"Challenging each other and continually wanting to innovate. That is the basis of our 20-year partnership."

SCHUNK, specializing in clamping technology, gripping technology and automation technology and BMO Automation, manufacturer and supplier of automation solutions for the metal industry have now been working together for almost 20 years. Their secret? "Thanks to honesty, respect for each other and a drive for innovation, we are able to push boundaries. Our goal is to turn potential into performance. SCHUNK helps us do this so that we can market our products even better," states Frank Biemans, founder of BMO.

"About twenty years ago, as a SCHUNK representative, I came into contact with Frank who was still a student at the time," explains Guido Segers of SCHUNK, "For an automation cell he was developing, he was looking for gripping products to make strides in automation. We equipped his robot with grippers to put a product in a milling machine. That was the beginning of our cooperation," said Segers, now general manager at SCHUNK. 

Modularity

Frank Biemans founded BMO Automation during his student days. The company has since grown into a major international player in the field of automation solutions in the metal industry. Biemans: "The common thread through the years is that we are always looking for improvements and striving for the best solutions from the customer's point of view. This means that we respond to customer needs, but at the same time use standardization and modular building blocks. SCHUNK likes to think along with us in this, and we always strive to go the extra mile. At the same time, we at BMO continue to innovate continuously, which has led to the development of the INFINITY platform, among other things. With INFINITY, we are able to expand robot cells in a modular way later on, allowing us to automate the entire factory step by step - at the customer's pace. Again, we do this with a standard combined with modularity. As a result, we increase accessibility so that our solutions become immediately applicable to a wide audience."

Urge to improve

Segers adds. "Frank has an intrinsic drive to improve and innovate. For example, he regularly shows us his ideas and concepts after which we then brainstorm how our portfolio can contribute to shaping them. Often he is satisfied with the design of our technology, but then wants to make a modification or add his own interpretation. There are few people who think about solutions so thoroughly in function of the customer. He challenges us to also think in a different way. By being honest and having respect for each other, you can strengthen each other."

Win-win-win situation

Segers gives an example. "Take a zero-point system with which you can quickly change the set-up of the machine within a high accuracy (5 μm). By looking at this together, we figured out that it should also be possible to turn this into a robotic clutch. A precision clamp became a gripper, a gripper was modified into a clamp and so on. What the products were originally intended for, they were given a different function partly due to enthusiasm and knowledge about industrial automation. Until today, that has also been good for us to produce new parts again. In short, by being honest and transparent and making innovation the goal, you get further together and can really solve customers' problems. It's a win-win-win situation. We hope we can continue this cooperation for a long time to come."