BLM 18 ENG BLM intero ITA imp - finnpartnership.fi · For this event Antonella Dedini, ... Emanuela...

INSPIRED FOR TUBEJune 2013 - Number 18

Furniture

Successful designmade in Italy

XXL tubes

The right machine

INTUBE XIII

ALL-IN-ONETube Technology

BLM 18 ENG_BLM intero ITA imp 30/05/13 18.01 Pagina 1


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LASERTUBE systems celebrate their 25th anniversary. A long periodof development and innovation that brought this BLM GROUP prod-uct to evolve and establish itself in the world as a model to be imi-

tated. For this event Antonella Dedini, a versatile architect and interior de-signer, has created the "Tree Section", a work of art composed of hundredsof laser cut tubes and profiles that form a section of a tree trunk.

The connection between the trunk section and the cut, which has alwaysbeen the thread to the ADIGE activity, is natural and immediate, but thetree metaphor evokes other useful aspects to tell the story of BLM GROUPin which experience and innovation contribute to achieving success.

"The tree is a living organism and its size is the key to its past and presentvitality." These words, used by the artist to describe the "Tree Section"remind us of the layers of new wood that, following the rhythm of the sea-sons, are formed continuously wrapping and protecting the inner layers,the ones from which the entire plant draws strength and sustenance togrow and renew itself each year producing new leaves and new fruit.

ADIGE has developed the family of LASERTUBE products much in thesame way, starting from the geniality and simplicity of the original con-cept of the TT650 system for round tubes, following the vast experiencewith automatic cutting-off machines and developing further innovations:adaptation of the TT651 system to process square tubes, automation ofthe adjustments in the LT722 system and, last but not least, the techno-logical complexity of three-dimensional processing in the LT8 system.

Years of continuous development and innovation that are deep-root-ed in the experience and pursuit to constantly innovate, today and to-morrow.

Giovanni ZaccoMarket Development Manager

The innovations of tomorrowfrom a longstanding passion


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Contents

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INSPIRED FOR TUBE

Inspired for tube ByArea Comunicazione BLM GROUPGiovanni ZaccoEmanuela ColomboCristina Guzzettie-mail: [email protected] tel. +39 031 7070 200

Produced byBLM GROUPVia Selvaregina 3022063 Cantù (CO) Italywww.blmgroup.it

NumberINSPIRED FOR TUBE Nr. 18 - 2013

Design and Graphics byStudio Grafico PageVincenzo De RosaFabrizio Santini

Printed byIntergrafica Verona S.r.l.Verona VR

PhotoFabrizio SantiniVincenzo De Rosa

Reproduction, even only in part, ofthe articles and illustrations publishedin this newsletter is strictly prohibit-ed unless otherwise authorised.

INSPIRED FOR TUBE

Versione in pdf e altre novità su:

www.blmgroup.it

FURNISHINGS

The laser tube is an opportunity for growth

FURNISHING

Tubular furnishing is almost two hundred years old

SUBCONTRACTING

Diversification passes trhough the Laser

CONTRACT WORK

Manufacture the complex items

EVENTS

OPEN HOUSE

FURNISHING

It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s how you do it

CONTRACTOR

Each process has the right machine

CONTRACT WORK

Imagination is the only limit

SUBCONTRACTING

The first lasertube in Taiwan

AUTOMOTIVE

Taking the risk in what one believes in

The LASERTU


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For over thirty years, lapalma, Italy, has been producingfurnishings and furnishing components with cutting-edgedesign and technical solutions in which style, taste, quality

materials and innovative manufacturing methods are expertly“mixed”. In fact, the use of an LT8 LASERTUBE system and an

E-TURN electric bender by the BLM Group stands out.

TUBE is an opportunityfor growth


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case, are the only essential elements for glob-al success since lapalma exports its own fur-nishing lines in more than fifty countries world-wide.

Quality is an essential compo-nent of lapalma’s philosophy.This means control of the rawmaterials used and through thevarious processes, testing of thecomponents during assemblyand testing of the final product,up to packaging and shipment.

This, however, means cutting-edge manufac-turing technologies and methods in which awell-established relationship with the BLMGroup stands out.

Almost just for funlapalma was set up in the late 70s when Darioand Romano Marcato, both engaged in a com-pany specialising in the production of smallmetal parts, stamped from strip, decided tostart producing parts for furnishings to be soldin the store of the wife of one of the two broth-ers. "We wanted to take advantage - says Ro-mano Marcato – of the fashion in the field ofhome furnishings of using products that were

For more than 30 years lapalma has beenproducing furnishings for the modernhome and the contract sector following

a path that originates from the masters of mod-ern design and cleverly links all the compo-nents of the project in the right proportion toobtain a recognizable, universal, not showyproduct that is durable over the years. Rationalaesthetics and the use of natural materials,such as wood from sustainable plantations,leather and wicker, combined with metal andglass provide a variety of elements and func-tions in a complete unit. A style that is usefulto establish a contact with the environmentand everyday things; to live each moment andsituation, and enjoy the finer details that mayseem meaningless, surrounded by objects thatcreate a calm and reassuring atmosphere. Allthese principles, combined with taste andrigour, are the bases of a refined, modern andfunctional environment. lapalma products arethe result of a constant and continuous re-search for materials and mechanisms that aremeticulously designed and manufactured atthe facilities in Cadoneghe, near Padua.Exactly! lapalma is a classic example of entre-preneurship in the North East of Italy, an areathat is often viewed suspiciously by the tradi-tional industrialists. This company from Pad-ua, is, in fact, an example of how the will andability of an entrepreneurial family - the broth-ers Dario and Romano Marcato – which, in this

quite different from each other in terms of styleand materials within a single environment. Itwas almost like a game for us. We designed lit-tle tables, consoles and things like that. "Starting from the home garage and using hob-by equipment, Dario and Romano then began

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18


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customers. In only a few days they receivedsuch a flow of orders that no-one could everhave possibly imagined.From there on, the real mass production be-gan, which today is exported to 55 countries.

Passing to the laserfor production and prototypesWithin a short period, the growth in productionrequired a department that was well able to ac-commodate the market changes, both in termsof capacity and flexibility and, last, but not leastthe quality level of the final product. The solu-tion that the Marcato brothers had focused onwas to automate the processing departments.A quality leap was made first in the tube bend-ing department, where the former traditionalsystems were replaced by a BLM E-TURN elec-tric tube bending machine."The transition from a more traditional produc-tion system to a more evolved system was sud-den. In fact - explains Dario Marcato - during anopen house we realised the endless opportu-nities in terms of flexibility and quality. Suddenlyeverything changed; and has done so for thebetter. "After the first BLM E-TURN an LT8 lasertube ma-chine arrived by ADIGE (always part of the BLMgroup), and then a second E-TURNtube bendingsystem was added. With the LASERTUBE system,all the bars are prepared with holes and end-trim-ming necessary to obtain the final result.

to produce small series for the family store. Theturning point came almost by accident. A rep-resentative actually entered the store bychance. After seeing the pieces produced bythe Marcato brothers in their garage, he de-cided to take a couple of products to show his

After these operations with thelaser machine, the bars pass overto the second generation E-TURNwhich, after having read the ma-terial fibre and consequentlyplaced them in the best direc-tions, terminates the productioncycle by giving the pieces their fi-nal shape. All this ensures ex-tremely high precision and facil-itates product changes.

