Selected project cases

Corden BioChem: engineering the conversion of an ethanol plant in Podari

Situation. Corden BioChem acquired the former second-generation (cellulosic) ethanol plant at Podari, Romania, and is converting it to first-generation ethanol from molasses. Existing tanks, racks and buildings are to be reused wherever possible.

IPE assignment and challenge. IPE audited the available documents, coordinated the laser-scan input and revised the process flow diagrams and P&IDs for the new process. The challenge is fitting new equipment and piping into the existing plant, so the design is checked against the scan rather than against old drawings.

Deliverables. Revised PFDs and P&IDs; mechanical, piping and steel detail design in packages; new pumps and piping modelled in AVEVA E3D on the point cloud.

Relevance. For investors converting an acquired or brownfield asset: an engineering basis built on the plant as it stands.

Project no.

CBR-25-530 · CBR-25-536

Client

Corden BioChem Romania

Location

Podari, Romania

Period

2025–2026

Milestone

Package 5 – pipe bridges and a 50 m loading platform, 104 t of steel – issued for construction on 3 July 2026

Plant target

About 140,000 l/day of ethanol: the owner's production target, not achieved output

Status

Conversion engineering ongoing

U. S. Steel Košice: chromium-free passivation on two tinning lines

Situation. U. S. Steel Košice replaced hexavalent chromium in the passivation of tinplate with a chromium-free chemistry (Henkel Bonderite). The change affected the process, the line equipment, the building and the integrated permit of the steelworks.

IPE assignment and challenge. Coordinated multidisciplinary design inside an operating, regulated steelworks, first on line EC2, then on line EC1 with the experience of the first.

Deliverables. EC2 (2015–2017): basic engineering, EIA notification and IPPC change documents, building-permit design, detail and workshop design, operating and maintenance manuals, as-built documentation and designer's supervision. EC1 (2021–2024): laser scan of the existing line, P&IDs, basic design, building-permit documents, dismantling, detail and workshop design and designer's supervision, with model coordination in Navisworks.

Relevance. Repeat delivery for the same owner, on a site that keeps operating.

Project no.

USS-15-272 · USS-21-429

Client

U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o.

Location

Košice, Slovakia

Period

2015–2017 (EC2), 2021–2024 (EC1)

Milestones

Final acceptance signed 11 April 2017 (EC2); acceptance protocol signed 31 October 2024 (EC1)

Disciplines

Process, mechanical, piping, I&C, electrical, civil and steel, laser scanning

Status

Completed

SIAD Slovakia: Slovak engineering and permits for a CO2 recovery plant designed abroad

Situation. SIAD built a plant at the ENVIRAL bioethanol site in Leopoldov that recovers CO2 from fermentation as food-grade liquid CO2. The plant was designed abroad; before it could operate, its documentation had to meet Slovak rules for technical equipment and its operation had to be permitted.

IPE assignment and challenge. IPE did not design the process plant. It reviewed the existing documentation and prepared the engineering and approval inputs around it.

Deliverables. Documentation audit; approval documents for the authorised inspection body (TÜV SÜD); engineering for trial operation and then for permanent operation; an emergency plan; in 2024, engineering and the foundation for a NOx filter.

Relevance. For owners bringing externally designed technology into operation in Slovakia.

Project no.

SD-23-465

Client

SIAD Slovakia spol. s r.o.

Location

Leopoldov, Slovakia

Period

2022–2024

Milestones

Acting for SIAD, IPE obtained the temporary-use permit for trial operation (4 August 2023) and the air-protection consent for permanent operation (30 January 2024)

Plant (vendor design)

5,000 kg/h liquid CO2, up to 40,000 t/y, purity ≥ 99.9 %, 4 × 100 m³ tanks

Status

Completed

Energyco for CORUS IJmuiden: detail design for a galvanising line

Situation. Energyco, s.r.o. (Slovakia) was engineering the continuous galvanising line DVL3 at the CORUS steelworks in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and needed a defined design package delivered within its project.

IPE assignment and challenge. Detail design and a PDMS model of piping, equipment and platforms for a large line, integrated into the lead engineer's project.

