EuroBLECH Bulletin

EuroBLECH 2010 - Review

EuroBLECH 2010 – more international than ever

EuroBLECH 2010 clearly showed that the sheet metal working industry, after difficult times during the global economic crisis, is on the up again. Companies reported large increases in business activities and sales, and industry leaders even announced that it was their best exhibition ever.

With 1,455 exhibitors from 43 countries, 61,500 visitors from 98 countries and a net exhibition area of 78,600 m2, EuroBLECH 2010 could not quite match the figures of the 2008 show. However, the exhibition did set some important records: The show was more international than ever, with 46% of exhibitors and 38% of visitors coming from outside Germany. Large increases in visitor numbers, particularly from Asia, North America and the Middle East, did correspond with this year’s main aim of the exhibitors: approaching new markets.

The exhibition also showed an above average increase in visitors with concrete investment plans: 48% of all visitors, and 60% of foreign visitors came with the definite intention of buying. Altogether, visitors were extremely positive about the show with 98% of visitors rating the show as definitely worthwhile and 93% stating they would recommend the exhibition.

Exhibiting companies were also extremely pleased with their success at the show. The economic position of the industry was still rated as critical; however, this time German companies assessed the industry situation much more positively than companies from outside Germany.

Almost three quarters of exhibitors from 2010 intend to return for EuroBLECH 2012, from 23 to 27 October 2012 in Hanover.

http://www.euroblech.com

Live recordings from EuroBLECH 2010

For the first time, live videos about new technologies and interviews with exhibitors and industry experts were uploaded live onto the internet during EuroBLECH 2010. The podcasts can be seen by clicking on the link below.

Some of the exhibitors have also uploaded videos on their products and services to the EuroBLECH website; these can be found on the online exhibitor list, marked with “video”:

http://www.euroblech.com/english/euroblech/live/?video
http://www.euroblech.com/english/exhibitor-list/?letter=B

EuroBLECH - a global meeting point

EuroBLECH 2010 once again increased its traditionally high percentage of visitors from outside Germany and welcomed more visitors than ever from far away regions of the world. Compared with the record exhibition in 2008 the visitor numbers from the USA, India, Israel, Australia, China, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the United Arabic Emirates have grown considerably. Personal consultations at the stands and live machine demonstrations were the major focus of all visitors at EuroBLECH, from Germany and abroad.

http://www.euroblech.com

Winners of the MM Awards

At EuroBLECH 2010, the magazines 'Blechnet' and 'MM MaschinenMarkt' (publishers: Vogel Business Media) once again presented the MM Awards, recognising innovations in the field of sheet metal working.

Nine prizes were awarded in all and the winners were: Fibro, Otto Bihler, Reis, Schuler, Techni Waterjet, Trumpf Werkzeugmaschinen and Wöhler Busch Tech. A special award for the use of fibre lasers was presented to both Amada and Bystronic Laser.

http://www.maschinenmarkt.vogel.de
http://www.blechnet.com

News from the Organisers

BLECH Events 2011: St Petersburg – Mumbai – Stockholm

While BLECH Russia and BLECH India, both with more than 100 exhibitors, will take place for the second time in spring this year, BLECH Nordic in October this year is new in the calendar of the BLECH Events.

BLECH Russia 2011 will take place from 15-17 March 2011, at St Petersburg’s Lenexpo Exhibition Centre. Exhibitors from 20 countries will present their products and services to the Russian sheet metal working industry. The Russian market is still considered an important growth market for this industry sector, as international manufacturers of cars, white goods and electrical equipment continue to open up production sites in Russia. A BLECH Russia 2011 Show Newsletter has just been published, including a short overview of exhibitors and products on display as well as information on the Russian industry. The newsletter can be downloaded from the BLECH Russia Website through the link below.

The second BLECH India, from 14-17 April 2011, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, has grown considerably since its launch two years ago. The show is more than three times bigger than last time. The huge demand for stand space at this trade exhibition is due to the continuously booming industry on the Indian subcontinent, in particular in the automotive and construction sector. However, the Indian industry still largely depends on technology imports to be able to cover the growing demand of India’s consumers for goods such as small cars. Forming machines in particular are in need. Although India’s machine tool industry expects an increase of 35-40% for 2010/2011 compared with the previous year, it still cannot cover the domestic demand for sheet metal working machines. No wonder that stand space at BLECH India 2011 is almost sold out.

With BLECH Nordic, Mack Brooks Exhibitions offers a new trade exhibition, geared towards the Northern European sheet metal working industry. The first BLECH Nordic, Exhibition for Sheet Metal Working, will be held from 4 - 7 October 2011, at Stockholmsmässan, in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Nordic countries are generally regarded as a highly stable economic region with excellent infrastructure and state-of-the-art logistics centres. Metal production is a traditional industry there and several major manufacturers of sheet metal working machinery are based in this region. The most important customers of machine tools for sheet metal working are the ship-building and offshore industries, construction, civil engineering and the automotive industry.