"The lasertube - explains Romano Marcato - wasan obvious choice. In fact, until then, we wereequipped with traditional machines for tube cut-ting, which although efficient, could not minimallyensure the same production ease, operating flex-ibility and productivity of the LT8 LASERTUBEsys-tem. If we add the fact that in our job, we are oftenforced to perform tests and prototypes, which wehad to outsource for certain processes, it’s easy tounderstand the reasons for the choices we havemade. I would quite happily make the same choic-es again, because BLM and ADIGE have changedour lives and it is evident, just like the lasertubetechnology, seen as an opportunity for growth,opens scenarios and job opportunities that wereunthinkable before."

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8 JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

was given the name Wassily, paying homage tothe painter Wassily Kandinsky, who, along with col-league Paul Klee, taught painting at the sameschool.With this chair, invented by a carpentry teacher,who then became one of the most famoustwentieth century architects, comes a revo-lutionary concept both in terms of production,which was automated over time, and lightnesscombined with strength, but most of all thedesign concept.Wassily, an icon of modern and contemporary fur-nishing, is now regarded as a timeless classic. Notsatisfied with that, Breuer also designed footrestsand stackable tables (Laccio series) that offer max-imum comfort to those who relax in the Wassily.

Very few know that the inspira-tion to use tube came from bi-cycle frames that have only re-cently been made with tubularelements. Marcel Breuer did, infact, have the first chairs pro-duced at Adler-Werke, a bicyclemanufacturer and then massproduction was transferred tothe Italian Dino Gavina, whichwas later taken over by Knoll In-ternational.

Between 1928 and 1935 came the S32 and S33chairs designed by Dutchman Mart Stam to-gether with Marcel Breuer and produced by theever-growing Gebrüder Thonet only to be fol-lowed by other chairs like the D40 produced byTecta, the LC series that ranging from armchairsand sofas to the popular LC4 chaise longue, de-signed by Le Corbusier and nowadays producedby Cassina and last, but not least, the Larianochair developed by Giuseppe Terragni and madeby Zanotta.

I n 1819, German carpenter Michael Thonetwas asked to create Biedermeier furniture,characterised by curved lines. At that time,

pieces of wood were immersed in water untilthey could be bent and then they were assem-bled to other furniture parts with adhesives. Notsatisfied with the techniques in use at that time,Thonet employed three decades to develop thetechnique of bending lathed beech wood rodsby putting them in a team saturated room andthen, once the required flexibility had beenreached, placing them in jigs to bend them andthen through drying ovens to allow the rods totake on their final shape.This invention, one of the most brilliant of the19th century, leads Thonet to redesign furniturestructures and especially chairs that are light,stackable but are also sold on a large scale con-sidering that they were made of a few loosepieces supplied in a flat package that the buyercould assemble with only a few screws, makingthe product affordable to even the less wealthysegments of society.

The timeless modelsThonet N° 14 and WassilyThe Thonet N° 14 chair, designed in 1859 for CaféDaum in Vienna, is still renowned even today. Inthe decades to follow the family firm, consistingof the father and his five sons, went on to reacha production of 4000 units per day of this mod-el alone, with semi automatic processes in its sixfactories located near beech forests. The sameand countless reproductions continue to be pro-duced today, although mostly with a curved tu-bular structure.However, only after the first world war, under theauspices of the BAUHAUS School of Architec-ture created by Walter Gropius after the FirstWorld War in Weimar, which later moved toDessau, were tubular structures developed byrenowned figures such as Marcel Breuer andMies van der Rohe.In 1925, Marcel Breuer designed his first chair, madeof a structure based entirely on tubular steel, which

Made in ItalyIf, at that time, designers and companies op-erating in Germany were the precursors, in theyears following World War II, the market dis-covers the advantages of metal-based furni-ture and the inventive race begins to offer anattractive design, adequate comfort and suit-able solutions for the sometimes restricted liv-ing structures.This time, the protagonists are a number ofItalian companies including Castelli with theirfolding, but particularly light Plia chair designedby Giancarlo Piretti. Zanotta proposes the fold-ing chair called April 212, known as the film di-rector’s chair, designed by Gae Aulenti. Andthis is where companies start to appear, suchas Driade, with various models by Enzo Mariusing metal wire structures and, more recent-ly, Segis with its Breeze and Kadrè models.To make history (or school) are also Scandi-navian companies that include Danish FritzHansen, Hybodan and Swedish Kinnarps,Lammhults Mekaniska, followed by Spanishand Japanese designers and companies, thatintroduce the know-how of this field into theirrespective countries.Among the German companies it is worthmentioning Sedus Stoll that has centuries-oldroots, having been founded in 1871 and Vit-ra that has even built a museum dedicated tothe '"art of the chair" and other companies thathave furnished entire schools, universities,churches, hospitals, offices, small businessesor entire groups, shops, convention centres,theatres, cinemas, hotels as well as airports and,therefore, places that we are constantly in con-tact with.Many ideas generated in that sector have also con-tributed to the development of other productsranging from supermarket trolleys, airport trolleys,and fitness equipment to urban transport fur-nishings. Moreover, in the last half century, the BLMGROUP has tried to make its know-how availablein order to contribute to the success of these andmany other companies.

Tubular furnishing is almosttwo hundred years old

The history of chairs with curved structure began almost 200 years ago, although

not from metal tubes but from beech wood rods.


S33 di Mart Stam e Marcel Breuer

April 212 by ZanottaBreeze by Kadrè Series 7 by Fritz Hansen S70 by LammhultsMekaniska

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Thonet n°14


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Gaurav Goel is owner of METAFIL, a fabrication job-shop in Manesar near New Delhi. He first saw the video clip of the LT COMBO machine in September2011 and he was so convinced with the idea of a combination machine, that he got it installed in his factory in November 2012.

Diversification passestrhough the Laser

from 1995 they started supplying filters to In-dian Railways. In 2006 Gaurav joined him af-ter finishing his C.A. His financial acumen ishelping the company to maintain a steadygrowth. In 2006 he bought a new place inManesar, four times bigger than the originalplant in Gurgaon.

