ISMR November 2022 | Page 78

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Pivatic line incorporating a Remmert Tower storage system and an RAS panel bender .
Above ( from left to right ): Eagle commercial director , Bartosz Krzewina ; Eagle CEO Marcin Ejma ; Pivatic CEO , Jan Tapanainen , and Pivatic technical director , Mika Virtanen , at Eagle headquarters .
the help of robots , it is possible to implement various part-handling operations , increasing the flexibility of the lines and expanding line assembly possibilities . Robots are also a solution for combining different functions .
Automated lines also offer better cycle times , shorter set-up times and parts that can be run in a single pass ; all of which are good for productivity levels .
“ This year , we have delivered some really interesting projects with full automation . Our customers are looking for more long-term solutions , so they want good-quality equipment that is long-lasting and productive . They tend to be OEMs with their own production plants , making their own products , and with their own engineering facilities . Many of them are repeat customers . Once they buy a line from us , they tend to come back and buy new lines from us . We pursue an active collaborative partnership policy with our customers ,” explained Mika Virtunen .
Strategic and technical vision
During the EuroBLECH exhibition , Pivatic announced the news that it had deepened its collaboration in coil-fed fibre lasercutting solutions with Polish laser-cutting and automation specialist , Eagle .
“ We have been cooperating with Eagle over the past two years to develop more efficient coil-fed cutting solutions , but 2022 has marked a real milestone . Earlier this year , we delivered the first of these game-changing systems and have another delivery lined up for Europe ,” Tapanainen told ISMR .
“ Coil-fed laser systems offer rapid payback for customers looking for ultra-fast sheet-metal cutting . By using coils instead of blanks and integrating advanced material handling automation , this solution makes the absolute most out of metal , reducing waste and manual handling of parts and skeletons to a minimum ,” he added .
Pivatic can select applications on its lines that may be better suited to either fibre laser cutting or punching and shearing .
Mika Virtanen also confirmed that Pivatic plans to continue expanding electric drive applications in its systems .
“ We will continue producing electric drive technology and are , in fact , expanding this to our bending technology . We aim to redevelop our existing electric bending technologies and launch some new electric bending machines ,” he told ISMR .
He also confirmed that Pivatic is strengthening its presence in Germanspeaking markets and markets in mid-Europe next year . Europe is Pivatic ’ s largest market , followed by North America and Asia . It is looking for new distributors worldwide .
“ The North American and mid-European markets are our most important markets . BRIC markets have been the most challenging for us this year , for obvious reasons ,” he stated . “ We have still been able to operate in a challenging environment with
PivaPunch line for manufacturing HVAC unit heaters .
Above : Front and back plates of an electric radiator assembly , made of punched and bent thin 0.5-0.8mm pre-painted mild steel on a Pivatic line .
supply-chain issues affecting deliveries of parts and components . Despite this , our turnover will be higher this year than last year ,” he added .
He is more cautious about market prospects for next year in Europe and Asia but cites a more optimistic mood and order levels in U . S . markets .
“ The Asian , and particularly Chinese , market is still a bit of a question mark with COVID-19 travel restrictions etc . However , we still see pockets of growth in different parts of the world . We need to be conservative in our forecast as we do not know how the energy crisis will affect our customers , especially those in Europe ,” he explained .
Virtanen also emphasised the importance of partnerships in Pivatic ’ s business , whether with customers , suppliers or system partners .
“ We work with different partners to integrate various technologies on our lines for customers . We can supply larger turnkey lines to customers by doing this . We use a system of preferred partners , which we recommend to customers . For example , we cooperate with RAS on bending lines and Remmert on storage equipment for our lines ,” Virtanen concluded . n
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PivaSystem line for manufacturing electrical enclosures .
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