THE MAGAZINE FOR CUTTING AND BENDING 2/05 ELECTROSHIELD, RUSSIA: For Vladimir Chiriaev, Technological Modernization Is Key RUSSIAN JOURNEY: Electroshield’s Free-Market Success SEVEN QUESTIONS: Answered by One of Australia’s Top Laser Cutting Companies KASPER KOVO: Czech Sheet Metal Processor with Soaring Growth Rate SPOTLIGHT ON AFM: Bystronic’s Chinese Subsidiary BYJET PIONEERS: Canada’s Johnson Enterprises Install North America’s First Byjet with Shuttle Table Technology
Transcript
THE MAGAZINE FOR CUTTING AND BENDING 2/05
ELEC TROSHIELD, RUSS IA : For Vladimir Chiriaev, Technological Modernization Is Key
RUSS IAN JOURNEY: Electroshield’s Free-Market Success SEVEN QUESTIONS : Answered by One of Australia’s Top Laser Cutting Companies K ASPER KOVO : Czech Sheet Metal Processor withSoaring Growth Rate SPOTLIGHT ON AFM : Bystronic’s Chinese Subsidiary BYJET P IONEER S :
Canada’s Johnson Enterprises Install North America’s First Byjet with Shuttle Table Technology
6 | Electroshield, RussiaNo winter fairy tale but rather the result of consistentproduct development and technological modernization.For Russia’s most prominent manufacturer of electro-technical machines, the path to free-market economy ledto long-term growth.
14 | PCT, Australia: Kym Vu, co-owner of PCT,operates seven laser cut-ting systems. JournalistGarry Barker had sevenquestions at the readywhen he met Kym Vu. Is it magic that assistedthis Australian cutting cen-ter to achieve its tremen-dous business success?
20 | Kasper Kovo, Czech Republic: The spirit of optimism reigns in the newEastern European EU states. At the foot of the Sudeten Mountains, Rudolf
Kasper and his son Jakub prefer to produce special parts. In addition to know-how, this also demands high-performance machine systems.
30 | Johnson Enterprises, Canada: Its corebusiness is the manufacture of debarking tools.Today, its status is that of a pioneer: Johnsonowns the first waterjet cutting system with shuttle table in North America.
26 | Spotlight, AFM: Insight into the activities of the Chinese Bystronicsubsidiary AFM, which merges European technology with Chinese
ef ficiency in Tianjin.
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AT A GLANCE
4 SHORT FACTSA selection of events drawn from the international Bystronic world.
JOHANN IFANGERHead of Market Region Europe South/West
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Dear Readers,
The Market Region Europe South/West has always beenimportant for Bystronic, and its importance has steadily in-creased during recent years. The share of around one-quar-ter of complete sales is impressive evidence of this.
In terms of the state of the markets and the various cul-tures, it is an extremely heterogeneous vessel which in ad-dition to the countries of South and Southeast Europe alsoencompasses those of the CIS States, the Middle East, andBrazil. The dif ferences that exist represent an opportunityfor Bystronic, but one that can only be taken advantage ofwhen one understands the special situation of the (poten-tial) customers and their language. Hence Bystronic has ex-tended the customer proximity in the countries of this mar-ket region through setting up local sales and serviceorganizations, and we will continue to proceed in thisdirection. With this structure, Bystronic fulfils a centraldemand placed on long-term customer relationships: thesupport and service af ter the sale of a system.
Overall, the demand situation within the Market RegionEurope South/West continues to grow, with dif ferent em-phases in the individual countries. In spite of the dif ficulteconomic situation, a trend can be observed in Italy andFrance towards high-performance laser cutting systemssuch as the Byspeed with laser power of 4.4 or 5.2 kilowatt,of ten coupled with automation solutions. Also in Spain andBrazil, in parallel to a high demand for pressbrakes there isan increased demand for such high-performance systems.And we are in a position to of fer the correct solution foreach specific customer situation. Above all due to the factthat no other supplier of laser and waterjet cutting ma-chines and pressbrakes has launched so many product in-novations as Bystronic over the past two years.
I am delighted that our work in the CIS States is illustratedin this issue by a report about our Russian customer Elec-troshield (see page 6), a state-of-the-art manufacturer ofelectrotechnical equipment, and wish you fascinating andstimulating reading.
CHANGE AT BYSTRONIC IBÉRICA
THE INTEGRATION of the sales and service company Pullmax Ltd in Leeds (UK), which wasacquired around half a year ago, is well advanced. Laser cutting systems and pressbrakes fordemonstration and training purposes have been permanently installed at the two Bystroniclocations in Great Britain (Pullmax Ltd in Leeds and Edwards Pearson Ltd in Chard/Somer-set). Sales and service for laser cutting and waterjet cutting systems are handled by PullmaxLtd, which also has punching machines from its previous owner in its portfolio as a third-par-ty product. The same tasks for all Bystronic pressbrakes (Hämmerle, Beyeler, AFM) are car-ried out by Edwards Pearson Ltd.During an Open House event held in April 2005, (potential) Bystronic customers received in-depth information about the whole process chain of cutting/bending over a period of sever-al days at both locations. On this occasion in Leeds, the baton was handed over from KevinBrien to David Larcombe, who from May 1 of this year also took over as Managing Directorof Pullmax Ltd and who is now responsible for all Bystronic activities in the UK and Ireland.David Larcombe is confident that – with the intensive cooperation between the two salesteams – the excellent annual results of 2004 can once again be exceeded.
EVERYTHING UNDER a single roof: With the move into the newpremises in Les Ulis, Bystronic France of fers its customers extendedpossibilities to experience live the spectrum of economical solutionsfor sheet metal processing. In the enlarged demonstration center, for instance, customers can as-sure themselves of the quality of the Bystar and Byspeed laser cuttingsystems, each equipped with a Bylaser 5200 ARC 5.2-kilowatt high-performance laser, and a Beyeler PR pressbrake. In the Bysof t trainingroom, on-the-spot customer support can now be of fered in the sof t-ware area as well.The of ficial opening celebrations for the location, which lies some 30kilometers to the southeast of Paris, took place between March 17and March 19. “Even better customer care and a top class image –we’re setting an important example with the new premises,” summa-rizes Thierry Aubry, Managing Director of Bystronic France.
JOSÉ RAMON VILANA has been appointed Manag-ing Director of Bystronic Ibérica, with its head of fice inSan Sebastian de los Reyes (Madrid), as of May 1. In hisnew position, he is responsible for the sales and ser-vice of all Bystronic products in Spain and Portugal. Hisprime objectives, José Ramon Vilana explains, are the
continued strengthening of Bystronic’s position in thisgrowth market and even more intensive customercare. The 39-year-old Spaniard previously representedvarious companies in the machine industry, most re-cently the Swiss industrial group [email protected]
Johann Ifanger, Head of Market Region Europe South/West, BystronicCEO Ferdi Töngi, and Thierry Aubry, Managing Director of BystronicFrance (left to right), at the opening of the new premises in Les Ulis.
Over a hundred visitors took up the invitation to the Open House event at Pullmax Ltd in Leeds.
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The new training and demonstration center on the west coast of America offers sufficient space and a perfect infrastructure.
“OUR PROFESSIONAL participation at the international CIMTtrade fair in Beijing in April of this year has clearly underlined ourleading role in China and was a complete success,“ says FlorianStof fel, Head of the Bystronic Market Region Asia/Pacific. The invit-ing exhibition stall and the professional exhibition team were giventop marks by visitors and competitors alike.