Invest to growThe emphasis on technology was clear rightfrom the beginning; in 2008 first CNC turret-punch-press (TPP) was installed followed by aCNC press-brake in 2009, another TPP and twoCNC press brakes were added in 2010. In 2011,Gaurav decided to go laser-way and bought a

“It is a dream machine for a job-shop like

ours, it can cut sheet metal and alsotubes up to 6 m length in an automat-

ic way no matter what the cross section is; round,square, rectangular, capsule and what not”. The activity was started in 1971 by Gaurav’sfather as a sheet metal fabrication shop and


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The short lead time is one of thestrong points of METAFIL. Withall the modern machinery, theyhave a set-up similar to a bigcompany but being a smallcompany have relatively muchlower overheads.

Investment in fiber laser has also helped to re-duce operating costs, the LT COMBO with 3kWfiber laser absorbs only 20-25 kW.

All in one day and with good quality When the first sheet-cutter was getting satu-rated, Gaurav took the opportunity to diversi-fy while adding further capacity. There was nogood tube cutting capability in India. So hav-ing a tube cutting capability was interesting.”In LT COMBO we have an automatic tube cut-ting machine also capable of cutting sheetmetal”. “The advantage of having tube cutting capa-bility became quickly became clear. We got

sheet-cutter with a fiber laser. Convinced of thefiber laser technology, in 2012 he added LT COM-BO equipped with a 3kW fiber laser. The turnover grew with the same pace as num-ber of machines, from INR 7 million in 2006 itjumped to INR100 million in 2012; fourteen timesgrowth in 7 years. The product portfolio has also changed con-siderably over the years. Till 2008, they were to-tally and only into Metal Filters (METAFIL => MET-Al FILters), now they have diversified fromfiltration industry to furniture accessories, elec-trical panels for telecom and other industries,sheet metal components for kitchen & interiorsector and machinery parts. Fiber laser hashelped in this diversification due to its enhancedversatility compared to the CO2 laser. We make up to 300 new and different productsevery year and hence savings in costs and leadtime is important to us. The short lead time isone of our strong points. With all the modernmachinery we have a set-up similar to a big com-pany but have relatively much lower overheads.Investment in technology has helped to reducethe lead time considerably from earlier 20-30days average to actual 1-4 days.

an order for a machine frame. It was a spe-cial purpose machine and hence the lot sizewas ONE. There were 38 different parts, weprogrammed them and then cut them in 3hours. The whole thing was assembled anddelivered in one day. Without LT COMBO wewould have taken more than 10 days to de-liver that job and the quality would not havebeen so good. ”says Guarav. With LT COMBO,sometimes we even eliminate the need for awelding fixture and hence the delivery time isshorter and also there is saving on the invest-ment for a welding fixture. As we pass part ofthese advantages to our Customer, we arecompetitive.

Talking about the future plans, Gaurav saysthat he has identified a reliable partner in BLMfor tube processing. Next on the anvil are an all electric CNC tubebender and a pure tube cutting machine, ob-viously with a fiber laser. Addition of the tubeprocessing technology to already existingsheet metal working capability, METAFIL wantsto design advanced structural products for var-ious industrial sectors.


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At Hydro Tube, Ohio, in the United States, excellence in tube bending and cutting plusbrazing and welding are considered the keys to their success. The bender Hydro Tube choseto invest in was an ELECT80 all electric bender by BLM Spa. So far the machine has workedout very well. The set-up time of the tools is actually as fast as expected.

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Manual labour has been reduced by about 70%The company was established in 1969 andtherefore has a background of over 40 yearsof tube fabrication knowledge to call on. Animportant turning point for the company tookplace about five years ago when the Cook fam-ily acquired the firm. "When we took over thecompany, the first problem we had to deal withwas the age of plant machinery. The equip-ment roster included several manual hydraulictube-bending machines dating back to '67 or‘68". Mr. Cook realized that "even if the ma-chinery was well maintained we would even-

We are in the city of Oberlin Ohio, in theUnited States, where we meetRichard Cook owner of Hydro Tube

Enterprises, a company known for manufactur-ing high quality complex tubular assemblies.Hydro Tube services a wide range of industriesfrom automotive to off road equipment, waterheating, food service equipment, lawn and gar-den, hydraulic and highpressure air assemblies.At Hydro Tube excellence in tube bending andcutting plus brazing and welding are consid-ered the keys to their success. They operate fromtheir headquarters location in Ohio plus anoth-er facility in Sanford, North Carolina

tually start losing market share due to our out-dated equipment. “ The decision was made to modernize the plantsand invest in new machinery. Mr. Cook had beenkeeping an eye on the growth of laser tube cut-ting technology but he did not have enoughwork to justify buying a new machine. The so-lution was to purchase a used ADIGE LT712LASERTUBE and install it in their North Caroli-na plant. "When we purchased the machine,only 20% of the operating time was covered,"That was four years ago: ever since the machinewas installed, it has completely changed theproduction method at the factory. “Previously,

Manufacture thecomplex items


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Cook continues: "It's not that large lots havedisappeared, but there are customers whohave considerable production volumes overa large number of parts. For example in thefield of excavators or cranes, a single ordermight be ten different parts ranging from 5 to30 pieces each. These are very important cus-tomers that you cannot refuse. That’s why flex-ibility is a critical factor.“The bender HydroTube chose to invest in wasan ELECT80 all electric bender by BLM Spa. Sofar the machine has worked out very well. Theset-up time of the tools is actually as fast as ex-pected.

Optimize the process while ensuring efficiencyBefore an actual example of complex bend-ing, Mr. Cook explains: "Sometimes the pro-duction of a piece seems easy, but in reality ifthe piece was really easy, companies wouldprobably manufacture it themselves." Thepiece that he shows us is in fact particularlycomplex. It is a component in a commercialkitchen fryer. It is a highly efficient exchang-er to heat the oil. The customer was lookingfor a source to provide a precision high qual-ity part. They chose Hydro Tube. Upon first review it appeared that both left andright hand bending would be required in orderto avoid collision with the die. The plan was toperform a first pass of the all the pieces throughthe machine making only right hand bends then

the tube bundle was cut first, and then the tubeswere hand deburred one by one. Now, one tubeat a time is cut, but deburring is no longer nec-essary. Moreover, many components that oncerequired the passage through several differentoperations can now be cut on just one machine.Overall, it is a great advantage; in many casesmanual labour has been reduced by about 70%and part accuracy and consistency have im-proved. By working with a CNC machine suchas the laser tube, the problem of length varia-tion no longer exists.

