Increase efficiency, speed and quality thanks to new machinery and automation

Anyone who wants to grow further must not only invest in up-to-date machinery. Automation is a must. Customers want their orders delivered faster and faster and finding technically trained personnel remains a major problem. They have clearly understood this at Stevens Punching. For their laser cutting machines and associated automation solutions, the Stevens family has been a regular Bystronic customer for more than twenty years. Last year they purchased a new ByStar Fiber 4020 fiber laser cutting machine with a 12 kW source and MixGas, which will soon be coupled with a ByTower Line with ByTrans Modular and BySort. A new step towards automated 24/7 production.

Stevens Punching is a leading supplier of custom industrial sheet metal work. They machine both ferrous and non-ferrous materials, from stock or supplied by the customer. The customers are mainly from the world of logistics, mechanical engineering, agriculture and electronics, but also from other sectors. They are looking for a partner who can help them optimize their production process. 

"They choose to rely on an external partner with extensive experience for certain operations. I am thinking for example of market leaders such as Picanol, Case New Holland and Stow International, but our customer base also includes many other large, medium-sized and smaller companies from Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom," says Managing Director Peter Stevens. "I myself have been with the company for more than 35 years and am very proud that my son Nicolas has joined. We want to continue our steady growth in the coming years. We want to change from a subcontracting company into a partner with added value, and support our customers with our knowledge and experience to improve their production process.
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For this, they can count on skilled employees and state-of-the-art machinery at Stevens Punching: CNC-controlled fiber laser cutting machines, punching and bending machines, welding stations, as well as a powder coating plant and assembly department. 

Bystronic has been a court supplier for laser cutting machines for more than twenty years. "Our first contacts date back to just before the turn of the century, when we installed a laser cutting machine 4020 with 4 kW CO2 laser source with associated automation. This machine has served us well for some twenty years. It was soon followed by a second stand-alone 4 kW CO2 laser cutting machine with shuttle table, for which we developed our own system for manual loading with suction cups," explains son Nicolas. "In 2016, we switched to fiber laser technology, with a ByStar Fiber 4020 with 3 kW source, followed by a similar unit with a 6 kW source to replace one of our CO2 laser cutting machines."

To grow, capacity must be further increased. With that in mind, Stevens Punching invested in a 12 kW ByStar Fiber 4020 fiber laser cutting machine in a MixGas version, which will be coupled with a full automation solution. 

"Thanks to the 12 kW source and the choice of MixGas, this machine cuts faster, even on thicker workpieces. The cutting quality is also better, which significantly reduces the lead time. Indeed, there is no burr formation nor oxidation, allowing the workpieces to move to the next stage in the production process without further post-treatment," explains Salvatore D'Angelo, area sales manager at Bystronic. "Currently, this cutting machine is coupled with a ByTrans Cross loading and unloading system, but soon we will install a fully automated line with a ByTower storage tower, a ByTrans Modular for loading and unloading, and a BySort sorting system, which will put all the cut pieces back on the right pallet. Only the sheets will still have to be manually placed in the tower. The rest is all fully automatic."    

BYSTRONIC BENELUX Booth number 189