VTP - Ventilated Turbo Pulley
The story behind the VTP – a pulley born from vision
In the late 1990s, European manufacturers were under increasing pressure from low-cost pulley imports. Competing on price alone was not a sustainable strategy. Therefore, BIRN in Denmark chose a different path.
While on vacation in the South of France in 1998, Valdemar Richard Birn, the visionary behind several of our own product lines, sketched an idea in the sand near his summer house. That idea became the VTP – Ventilated Turbo Pulley.
A new standard for performance
Unlike traditional v-belt pulleys, the VTP was designed using GGG nodular cast iron instead of the more common (and cheaper) grey cast iron (GG). This material choice, combined with a redesigned structure, led to several distinct advantages:
- Shock resistance: GGG offers superior flexibility and strength under load
- Weight reduction: Thinner walls and optimized geometry reduce weight by approx. 50%
- Extended belt life: Unique ventilation holes in the grooves increase belt lifespan significantly
- Higher efficiency: Less weight means less moments of inertia, increases lifespan for the bearings and energy saving
- High-speed capability: Belt speed up to 100 meters/second – more than doubling the speed of standard pulleys
- Improved corrosion resistance: Usage of Ed coating prevents rust
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Designed in Denmark - refined in Müllheim
The VTP - Ventilated Turbo Pulley - are used across industries such as compressors, woodchippers, and ventilation systems, where performance and durability are essential. Today, castings are still produced at the BIRN and ULDALL foundries in Denmark, with machining handled in Germany.
Some machines can only operate with the VTP. Others simply perform better with it.