Deliverables. PDMS model and detail design documents: 1,005 pipelines, 298 valves and 237 equipment items recorded in the package.

Relevance. A historical example of a large package owned by IPE inside another engineering company's project, with model and built line side by side.

Reference

Energyco / CORUS, 2007–2008

Client

Energyco, s.r.o. (Slovakia), for CORUS IJmuiden

Location

IJmuiden, the Netherlands

Period

2007–2008

Scope

Detail design, PDMS model

Status

Completed; line built

TechniCAD Engineering for Nestlé: a detail-design package in the partner's environment

Situation. TechniCAD Engineering SA (Monthey, Switzerland) was engineering an extension of the fermentation unit at the Nestlé plant in Konolfingen, Switzerland, and contracted IPE for the mechanical and piping detail design.

IPE assignment and challenge. A defined package delivered in the contractor's model environment, to the end client's pipe classes and hygienic valve standards, with all drawings in TechniCAD's title block.

Deliverables. PDMS 3D model and Navisworks review model, equipment layouts and platforms, piping plans and isometrics with material take-off, line, component and tie-in lists: 188 pipelines, 458 valves, 4 equipment items.

Relevance. For engineering companies that need a package delivered to their standards. IPE had worked for TechniCAD before, on piping and HVAC design in PDMS for the PEG2MAL pharmaceutical project in Belgium (2012–2013).

Project no.

TC-20-400

Client

TechniCAD Engineering SA (Switzerland); end client Nestlé, Konolfingen plant

Location

Konolfingen, Switzerland

Period

2020–2021

Milestones

Tender issue 14 January 2021; final issue (F) 9 March 2021

Status

Design assignment completed

ENERGEA: a biodiesel plant in eight modules, shipped to Australia

Situation. The Austrian technology company ENERGEA Umwelttechnologie built a biodiesel plant for non-food feedstocks in eight modules, each carrying its own production step, to be shipped to Australia and assembled there.

IPE assignment and challenge. Making the client's process fit into transportable module frames, with defined interfaces between the modules.

Deliverables. 3D detail design of the steel structures and mechanical parts, integration of the client's process equipment into the modules, and supervision of module production, testing and shipment.

Relevance. A historical example (2006) of the modular engineering method we apply to pilot, demonstration and containerised plants today.

Pilot and modular plants

Reference

ENERGEA, 2006

Client

ENERGEA Umwelttechnologie GmbH (Austria)

Destination

Australia

Period

2006

Key figure

8 process modules

Status

Completed; modules shipped

Formaldehyde, resins and adhesives: studies and designs in five countries

Situation. Producers of formaldehyde and of the urea- and melamine-formaldehyde resins made from it need overhauls, capacity increases and new plants.

IPE assignments. At DIAKOL in Strážske since 2006: the overhaul of the formaldehyde reaction unit, storage of 53 % formaldehyde, the connection of a cogeneration unit, the capacity increase and modernisation of glue production (2019–2021) and, in 2026, the replacement of the steam boiler. For DUKOL Ostrava, Czech Republic (2017–2022): modernisation of formaldehyde line 1, extension of adhesive production, a melamine store and a steam turbine and generator, with procurement support, laser scanning, detail design and as-built documents in Czech. For Kronospan: a study for a 120,000 t/y glue plant with its own formalin unit in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria (2021), and studies for the extension of the glue plant in Lampertswalde, Germany (2024). Under contract with Contiplus Limited, Malta, and Xylo Engineering CZ: the mechanical and civil design of glue plants in Kaluga and Ufa (2021–2022).

Relevance. A process the team has designed repeatedly, from reactor to loading station. The five countries cover studies as well as designs; they are not five completed plants.

Project no.

DK-19-356 · DL-17-306 · KB-21-430 · LT-24-490

Clients

SK: DIAKOL Strážske · CZ: DUKOL Ostrava · DE, BG: Kronospan (studies) · RU: Contiplus Limited (MT) and Xylo Engineering CZ

Locations

Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia

Period

2006–2026

Scope

Studies, permits, procurement, laser scan, detail design, as-built

Status

Design assignments completed; Bulgaria and Germany: studies; DIAKOL 2026: ongoing

Duslo: repeat assignments at the Strážske fertiliser plant, 2007–2026

Situation. The fertiliser plant in Strážske – first Hnojivá Duslo, today Duslo – has modernised units, reduced emissions and built its own steam supply while operating.

