material industry from all over the world and help our customers from Australia to Chile to successfully implement their projects in the fields of mining and process engineering. A combination of tradition and innovation, many years of experience, many successful projects around the globe, but above all the highly qualified employees have made K-UTEC one of the world`s leading companies in the extraction and processing of salts and minerals.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Mining - Minerals
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1895
- Employees:
- 11-100
About Us
K-UTEC has also developed geographically from a local company to an internationally recognised and globally active contact partner for all process engineering, analytical, geomechanical and geophysical issues relating to salt. With about 100 employees we develop, plan and test for the raw material industry from all over the world and help our customers from Australia to Chile to successfully implement their projects in the fields of mining and process engineering.
A combination of tradition and innovation, many years of experience, many successful projects around the globe, but above all the highly qualified employees have made K-UTEC one of the world's leading companies in the extraction and processing of salts and minerals.
Our Company
… continues to be an economical focus point that has been growing and has turned into a tradition in the town of Sondershausen.
Over 60 years of experience with salt technology&t...
Over 60 years of experience with salt technology
Since the 1950s there has been research and development for potash and rock salt in the north Thuringian town of Sondershausen. As a part of the former GDR's „Kombinat Kali“ with up to 32.000 employees the „Kaliforschungsinstitut“ (potash research institute) took over all research work within this collaborate. K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies has been continuing this tradition since the German reunion. The company was privatised in 1992; since 2008 it has been a joint-stock company and today it advises, tests, plans and researches for the salt extracting and salt processing industry in projects and tasks of any scale all over the world. We can claim to be able to find a solution to all kind of challenges concerning any type of salt that can be found in all possible forms of deposits. Concerning salt we are the right contact when it comes to answering questions about analytical, geomechanical, geophysical and mining problems as well as solving process engineering tasks. This focus on salts and many years of experience with numerous successful projects all over the world with the help of our highly qualified staff has put K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies in the distinguished position that you find it in today.
Company History
K-UTEC stands short for K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies, situated in Sondershausen. The company emerged from Kali-Umwelttechnik GmbH in 2008.
As a private company we are the successor of the former central German potash industry's “Kaliforschungsinstitut” (potash research institute).
Our activities are nowadays much more widespread than potash mining and processing of potash raw materials.
Due to the company's history K-UTEC's home is still in Sondershausen, the centre of the central German potash industry. The company is a vital part of the northern Thuringian economy.
With its work K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies continues to be an economical focus point that has been growing and has turned into a tradition in the town of Sondershausen.
After the first potash seam in the southern Harz area was reached and developed, hoisting of the salt started through Brügmann shaft in 1895 with close by processing. A further ten shafts were developed until 1913 in the area surrounding the town of Sondershausen.
Potash mining became a deciding economical factor for the region. At the same time as the potash works “Glückauf” developed in Sonderhausen the scientific and technological centre of the East German potash industry was created in 1955 by the founding of the “Zentrale Forschungsstelle für die Kaliindustrie” (central research facility for the potash industry). The “Kaliforschungsinstitut” (potash research institute) evolved from this facility in 1964. It was later integrated as a directorate in the administration of the “Kombinat KALI”, which established itself as a headquarter of the entire East German potash industry in 1970 in Sondershausen. Decades of applied research, processing development, exploration of deposits and raw material investigation lead to an extensive accumulation of knowledge and experience.
In Febuary 1992 Kali-Umwelttechnik GmbH emerged from the former Kaliforschungsinstitut as the only newly established corporation. The founding of this engineering and research company provided the possibility to conserve and to develop the gathered knowledge and experience even further to fulfil the needs of the changing world of business. From a traditional background new focuses and fields of activity arose, e.g.
- the experience in mining lead to a stronger concentration on reclamation, post mining care, redevelopment and back fill technology,
- the implementation of experiences with different types of exploration on tasks in non saliniferous deposits, in construction engineering and in former waste deposits,
- the increasing attention on environmental tasks exceeding purely mining related subjects like data collection, monitoring, redevelopment and reclamation of abandoned mining sites,
- the use and further development of physico-chemical processes also beyond the potash production,
- the set up of analytical methods fitting the current task profile, the creation of a modern laboratory incorporating environmental technology.
Besides the ever developing new experiences constant attention is paid on the care and growth of expert knowledge in the traditional raw material field of the potash and salt industry, which was also expressed in the new company name K-UTEC Salt Technologies from 2008. In the course of this development the team of specialists was constantly strengthened by the incorporation of young work force. The number of employees rose to over 80.
Company Philosophy
K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies rises to the challenge of professional competence for itself and its customers. To deal expertly with all types of salt in all stages of extraction and processing. Finding solutions to tasks for all independent types of salt deposits whether it is of natural origin like marine, geogenic or saliniferous or from existing or planned industrial processes. The scale of operation starts with the exploration of the deposit, continues with modelling, the deposit chemistry, crystallographic characteristics, geologic response, process design, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, basic engineering and support of the customer during the construction of a facility including start up and staff training.
Included in the scale of operation are many tasks concerning salt as a host rock for back fill, relating to the utilisation of mineral secondary raw materials, regarding the authorisation and testing of back fill mixtures for the fabrication of building materials to be used in saliniferous formations, relevant to the development of further building materials for the use in nuclear waste disposal sites or other uses in saliniferous formations.
K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies sees itself as a reliable and powerful engineering partner for the raw material industry and its succession industries with a high specific expert knowledge and experience of many years. Our aim is to offer assistance to our customers based on specialist knowledge in the field throughout all stages of a project.
Certificates / Accreditation / Memberships
Certifications DIN EN ISO 9001:2008
Since 2002, the K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies has a DIN EN ISO 9001: 2008 certified management system.
Scope
- Chemical and physical engineering
- Waste management and backfilling
- Geomechanics and mining
- Underground radioactive waste repository
- Geoecology
- Geophysics
The technical department for physico-chemical analytics is a testing laboratory accredited according to DIN EN ISO 17025. The team comprises of chemists, analysts and mineralogists whose reliability is guaranteed when it comes to determining, evaluation and interpretation of analytical data.