Simplifying the lives of sign makers

Getting to the top is one thing, staying there is quite another. Nevertheless, Rittal has been the market leader in Belgium for years in switch cabinet technology for industry and IT. A reputation built on innovative strength and delivery reliability. To perpetuate that role in the future, Rittal Belgium will open its Rittal Application Center in 2023. An honor bestowed on only five countries, demonstrating the expertise already built up here in Belgium to help customers automate.

Making complex simple. It was the driving force behind developments at Rittal from the very beginning. It inspired the company for the first standardization of enclosure systems. And it is for now and in the future the core idea behind all innovations. 

"Innovation power that Rittal uses to help companies take steps in sustainability. A card that we already resolutely drew ten years ago and today we are reaping the benefits together with our customers. With our cooling systems, for example, they can save 75% of energy. As a Belgian company headquartered in Germany, we try to add a good dose of service to that, so that we can guide customers to turn our products into solutions in the workplace. We also have a well-stocked warehouse ourselves, so we can guarantee excellent delivery reliability. We see logistics as a core competence and aim for delivery times within 24 hours," opens Managing Director Koen Wolfcarius.

A momentum on which Rittal Belgium clearly wants to continue in the coming years. "We see a clear trend in the market towards more automation and digitalization. Technical profiles are becoming increasingly scarce. So the easier we can make it for our customers, the better," Wolfcarius knows. The Rittal Modification Center is already clearly responding to this. Existing enclosures are modified there completely to the customer's requirements, whether this involves additional cut-outs, mounting of plinths, mounting profiles, control cabinet lighting, cable entry plates... "A strong advantage for further unburdening customers", Wolfcarius points out. "Especially through the interaction with sister company EPLAN. The ready-made 3D drawings coming from their software can be fed directly into our Perforex machines, so everything is done in no time and to perfection."

With the opening of the Rittal Application Center in 2023, Rittal is transforming its Modification Center into the Rittal Application Center and going one step further. Quite an honor, as only five will operate worldwide in the first phase, each specialized in its own domain. Business Development & Marketing Manager Mario Van Bever: "In Belgium, machines and knowledge will be bundled around automation. Besides the Perforex machining center and the Secarex cutting center, Rittal's newest machine, the Wire Terminal, will also get a home in Lokeren. This is a compact wire making machine that helps make cabling more efficient and economical, a service that we can now also offer to our customers. There are also electric lifting tables and assembly tables. Actually, the intention here is to give our customers ideas on how to further automate themselves. Besides demonstrations to show that, all the machines will be used for training and education."

"Actually, this is the best proof that we started down the right path with our Modification Center years ago," Van Bever says proudly. "Automation is clearly the way of the future. We have all the technology to help our customers save time on the one hand. On the other hand, it also allows them to use their increasingly scarce technicians for more valuable things and eliminate errors. That's the added value we can provide." Currently, preparations are underway to officially open the doors of the Rittal Application Center. "We have given part of the showroom and warehouse a makeover to make room. Customers will be welcome here from spring to discover with their own eyes how we can grow together in automation and digitalization," Van Bever concludes.