Flexibility is a critical factorHydro Tube’s approach to the market is to man-ufacture the complex items that our com-petitors are unable to do. This operatingmethod requires a trained and competent de-sign staff, a solid knowledge of productionprocesses, but also technologically advancedmachinery. “For this reason, I was afraid of los-ing market share if we continued to work withthe old tube bending machines” says Mr. Cook.“When choosing the right product to replaceour obsolete tube bending machines, the op-tions were hydraulic, semi-hydraulic or fullyelectric machines; however, my attention wasfocused on the speed of job changeover whichI consider to be a key aspect especially as re-gards our production process. Our typical lotsizes range from five parts to several hundreditems. It is therefore understandable why themachine set-up time is so important." Mr.

make a second pass for the left bends (afterchanging the bending direction of the ELECT80)but that would not have been efficient.

In the end the best solutionturned out to be a cleverchange to the bender toolingthat allows the part to bendback on itself.

There are always several possible solutions, butonly one is the most suitable to allow the processto be optimized while ensuring efficiency. Asshown in the picture, this made it possible tocarry out both bends with a simple and efficientproduction process.Hydro Tube’s latest equipment upgrade was therecent addition of an ADIGETS72 cold saw. Thequick set up and short job to job changeover ofthe cold saw lets Hydro Tube quickly and ac-curately cut the raw tubes for both short run andhigh volume jobs. At Hydro Tube they see the key to their next 40years being the ability to offer their customersinnovative approaches to solving difficult tubefabrication challenges. To do that you need flex-ible, productive equipment coupled with theknow-how and innovative thinking of their ex-perienced staff. At the BLM Group, we share thisphilosophy with Hydro Tube and we cannot helpbut appreciate it.

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

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WE ARE TUBE

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OPEN HOUSE


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Simplicity is a concept linked to innovation.New functions and services should be pro-vided to the user in a simple way, although alltoo often, given their nature, they are complex.The ease of use of a product and access to aservice are therefore priority aspects to helpthe user recognise and appreciate the bene-fits deriving from the innovation.

The concepts of innovation and simplicity areeasily recognisable in many of the elementsthat make up the ‘menu’ of this thirteenth edi-tion of IN TUBE XIII, BLM GROUPs Open House:• The certainty of a tube that is correctly bent

from the first piece, regardless of the oper-ator’s experience;

• Automatic optimization of the cutting andbending parameters upstream to guaran-tee the final result in integrated systems;

To create a competitive advantage onthe global market, a good business strat-egy for companies is to differentiate

their products. The BLM GROUP identifies, inits range of products and services, two majorelements of differentiation: innovation andsimplicity. Through innovation companies notonly cope with change but also create it. If thechange is then also as well, all that needs to bedone is to implement it.

For the BLM GROUP, the concept of innovationmeans creating value for the customer, fromhis viewpoint. To produce new ideas and newproducts is not a value in itself, but becomesso when these new ideas and products givethe final customer a benefit in the form of in-creased efficiency in his production process

• The laser processing of any type of tubegeometry

• The availability of laser equipment dedicat-ed to the individual cutting needs: fibre laseror CO2 sources, focusing heads with two,three or five-axis movement;

• A really efficient and effective automaticloading and unloading solution, even forheavy tubes in laser systems

• Adjustment/maintenance operations guid-ed by films on board the machine

IN TUBE XIII will be held at Levico Terme from6 to 20 June 2013. Visitors will have the op-portunity to meet top experts in tube pro-cessing and to discuss directly with them theconcepts of innovation and simplicity men-tioned above in a quiet environment.

IN TUBE XIIIOpen House

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

bending

adige-sysreception intube

green technology center

lasertube

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Innovation and simplicity find practical application in the concept of integrated manage-ment of tube processing in which the BLM GROUP is a leader. Although laser cutting, bendingand shaping differ from one another, they contribute to the transformation of a raw pipe intoa finished product.

To integrate these processes undoubtedly means automating the transition from one processto another, but not only, it also means making the entire production process consistent, reliable,and easy. A fundamental step in this direction was the creation of an integrated program-ming platform whose goal was to obtain a completed final piece and do away with the indi-vidual cutting or bending processes. The work programs generated for individual systems al-ready take into consideration the combined effects of laser cutting and bending and automaticallycompensate them to ensure compliance with the geometric characteristics of the final piece.Over 50 years of experience in tube processing are the preconditions to achieve ambitiousresults of this kind.

Pipe bending after lasercutting is not a task that requiresmuch imagination, but ensuring thatthe final product has the geometriccharacteristics required right from the initial designstage requires a very deep know-how in both technologies.

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Very complex processing centresoften with shaping and bendingmachines integrated in a fullyautomated process wereimplemented by BLM for leadingcompanies in different fields theworld over.

The LT905 is a system designedspecifically by the BLM GROUP

for three-dimensional laserprocesses on an already curvedtube. There are many examples

of this if we think about the needto have non-deformed holes on

the curved sections of a tube.Laser-cutting after the bendingprocess fully satisfies this need.

WE ARE TUBE


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EatabilityGreyforest

Hope

LinearaPerplesso

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Rukukui

The Director and founder of the BLMGROUP, Mr. Pietro Colombo, has alwayspaid attention to the growth and devel-

opment of human resources by pursuing a fruit-ful cooperation between school and enterprise.The company will seek its future staff and col-laborators among the students, and thereforean interaction between school and BLM is de-sirable and will be of help to both.

These beliefs have led the BLM GROUP to pro-mote a number of initiatives to collaborate withdifferent schools, grouped under the title of "BLMGROUP academics." Various themes have beendealt with such as design, ecological sustain-ability of the production, the social sustainabil-ity of the production model and the results ob-tained have filled us with satisfaction, therebyconfirming and strengthening our beliefs.

In our industry, design is a theme that not onlyapplies to the products that can be producedwith our systems, but also to the actual sys-tems themselves, meaning the attention toevery detail and to a more comfortable andergonomic approach to our systems. We arenot talking about design from a purely aes-thetic viewpoint, but rather design aimed atoptimizing the product from all points of view,including the cost aspect.

The Domus Academy, a prestigious post-grad-uation school of design in Milan, and ENAIP, aprofessional training school in Trento, have fo-cused on this issue. Both institutes have beengiven task of freeing the imagination to create

useful objects with the following constraints:To use interlocking solutions that do not requirewelds, to minimize the number of components,to combine laser and bending processes in thesame object.

Social sustainability of the production system isa very current topic as it refers to the need to bal-ance supply and demand in a globalized mar-ket and based on consumption, such as the cur-rent one. The ‘Politecnico di Milano’ (PolytechnicInstitute of Milan) has drafted a very interestingreport on this issue, reflecting on the idea ofdefining a time when a product needs to be re-placed in a standardized manner. In practice, itis the definition of a life cycle that is set and de-termined for all the goods produced.

