FOCUS ON PRESSES
THE FORMING FACTOR
Swedish press specialist , AP & T , recorded a record year in 2021 . We review some of its latest
projects , installations and new technology developments .
AP & T ’ s servohydraulic press with transfer solution .
“ By 9 December 2021 , AP & T had received orders for over SEK 1 billion .”
After a tough 2020 affected by the pandemic , 2021 is looking to be a record year for AP & T . At its headquarters in Ulricehamn , Sweden , the company develops and manufactures production solutions for the forming of sheet metal and other materials for customers around the globe . The turning point came as early as the end of last year and , since then , demand for the company ’ s products and services has exponentially increased . By 9 December 2021 , AP & T had received orders worth over SEK 1 billion .
“ This positive development is partly due to a general recovery of the market . But it can also be attributed to the major investments we have made in developing new products and services in the last few years . We are seeing increasing demand for more sustainable , energy-efficient solutions . One example is our servo-hydraulic press , providing 70 per cent savings in energy consumption compared to conventional hydraulic presses ,” said Dr . Christian Koroschetz , Chief Sales Officer , AP & T .
Manufacturing lines for press hardening of steel ; the hot forming of aluminium ; cold forming of sheet metal ; forming of heat exchanger plates and automation equipment for tandem and transfer lines are a few of AP & T ’ s product areas that have been strong in 2021 . Many of AP & T ’ s customers can be found in the automotive industry and , over 2021 , several new collaborations started with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in China , North America , Europe , South Korea and India . Its Aftermarket Services have also seen an upswing , partly thanks to increasing demand for availability agreements . It is now a future growth area .
The Swedish press specialist announced several new projects , installations and new technology developments in 2021 . We highlight some of these in this article .
Cooker production
In recent years , well-known storm cooker manufacturer Trangia in the small town of Trångsviken ( 40km from Östersund in northern Sweden ) has been experiencing recordbreaking growth . Sales have tripled and the number of employees has risen from 22 to 85 . More than 70 per cent of its sales are now made outside Sweden .
To cope with the surge in demand for storm cookers and related products , it recently ordered a new fully automated press line from AP & T for the manufacture of deep-drawn aluminium products .
“ Growing climate awareness along with people ’ s desire to live in a more sustainable way has promoted interest in intimate experiences in nature , and the pandemic has helped to reinforce this trend . This has resulted in more and more people opening their eyes to our products ,” said Trangia ’ s CEO , Magnus Rydell .
To meet global demand , Trangia ordered a new fully automatic production line from AP & T for installation in Autumn 2021 to increase its capacity for manufacturing mess tins and other deep-drawn aluminium containers by 50 per cent . The order included a press with 100 tons of pressing force , automation for input
A Trangia storm cooker .
and output , safety and control systems and an interface to Trangia ’ s special machinery .
“ It will be a welcome addition to our two existing production lines from AP & T that we have been operating since the 1990s and which form the backbone of our production capability . The machines have been continuously serviced and upgraded with new control systems and automation and are still performing superbly well . So now when the time is right to invest again , it seemed obvious to turn to AP & T ,” added the company .
TemperBox ® makes it possible to combine hard and soft zones in the same structural part .
Press-hardened automotive components
AP & T in Germany received an order for the company ’ s patented solution for advanced partial press hardening , TemperBox ®. The order also includes AP & T ’ s Multi-Layer Furnace , automation equipment , control system and integration . The equipment was delivered , installed and commissioned in Autumn 2021 .
With TemperBox ®, individually-defined areas of press hardened components can be fully hardened to maximize strength while the other individually-defined areas remain soft . This is to achieve the desired ductility and / or to facilitate post processing such as joining or
44 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR February 2022