FACE TO FACE
Andreas Hellriegel( Sales Director, ARKU) and Alexandra Schuldt( Marketing Director, ARKU) next to the ARKU Wizard control at Blechexpo 2025 in Stuttgart. A demonstration on the FlatMaster ® levelling machine on ARKU’ s stand.
burrs from fibre laser-cut parts. We also see the continued use of more high-tensile material for deburring and levelling. In a climate of labour shortages, our customers are increasingly asking us to make the machines easier to use, so have made our controls as user-friendly as possible. Automation will be the next step for many of them,” he explained.
However, he also pointed out the effect that tariffs have had on global supply chains.
“ Tariffs have also made the global economy more challenging and distorted global supply chains. This year has been turbulent for the industry— the blanket setting of tariffs has led to uncertainty for our customers and partners across the world. The U. S. is an important market for us— we have two local companies there to provide support,” he told ISMR.
“ Unfortunately, the automotive industry is still in difficulty( particularly in Germany, where we have a lot of customers). The Chinese market, although we still sell machines there, is also becoming harder to access as the Chinese are increasingly using their own machinery. However, ARKU’ s credo is to create its own economic momentum, particularly when times are challenging,” he continued.
of which is generated by our own PV systems. This includes sustainable and energy-saving devices and practices at our headquarters at Baden-Baden in Germany e. g. solar roof panels, electric cars and electric forklifts,” confirmed Andreas Hellriegel.
“ We build reliable machinery that offer long lifetimes, to save resources. Our levellers, for example, can operate for decades. Their rapid operation saves energy along with servohydraulic control systems and a range of other energy-saving features,” he added.
ARKU is also increasingly focused on retrofits. Through targeted upgrades, existing coil lines can be modernised in a cost-effective and sustainable way. This leads to increased performance, energy efficiency and automation— all with significantly lower investment compared to new equipment.
“ Requests for upgrades and overhauls for coil lines have increased. We have therefore built an experienced team dedicated specifically to modernising and retrofitting coil lines. This not only extends the service life of
ARKU retrofit services for coil lines. production equipment but also allows existing machines to be used more safely, productively and efficiently. It’ s a real contribution to sustainability and cost-effectiveness – especially when a new investment is not viable, but production conditions are shifting,” continued Hellriegel.
“ Generally speaking, parts cut from coil generate significantly less waste compared to cutting from standard-sized sheets. This is the case, for example, for coil-fed laser blanking lines. By eliminating fixed format limitations, sheet-metal parts can be nested more efficiently, enabling up to 30 % material savings for large-format components,” he concluded. n
EDITOR’ S NOTE
Meet ARKU at IMTEX in Bengaluru, India( 21-25 January 2026) on stand # A113 in Hall 4.
www. arku. com
An eye on sustainability
With its ESG approach( Environment, Social & Governance), ARKU is pursuing a holistic concept to ensure that its actions have a long-term positive impact on the environment, make a contribution to society and promote entrepreneurial thinking.
“ We are increasing the energy efficiency of our machines, processes and sites, promoting the electrification of mobility and focusing on renewable energies. We are reducing our carbon footprint through a range of measures such as continuously reducing our energy consumption and carbon emissions. Our German sites use 100 % green electricity, 20 %
ISMR November 2025 | ismr. net | 57