Fastems, a supplier of CNC automation solutions, has announced that it is ‘closely involved’ in the design of the automation elements for a new factory being built by Gardner Denver, a company which provides flow control and compression equipment.
With the help of Fastems, Gardner Denver hopes to accelerate the manufacture of its products and support Fastems in its continued development of MMS software for modern machine shops.
Fastems also displayed several of its automation solutions at Robotics and Automation 2022.
Gardner Denver, which is also part of the American Ingersoll Rand group, plans to build a new factory in Tampere’s Messukylä industrial area next to the company’s old one. It has also been reported that Ingersoll Rand has already invested several million euros in the project.
It has said this is because its current production facilities, which are equipped with two Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) lines from Fastems, are too small for its growing production needs, which reportedly require both new space and technology.
In addition to this, Gardener Denver hopes the investment can lead to an increase in unmanned working hours and greater flexibility for any small-batch production.
What’s more, use of intelligent automation solutions are set to be installed to make it possible for production equipment to be able to tell in advance when and if human help is needed.
The new factory is scheduled for early 2024.
Gardner Denver describes the factory under construction as a ‘smart production plant of the future’, which it intends to use to significantly increase its efficiency.
“Our goal is to get the OEE, or Overall Equipment Efficiency, figure to 85 percent,” says Jani Mannila, Gardner Denver’s production and development manager. The average OEE in the industry is around 60 percent, according to the two companies.
“The goal is to reduce uncomfortable work, such as night shifts and secondary, physically demanding tasks,” Mannila added.
“We can provide Fastems with valuable first-hand information.
“When we combine the know-how of both companies, we can go even further with flexible automation systems.”
Gardner Denver has reportedly been a customer of Fastems since 1995. With this factory investment, it has said it will actively participate in the development of Fastems’ MMS software.