IPE assignments. The reconstruction of the calcium nitrate (LAV) unit (2007–2009): building-permit and detail design, permit documents, tender documents, the demolition of an old hall and as-built documents. Then ammonia compressors and storage, emission reduction and a new off-gas scrubber with the change of the integrated permit, cooling drums, stores and loading stations. In 2022, a boiler house with three gas boilers (13.1 MW thermal input in total) and water treatment, with the EIA notification, the IPPC change and the building-permit design.

Current work. A heat exchanger for nitrous-gas preheating and new ammonia piping on the running KD2 plant (2026).

Relevance. First and latest documented assignments for the same plant span 2007 to 2026.

Project no.

HA-07-033 · DO-22-459

Client

Duslo, a.s. (formerly Hnojivá Duslo, s.r.o.)

Location

Strážske and Šaľa, Slovakia

Period

2007–2026

Key figure

Boiler house: 3 boilers, 13.1 MW thermal input

Status

Earlier assignments completed; KD2 work ongoing (2026)

Cyclohexanone plant: an 80,000 t/y unit dismantled for relocation

Situation. The cyclohexanone plant at Strážske, built in 1982 and shut down in 2003, was sold for re-erection at OAO Ščekinoazot's site in Russia. It had to be taken apart safely on an operating chemical site, with tall columns cut into transportable sections and every item documented for re-assembly.

IPE assignment. Permit documents and applications for the site preparation and the two dismantling phases (insulation, then technology); the dismantling method; cutting planes of oversized columns agreed with the transport company; P&IDs and isometrics for re-erection and the temporary power supply; site supervision and health-and-safety coordination (2008–2009).

Relevance. For buyers and sellers of used plants: re-erection documents prepared before the first piece left the site. Basic design work for the same client followed in 2009–2011.

Project no.

ST-08-056

Client

OAO Ščekinoazot (Russia)

Location

Strážske, Slovakia

Period

2008–2009

Key figures

80,000 t/y plant capacity; 1,161 pipelines, 2,045 valves, 401 equipment items documented

Status

Completed

ENVIRAL: a cellulosic bioethanol project and a CHP extension

Situation. ENVIRAL in Leopoldov produces bioethanol. In 2017–2018 the company planned a second-generation plant using straw with technology partner OT Industries.

IPE assignment. Building-permit documentation (including an 80 MWth biomass boiler), a check of the licensor's basic engineering package, interconnection design with the existing plant, tender packages III and IV, and coordination of the HAZOP study and the SEVESO risk study. The project was stopped in June 2018; the plant was not built.

Later work. Intensification of fermentation (2020); basic design, building-permit documents and tie-ins for a CHP extension with a 20 t/h boiler fired with natural gas and biogas feeding a 1.9 MWe back-pressure turbine (2023, with a laser scan as design input); a more efficient CIP cleaning system (2024).

Relevance. Engineering alongside a licensor, and continued work on the operating plant.

Project no.

ENV-18-307 · ENV-23-477

Client

ENVIRAL, a.s.; OT Industries (2018)

Location

Leopoldov, Slovakia

Period

2017–2024

Key figures

CHP: 20 t/h boiler, 1.9 MWe turbine

Status

2G plant: designed, not built (stopped 2018); CHP and CIP: design completed

Biochemtex: permit documents for an 81 MWth energy block

Situation. The Italian technology company Biochemtex S.p.A. developed an energy block for a planned biorefinery at Strážske: a fluidised-bed boiler of 81 MWth for lignin and coal, producing at least 94 t/h of steam at 530 °C and 8.1 MPa.

IPE assignment. Zoning-permit documents, the SEVESO major-accident risk study in Slovak and English, the building-permit design for the whole battery limit and the integrated-permit (IPPC) application; P&IDs coded to the KKS identification system. As applicant for the investor, IPE filed the applications; the authority issued the zoning decision for the energy block (August 2015) and building permits for the site-preparation works.