As regards the issue of eco-sustainability of theproducts, the IED (European Design Institute)has been working on a motocargo project totransport people or goods, exploiting hybrid orelectric energy. A curved and laser-cut tube isthe central element on which the studentsworked to create a transport system that can re-spond to the different and changing needs ofthe future user. The result is a modular productthat can be easily configured to meet the diverserequirements of everyday life.

It was a pleasure to have accompanied the stu-dents along this path of industrial knowledge.It was a pleasure to have seen their work and tohave understood the logic that inspired them.It will be a pleasure to welcome them in theworking world in the future.

BLM GROUPAcademics

WE ARE TUBE

"BEAUTY OFTECHNOLOGY"

"YOU ARE"

"DESIGN YOUR FUTURESHARING LIFE-MOTOCARGO"

"HOW TO CREATECONTINUITY IN A PERMANENT JOB"

Schools: Projects: Schools: Projects:


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Continuous education: personalized on-line(E-learning and E_training) and in-house train-ing programs allowing operators to be in-structed as required and put in the ideal con-ditions to use the plants or systems.

Maintenance and control: advanced soft-ware tools facilitate the customer’s mainte-nance management and allows the produc-tion facilities to be monitored through mobiledevices.

Web & remote teleservice: BLM GROUP’stechnical assistance can be accessed throughthe Internet by establishing an efficient audio-video connection with guaranteed bandwidth.The connection is achieved on both fixed lo-cations (web conference) or mobile devices(WRT - World Remote Tele-assistance).

Quick service: assistance centres associatedwith sales offices located in many countriescoordinate the activities of a network of lo-cal technicians to cover service and assistancerequirements wherever there are BLM GROUPsystems installed.

Documentation: Documentation is availablethrough the systems’ user-friendly interactivegraphic interface to navigate between the var-ious system components and to quickly andsafely locate the areas that require work andany necessary spare parts.

Updates: On-line update packages for toolsand software applications. An Internet portalcan be accessed by all customers to downloadpackages and to find examples and useful so-lutions so as to constantly improve the expe-rience of using the solutions given.

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18


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STL is a third generation family business dedicated to the medium-heavy

structural steelwork that has recently decided to make a major leap

in avant-garde technology by purchasing an LT JUMBO system by ADIGE-Sys, the

smallest company of the BLM GROUP.

It doesn’t matter what youdo, it’s how you do it


The first coloured school desk From the beginning, Metadil’s corporate mis-sion has been to create quality products andcontinually improve them. It is not somethingthat is taken for granted, especially when itcomes to school furniture where most of thecompanies aim for large production volumes atlow prices. Metadil, on the other hand, was thefirst company in Brazil to produce coloured fur-niture for children with different designs. "Theschool-desk is a tool that is used to develop thefuture generations," says Mr. Rodrigo with pas-sion. "Therefore, its dignity and importance tran-scends that of the product itself. For this reason,we work hard for private and public schools thatwant quality. We are not interested in produc-ing large quantities and low prices; where an ad-ditional weld can be seen as too much."

The three processesinvolved in the productThe company is still a family business: workingwith Massimo is his wife, his three children andhis sister. Production takes place in a 7,000 squaremetre building where we are right now, and twoother buildings nearby that are used as ware-houses. The market is straining and productionis currently suffering; more space for new ma-chinery would be useful, but the expansion ofthis facility isn’t possible and a new buildingshould be considered, but with all the problemsthat come with it.

In Guarulhos, near San Paulo, not far from theBLM do Brazil office, is a Brazilian companythat has 100% Italian origins. Mr. Massimo

Rodrigo, who is a very pleasant person to talk to,was in fact born in Italy and emigrated to Brazilwith his entire family in 1954.

The father of Massimo was an expert in thefurniture field and, in fact, his idea was to opena factory for the production of office furniture:shelving, tables, workbenches, etc. The projectwas implemented in 1974: "My father hadmade a model of a chair that he designed towhich he added an armrest and he promotedit in schools," says Mr. Rodrigo. "The advantagewas that the chair could be produced withoutthe use of expensive machines, which at thetime could not be afforded."

In this way, almost by accident, began whatwas to become the core activity of Metadil, acompany with over 100 employees that pro-duces mainly chairs and furniture for childrenand whose turnover in 2013 is forecast to reachapproximately 40 million Reais and that isgrowing at a rate of about 20% per year. It isonly natural to smile when you think of the dif-ficulties in the early days with the productionof chairs and compare them with the currentproduction environment, which is equippedwith new and technologically advanced ma-chines in all departments.

"The product is fully manufac-tured within the company.We have the technology andknow-how to manage all threeprocesses involved in the mak-ing of our products: working ofwood, steel and plastic."

"Since '74 to now we have overcome the diffi-cult times by continuously investing in the com-pany, but without biting off more than we couldchew. The important thing is knowing how todo the maths, not spending unnecessarily andmaking the right investments. The machineswith the highest technology were bought aboutten years ago; in fact, before that the companywas too small to afford certain investments, thenthe market grew and we could buy powerfulmachines starting with those for woodworking,then the tube bending and finally the laser ones.

They have the real controlon the production processThe acquaintance with BLM came about in akind of 'stormy’ way, but then we finalised thepurchase of a tube bending system, the E-TURN52 and since then we have built up aworking relationship that is still on-going. Af-ter having purchased the first E-turn, we boughta second one and then also a LT722D lasertube

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Pieces are cut and perforatedwith the LT722D laser systemand then bent on the E-TURN52bender equipped with a holedetection system to allow thetube to be put in the correct di-rection before bending.

Automation is important as it reduces themanpower required, but more so because itallows a real control over the manufacturingprocess that guarantees the precision neces-sary for the automation of the next process-

system. "The LT722D lasertube system was a ma-jor investment, so basically today we cannotwork without it. I should buy another one al-ready, but I haven’t got enough space, "says adisconsolate Massimo.Several new products have been created byMetadil, fully exploiting the fact that the lasermakes it extremely easy, quick and cheap to cre-ate prototypes. The laser system allows multipleattempts to be made to achieve the best solu-tion for the product to be manufactured with-out the need to invest in expensive moulds.Almost all the tubes used by Metadil are per-forated and bent and the BLM GROUP productsallow full automation.

ing step; robotised welding. "Process controlalso ensures that the product is always thesame and this is very important for those who,like us, need to certify their products," explainsMr. Rodrigo. "Our cradles, which have a metalstructure are already certified and now we areapplying for other certifications on chairs andtables.This also shows how Metadil has built its suc-cess on reliability, service and quality. "It doesn’tmatter what you do, it’s how you do it," concludesMr. Rodrigo, who adds:"We are Italian and cannot afford to make a badimpression, even to keep up the reputation ofour country."