At this year’s CIMT it was particularly noticeable that there was ahigher participation of representatives of European companies withproduction plants in China. “European know-how and technologycoupled with Chinese ef ficiency, as we demonstrated at the tradefair, were the door opener to numerous new contacts,” says Stof [email protected]
LEADER IN CHINA
SINCE THE beginning of June 2005 the lat-est version of the Bysof t CAD/CAM pro-gram package is available to Bystronic cus-tomers. It incorporates numerous furtherdevelopments both for the cutting and thebending processes. In the laser cutting sec-tor, the calculation of the cutting time hasbeen refined and the functions of the tech-nology assistant have been expanded withthe cutting or piercing technology CPP(Controlled Pulsed Piercing) and Lead-in,amongst other things. The table-basededge-rounding assistant now rounds theedges as appropriate for the thickness of thematerial and the process gas being used. Inaddition, the principle of alternated reposi-tioning for large machines of the Bystar Lrange has been integrated. Cutting plans forwaterjet cutting systems with two cuttingheads are prepared quickly, ef ficiently, andmake optimal use of the material thanks toautomatic two-head nesting.In the bending sector the Unfolder has beenlaunched, a new module that facilitates theconvenient importing and processing of 3-Ddata files (SAT, STEP, IGES) and which passeson this data, including the bending angle,the material thickness, and optionally thetools, direct to Bybendpart.
THE US-AMERICAN Bystronic subsidiary Bystronic Inc. has significantly in-creased its geographical proximity to customers from the west of the UnitedStates and Mexico. In new, modernly equipped premises in Rancho Cucamonganear Los Angeles (CA), training and demonstrations will be carried out for allthree technologies (laser cutting, waterjet cutting and bending) as well as sof t-ware training. The new training and demonstration center with floor space ofaround 1,000 square meters of fers suf ficient space and an excellent infra-structure. Af ter Chicago and Hauppauge (NY), it is the third of its type in NorthAmerica.Numerous existing customers and interested persons took part in the openingof the center in the form of an Open House event from June 8 to 10. The sym-bolic opening took place on the first day at precisely 3.50 p.m. and was carriedout by Bystronic Inc. Vice President Michael Zakrzewski. “Not only do we of ferour customers first-class machines, but also first-class service. Geographical pro-ximity is an important part of this service,” Zakrzewski said.
FOLLOWING THE SOVIET PERESTROIKA, THE FORMER STATE-OWNED COMPANIES HAD TO FACE UP
TO THE LAWS OF THE MARKET. ONE SUCH COMPANY IS ELECTROSHIELD, MANUFACTURER OF
ELECTROTECHNICAL EQUIPMENT. THANKS TO A VISIONARY MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGICAL
MODERNIZATION, THE FACTORY IS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN EVER BEFORE. A JOURNEY THROUGH
THE RUSSIAN WINTER.
Text: Martin Engel, Photos: Jeremy Nicoll
Samara is the cultural, scientific, andeconomic center of the entire Volgaregion. Bottom picture: The monumentcommemorates the construction of theSojus rocket in Samara.
A sunny morning in Samara, mounds of gleamingsnow. Situated just under a 1,000 kilometerssoutheast of Moscow, around 1.2 million inhabi-tants, more than 400 years of history: Samara isthe cultural, scientific, and economic center of thewhole Volga region. It stretches some 50 kilome-ters along this largest river in Europe, and is sur-rounded by vast steppes. Grand buildings fromthe 19th century, modern-age glassed architec-ture, exclusive hotels. The cityscape represents abroad swathe through time and documents onething: Af ter Moscow and St. Petersburg, Samara isRussia’s third-largest economic metropolis. On theoutskirts of the city: Electroshield’s main factory. Asprawling site with numerous buildings, an exten-sive conference room, a large round table, a splen-did view over the Volga. Vladimir Chiriaev, theDeputy Technical Director of this large company,of fers a warm welcome to the visitors. A dooropens and Yuri Yegorov, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors, enters the room. A smile, a handshake, afriendly word of welcome.
CHANGING TIMES
“Quality is of the utmost importance here. Ourproduction facilities are at a state-of-the-art tech-nological level and since 1999 our production isISO 9001 certified.“ Yuri Yegorov outlines the cur-rent status and the development of the company,which since Perestroika has virtually doubled itsstaf f to approximately 4,800 employees and inboth the previous two years increased productionby well over 20 percent. Yuri Yegorov is proud of
these figures – and quite rightly. In Russia, Electro-shield is the number one for transformers, trans-former stations, switchgear, control cabinets, andother electrotechnical equipment, but the compa-ny is hardly known in the West. Nevertheless: “Weare internationally oriented; our customers are pri-marily based in Russia and the other CIS states aswell as in other Asiatic countries such as India andthe Near East,” explains Yuri Yegorov. “We have noforeign sales branches, contact to customers out-side the country takes place via our headquartersor via Russian foreign trade representatives. Busi-ness is good, very good.” But Yuri Yegorov admits:“The way into the market economy was not easy.”Electroshield was founded some sixty years ago asa nationalized company; today 75 percent of thecompany is owned by two families. The RussianState still has a minority holding of 25 percent,since the energy sector belongs to the key areas ofthe economy. Up until the point where MichailGorbatschow introduced Perestroika, the onlyproduct produced to satisfy the demand in theSoviet Union was medium-voltage switchgears.The output of the factory was high and on averagelay around 1,000 such systems per month. A resultof the situation that during the time of the plannedeconomy it was not the customer who had to car-ry the cost – the state paid. Investments were notsimply delayed but rather functioning equipmentwas taken out of service and replaced by new sys-tems. With the changeover to a market economythe willingness of the customer to invest changeddramatically. Since then, every ef fort is made to
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ELECTROSHIELD RUSSIA
Bystronic systems are used to prefabricate electrotechnical goods. They produce around 6,000 different parts per month, reaching a total of 50,000 to 60,000 pieces.
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ELECTROSHIELD RUSSIA
extend the working life of such systems to themaximum. The retrofit business has become animportant source of income for Electroshield.“During the period of radical change, the companywas faced with a great challenge,” explains YuriYegorov. The prime objective at that time: The de-velopment of new products in order to be com-petitive on the market. Firstly, the capital neces-sary for this had to be released: An area of some30,000 square meters was sold to Pepsi-Cola,which built a large factory in Samara. In just twoyears, thirty new products for the low-voltage net-work were developed. A sector which previouslycould not be covered. In the meantime the portfo-lio has grown to sixty electrotechnical products.This increase was achieved also through thetakeover of two further companies in Samara.One of these is operated as a joint venture with anItalian company and manufactures transformersthat – prior to Perestroika – were obtained fromWhite Russia. However, since the breakup of theSoviet Union, the new borders hinder the freemovement of goods. It seemed more convenientto manufacture this equipment, which is usedboth for the manufacture of their own elec-trotechnical products and for direct sales, them-selves. With the second of the two new factories,the product range was extended to include prod-ucts for the building industry: roofs, façades, andcomplete, modularly prefabricated buildings.These can be used for a wide range of applicationsand, like the transformers, are partly sold directlyto end customers and partly used for the manu-facture of electrotechnical installations: Largeswitchgears are housed in these buildings whenthey are delivered to the customer. The expansionof the electrotechnical portfolio, however, led tocompletely new demands being placed on theproduction department. Vladimir Chiriaev says:“When you manufacture a thousand copies of thesame product every month, then, from a produc-tion point of view, you are operating a large seriesproduction. If, however, during the same period oftime you manufacture between ten and twentydif ferent systems in a suitably reduced number,you drastically reduce the lot size of the individualcomponents.” Especially since virtually every sys-tem is constructed to the specific requirements ofthe customer and is itself unique.
