2009-09-03

Geerts Metaalwaren chooses multi-station press from AP&T

Dutch company Geerts Metaalwaren, specialists in deep drawing, wanted to strengthen its position on the global market and is therefore investing in a fully automated press line from AP&T, which will use one press to complete the work of four presses. The secret is AP&T's press MSP (Multi Station Press) and efficient automation solutions for flexible production. Delivery times are shortened from weeks to days and the automation also solves an additional problem plaguing Geerts: difficulty in finding competent deep drawing operators.

As a supplier of deep drawn components in series from one to 100,000 pieces, Geerts is more or less unique on the European market. The company deep draws up to 700 mm deep pieces and delivers components to manufacturers of catering coffee machines, oil filters, high voltage connections, drainage parts and medical equipment. Its customers are located on several continents, although the majority are Dutch industrial companies. One important customer requirement is the ability to quickly deliver relatively small series.

"Strong competitors in Asia can offer low prices, but to our advantage we can deliver faster to Europe than they can," explains the company's President, Peter Geerts.

Four presses in one
This speed requirement in particular played an important role in Geerts's decision to invest in a MSP line. In simple terms, it is a hydraulic press coupled with a press frame, which in this case contains four press slides with individual controls for press force and strokes. In practice, it functions as four tightly spaced hydraulic presses – perfect for deep drawing when the forming process requires several steps. The finished pieces are moved between the stations and the tools using AP&T's SpeedFeeder press feeder. In Geerts's new MSP line, one SpeedFeeder is positioned at the first station and two additional SpeedFeeders handle the transfers among the other stations.

"We previously needed four separate presses to carry out each step – and we also needed to store the components between steps. A component that used to take a few weeks can now be produced in a few days," says Peter Geerts.

Short changeover times
In addition to the faster production time, the new press line also significantly increases flexibility. With the old presses, changing the tools to begin production of a different product took around four hours. With the MSP line, the same changeover takes half an hour. It is also possible to add an automatic tool change system to the line, which would reduce the changeover time to 15 minutes.

More than a machine supplier
The new MSP line is not Geerts's first AP&T press; the company has bought three since the middle of the 1990s and is very satisfied.
"The machines are reliable and have high quality. But for us, AP&T is more than a machine supplier. We have a very good relationship and regularly exchange experiences related to forming techniques," says Peter Geerts.

Beneficial for staffing
There is considerable experience and innovation to draw from - Peter's grandfather, who started the company more than 50 years ago, was an inventor and entrepreneur. Peter has owned and run the company since 1997 together with his wife, Anthoinette, who also is the head of HR. She says that the investment in the MSP line is also beneficial for staffing requirements related to production. "Deep drawing requires operators with specialized skills – and they are very difficult to find. This fully automated flow only requires a single operator to carry out the same work that would have previously required four operators," states Anthoinette Geerts.

Information about the company: AP&T AB