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eration that can work shapes in carbon steel,aluminium and stainless steel. Moreover, it alsohas punching, bending robots and weldingmachines. The Tube Division consists of eightlaser cutting systems, which use cutting-edgetechnologies that can process any type of tubeor profile with a maximum diameter of 508mm and maximum lengths up to 14 m.

Everything revolves around thecustomer and his needsThis is the business card of Mr. Luigi Ghirardi,founder of the company, which is now led by

Gruppo Manni HP SpA carries out in-dustrial activities in the steel-workingdivision and in the business of pre-

fabricated steel elements, components andstructural systems for plants and constructionsin various divisions.

The key element in the Group's organization-al structure is CMM located in Medole in theprovince of Mantova, one of the leading Eu-ropean companies in laser processing of steelsheets and tubes. The steel sheet division hasthree laser cutting machines of the latest gen-

him together with his sons Marco and Maur-izio. Let’s meet them to describe their activi-ties and to talk about a very interesting proj-ect that has recently involved them.

"When I started the business in 1972 - explainsLuigi – we worked sheet metal producing thegalvanized components for wooden doors andwindows and since then the essential featureof our work has been the ability to propose in-novative solutions to meet the customer’severy demand and this is a feature that has re-mained unchanged since then."

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

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CMM, Italy has been working in the structural steel field for over 41years. In fact, it has been following the evolutionary history of theADIGE and ADIGE-SYS products with the purchase of variouslasertube systems over the years up to the most recent LT8. Theowners, Messrs. Ghirardi, who are father and sons, believe that it isimportant for a contractor to have the right machine for eachprocess.

Each process has t


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needs, ensuring the company,collaborators and customers aprofitable growth. To partnerwith suppliers in order to buildsolid and stable working rela-tions, focusing on developmentand knowledge sharing.

"The turning point in the CMM activity took placein '89 when the first NC punching systems wereinstalled" continues Mr. Ghirardi. "I had broken

Therefore, CMM’s productionphilosophy focuses on the cus-tomer and his needs, which isan ideology that fully reflectsthe mission of Gruppo ManniHP to which it belongs, creatingvalue: That is, to be the Cus-tomers' preferred partner interms of quality and the abilityto interpret and foresee their

my arm and I could not work with the hammer,so I had to start working with the computer. Dur-ing a downturn in the construction industry, webegan to work for CIFA producing units for con-crete mixers, and in 1995 it was time to intro-duce laser cutting in the company. We startedwith a system for cutting sheet metal, which in-cluded a tube processing module and since thencame our interest in this fundamental struc-tural element. That’s when we had a meetingwith ADIGE for the purchase of the first laser tubesystem, a TT651 system for cutting round, squareand rectangular tube. "

the right machine


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and consequently in the time required.Continuing with the principle of the right ma-chine for each job, thanks to the merger withGruppo Manni of Verona, CMM has found thecourage to make a quality leap with the pur-chase of the LT JUMBO system to cut pipes upto 508 mm in diameter with a 16 mm thickness.The goal was to enter the construction, port, air-port, bridge and railways market. In reality, themachine arrived just at the outbreak of the cri-sis and the application of lasers in these fieldshas not yet developed as it could be. "Never-

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

It was an immediate success and soon after thefirst machine, followed a second one and thena third, and so on. Today, CMM has about 75 per-manent employees in two facilities of about6,500 square metres each, one for sheet metalworking and the other dedicated to manufac-turing tubes, as mentioned before.

The 12 m dischargean important advantageCMM has actually followed step by step the evo-lutionary history of the ADIGE products first fol-lowed by the ADIGE-SYS products. "For a con-tractor is important to have the right machinefor each job." This is how Mr. Ghirardi explainsthe philosophy that led him to create a tube pro-cessing division that probably has no equal inItaly. Mr. Ghirardi has purchased the TT652, LT702, LT712, LT Combo, up to the most recent LT8system from ADIGE and ADIGE-SYS. Luigi ap-preciates the latter, in particular, whose maincharacteristics offer many opportunities due tothe dual discharge system and the possibility ofprocessing bars up to 12 m. The latter feature, inparticular, has brought about considerable sav-ings. "In the case of 2,200 mm workpieces, wecan start from 12 m bars (obtaining 5 pieces perrod) instead of 6 m bars (obtaining 2 pieces perrod). Obviously in the first case the material quan-tity is lower. This is an important advantage inmany cases. Furthermore, the machine is alsocompetitive on shorter lengths because it hasan 8.5 m automatic loading system (loading theentire bundle) on the opposite side, thus in-volving a considerable reduction in handling

theless, we have invested heavily in the LT JUM-BO product and particularly in training of ourtechnicians so that they can cut beams; this iswhat makes the difference. But in the end wehave been able to obtain products where oth-ers stop. Nowadays, CMM is able to meet vir-tually any requirement in the field of tube cut-ting. The secret lies not only in the machines, butalso in the technical department that providesthe essential design support to the customer"and this allows CMM to have many customersin the most diverse sectors.


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and an intermediate level which will containa shopping centre.The project is now three-quarters complete andrequires the use of approximately 700 tons oftube for a structure that externally is 17 m high,50 m wide and 254 m long. The architect drewup a rough draft without necessarily assumingthe use of the laser. Only later did Carannante,the company responsible for implementing theexecutive project, avail itself of the collaborationand laser-cutting expertise of CMM for the im-plementation of the nodes.

"About 80% of the structurehas been produced with the LTJUMBO system - says Luigi - anduse of the laser has allowed usto develop unique joints thathave made it much easier andmore accurate to assemble inplace."

The tubes that run to each node were cut inCMM and sent on site in an appropriatelymarked bundle in order to easily proceed withthe of assembly and welding phases. Thenodes were assembled and welded on theground, as far as possible, and then when putin place the connections to the structure, welds,followed by sand-blasting, galvanizing, sand-ing and painting on site were completed. Thefact that when the structure was finished anentire bay of 50 m in length deviated by justone cm. is significant.

It is certainly not the only example of large struc-tures in which CMM has cooperated; the lighttowers commissioned for the USA can also bementioned, which consisted of 15,000 pieces oftube measuring 12.5 m each, or the off-shoretowers commissioned for Russia, where 300 mmlong, 20 mm thick beams form 60 m high tow-ers.... But let's leave something to talk about fornext time and we wish this important Italiancompany all the best in its work.