BLECH Nordic 2011 will take place alongside the Scandinavian Technical Fair, the renowned trade exhibition for the Scandinavian manufacturing industry, featuring some 300 exhibitors and some 25,000 trade visitors.

http://www.blechrussia.com
http://www.blechindia.com
http://www.blechnordic.com

News from the Industry

British manufacturers optimistic

The competitive exchange rate of the pound is boosting exports and having a positive effect on the British economy. A survey carried out among members of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) indicates an optimistic start to 2011. The level of orders has been relatively high since the summer and several MTA members report new job vacancies.

http://www.mta.org.uk

American automotive suppliers enjoying upswing

The economic trend is once again positive in the USA too. According to an industry analyst, quoted in MetalForming's internet portal, the coming year should see further improvements in the business climate. Production in the automotive supplier industry had risen by 40% compared with the previous year. Another expert commented: "If there was a supplier that did not make money this year, there must be something wrong with them".

http://www.pma.org
http://www.metalformingmagazine.com

Schuler to supply ten new coin blanking presses to Asia

Any national economy with a growing money supply requires large quantities of new coins - and that is where Schuler comes in. The company is supplying a customer in Asia with ten new Blankmaster SAK machines, which are to be gradually commissioned by 2012.

As the global leader in this field, Schuler has the specialist knowledge required for efficient, high-precision manufacture of stainless steel coin blanks. The Blankmaster SAH presses work at up to 800 strokes/min. and can blank up to 25 coins per stroke from the coil. However, Schuler does not just supply the 160 ton presses; the company also provides entire systems - coil handling equipment, strip thickness measuring devices, precision feed, conveyor system and machine controls.

http://www.schulergroup.de

Zwick: New testing software, testXpert II V 3.3. now available

The "Corporate Licence" function which has been integrated into the programme makes it much easier for globally active groups to standardise their test requirements and co-ordinate them centrally, with the option of including suppliers in the standardisation process. This will be of particular interest to global players with a need for central control of their testing requirements and companies in sectors such as the automotive and medical industries with strict guidelines regarding traceability and reproducibility. The company's central testing site can stipulate company wide standards for all tests which are to be performed, with specifications being safeguarded against unauthorised changes. Branches of the company can access these standards via testXpert II, ensuring a standard compliant test which is monitored throughout for correct machine configuration.

http://www.zwick.de

Better hard material coatings for more powerful tools

HÜTTINGER Elektronik, member of the TRUMPF group, has the solution, with its TruPlasma Highpulse Series 4000. This product family provides the perfect processing power supply for high performance impulse magnetron sputtering, with impulses of up to 8 megawatt, thereby generating a high density metallic plasma, according to HÜTTINGER. Furthermore, the 'CompensateLine' arc management system prevents the formation of arcs and ensures droplet free sputtering and minimum film defects at extremely high impulse rates. The resulting highly dense, hard material deposits are superior to coatings achieved through conventional processes, with outstanding transitions to substrates and thus higher cutting speeds and better tool lifetimes.

http://www.huettinger.com
http://www.trumpf.de

Red Bud Industries has introduced a new Rotating Brush Dust Collection System for coil processing

Conventional vacuum systems have been used for quite some time now to remove both scale and hot roll dust from the surface of the strip as it is processed in a coil line. However, even after vacuuming, a significant amount of scale and dust will often be left on the surface of the material. The new combination Rotating Brush Dust Collection System utilises a pair of non marking upper and lower rotating brushes in conjunction with a vacuum to agitate the surface of the material and remove a much larger amount of dust and debris from both sides of the strip. To increase brush life, the upper and lower brushes alternately move from side to side as they rotate so the brush wears more evenly. The Rotating Brush Dust Collection Unit is available on all new Red Bud lines and can also be retrofitted onto existing lines as well.

http://www.redbudindustries.com

voestalpine in the black

voestalpine AG is highly satisfied by the substantial growth it has seen in sales. Revenue increased by 24.2% in the first six months of 2010, whilst earnings after tax are once again approaching the pre-crisis level, according to the company. All five corporate divisions were very busy, especially the Steel and Railway Systems divisions, which were working almost to capacity.

