Hold on a minute! What does that have to do with the Machinery Division? A whole lot!
Sommer Maschinen- und Anlagenbau is a technology subsidiary of the Machinery Division. The Düsseldorf-based company, which was founded in 1895, is a leading manufacturer of systems, mixers and agitators and – together with its technology subsidiary Feige FILLING – is the ideal partner for customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical, petrochemical, building materials, paint and coatings industries.
When Sommer became a member of the HAVER family in the early 2000s, the Machinery Division acquired three fully functional laboratory mixers from Sommer for the plants in Oelde, Bad Oldesloe and the USA. The aim was to demonstrate to interested customers the extended range of products offered by the Machinery Division and Sommer’s expertise using a small-scale mixer. In practice, the mixer – which you have to imagine as an oversized kitchen appliance with three agitators and a container holding approx. 4 litres, including a large control cabinet – was used very rarely with little chance to show off its prowess. This changed abruptly when Thomas Hilling, Head of the Haver & Boecker Institute, had the idea of using the laboratory device to mix cocktails at the Haver & Boecker Christmas party. The main ingredient was already available. Colleagues from Haver & Boecker Latinoamericana had brought the famous cachaça as a gift for a training session. The above caipirinha recipe was scaled to the container size and the rather unconventional use of the mixer became the main attraction at the Christmas party.