Industrial builder invests in steel department

Companies must be able to respond flexibly to customer demand. But if demand continues to rise, they must look for solutions. This involves outsourcing operations to third parties or investing in expanding machinery and capacity themselves. MTS Systems, which specializes in metal structures, steel construction and concrete construction for industrial building projects, recently purchased a plasma cutting machine for its steel department. With Astratec, they chose a Belgian manufacturer with a good reputation in plasma cutting. A HiFocus 360i neo with Contour Cut from Kjellberg forms the heart of this extremely stable machine from the M-series.

MTS Systems from Brustem was founded exactly thirty years ago with a focus on industrial and steel construction. Since the late 1990s, the company has been producing concrete panels. "We are rock solid with steel and concrete and follow every project down to the last detail," says managing director Ruddi Truyens proudly. "We have extensive know-how and have our own design service, study service, assembly and production workshop, which allows us to always respond flexibly to customers' needs. All customized products are delivered to the site and can be assembled by our own craftsmen." Among the products available to customers from MTS Systems are columns and beams in steel and concrete, single-walled steel sheets, sandwich panels, concrete sheets and panels for wall cladding as well as fiber cement sheets, single-walled profiled sheets and steeldeck or concrete with insulation and roofing or PVC as roofing.

Brustem-based MT Systems specializes in concrete and steel construction.

Plasma cutting table with HiFocus 360i neo technology from Kjellberg

The industrial builder is experiencing steady growth. The steel department in particular had experienced a huge boost recently, leaving insufficient capacity. The company's management decided to invest in a new drilling line and a plasma cutting machine, which could be used both for operations in steel construction and for applications in concrete construction, for example in the processing of footplates for thicker concrete elements. Truyens and his team opted for an M-series plasma cutting table from Astratec, equipped with a HiFocus 360i neo plasma source with Contour Cut Technology from Kjellberg. "Immediately after the leave we installed a plasma cutting table type M500 2070. This extremely stable machine with reinforced bridge has a cutting width of 2,000 mm and a cutting length of 7,000 mm and is the preferred solution for machining workpieces with a thickness of up to 50 mm, as is common at MTS," explains Joost Levrouw of Astratec. "A HiFocus 360i neo plasma source from Kjellberg forms the heart of this installation. We have been working with Plasma Solutions, the Belgian subsidiary of Kjellberg from Wechelderzande (Lille), for some time and have been very satisfied with the quality of the plasma sources delivered and with the support. The Contour Cut technology ensures that we can guarantee a nice straight cut on all workpieces. Moreover, any operator can handle this technology without any problems. By the way, this M series is ready for the new generation of Q plasma sources with optimized Contour Cut and Silent Cut technology, which Kjellberg will be unpacking soon."

This cutting table is equipped with a HiFocus 360i neo plasma source with Contour Cut Technology from Kjellberg.

Cutting quality and service make a difference

Since the beginning of August, the plasma cutting machine has been running at full speed. "We chose Astratec because it is a Belgian manufacturer, but became convinced mainly because their customers rate the quality of the machines and the company's support very highly. We are certainly not disappointed, because the quality of the cutting and the support from the supplier are excellent," Truyens concludes. "This cutting machine allows us to accurately machine very long workpieces. Moreover, it is equipped with a special strip, where we can lay metal profiles, which still need to be machined. This is an additional asset, allowing us to work even more efficiently.