This trend is expected to continue in the second half of 2010, although the picture is not consistent: "While the automotive sector, mechanical engineering, consumer goods, oil and gas exploration, and alternative energies are all enjoying a steady recovery, the outlook in the construction and building supplies sector is muted", according to a press release issued by the company.

http://www.voestalpine.com

Electrolux continues consolidation of its production

Electrolux has issued a press release stating that it is to close its factory in l'Assomption, Quebec, Canada in 2013. The factory manufactures cooking appliances and currently employs 1,300 staff. Production will be transferred to the company's existing site in the US state of Tennessee, with a new facility to be built in Memphis. Expansion of the current site follows an assessment of various alternatives in the USA and Mexico, with synergies expected in production as well as economies of scale in R&D, labs and supply base. In Europe Electrolux is to cut around 800 staff in 2011/2012, but will not be closing any factories.

This is all part of the restructuring programme initiated by the company in 2004 and due to be completed in 2011. Annual savings of approx. EUR 350 mill. are anticipated in 2013, the first year in which they will take full effect, and the overall costs of consolidation are expected to be approx. EUR 940 mill.

http://www.electrolux.com

Technologies

What's that? Electromagnetic pulse technology (EMPT)

EMPT is a non contact cold-forming process for joining, welding, forming and cutting of metals.

EMPT processing uses electromagnetic coils, to which a short but very high power electric current is applied from a pulse generator. The coil produces electromagnetic forces, which can for instance be used to change the diameter of tubes by compression or expansion. Non magnetic metals such as aluminium tubes can also be processed, as an eddy current is temporarily induced in the skin of the tubes. The process is so fast that it can produce solid phase cold welds.

EMPT processes can be used for joining, welding, forming and cutting of metals and is particularly successful on those with high electric conductivity, such as aluminium, copper and steel tubes. Non symmetrical cross sections can also be expanded or compressed, resulting in a mechanical interlock or simply a geometry change if required.

http://www.pstproducts.com

Innovation - what can we learn from the top innovators?

A study published recently in the magazine 'strategy+business' (s+b) by the New York consultancy Booz & Company analyses what makes exceptionally innovative global companies so special. One important finding that emerged from the Global Innovation 1000 study was that there is no statistically significant relationship between a company's financial performance and its spending on innovation - in terms of either absolute R&D investments or of R&D spending as a percentage of revenues.

What is important, though, is the specific combination of talent, knowledge, team structures, tools and processes. s+b refers in this context to the capabilities that successful companies put to work in their innovations, creating products and services which they can successfully take to market.

s+b defines three specific innovation groups:

Need seekers

This group actively and directly seeks contact with existing and potential customers before any decision about developing a product or service is made. New products and services are created, based on superior end-user understanding and requirements, and applying emerging technologies to meet customer demand. This process involves giving selected customers prototypes for evaluation. The aim is to be the first to market with these innovations.

Market readers

Careful observation of customers and competitors enables innovations to be developed which can be incrementally improved and which use proven market trends. For market readers timing is all-important. When selecting which innovation projects to focus on, key capabilities include forecasting resource requirements and rigorous determination of what is to be achieved. Market readers need their staff to act as external investors, deciding which projects the company should invest in. Here again early, open involvement of selected customers in the pre-development stage is designed to avoid expensive mistakes being made and also creates mutual trust.

Technology drivers

These follow the direction suggested by their own technological capabilities, using their R&D investments to push through not only radical new concepts, but also incremental change. They also seek to use their technology to fulfil the unarticulated needs of their customers. The formation of ideas is the most important stage here. This requires an open innovation process which considers concepts and inventions which have not necessarily been developed in-house. These drivers are constantly on the look-out for new technologies and ideas, and they make sure that their staff have the time to process these concepts and develop their own ideas. Co-operation with potential buyers gives innovations time to mature and undergo constant improvement until they are ready to go to market.

All three strategies depend on a common set of critical capabilities. So these companies succeed in familiarising themselves with their customers' requirements and identifying the potential relevance of emerging technologies early on at the concept stage. They also involve their customers in product development right at the start and this enables them to test the validity of their ideas. The strategy should also involve assessing the life-cycle of a product and incorporating this aspect into planning at an early stage; moreover distribution channels should be organised in such a way that all parties involved - the manufacturer, dealer and user - should ultimately benefit.

The more vigorously companies pursue their innovation concepts, the greater their success. s+b found that failing to focus on the actual capabilities available constituted the biggest obstacle to successful innovation.

Successful marketing can also prove a stumbling block, and without the right concepts, even the most innovative product can end up being a flop. The selection of pilot users, plus the timing and execution of the global product launch are equally important in this context. To enjoy sustained success through innovation, however, the strategic corporate environment also has to be right. Truly successful developers of innovative products excel not only in R&D, but also in all other aspects - production, logistics and marketing, with even human resources playing an important role.

http://www.strategy-business.com
http://www.booz.com