The Lithuanian GEALAN BALTIC plant, which belongs to the German GEALAN Fenster-Systeme Group, has upgraded its production equipment in Vilnius. The company announced the development on social media. The plant carried out the upgrade in cooperation with Swiss-Swedish company ABB.
GEALAN BALTIC manufactures PVC profiles for windows and doors. The plant has been operating in Vilnius since 1997 and serves Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine.
The company carried out the upgrade in stages over five years. The main focus was on the extrusion lines, particularly the electrical systems of the extruders. Specialists replaced around 13 motors of various power ratings with highly energy-efficient ABB low-voltage three-phase synchronous motors. Along with the motors, engineers installed ABB ACS880 series variable frequency drives and HMI control panels.
Saulius Rimša, Head of the Technical Department at GEALAN BALTIC, explained that the upgrade was prompted by the ageing of the old equipment. “Much of the equipment was very old, many electrical components were worn out and obsolete, and replacing individual parts provided little benefit,” he said.
Rimantas Verseckas, a representative of the Technical Department at GEALAN BALTIC, added that after installing the new equipment, the plant switched to predictive maintenance. “Previously, we often had to respond to unexpected equipment failures or adjust the speed manually. After implementing ABB systems, we switched to predictive maintenance — the equipment itself signals upcoming maintenance requirements. This has eliminated emergency call-outs and allowed the team to focus on process optimisation,” Verseckas said.
According to Verseckas, the variable frequency drives enable precise adjustment of motor speeds according to actual production requirements, rather than keeping them running continuously at maximum power. This reduces mechanical wear and electricity consumption.
Justinas Pesliakas, Head of Motors and Drives at ABB in Lithuania, noted that modernisation is becoming an integral part of maintaining the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. “Many manufacturing companies today face similar challenges — rising energy costs, the need to ensure uninterrupted production and increasingly stringent efficiency requirements. Investments in more modern electric motors, variable frequency drives and control systems are therefore becoming not only a technological upgrade, but also a business decision that improves competitiveness and reduces operating costs,” Pesliakas said.
Grigorij Romadin, Service Sales Specialist at ABB, explained the advantage of a phased approach to modernisation. “The first project is implemented initially, allowing the approach to be tested under real operating conditions and potential improvements to be assessed. At subsequent stages, the approach can be further refined and adapted to the customer’s specific needs. This reduces engineering costs, while the customer receives functions tailored specifically to their processes,” Romadin said.
See also: Austrian profile manufacturer aluplast launches €20 million automated high-bay warehouse in Germany.
Photo: ABB
GEALAN BALTIC, together with ABB, has upgraded its equipment to improve production reliability and reduce the risk of unplanned downtime
GEALAN BALTIC upgrades equipment and eliminates unplanned downtime
ID no: 24407
Jul 23, 2026
Jul 21, 2026
Jul 20, 2026
Jul 13, 2026
Aug 6, 2026
