From pure supplier to reliable fixed value-added partner

Anyone who wants to continue to grow as a company must also dare to reinvent themselves: tap into other sectors, invest in new machines and automation solutions, take the step towards digitalization... Stevens Punching from Ypres has been a valued supplier of custom-made industrial sheet metal work for decades. However, this family business, where son Nicolas Stevens now assists father Peter in the daily management, wants to evolve into a reliable permanent partner.

Stevens Punching is a leading supplier of custom industrial sheet metal work. For this it can count on an enthusiastic team of more than thirty employees and state-of-the-art machinery: CNC-controlled fiber laser cutting machines, punching and bending machines, welding stations, as well as a powder coating plant and an assembly department.

Supporting customers

Father and son Stevens are hard workers who do not rest on their laurels. That's why they also thought about future strategy. 

"We are experiencing steady growth and we want to continue this evolution, for example by further diversifying the sectors we serve. We want to transform from a subcontracting company to a value-added partner, supporting our customers thanks to our knowledge and experience to improve their production process," says Peter Stevens. "To do this, we need to have sufficient capacity. The first steps were already taken with thoughtful investments in new machines and automation solutions, for example in laser cutting. Now we bought a 12 kW fiber laser cutting machine, which in the next phase will be linked to an automatic sorting center that will already put all cut pieces on the right pallet. The welding robot and robot, which we installed in 2021 and 2022 respectively, have also provided a lot of growth."

Digitizing

Nicolas Stevens picks up: "We also need to adapt our organization to this growth. That is why we are working on an in-house developed digital platform, where all data from the various departments are displayed in an orderly manner, supplemented by an extra production planner. By mapping out how many hours of laser, punching and welding work go into pieces, we must also be able to maintain competitive prices and reliable delivery times in the future. Customers must be confident that their orders will be completed in order and on time."