Interview with the CEOs
The drive behind the production concept for the Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution industry.
Reading time: 5 minutes
With a unique value proposition for the Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution industry, the Dutch companies AWL and WEMO opt for a proactive collaboration to further automate productivity and flexibility in our customers’ production process. From coil to cabinet.
“We still see a lot of manual labor and batch production in the Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution industry,” the CEOs of both companies indicate. “So there is plenty of room for productivity improvements.”
We spoke with both gentlemen, Brand van ‘t Hof, CEO of AWL and Jeff Hagelen, CEO of WEMO, about the collaboration, the concept and the added value this partnership provides to our customers. Read more about it in this interview.
The collaboration
WEMO and AWL have known each other for over 30 years and have worked together on various projects during that time. Both companies are known for their reliability, global presence and ingenious design. The machines themselves are of the highest quality, clever design and will transform your business in many ways. One very common change our customers always feel is the machines ability to increase output substantially.
“We’re both machine manufacturers. We know each other’s machine technology, and we both know the manufacturing feasibility of our customer’s product and the tolerances of the individual parts. We speak the same (technical) language when it comes to cutting products from the sheet, shaping and joining,” according to Brand.
“As individual companies, we make a big impact for our customers. Together, the impact is even greater. We have much to offer when working together for the customer. The combined value of the two companies further automating the production process as partners for a particular customer is enormous,” according to Jeff.
WEMO and AWL contribute a great deal of experience, complementary knowledge, and technique. Combining both companies’ strengths makes for an impressive. In this scenario, the customer sits at the table with the right suppliers to take the next step in automating the production process, from coil to finished product. In this specific instance, Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution cabinets.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. With our collaboration, we have a solid solution in the broadest sense for our customers, based on thorough expertise and experience,” concludes Jeff.
On this basis, AWL and WEMO will proactively cooperate and ensure that the productivity of the customer’s production process is greatly improved.
Flexibility and productivity
Automation and robotization are becoming increasingly important, also for the manufacturing industry, specifically in the cabinet building segment. Both companies still see a lot of manual labor and batch production. So, productivity and flexibility can improve significantly.
With the AWL/WEMO solution, the customer no longer must build inventories, but he can produce on demand. He is also less dependent on staff, which is a comforting thought when it is becoming increasingly difficult to find motivated staff for machine operation. Our customers will experience major positive impact to various areas of their processes in terms of productivity with this concept. You will have less material loss, shorten lead time, and will increase your efficiency substantially. This considerably reduces the cost price.
“Automation allows us to increase the productivity of our customers,” according to Brand.
“In addition, we believe in building strong partnerships and engaging in the highest level of collaboration possible with every one of our customers. We have in-depth knowledge about the Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution industry. By combining our market knowledge with the customer’s business case, our modular solution with some customization enables our customers to become leaders in their industry. That is what drives us, making a winner of our customers,” Jeff adds.
Both AWL and WEMO want to create that euphoric winner feeling multiple times at the customer level. Not only on delivery of the machine but also the first time that the machine produces on-site and with the service afterward.
The production concept from coil to cabinet
Thanks to the sharp WEMO bending tolerances, the product can go directly to the precision laser welding solutions of AWL. The tolerance followed by laser welding allows the customer to remove the post “weld dressing” step typically requiring grinding the weld and adjacent area prior to paint. The removal of this manual, labor intensive step will result in a much faster production process, ultimately leading to the lowest cost per unit.
Our concepts are based on standard modules. AWL and WEMO also offer the possibility to deliver partial customization for a customer-specific requirement. This hybrid option ensures that WEMO and AWL can incorporate repetition without inconvenience to the customer. Indeed, the customer benefits from this. The companies are able to take advantage of economies of scale when building the machines enabling the sell price to be competitive, produced more efficiently and flawlessly.
“It is not a complete standard off-the-shelf solution; we offer the customer. It’s a process that we engage in with the customer to provide a future-proof solution,” says Jeff.
Modularization and global footprint; key for our customers
AWL and WEMO are going to roll out this concept worldwide. Together with the modularization, the two companies can provide shorter lead-times at a more competitive price point. Anyone can offer worldwide products and services, but not many companies are able to develop winning concepts, build and deliver the product and service worldwide on time.
“Thanks to our global footprint, we are always present in the right time zone speaking the language of the customer,” says Brand.
With this unique value proposition for the Electrical Enclosures and Power Distribution industry, both gentlemen are looking forward to collaborating with customers. The companies are empathetic to the customers challenges and have a combined history of 85 years of experience in providing solutions to numerous industries. This increases the productivity of the customer’s production process without compromising quality, making the customer successful, now and in the future.