Status. The investor changed its plans before construction; the energy block was not built.

Project no.

BCX-15-262

Client

Biochemtex S.p.A. (Italy), for investor CPP Zemplín

Location

Strážske, Slovakia

Period

2015

Key figures

81 MWth; ≥ 94 t/h steam, 530 °C, 8.1 MPa

Status

Zoning decision issued; not built

Slovenské liehovary a likérky: distillation and rectification

Situation and assignment. The distillery in Leopoldov modernised its multi-pressure distillation and rectification unit. IPE built a 3D model of the existing unit and prepared the detail design of the changes, the low-voltage connection, a version of the design for the technical inspection and the as-built documentation.

Relevance. Changes designed on a model of the existing unit: 377 pipes and 144 valves documented.

Project no.

SLL-20-403

Client

Slovenské liehovary a likérky, a.s.

Location

Leopoldov, Slovakia

Period

2020

Status

Completed

TSR Slovakia: scrap yard, 13 months from zoning decision to occupancy decision

Situation. TSR Slovakia needed a new metal-scrap yard with a railway siding on the industrial site at Strážske, with one partner for design and permit applications.

IPE assignment. The EIA screening request, zoning-permit and building-permit designs, the demolition documents for an old building and the detail design; then construction supervision and as-built documents. IPE prepared and filed the applications as the investor's representative.

Documented milestones. Zoning decision 20 July 2010; railway-siding permit 7 September 2010; building permit 14 September 2010; occupancy decision 8 August 2011 – 13 months from the zoning decision to the occupancy decision.

Relevance. A historical example of design and permitting handled together, under the Building Act then in force. It does not indicate durations under today's procedures.

Project no.

TSR-10-115

Client

TSR Slovakia, s.r.o.

Location

Strážske, Slovakia

Period

2010–2011

Status

Completed; occupancy decision issued

BUKOCEL: combustion of malodorous gases in a pulp mill

Situation. The sulphate pulp mill in Hencovce had to burn its concentrated non-condensable gases (CNCG) and stripper off-gas (SOG) instead of releasing them.

IPE assignment. Design of the gas collection and combustion system (2016); support for the start of trial operation, designer's supervision and as-built documents (2017–2018); design of follow-up changes – cooling of the stripper gas and new gas-line connections.

Relevance. Other assignments for the mill since 2013 include its digesters, cellulose lines, pumps and biogas combustion.

Project no.

BA-16-289

Client

BUKOCEL, a.s.

Location

Hencovce, Slovakia

Period

2016–2018

Status

Completed

Schur Flexibles / adapa: a new printing press and the IPPC change

Situation. The flexible-packaging plant in Trebišov installed a 10-colour W&H Heliostar gravure printing press. The hall had to grow from 1,080 to 1,714 m², and the solvent emissions changed the plant's integrated permit.

IPE assignment. Building-permit design, tender documents and a dispersion study; IPE prepared and coordinated the application. The environmental inspectorate issued the IPPC change and the building permit as one decision on 24 October 2022.

Current work. For the next upgrade – new lines and a regenerative thermal oxidiser – IPE prepares the IPPC documents, the technical-equipment documents and the engineering for trial operation (2026).

Project no.

SF-21-416 · AP-26-550

Client

Schur Flexibles Moneta s.r.o., today adapa Slovakia Trebišov s.r.o.

Location

Trebišov, Slovakia

Period

2021–2022, 2026

Status

2022 decision issued; 2026 work ongoing

CROWN Bevcan: a greenfield can plant and its second line

Situation and assignment. CROWN built a beverage-can plant at Kechnec near Košice, with a first-phase capacity of 775 million cans a year. IPE prepared the building-permit documentation and its English translation, then the documents for the second production line, the IPPC documentation, process and waste-water treatment, gas-leak detection and the as-built documents (2008–2012).

Relevance. Slovak permit documents for a foreign investor, with English versions for its team.

Project no.

CB-08-079

Client

CROWN Bevcan Slovakia s.r.o.

Location

Kechnec, Slovakia

Period

2008–2012

Plant capacity

775 million cans a year (phase 1)

Status

Completed