AUTOMATED SHEET METAL STORAGE AND HANDLING CUTS DELIVERY TIMES De Cromvoirtse, a Netherlandsbased steel stockholder and contract manufacturer of small batches of semi-finished sheet metal components, has invested in two interlinked, automated storage systems from Kasto and connected them to three sheet metal laser cutting machines to help speed deliveries. The Uniline store and Unitower B ensure fast, accurate, damagefree material handling, while the supplier’s warehouse management system keeps track of stock and ensures smooth order processing. Internet shopping is on the rise, not only for consumer purchases but also in industry. Manufacturers are increasingly ordering materials
online, as it saves time and cuts costs by allowing different offers to be compared easily. The increased competition means that a vendor, to be successful, must not only have a broad range of products at attractive prices, but also be able to make fast deliveries and provide a comprehensive array of services. Founded in 1982 and with headquarters in the town of Oisterwijk, near Tilburg, De Cromvoirtse spotted this trend early. The company has operated an online portal since 2008, which today accounts for about 70 percent of orders. Customers can use the website to upload drawings and specifications and within two minutes they receive an automatically calculated quotation
for production of the component. Manufacturing capacity includes press brakes in addition to the laser cutting machines. About 90 percent of products are made from steel, stainless steel or aluminium sheet, the remainder being pipes and sections. Janwillem Verschuuren, one of the company’s two managing directors commented, “Most of our 1,200 customers are small and medium-sized companies, like agricultural machine manufacturers, car body makers and machine builders. “For them, it often doesn’t pay to buy machines of their own and hire expert personnel to make parts, because they only need limited quantities.