Let's twist again

Postponement is not a cancellation. Corona threw a spanner in the works at the end of last year, but on April 27 and 28, West and East Flemish companies were once again able to do a lot of networking at the Bedrijvencontactdagen in Kortrijk Expo. A stand not to be missed was that of Amalo, specialist in serial turning from Ingelmunster. Under the motto 'Let's twist (again)', the company showed on stand 1160 how it makes a difference with its turning work.

Amalo, Atelier Martin Lombaert, carries the names of the two inspirers, husbands Chris Martin and Ann Lombaert. He takes charge of the workshop that specializes in series turning, she handles communications. Together they set the bar high to finish each piece to perfection and deliver it to the customer as agreed. A story that started from a deep-rooted passion for metalwork. Martin: "At Amalo we resolutely focus on series turning, both in metals and in plastics, for all kinds of sectors: mechanical engineering, design, lighting, textiles, window and door fittings .... Anyone who wants to excel in their trade has to make choices. By specializing in series turning, you manage the processes and materials to perfection in order to always give customers the right technical advice. For example, if the material a customer suggests is cheaper to buy but leads to higher production costs, we advise him on possible alternatives. With us, he always knows perfectly where he stands."

Match between machines and people

To realize that top-notch serial turning, Amalo has eight full CNC lathes and one brand new milling machine to further finish pieces on. Martin: "Every machine added to the production floor should not only give us extra capacity but also additional possibilities to respond even better to customer requests." Machines are only one side of the coin. Someone with experience and skill must be behind the controls to guarantee quality. Together with two employees, Martin himself is still in the workshop every day. "People are harder and harder to find. We therefore always choose machines that can produce as autonomously as possible, so that we can use our employees as efficiently as possible. That requires multi-deployability and therefore good cooperation. We therefore make every effort to ensure that there is a match between our team." Amalo also invests in its production environment to make working as pleasant as possible. For example, a modern ventilation system keeps the workshop clean, but there is also a huge focus on safety and ergonomics.

Strong growth thanks to proactive communication

Even during corona, clients continued to smoothly find their way to Ingelmunster. Word of mouth is clearly doing its job. "What is the reason for our success? We know from client feedback that they appreciate our proactive communication very much. Through Ann's efforts, they are always perfectly informed about how their order is progressing. In the workshop, we in turn make sure that the customer's pieces are finished according to their wishes. Ann makes sure that we keep our promises in terms of timing. Above all, we want to build a long-term relationship with our customers. The better we know them, the better we can think along with them about how their products can be improved or how we can assist them logistically," says Martin. 

Keep tinkering and growing

Despite the constant bustle on the production floor, Amalo keeps his eye on the future. "We continue to tinker with optimizing our processes to get every ounce of efficiency out of them. We are also working hard to further digitize and professionalize. An ERP package is already in place; in the next phase we want to link this to planning and our stock. But we mainly want to find and make time for our (existing) customers in the coming months. Initially, we want to continue to grow with them. By discussing the new possibilities of your own machinery with them or by further thinking about their products. The Company Contact Days already provided the first perfect opportunity for that. In the coming months we want to further explore those opportunities and sharpen contacts to see how we can (continue to) work together in the future. Let's twist again," Martin concludes.