INVESTMENT
During the following years, the production wassuccessively modernized and today is based on asystem from a leading Western European machinemanufacturer. New production technologies arealso being introduced. “The large series producedearlier were well suited for manufacture using con-ventional processes such as punching, today’ssmall and very small series are not,” according toVladimir Chiriaev. Flexibility was therefore the pri-ority that had to be tackled by the individual pro-
duction departments and the motivating force tolook more closely at laser cutting. ”The advantagesof this were obvious to us.” Vladimir Chiriaev ex-plains that it was no longer necessary to purchaseexpensive tools, which with the multitude of small-er lots were used very infrequently. Once the basicdecision had been taken to make such an invest-ment, a clear specification was drawn up for thefuture systems. The most important charac-teristics: flexibility in every possible respect andextremely high availability, since production runsseven days a week right around the clock. Rightfrom the very beginning preference was given to aEuropean manufacturer, not just from a culturalpoint of view but rather because Electroshield isdependent on a reliable supply of spare parts. “Ifwe cannot have the spare parts in the factorywithin three to five days, we are faced with a seri-ous problem,” according to Vladimir Chiriaev.At that time, the mid-nineties, Bystronic was stillunknown in Russia. However, af ter being contact-ed by the Bystronic representative, the decisionwas taken to visit a shipbuilding factory in theUkraine that had recently purchased Bystronic sys-tems. “The design impressed us from the very be-ginning due to the logical and simple operation,but before every new purchase we wanted to besure that it met our requirements optimally,” ex-plains Vladimir Chiriaev. During a visit to Switzer-land and a tour of companies with an identical re-quirements profile, the last doubts were dispelled.Since 1997 when the first system was purchased,the plant has been extended further to two By-sprint and two Bystar systems. One Bystar andone Bysprint are each equipped with the Byloaderswiveling loader. Also for bending, with a total of
Top picture: In laser cutting, Electroshield uses a swivel loader for automation. Left-hand picture: full concentration at one of the four Hämmerle pressbrakes.
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A deserved break: All employees at Electroshield work very professionally. Their know-how reaches the highest levels in all areas.
four pressbrakes from the Hämmerle range, trusthas been put in Bystronic know-how; also with thetwo guillotine shears.Today, these systems are used in the prefabrica-tion of electrotechnical equipment. In total,around 6,000 various parts per month, with anoverall volume of approximately 50,000 to60,000 items, are produced on the individual lasercutting machines. The thicknesses of approximate-ly 70 percent of the metal sheets vary between 1.5and 3 millimeters and reaching a maximum of 20millimeters. From these figures it quickly becomesclear why flexibility is one of the central require-ments that has to be met by the systems. Particu-larly for the retrofit business it is of ten necessary tomanufacture single components. Vladimir Chiri-aev: “Without our Bystronic laser cutting systemsthe retrofit business would be inconceivable.” Asimilar situation exists for the development of newproducts, for which it is also regularly necessary toproduce the smallest of series. The high demandsplaced on availability have also been fulfilled bythe systems, and the supply of spare parts func-tions superbly. “Bystronic maintains a stock ofspare parts at the premises of a partner companyin Samara, over which we as the customer canbring decisive influence to bear,“ explains VladimirChiriaev. Put simply, this means that he informsthe person responsible at this company as towhich spare parts must always be in stock. If oneof these parts is used at some time, the stock levelis automatically replenished. During the past sev-en years it has therefore occurred only twice that aspare part was not available from stock. In bothcases the reactions of those responsible at By-stronic were very creative and unorthodox, so thatthe machine downtime was kept very short.
PARTNERSHIP
“We are naturally delighted that with Bystronic wehave placed our faith in the right partner,” statesYuri Yegorov. Partner-like business relationshipsare of prime importance to him, and these do notend with the provision of the system or the spareparts: regular, direct communication, timely infor-mation about important subjects, support at alllevels. And the experience gained with Bystronic?“Bystronic will remain our partner for laser cuttingand bending. In addition, we open up our produc-tion for potential Bystronic customers in order todemonstrate the systems to them.” Yuri Yegorov isconvinced that with the recently completedstrengthening of the Bystronic sales structures inRussia, the partner-like cooperation between thetwo companies will increase even further. In re-cent months at Bystronic in Russia, three new salesemployees have been employed who will see to itthat customer care is intensified even further. “Wewant to make certain in plenty of time that evenaf ter the expansion of our customer base and theforeseen growth in Russia, we can of fer every indi-
vidual Bystronic user, and especially our keycustomers such as Electroshield, first-class sup-port,” adds Iliana Reymond, who is Head ofBystronic sales in the CIS States. Yuri Yegorov isfully aware that Electroshield is a showpiece: “Noless representative than companies such as ABB orSiemens.” Every year his company organizesevents and seminars that are attended by up to350 participants: customers, suppliers, employeesof external institutes, but also competitors. Thetour of the production facilities confirms theprofessionalism at Electroshield: perfectly organ-ized, state-of-the-art systems, and highly qualifiedemployees. Following the friendly reception and care, a friend-ly goodbye. A smile, a handshake, the shutting ofcar doors. Meanwhile evening is again upon us, itis becoming colder, ourbreath freezes on the carwindows. Hotel room: Themidnight hour strikes, it ismorning. Airport, a back-ward glance. Da Svidanja,goodbye, Samara.
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ELECTROSHIELD RUSSIA
Technical Data Bystar
Bystar 3015 Bystar 4020 Bystar 4025
Maximum sheet size 3.0 x 1.5 m 4.0 x 2.0 m 4.0 x 2.5 m
Maximum positioningspeed of parallel axes 80 m/min 60 m/min 60 m/min
Maximum simultaneouspositioning speed 113 m/min 85 m/min 85 m/min
Repeatability precision +/– 0.05 mm +/– 0.05 mm +/– 0.05 mm
Maximum sheet weight 890 kg 1,580 kg 2,000 kg
Optional rotary axis
Profile intake clamping spindle 15 to 315 mm 15 to 315 mm 15 to 315 mm
Profile intake through clamping spindle 15 to 155 mm 15 to 155 mm 15 to 155 mm
Maximum profile processing length 2,700 mm 3,700 mm 3,700 mm
Position tolerance of rotary spindle +/– 0.030 +/– 0.030 +/– 0.03°
Combines vision and knowledge: Yuri Yegorov, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors.
PROFILING A SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY
WHEN JOURNALIST GARRY BARKER SET OUT WITH SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR KYM VU, THE HEAD OF
PROFILE CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES (PCT) JUST OUTSIDE MELBOURNE, HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT A
FASCINATING STORY LAY BEHIND THE COMPANY’S METEORIC RISE TO A RANKING AS ONE OF THE
TOP FIVE LASER CUTTING OPERATIONS IN AUSTRALIA.
