Platform for the metalworking industry
If quality is the norm
By opting for automation in the workshop as well, FRAIPONTS METAALBEWWERKING succeeds in keeping lead times short and leaving room for rapid changeover.

When quality is the norm

What exactly do companies look for in a supplier? Quality, so that the pieces fit their application perfectly, and reliability, so that they are there when they are needed. Two elements in which the young, dynamic team at family-owned Fraiponts excels. "That's the best compliment customers can give us. That they know it will be OK when they order from us."

FRAIPONTS METAALBEWWERING is the official name of the company. The family roots are very recognizable in the name and current owner Davy Fraiponts - he took over the family business in 2016 - is particularly proud of that. "My grandfather started turning and milling in Zonhoven. We have reinvented ourselves several times over the years. First when the mines closed here, then when our biggest customers suffered from the financial crisis. But we came out stronger each time, because we have a close-knit team that pulls in the same direction. That combination of experienced professionals who know perfectly how to clamp pieces, with young guys who are familiar with the latest CAM technology, makes us cast-iron. Moreover, as a family business, we can change gears quickly; we also owe that to the excellent team spirit."

Fraiponts Ekkow Photography 111
The young, dynamic team at FRAIPONTS METAALBEWING. "We deliberately choose sectors where the demands are just a little higher, because we can serve them very well with our way of working, our eye for quality."

Added value in more complex work

That knowledge and experience of the whole team is used for turning and milling mainly high-end pieces in small series. "Because we can bring a lot of added value here for our customers. In the design of their machine or product, for example, by helping them think about manufacturability or cost. But also in the execution. We put a lot of effort into traceability and quality control, in the machine, alongside the machine and in the measuring room. By keeping everything neatly within tolerances for our customers, everything fits together perfectly in the next steps." A second asset in that story is the extensive machine park. Fraiponts aims to offer a wide range, three-axis and five-axis. The latest addition on the shop floor, the Tiltenta 9 from Hedelius, for example, expanded capacity to 3,500 mm in the X-axis and 900 mm in the Y-axis. "We are always trying to invest smartly to be able to respond even better to customer requests," he said.

Fraiponts Ekkow Photography 104
The latest addition on the shop floor, Hedelius' Tiltenta 9 expanded capacity to 3,500 mm in the X axis and 900 mm in the Y axis, for example.

One-stop-shop

And those customers come from very diverse industries. "Medical, food, aviation, electronics, you name it. We consciously choose sectors where the requirements are slightly higher, because we can serve them very well with our way of working and our eye for quality. Moreover, you take the experience from each project and each sector back to the next assignments. Cross-pollination, from which our customers benefit." Although FRAIPONTS METAALBEWWERING's specialty really lies in turning and milling, in recent years it has increasingly cast itself as a one-stop shop. "With our team, we support customers with engineering or with making (sub)assemblies. We also work with regular partners, for example for surface treatment or for grinding and sparking. We try to unburden our customers as much as possible."

Fraiponts Ekkow Photography 4
FRAIPONTS METAALBEWING aims to offer a wide range, from very small to very large, in three-axis and five-axis.

Reliability and flexibility

An important element in that story are the reliable delivery times and the flexibility of the entire team at Fraiponts. "By opting for automation in the workshop as well, we manage to keep lead times short and leave room for rapid changeover. We prepare the programs during the day and then have the machine run additional shifts in the evening, at night and on weekends. This allows the team to sink their teeth into the more complex work during the day and make a difference in that with their ability." It makes the products find their way around Belgium and into neighboring countries, but equally to other sites of customers further away. "For every order we start from scratch here. That you can then live up to it again and again, that customers keep the trust in you, is why we do it."    

"*" indicates required fields

Send us a message

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Kunnen we je helpen met zoeken?

Bekijk alle resultaten