50 m in length and only a one cm errorThe interesting project that we mentioned atthe beginning, in which CMM has played animportant role that is certainly worthy of men-tion, relates to the subway station of PiazzaGaribaldi in Naples. The design by the Frencharchitect Dominique Perrault provides a tubestructure over three levels. Only the third lev-el will be visible from the square and it will onlypartially cover the square, while the two low-er levels will include the metro station itself



With steel wire, ABL Traddetaljer produces some of its own products, even if thecore business is related to contract work for third parties in all areas ofapplication. "With the BLM DH2010 VGP BLM wire bending machine ABL is ableto adjust quickly to production changes managing to be efficient in theproduction of both large and small batches.

duction changes and yet still maintain efficien-cy whether we are producing large or smallbatches" explains Mr. Karthu, who continues: "Ithink our customers appreciate the flexibility;from when we receive the order up to deliv-ery, we provide a full service that includes a highlevel of competence throughout the processfrom the coil to the production of the finishedpiece."

Piece flatness is guaranteedQuality of the pieces is a key element of theABL business, which can thus work with ma-jor customers such as: BabyBiörn (articles forchildren), Husqvarna (lawn and garden equip-ment), Combi Safe (fences) and Klippo, that be-fore being taken over by Husqvarna "was the

In the current world economic situation it isheartening to see a European company thathas not noticed the crisis, thanks to a far-

sighted diversification policy and targeted in-vestments in technology.We speak with Mr. Juha Karthu owner of ABLTraddetaljer, a company based in Anderstop,Sweden, founded in 1986 by three memberswhose initials make up the acronym of the com-pany’s name (Anders, Bengt and Lennart). Sincethe beginning, the idea was to produce specialwire for third parties.In 2007, Mr. Karthu joined the company by ac-quiring 66% of the capital to become owner to-gether with Anders, the only remaining partnerof the three founders. "I didn’t want to changethe name because it was well under way, andbecause you're always on top no matter whatalphabetical order," says Juha Karthu with a smile.The company now has a head count of nine em-ployees and can rely on a turnover of about 25million Swedish crowns.

Flexibility and full serviceAs regards wire bending, ABL has extensive ex-perience and before buying the BLM DH2010VGP system last year, has worked with differentwire bending models. "I think this machine hasbrought us to a different level in wire bendingbecause it can produce parts that could not beachieved with traditional single-head wire bend-ing machines," says Mr Karthu immediately.ABL produces some of its own products withthe steel wire, such as CD wall racks, but the corebusiness is manufacturing for third parties, there-fore, covering all areas of application with dif-ferent needs and different issues. "With theDH2010 VGP we are able to adapt quickly to pro-

Rolls Royce of mowers." For ABL, quality isachieved through the choice of innovative andtechnologically avant-garde machines that of-fer tangible benefits. "The great advantage ofthe DH2010 is that it is equipped with twoheads," says Mr. Karthu. "Take, for example aframe which, if it is made on a machine with asingle head requires a first bend and alreadyfrom the second one a quantity of wire is can-tilevered and increases at every bend, whichdisturbs the process. When you get to the end,the result may not be accurate as it is on theDH with two heads working at the same timein a few steps with little cantilever material andthe product is made." The flatness of the fin-ished workpiece is guaranteed.

Of course the two heads also in-volve a high working speed andgreater process efficiency. "Weproduce many frames of differ-ent types and this solution en-sures a saving in the productioncycle. Currently we have an on-going bid for Husqvarna to pro-duce about one hundred andtwenty thousand support struc-tures for mower collecting bagsand thanks to the high speed ofthe BLM machine, we were ableto make an offer that I believe willallow us to win the bid, "says Mr.Karthu optimistically.

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Imagination is the only limit


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had with other programming software, that ofthe DH2010 VGP at first seemed to be a littlecomplicated because of the many features of-fered, but after becoming aware of the variousopportunities available, it has become a pow-erful and easy to use tool. To be borne in mind,however, that some elements that are feasibleon the DH 2010 are not easy to make."The market has changed a lot. When we start-ed, delivery times were around four weeks, andnow this has been halved. Flexibility also meansthis, organisational skills, but also having suffi-ciently flexible tools to meet the growing needsof the market from every point of view", says Mr.Karthu again. "Today, with the production sys-tems available in the wire and tube bending field,

Job changing in only 20 minutesOne of the first wire bending machines pur-chased was a Montorfano, which in fact is thepredecessor of the BLM DH 2010 VGP systemand it is therefore natural to make a compari-son. "We were very comfortable with the Mon-torfano machine, but obviously it was from an-other era. The all-electric technology of the DH2010 is already a major technological leap. First,we needed a couple of hours to change fromone product to another and constant manningby an operator. Now with the all-electric ma-chine, production changes can be performed in20 minutes and the machine produces ".The programming software is also a crucial point.With the experience that the company already

the only limit to implementing details is the de-signer's imagination."A careful choice in the machinery and differ-entiation are therefore the key elements thathave helped ABL to grow even during the glob-al downturn, maintaining, among other things,the same number of employees. "Having manycustomers in different fields that give an im-portant part of the turnover helps us to sailthrough the troubled waters of this market," saysMr. Karthu and then continues: "For this reason,the next step will be a machine that can bendup to 14 mm wires, which will allow us to expandthe market. There are many interesting elementsin the furnishing field, such as chairs, for exam-ple, that use 10 to 12 mm dia. wires."


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In May 2012, Kao Chang Precision Indus-try Co., Ltd. installed the first LT8 LASERTUBEin Taiwan at the plant in Kaohsiung. It is no

coincidence that Mr. Lu Chin Tsai, President ofKao Chang was the first to make this invest-ment on the island. In fact, in addition to be-ing one of the largest subcontractors in thearea he has also had a strong inclination to in-vest in innovative technology ever since hestarted his business in 1990.

The activity started with 20 employees as a sheetmetal subcontractor and a 0.7 kW CO2 laser.Thinking about these power values almostmakes you smile nowadays but at the time itwas the first machine in South Taiwan and therewere only three installed throughout the coun-try. After 23 years Kao Chang has become agroup of three companies with a total headcount of 200 employees.The turning point was 10 years ago when they

The first lasertubein Taiwan

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

Kao Chang Precision Industry Co., Ltd. installed the first LT8lasertube in Taiwan. Thanks to the experience gained during theyear that the LT8 was installed, Lu Chin Tsai, President of KaoChang, was able to fulfil both simple orders for furnishings ormetal structures and decisively complex processes.


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"Had we not had the machine beforehand, cus-tomers would not have given us orders." Therewas no other way. Mr. Lu is aware though ofhow important it is now to create a widespreadrecognition and acceptance of this technol-ogy in terms of both supply and demand sothat it becomes as popular as laser cutting ofsheet metal.So in March 2013 he organized an open houseat the new facility in Kaohsiung where more than200 people came, including customers and sup-pliers. The LT8 system, as well as other avant-garde sheet metal processing lines, was the mainattraction, being a new and unusual technolo-gy for the island.