Text: Garry Barker, Photos: Jesse Marlow
On a dark night nearly 20 years ago, a tiny, barelyseaworthy boat slipped away from the mangroveslining the coast of Vietnam and headed for Thai-land. Among the 163 people on board of thattwelve-meter vessel was a former South Viet-namese soldier with his wife and their eight chil-dren, among them 14-year-old Kym. The familyspent five years in a refugee camp in Thailand be-fore receiving permission to migrate to Australia. Shortly af ter meeting the now grown-up Kym Vuand listening to the beginnings of his story, I al-ready know it will be an interesting one: He hascome a very long way since then. Today he is co-
owner and National Manager of Profile CuttingTechnologies (PCT), one of Australia’s fastest-growing laser profile cutting companies, which heand a friend, Codrin Mittin, founded in 2001 (Co-drin has since moved on to another enterprise,and Joe de la Cruz is now Kym’s silent partner).The company’s success in only four years in afiercely competitive market has been nothingshort of astonishing. I also learn that Kym is a skilled laser operator him-self. “I began operating a 3.5-kilowatt system whileworking at a company called Kewder’s andlearned a lot of the basic techniques of laser cut-
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“We are successful because we commit to excellence.” Kym Vu, co-owner and National Manager of Profile Cutting Technologies.
ting,” he says. “Codrin, who was manager ofKewder’s laser department, became my friend.One day, we were talking about how we werepretty good at what we were doing and decided:Why not start up for ourselves? And that’s howPCT began.” At first, Kym recalls, all the two hadwas a lot of determination, a little personal money,and a bank loan guaranteed by a business col-league who also provided their initial premises.
THE RIGHT SYSTEM: A CRITICAL FACTORWHEN BUILDING A DREAM
Kym goes on to tell me that many people haveplayed a part in PCT’s success story, not least ofthem John Douglass and David McHugh of LMCLaser Services, Australian representatives of By-stronic. They were there from the start when thefledgling entrepreneurs went looking for the rightsystem, a critical factor in the construction of theirdream. “Codrin had contact with David,” explainsKym. “I had operated Laser Lab machines for twoyears, but we wanted something much more ad-vanced. We settled on Bystronic’s 4-kilowattBystar. At the time there were only three or four ofthem in Australia but, clearly, they were what wehad to have. Today PCT has seven Bystroniclasers.”
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two are about the only decoration – but comfort-able enough and businesslike. Much like Kym him-self. Throughout his progress from refugee to suc-cessful businessman, he has kept the work ethicgiven him by his father. “If you don’t work, if youdon’t make your customers happy, you don’t eat.”
AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF CLIENTS
As we talk I can hear the fizz and crackle of thetwo big Bystronic systems on the other side of theboardroom wall, the whine of a forklif t’s engine asanother sheet of steel is brought in for cutting, andthe rattle of the cut parts as they are collected intoa bin for transport to the customer. This is a con-tract for an automotive accessory company mak-ing bull bars for the big four-wheel-drive vehiclesthat Australians love to drive. Which prompts meto ask question number two: “What kind of clientsdoes PCT serve?”In reply, Kym rattles of f an impressive list, amongthem Australian Defence Industries and Tenex, thenaval shipbuilders whose yard is in Williamstown.Many steel and aluminum parts cut at PCT havegone into Australia’s new missile frigates launchedfrom that yard and into the Australian Army’sBushmaster armored fighting vehicles. Melbourneis also the center of Australia’s automotive indus-
Seven. The magic number – and a reminder of thequestions I should be asking. And although I knowthat against this dramatic backdrop, my sevencould easily turn into seventy, I am determined tostick to my original concept. So I fire away with thefirst one: “What has a company such as yours,which makes in-process products, as distinct fromfinished products, had to give to your customersto become so successful?”“We are successful because we commit to excel-lence,” Kym replies. “PCT operates to ISO 9001and 9002 quality assurance standards. We are al-ways honest with our customers. We don’t tellthem we can do something unless we know forcertain that we can deliver what they want, pre-cisely on specification, on time or earlier. I wouldrather lose a job than lose a customer. And then,above all, is the principle that precision and qualitycome before price.”Kym explains all of this to me in his gravelly voice,which af ter 15 years still retains the distinct ac-cents of his native Vietnam, as we sip strongespresso cof fee in his small, neat boardroom inthe front of fices of the factory. PCT is very muchKym’s creation and has his personality stamped onmost parts of it. The boardroom is plain, evenspartan – a few Buddhist icons and a picture or
With its seven Bystronic systems PCT figures amongAustralia’s top five laser cutting companies.
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try with major factories operated by General Mo-tors, Ford Motor Company and Toyota. Kym tellsme that PCT is among the companies supplyingprofiled parts to their accessory and parts suppli-ers. He adds that recently, PCT also won a majorcontract from the state of Victoria to supply thou-sands of Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF) pan-els that will be assembled into seating at stadiumsto be built for the British Commonwealth Gamesto be held in Melbourne next year.According to Kym, the MDF contract is slightly un-usual. He says most of PCT’s work is in mild steelbetween 1 milimeter and 20 milimeters thick,stainless steel up to 12 milimeters, aluminum up to10 milimeters, and Bisalloy in various grades up to20 milimeters.All of this is stocked on site by the company andsupplied from big timber racks set up in the facto-ry alongside the Bystar and Byspeed laser cuttingsystems. The factory is like the boardroom: utilitar-ian, no frills, dusty, a little disheveled – a place ofhard work. Kym takes me around, proudly show-ing me the systems at work. The operators nod,but remain focused on their work. This is seriousbusiness, and pleasantries are lef t to the boss. Forthe operators, it is attention to detail.Kym, like many successful Asian businessmen,
looks on his workforce as his family. They workhard – 16 shif ts per week. Everyone is involved inachieving success, from the three programmersworking on the CAD drawings in the back of ficeand preparing the data for the machines, to theoperators standing with their boots in the metaldust on the cement floor watching the laser headsstreak across the steel sheet.They are, of course, Swiss lasers – a perfect segueinto my third question: “With PCT in Melbourne,thousands of kilometers away from Switzerland,how have relationships been with Bystronic? Andhow about support?”
STEP BY STEP TO EXCELLENCE
“Support to us has been excellent,” answers Kym.“In the past, when we had only one laser cuttingsystem, it was a learning curve for myself and also,I think, for LMC. There were only four Bystronicmachines in the country, but LMC helped us agreat deal. They are very particular about training.They sent engineers to Switzerland to qualify. Weare still learning, and they are helping in thatprocess to develop and extend our business. Wedo hire people with laser experience, but we pre-fer to train them from the ground up so they learnour ways and the principles of the company – our
The PCT factory is a place ofhard work: for the Bystroniclaser cutting systems as well asfor the staff.
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need for quality and performance.” LMC’s engi-neers also help with training, he adds. “We havegotten expert assistance from LMC’s service engi-neers as well as Bystronic’s people in Singapore.So, today, there are very few jobs that we cannotdo.” Kym is obviously very happy with the Bystro-nic equipment he uses at PCT, so I ask him ques-tion number four: “Which of your machines wouldyou most like to clone if you could?”His response is immediate. “My first one, myBystar! We began with it, it has served us extreme-ly well, and I have a deep sentimental attachmentto it. I learned a great deal with that machine. It gotthis company of f the ground and it is still a greatworkhorse for us.” But having made his pointabout the 4-kilowatt Bystar and the solid begin-nings it gave him, Kym goes on to say that, senti-ment aside, his favorite system now is his 4.4-kilo-watt Byspeed, commissioned in August 2004. “Ithas opened more and new doors and markets forus,” he says. “We now have two 5.2-kilowatt By-speed systems on order as well as two more 4.4-kilowatt Bystars. And, as we grow, there will bemore still.”“What about increased automation?” I ask, neatlyslipping in my fif th question.“I would like to have a fully automatic load-and-
unload system,” says Kym. “It would cost us somemoney, but provided the volume of work can beachieved, it would take us to the next step in thedevelopment of our business.”A steady stream of high-volume jobs has in thepast been dif ficult to achieve in Australia, so PCTis working together with LMC on developing aworkflow system that would collate jobs requiringsimilar sheets, combining work from severalclients, and letting Bystronic’s sof tware cope withthe complexities.
BRANCHING OUT WITH BYSTRONIC
Question six seems an obvious follow-up at thispoint: “Why not of fer other services, such asbending, and get a pressbrake?” “We are looking at that,” Kym replies. “We areconsidering Bystronic’s Beyeler pressbrake – it’s avery good machine and one definitely in ourfuture planning.” Out of the four more Bystronic systems PCT hason order, two will go into a factory in Brisbane,which is their next place of expansion, and whichshould begin operation in October. “Af ter that,more machines, and a factory in Sydney or, per-haps, Geelong,” says Kym.Today PCT is among the top five laser cutting
19BystronicWorld 2/2005
companies in Australia, but in terms of kilowattagealready the biggest. “My aim is to be number onein Australia, the biggest company, and the best,”Kym declares, thus neatly answering my seventhand last question about his future ambitions forthe company.At the moment, he says, PCT’s two factories arehandling nearly 1,000 jobs a month, 500-plusthrough Reservoir and 400-plus through Dande-nong, both just outside Melbourne.So what about moving to bigger premises? Kymsmiles. “Yes, we are thinking about that. Once I amhappy with the expansion to Brisbane and then ei-ther Sydney or Geelong, we can aim at moving to-wards achieving those sorts of economies of scaleand adding value through more processes. We arealways thinking and planning – and getting big-ger,” he says. Clearly, Kym Vu has not only come along way, but still has an exciting journey ahead.
Garry Barker is Technology Editor of “The Age”,one of Australia’s leading newspapers, based inMelbourne.
Profile Cut ting Technologies by the Numbers
Founded: December 2001
Staff: 2001 = 52005 = 40 (two in front of fice, three in programming, remainder on factoryfloor working 16 shif ts per week (24 x 5 plus one shif t Saturdays)2006 = 50 (est.)
Current locations 2, Reservoir and Dandenong, just outside Melbourne.
Planned expansion: New factory in Brisbane due to open October 2005. New factories plannedfor 2006 and 2007 in Sydney and Geelong.
Current equipment: 7 latest-model Bystronic laser cutting systems, ranging from 4-kW Bystar to4.4-kW and 5.2-kW Byspeed.
Equipment on order: 2 x 4.4-kW Byspeed, 2 x 5.2-kW Byspeed.
Materials handled: Mild steel sheet between 1 mm and 20 mm, stainless steel sheet up to 12 mm,aluminum sheet up to 10 mm, Bisalloy up to 20 mm. Also stainless steel tubeprofile cutting for handrails in commercial premises, swimming pools, bathroomsafety rails, etc. Profile currently has a major contract to cut MDF panels tomake seating for venues for Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year.
Flow of business: Currently averaging nearly 1,000 job invoices per month.
Major customers: Australian Defence Industries, Tenex (naval shipyard), General Motors, FordMotor Company, Victorian State Government.
Nearly 1,000 jobs are handled at the two PCT locations each month. The Bystronic lasercutting systems take center stage in the manufacturing process.
Rudolf Kasper, owner of the Czech sheet metal processing company Kasper Kovo, with his son and Junior Director Jakub, places his trust in Bystronic systems.
21BystronicWorld 2/2005
KASPER KOVO CZECH REPUBLIC
BEYOND THE NORM
FOR FOUR DECADES THERE WAS NO PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN THE OLD INDUSTRIAL AREA IN THE
TOWN OF TRUTNOV IN WHAT IS TODAY THE CZECH REPUBLIC. AFTER THE FALL OF THE IRON
CURTAIN, THE YOUNG ENGINEER RUDOLF KASPER FOUNDED A COMPANY THAT CONCENTRATED
ON THE PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL, IN PARTICULAR STAINLESS STEEL SHEETS, USING BYSTRONIC
SYSTEMS. GROWTH RATE: STRONG UPWARD TREND.
Text: Stephan Templ, Photos: Bernhard Huber
Our destination lies far away from the undisputedeconomic magnet of Prague: The way to Trutnovleads over narrow country roads and throughthinly populated farmland. The fiery red soil that isso pleasing to the eye but yields little, the Maysnow on the peaks of the Sudetes, the realm of thelegendary Spirit of the Sudeten Mountains – thesehighlight the trials and tribulations of a farmer’s ex-istence. As far back as the end of the medieval pe-riod, the search for profitable lines of business be-gan, and the then German-speaking Trautenaubecame the center of yarn production. In the 19thcentury an important textile and machine tool in-dustry developed here. Gigantic factories andmagnificent villas remain as stone witnesses. Theinvasion of the German troops in 1938 broughtthis to an abrupt end: The Jewish entrepreneurswere dispossessed and persecuted. Af ter 1945everything was nationalized, the German-speak-ing skilled workers were driven out.While the wound can still be felt, an ever-increas-ing number of investors are finding their way to
Trutnov. Rudolf Kasper, just thirty years old at thefall of the Iron Curtain, is also finding his way. Orig-inally employed in the building trade, he took overa company specializing in the repair of textile ma-chines in 1992 – during the time of privatization.But the migration of the textile industry to Asiasoon forced the eager young businessman to be-come innovative. He started to steer his companytowards becoming a specialist factory for process-ing sheet metal, which today of fers numerousservices, from design all the way through to sur-face treatment.
DIFFICULT ORDERS: NOT A PROBLEMWITH BYSTRONIC SYSTEMS
The strongly growing demand persuaded RudolfKasper to move into larger premises, where thefirst Bystronic systems were installed in 2000: theBystar 3015 laser cutting system with integratedrotary axis to cut tubes and profiles as well as aBysprint 3015. From then on the company wasable to accept dif ficult orders such as control cabi-
22 BystronicWorld 2/2005
KASPER KOVO CZECH REPUBLIC
nets for a Swiss industrial group, bodywork partsfor busses, or complete textile machines for twowell-known customers in Germany. Sales in-creased at a rate in excess of 30 percent. Onceagain more space became necessary. Kasper be-gins our tour of the facilities by telling us about hisfuture plans: “Our workforce has stood at 160 em-ployees since 2000, and we wish to maintain thislevel – our productivity is increasing faster thanthe wage levels. Our attention is focused on spe-cialist manufacturing. Where you see green fieldstoday, new factory halls will soon stand, such asthis one that has just been completed.”The new factory hall, built of steel and metal plate,speaks for itself and houses the heart of the ma-chinery: the 5.2-kilowatt performance Byspeed3015 laser cutting system. With this machine,Kasper Kovo has the most powerful laser cuttingsystem in the Czech Republic. It was put to servicein January of this year – and this is the true innova-tion – together with a Bystronic pressbrake fromthe Hämmerle 3P family that had also just beendelivered. The Junior Director, 26-year-old JakubKasper, who studied economics in Germany and,
like his father, speaks fluent German, praises thebenefits of the new purchases that have given hiscompany a further boost to productivity and eco-nomic ef ficiency. The speed of the workingprocess is also truly breathtaking: Numerous partshave already been cut, but the photographer hasstill not been able to capture the speed. The steelsheet is brought into position, the cutting head op-erates more rapidly than the human eye can fol-low, bundled clouds of sparks spray out. Success atlast, the photo is taken. Now the process slowsdown, to the relief of the photographer. Two work-ers turn the 6-millimeter-thick parts onto oneedge. One af ter another they are placed on thetable of the Hämmerle pressbrake and, in no timeat all, the parts for the cabinet of an automaticteller machine are rolled to the neighboring pro-duction hall on a trolley. There the process contin-ues in the individual bays: Small high-tech preci-sion machines rule the roost here.