It is easy to develop new productsDuring the year in which the LT8 was installed,the experience gained made it possible to fulfilboth simple orders for furnishings of metal struc-tures and much more complex processes suchas heat exchanger batteries for solar panels witha unique design. These are structures that com-bine both tubular and sheet metal processing,which are then assembled and welded.The ease of working with the typical repeata-bility and precision levels of the LT8 allow themachining processes to be performed without

began to produce for exporting: Konzern LaserPrecision Co. Ltd. with 70 employees specialisedin manufacturing slot machines and similar prod-ucts for casinos; Gold Chains Sheet Metal TechCo. Ltd. with 100 employees working as a sheetmetal subcontractor, and Kao Chang PrecisionIndustry with 30 employees dealing with theproduction of tubes, as well as sheet metal, whichis developing a new product line of its own.

A lasertube pioneerThe approach to purchase the LT8 lasertube sys-tem actually took place many years ago whenMr. Lu visited both BLM and ADIGE in Italy to un-derstand which direction the European marketwas taking and what would be the result of theAsian and Taiwan market. This was a remarkableforesight. Investing in the lasertube process wasnot a random move but followed a clear long-term strategy.

In fact, Mr. Lu was acknowledgedas being the lasertube pioneer inTaiwan as he understood well be-fore the others that to create de-mand required investment first.

any problem and simplifying the assembly andwelding work that follows.The use of the single-bar loader has proved veryuseful, as it allows a large number of orders forsmall batches, which are very popular for someapplications, to be carried out. Another strongpoint is the ease of developing new products,which thanks to the ARTUBE programming soft-ware allows production to be started quickly,minimizing waste and errors.

With this type of technology and productionequipment Mr. Lu believes he can take the nextstep towards the company's development:alongside subcontract work, he intends to cre-ate products directly at Kao Chang. In this way,he would have total control over all phases ofthe product from the design to productionand sales.President Mr. Lu Chin Tsai’s strategy for the fu-ture is very clear: investing in second-genera-tion systems and high-tech manufacturingprocesses for the development of both tube andsheet metal.

From left to right: Lu Wen Hiao, AdministrativeManager, Lu Chin Tsai, President and Lu Jin Jung,General Manager.


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FHL Bjoern, Hungary, is a very interesting producer whose vast knowledge in tube bending and forming

techniques has certainly played an important role in the company’s success. Given the context, the relationship

with the BLM Group is almost that of a total partnership.

Taking the risk in wh

JUNE 2013 NUMBER 18

the automotive industry. In short, it was there-fore necessary to buy a second machine andthis time after a careful evaluation, the hy-draulic operating BLM 842 was chosen and in-stalled in 2000.The company decided to buy BLM because ofthe flexibility of the company from Cantù withwhich a relationship of mutual trust was estab-lished that produced a profitable cooperationthat still continues today. In fact, since then, al-most every year FHL bought a BLM machine:tube bending machines (NC842VGP, DYNAM0,SMART E-TURN) and end-forming machines(TUBE-FORM and AST), and also measuring sys-tems (TubeInspector) to measure and certify theshapes. The latest machines that have recentlybeen purchased are two benders; an E-TURNand a Smart, both fully electric.

FHL started its business in 1995 produc-ing towel radiators and after rapidly ac-quiring a significant share of the do-

mestic market in the field, seized theopportunity to move to a much larger and in-teresting market. Mr. Jozsef Geszeler, ownerof the Company, explains that initially the ra-diators, which were mostly exported, weremade up almost exclusively of straight tubes.Then the evolution of the market towards amore aesthetically refined product led to theuse of curved tubes, and this was a turningpoint for FHL.With the purchase of the first tube bendingsystem, a Slovak semi-automatic machine,neighbouring companies started asking forparts. Among these companies was Benteler,who required significant quantities of parts for

The courage to investToday FHL works with companies such as VW,Audi and Suzuki and the automotive industryhas become by far the company's core business.The total sale of towel radiators amounts to160,000 pieces and FHL make 30,000. Their mar-ket share has not decreased over time, but it isthe automotive industry in which, year after year,they have doubled the market share, acquir-ing greater importance.Initially, the turnover was divided equally betweenthe automotive and radiator sectors, with anamount of € 300,000 each; now the turnover re-lating to the production of radiators is 600,000 €but over a total turnover that exceeded € 28m in2012. The impressive growth is confirmed by afew numbers: starting with 11 employees, thehead count today is 350; from 400 square me-


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"Working with hydraulic ma-chines is no longer possiblebecause of the requirement foraccuracy. Demand has changed com-pared to a few years back", saysGeszler. "With hydraulic ma-chines, the external tempera-ture and the oil temperatureaffect the accuracy and re-peatability in an inconsistentway with the required toler-ances of today."

Considering the large number of systems pur-chased from BLM and, therefore, their knowl-edge of the BLM products, it is natural to askMr.Geszler which machine has most affectedor satisfied them. The answer is dry, "it has al-ways been the latest one we bought.

tres at the beginning, the facilities have ex-panded to 8,000 square metres and will soonbecome 10,000; and the turnover has increasedfrom € 14m in 2011 to over € 28m in 2012. In 2008, in full recession, there was a 40% declinein work. "Incomes have decreased, but expens-es have remained the same - explains Mr. Ges-zler - But right in that period we invested heav-ily and we were able to acquire new customersthat have kept us afloat. We purchased machinesfrom BLM and the relationship of trust that hadbeen established was important in terms of pay-ment, which allowed us to invest without hav-ing to turn to banks.

The best machine is always the latest"Even in the technical field, BLM has accompa-nied us with continuous development", recallsMr. Geszler. "On the first machines, tool chang-ing took about an hour and a half, whereas nowwith the quick changing systems it can be donein about 10 minutes. Moreover, the all-electrictechnology was also an important step and isnow indispensable.

If BLM comes up with some-thing new, it is likely that soonwe will buy it." The philosophyis to remain at the forefront."Who comes to visit us must finda technologically advanced en-vironment," explains Mr. Geszler.

It's not just a matter of prestige, "to produce theradiators, we bought a welding robot that costsas much as a year’s turnover, and soon after thatwe saw at the trade fair a furnace that was farmore efficient than robots. With a lease webought the furnace and the robots worked fortwo weeks only. Then we found another job forthem too; but had we not done so, we wouldhave missed some interesting opportunities.When an opportunity arises it should always beseized without fear; had we been content withwhat we had, we would have been wrong. En-trepreneurship is also a matter of taking risks inwhat you believe in."

what one believes in


inspiredfortube.com

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