FROM PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCTION
But there are also familiar things for the visitor todiscover: Steel clamps that are still attached by hu-
Productivity thanks to automation. The automatic table loader and unloader Bytrans only remains idle when single sheets are handled.
23BystronicWorld 2/2005
KASPER KOVO CZECH REPUBLIC
Speed and precision: The 5.2-kilowatt performance Byspeed is the most powerful laser cutting system in the Czech Republic.
man hand. “Robots are uneconomical with ourspecialized orders and small lots,” explains RudolfKasper. The businessman points to recently com-pleted test benches for the aircraf t industry. “Be-fore production can start, we optimize the designtogether with the customer in our developmentdepartment, where ten engineers are employed.Indeed, it is one of our strengths that we designproducts in accordance with customer specifica-tions and also take responsibility for producing theprototype. This was and still is an interesting mar-ket segment.”
CREATION AND TRANSPORT
Rudolf Kasper reveals his recipe for success, whichis completely contrary to standard marketingmethods: “Since we entered into sheet metal pro-cessing, growth has developed rapidly so thateven to the present day we have never advertisednor exhibited at a trade fair.” The Junior Directorcorrects the statement: “We have never presentedcustomer orders at a trade fair, but we recently dis-played our own creations at a leisure fair in Vien-na.” The Kasper family would actually like to see
their own name on a product and it has thereforeproduced a small series of garden grills made ofpolished stainless steel together with the Czechdesign group “Faktumdesign” – manufactured en-tirely using Bystronic technology. The family alsobelieves it has discovered a market niche for otherinterior design goods such as wine racks, namelyin the Czech Republic. Only exclusive designershops are supplied with the garden grills.
Kasper Kovo Fac t Sheet
Kasper Kovo s.r.o. (GmbH), processing of black plate and high-grade metal sheets
Founded: 1992
Employees: 160
Sales: 2000: 3.2 million EUR; 2001: 4.3 million EUR; 2002: 5.1 million EUR; 2003: 5.9 million EUR; 2004: 9.2 million EUR
Full order books result in a high output of parts. Around 85 percent are exported, and of these 90 percent go to the EU.
While we are still admiring the Kasper-designedcreations, the boss has to check up on things: “To-day is Friday and hence major loading day.” Thesemitrailers have to be loaded. The customers inGermany expect to receive the goods on Mondaymorning. “That is also one of our strengths: Weguarantee the complete transport process. Al-though we do not have our own fleet of vehicles,we work in close cooperation with a transportcompany. A wood-processing company that be-longs to us manufactures tailor-made woodenpackaging pallets, our of fice takes care of the cus-toms formalities – we of fer our customers thecomplete package.”
STAYING TRUE TO TRUTNOV
Rudolf Kasper intends to stay true to Trutnov, see-ing that setting up a company “demands completepersonal involvement,” as he says. “It took almosta decade before we had trained our team to therequired level. And the training continues. For in-stance, we finance an English teacher who givesin-house lessons once a week. Foreign languageabilities are an absolute must, particularly in thedevelopment department.”His only complaint regarding Trutnov is the ab-sence of a freeway access road. And he suggeststhat we come back again in the fall. Two further
production buildings will have been built by then.Equipped with Bystronic systems, of course.
Stephan Templ, journalist and author, lives inVienna and Prague and works primarily as afeature writer for the Swiss daily newspaper“Neue Zürcher Zeitung.”
Jakub Kasper (left) on the job. The Junior Director understands business notleast thanks to his studies of economics in Germany.
On the road in Eastern Europe
The latest economic statistics confirm: The Central and
Eastern European market is still highly dynamic – also in
the industrial production sector, or, more specifically, in
sheet metal processing. This applies both to the number
of market participants as well as the continuing high rate
of economic growth. In addition to the undiminished opti-
mism resulting from this, what always confronts me during
my visits to Eastern European companies is the unbroken
thirst for information on the available machine systems and
their concrete applications, and finally about the resulting
benefits. In order to satisfy this requirement for know-how
– directly and locally – Bystronic is breaking new ground
and is using a “roadshow bus” to hold practice-oriented
seminars at the customer’s location. This commitment is a
great hit with both potential and existing Bystronic cus-
tomers. Hence the individual events, both during my road-
show last year across Poland and my seminar series this
year in the three Baltic Republics, were always well attend-
ed and the feedback received was extremely pleasing.
The high economic vitality is also reflected in the techno-
logical infrastructure of Central and Eastern European com-
panies: Old machines of Soviet origin have to a large extent
been replaced by technologically high-quality, modern ma-
chines in order to be competitive on the markets. Since
those responsible in the factories are aware that even wage
levels that are below average compared with the Western
EU countries are not alone suf ficient to be able to acquire
an adequate number of orders. Apart from the costs, quali-
ty, precision, and on-schedule delivery play a major role,
which applies particularly to customers from Western Eu-
ropean countries such as Germany, who are very demand-
ing in this respect. And for many suppliers in Central and
Eastern Europe, in addition to customers in their own mar-
kets and in former Soviet Union countries, these form a sec-
ond important business segment. These countries also en-
sure that yet another Western European trend is being
“exported” to the East: Increasingly it is not only cut parts
that are being demanded but complete – namely bent –
parts, which challenges the supply companies in the new
EU countries to equip themselves with the appropriate
production possibilities. With its broad market of fering,
Bystronic is in a position to guarantee these companies op-
timal support. Everything from a single source: Across the
complete process chain “from file to part”, which means
that the customer benefits from state-of-the-art solutions
for the cutting and bending of metal sheets from construc-
tion, production planning, and right through to the com-
plete bent part. A principle that is adhered to already by
customers from other countries and regions and which
now will come to fruition on the other side of the old
Ever since the Deng Xiaoping reforms of a quartercentury ago, the brute force of millions of workershas powered China’s rapid industrial growth andexport drive. Today, Chinese factories face thefresh challenge of mass-producing electronic de-vices and sleek consumer products that demandinputs of automation and design intelligencerather than raw manpower. The next generation ofproducts, in other words, requires brains ratherthan brawn. And this means that China’s industrymust get up to speed.Sophisticated product technologies originate inthe advanced industrial economies of Europe,North America and Japan, but the price tag is of-ten too expensive for retooling and upgrading fac-tories in China and in other parts of the develop-ing world. The question is: How do you narrow theef ficiency gap between Europe and China? TheBystronic subsidiary AFM in Tianjin, near Beijing, isshowing the way forward by introducing af ford-able machine tools equipped with state-of-the-artEuropean technology while taking advantage oflower costs on locally built frames and parts. Alvin Chan, Managing Director of the Bystronicsubsidiary known as AFM (Tianjin) Machinery Ltd,explains that Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanesemanufacturers of bending machines are keenly vy-ing for market share in China. “Bystronic’s Euro-pean-assembled Hämmerle series is a top-of-the-line model worldwide, while the Beyeler series isone of the best in the upper mid-range category,”Chan notes. “Chinese managers clearly want the
MERGING THE BEST
BY COMBINING EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY AND CHINESE
EFFICIENCY, BYSTRONIC’S AFM PLANT HAS BEEN
ABLE TO BOOST BOTH PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY.
Text: Yoichi Shimatsu, Photos: Jing Ran
The newly built AFM premises right after the official opening. Very soon the peace will be shattered.
foreign equipment, but their still-immature com-panies can’t yet af ford it.” For a Swiss company likeBystronic to get into the game, new strategies areneeded for ground-level entry into China. “Bystronic did not have a mid-range machine tocompete with rival Asia-based producers until ittook over AFM in 2002,” says Chan. The bendingmachines from the Tianjin factory are af fordablefor customers worldwide – a bargain for equip-ment that boasts accuracy to within a half degreeover the bending length. Every unit of Tianjin-as-sembled machinery contains high-quality Euro-pean-built control systems, hydraulics and mea-surement detectors.
GLOBAL PRODUCTION SYSTEM
Major savings to the end user come from AFM’sability to fabricate structural components, movingparts, and housings from steel plate or sheet metalon site. In addition cost reductions can be realizedby optimizing logistics and the assembly line. Thenext step in supply chain management, AlvinChan reports, will be to outsource lower-valueitems such as fencing.What Bystronic’s Tianjin engagement essentiallyrepresents is a global production system, whichutilizes the local advantages of each region of theworld to deliver optimal quality within the pricetarget range of any given market. When it acquiredAFM three years ago, Bystronic took a regionalplayer with a strong reputation for reliable engi-neering and technological innovation and made iteven stronger.Bystronic AFM set up a Western-style, merit-based system of promotion and pay incentives in adeparture from the seniority-based structure ofstate-owned enterprises. The clean, well-lit andopen physical structure of the factory complexprovided a low-stress and goal-oriented work-place environment. Chan saw a positive responseto the changes almost immediately: “Our employ-ees readily adopted the new work habits and tookpride in their jobs.”The emphasis on ef ficient operations and laborproductivity made AFM the logical choice whenBystronic went searching for a Chinese af filiate.Since the acquisition, Bystronic has been movingtoward a multidimensional corporate culture atAFM. By training Chinese staf f in Switzerland andsending Swiss managers to Tianjin, Bystronic hasraised the standards of quality control to Euro-pean levels, including elaborate and repeatedchecks of every machine. Soon af ter, Bystronic de-cided to launch the AFM products in Westernmarkets as well. Today these pressbrakes andshears are available worldwide, and customers cancount on both a good price and a high-qualityproduct. Underscoring the latter, the systems aresold under the Bystronic brand name, which has a
strong reputation in the markets. Since this repu-tation is one of the major factors in Bystronic’sglobal success – reflected in last year’s business re-sults with a 19 percent increase in turnover – itmight have been risky for the company to launchproducts that are assembled and partially built inChina. But Bystronic obviously wasn’t worried:“This is a clear vote of confidence from the By-stronic Group Management that they have faith inAFM products, and we will continue to do ourvery best to justify this faith,” Chan explains.Today Bystronic customers who visit the Tianjinplant not only get to see a quality product, but al-so gain a firsthand glimpse of an innovative man-agement team at work. “The Chinese side of ouroperations knew how to be sensitive to shif ting
policies in China and how to anticipate change,”Chan says. “What the Swiss management intro-duced was an innovative research base, continuingeducation of the workforce, risk management forinvesting in technology, and a quiet sense of cor-porate discipline.” The result is a company that re-tains the best qualities of East and West while es-tablishing a unitary commitment to quality andservice for the customer.
Yoichi Shimatsu is a former editor with the“Japan Times“ in Tokyo and a founding facultymember of the Journalism & Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong.
Responsible for the successful implementation of the strategies: Alvin Chan, Managing Director of AFM.
29BystronicWorld 2/2005
SPOTLIGHT AFM
WATERJET PIONEER
LOOKING BEYOND TRADITIONAL LASER CUTTING SYSTEMS, CANADA’S CONTRACT MANUFACTURER
JOHNSON ENTERPRISES MAKES A HISTORIC STEP INTO THE FUTURE WITH NORTH AMERICA’S FIRST
WATERJET TO FEATURE REVOLUTIONARY SHUTTLE TABLE TECHNOLOGY.
Text: Sonja Bellem, Photos: Johannes Krömer
The facility of Johnson Enterprises is sprawledacross the hill overlooking the village of ValD’Amour in New Brunswick, Canada. Since itsmodest machine shop beginnings twenty yearsago, Johnson has become a leading supplier of de-barking tools (indispensable equipment that re-moves tree bark) for the wood, pulp and papermills scattered across Canada and the New Eng-land region of the United States. Since the de-mands of the forestry sector routinely downshif tduring the summer months, Johnson looked togain entrance into other industries by of feringproduct refurbishment and repair services. To ac-complish this, the company realized it needed toexpand its capabilities. Operations Manager Joey Johnson explains thatthe decision to purchase a Byjet waterjet cuttingsystem with shuttle table came down to flexibility,savings and technological diversification. “Weconsidered laser cutting systems but learned thatcertain materials, such as aluminum and carbide-coated steel, were best cut on a waterjet. Apartfrom being able to process a greater range of ma-terials, we realized that we could save money onthe initial investment if we were to purchase a wa-terjet instead of a laser. Additionally, as waterjetsystems are scarce in this region of Canada, wethought this technology would help us develop aniche in the marketplace.”
ON THE MAP BECAUSE OF BYJET
Following installation in September 2004, John-son Enterprises began to reap what some mayconsider the benefits of “pioneer status”. It wasone of the few companies to own a waterjet in the
Atlantic Provinces, and it was the first manufactur-er in North America to have a waterjet with shut-tle table. Director of Marketing André Rivard ex-plains: “The Byjet put us on the map. It enabled usto penetrate new markets as well as introduceourselves to companies that had never heard of usbefore. People would travel to our facility just tosee our system in action.” While he admits that thesurge in new business was partly due to the novel-ty of the technology, it mostly stemmed from thecompany’s newfound processing flexibility. “Weare serving entirely new customers. Now we han-dle orders from ambulance and ATV manufactur-ers and specialized machine shops that work with
Operations Manager Joey Johnson (small picture on the left) together with Michael Zakrzewski,Vice President Bystronic Inc. “The Byjet would help us develop a niche in the marketplace,” says Johnson.
31BystronicWorld 2/2005
JOHNSON ENTERPRISES CANADA
materials that are dif ficult to process,” Rivard ads. In addition to generating an expanded customerbase and a fan club of curiosity seekers andtechnophiles alike, the waterjet has helpedJohnson Enterprises reduce costs and increaseits per-part profitability. The system’s engineeredself-suf ficiency by way of low tank and pumpmaintenance, dynamic nesting, shuttle table forparts and materials, and automated conveyer forgarnet removal is designed to minimize humanintervention. The company especially appreciatesBystronic’s focus on production safety, that is,the waterjet’s ability to safely and accuratelyprocess parts without an operator. It’s tech-nology that curbs user overhead in several strate-gic areas.
BETTER MATERIAL UTILIZATION
With steel prices ballooning globally, NewBrunswick has suf fered all the more greatly be-cause of a scarcity of local suppliers and its rela-tively small economy. Local manufacturers mustof ten look to Ontario or the United States for rawmaterials – an unsavory solution where taxes,shipping, and custom delays make orders costlyand delivery times unpredictable at best. In a
country where the cost of carbon steel is of tengreater than that of alloy steel in the United States,material utilization proves critical in maintaininghealthy profit margins. “Our sheet utilization is60 percent higher than what we achieved beforeinstallation of the Byjet,” Johnson says. “Not onlyare we equipped to dynamically nest parts, weare able to process more parts out of one sheetof material.” Because the Byjet maintains tighttolerances, users can employ common line cuttingto process parts faster and with less wasted mate-rial. This was a substantial time and money saverin processing debarker tips. Whereas previouslythe company would machine four sides for eachtip, it now can nest parts to achieve one-pass cut-ting of two parts simultaneously. Johnson ex-plains: “Where we used to get 800 pieces out ofa single piece of steel on a CNC cutting machine,we now are up to 1,300 parts per sheet on thewaterjet. This has reduced our per-part cost by30 percent.”
SHORTENED PART CYCLE
In addition to less wasted material, overall partthroughput has nearly doubled at the facility.Johnson explains that this was largely because of
Pioneer work: North America’s first waterjet cutting system equipped with a shuttle table system …
32 BystronicWorld 2/2005
the elimination, or at least dramatic reduction, ofwhat were once necessary secondary processes.“The waterjet has actually helped us take awayfrom the manufacturing process. It has ef fectivelydeleted four to five manufacturing steps on ourpatent-pending spiked debarker.” One of the many remarkable aspects of water-jet processing is the lack of heat-af fected zones.Because of the E-factor generated by the CNCthermal process cutting torch, the debarker’sspikes, which were made of a steel alloy, wouldof ten twist and crystallize. This meant that af tereach part was cut, it would have to be machinedor pressed straight, refinished and then annealed.The waterjet system has generated an averagetime-savings of 15 minutes per unit (which, on arun of 3,000 parts, is considerable). WhereasJohnson used to have five or six people touchingthis part, now there is only one: the waterjet oper-ator.
REDUCED WEAR AND TEAR
If machines could be friends, the waterjet andCNC cutting machine could well be considered al-lies. The Byjet has dramatically reduced the work-load of the shop’s other cutting systems and re-
duced their routine wear and tear in processingthick materials. Johnson states that the CNC ma-chines are typically booked three weeks in ad-vance. This was a giant hurdle in processing chal-lenging orders or dealing with pressing lead times.“Whereas a cutting torch would take six or sevenhours to process a single part, the Byjet can cutthat same part in just over three hours. We boughtthe shuttle table because we anticipate runningthe system around the clock in the near future.This is the most ef fective way to increase process-ing time. While you switch materials or removefinished parts, the machine continues cutting.” The company’s reduction in replacement toolingcosts has been considerable. The waterjet’s abilityto cut parts with a tighter tolerance has made it alot easier on the CNC carbide cutting tools – sim-ply because there is less that needs to be cut. In atypical week, the shop used to burn through5,000 to 6,000 dollars in tooling. “Now that weare cutting parts more accurately on the waterjet,we have reduced our carbide tooling costs by1,500 dollars per week.” This does not include thetime savings in processing. Johnson adds: “Thetooling and time savings for us are so remarkablethat they have almost paid for the machine itself.
… guarantees the highest precision in manufacture without expensive follow-on processing.
33BystronicWorld 2/2005
34 BystronicWorld 2/2005
JOHNSON ENTERPRISES CANADA
Our shop supply costs are down and we are farmore productive.”
ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A PARTNER
Pleased with how the waterjet has benefited itsbusiness, Johnson Enterprises hopes to establish astrategic partnership with a Canadian shop thathas a Bystronic laser or pressbrake. “We want toalign ourselves with contract manufacturers whouse Bystronic systems and sof tware. A shop inQuebec that has a bending machine can easilyoutsource to us. Since we share the same sof t-ware, we would program their part into our water-jet, cut it to the appropriate length for their bend-ing process, and then transfer the file to theirpressbrake,” the Operations Manager explains.
The Byjet has proven to be a profitable investmentthat has opened the door to business opportuni-ties more diverse than the materials it can process.Johnson says optimistically, “The future looks verybright for us in terms of this machine.”
Byjet at work: The system has increased sheet utilization at Johnson Enterprises by 60 percent while significantly shortening the production process.
35BystronicWorld 2/2005
WHEN TALKING about the “world of machine tools” trade fair, asEMO has dubbed itself, no great introduction is necessary. This yearit will take place from September 14 to September 21 in Hanover,Germany. At this exhibition, Bystronic will focus its attention on wa-terjet cutting. Visitors to the Bystronic stall can satisfy themselvesabout the performance, flexibility, and economic ef ficiency of thelarge-format Byjet with a working area of 4 by 2.25 meters. The ma-chine on display is equipped as a shuttle table system, which in prac-tice permits an increase in productivity of up to 30 percent, and forthe first time has the ByVision high-performance control package.Meeting Point: Hall 7, Stall B06/B10
EMO HANOVER (D)NEWS FROM the US-American world of trade fairs: As of this year,the Fabtech trade fair and the AWS Welding Show will be combinedso that an even wider spectrum of metal and sheet metal processingcan be covered in future. The joint exhibition will take place fromNovember 13 to November 16 in Chicago, USA. Bystronic will berepresented there by a broad range of solutions that range from aByspeed 4020 laser cutting system with 5.2 kilowatt power, a Byjetwaterjet cutting system with shuttle table, a Beyeler bending cellequipped with an ABB industrial robot, a free-standing AFM press-brake as well as the ByVision high-performance control package anda sof tware forum.Meeting Point: Stall 14072
FABTECH CHICAGO (USA)
EMO Hanover (Germany) SEPTEMBER 14 – SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 www.emo-hannover.deSTUTTGARTER LASERTAGE Stuttgart (Germany) SEPTEMBER 28 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 www.slt.uni-stuttgart.deTEHRAN INTERNATIONAL Tehran (Iran) OCTOBER 2 – OCTOBER 6, 2005INDUSTRY FAIRINTERNATIONAL Brno (Czech Republic) OCTOBER 3 – OCTOBER 7, 2005 www.bvv.cz/msv-gbENGINEERING FAIRVITRUM Milan (Italy) OCTOBER 5 – OCTOBER 8, 2005 www.vitrum-milano.itTEKNISKA MÄSSAN Stockholm (Sweden) OCTOBER 18 – OCTOBER 21, 2005 www.tekniskamassan.seFABTECH Chicago (USA) NOVEMBER 13 – NOVEMBER 16, 2005 www.fmafabtech.comTOLEXPO Paris (France) NOVEMBER 15 – NOVEMBER 18, 2005 www.tolexpo.comEXPO LASER Piacenza (Italy) NOVEMBER 17 – NOVEMBER 19, 2005
BYSTRONIC ON TOURCUSTOMERS AND INTERESTED PARTIES CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT BYSTRONIC’S PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES AT THE BELOW EXHIBITIONS AND TRADE FAIRS UP TO AND INCLUDING NOVEMBER 30, 2005:
