Mäkelä Alu's Customer magazine 2019

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MÄKELÄ ALU CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 2019

FEATURED ARTICLES

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THE NEW POWDER PAINT SHOP AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF COMPETENT PARTNERS LUOMA-AHO IN ALAJÄRVI – WHY ARE WE HERE?

AluNews 2019 I

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editorial

Greater capacity, more coated profiles 2019 was a special year for us. In the spring, we began operations at our new paint shop in Voikkaa, Southern Finland. We are proud and excited because opening a completely new paint shop in a new location was a significant step for us. This investment was made possible by the trust and support of our customers and our dedicated staff. The new location is vital with respect to our deliveries across Scandinavia – now many of our customers can get their profiles faster than before.

We only use the latest technology and modern operating models in our powder paint shops. This is how we ensure costefficiency even with small batches. We are delighted that the new paint shop enables us to increase our capacity to a whole new level.

Our strategy is to provide our customers with an exceptional service and to develop our

production processes according to the needs of our customers. Now we are able to reach this goal more often.

Our new facilities have also added longneeded storage space to our warehousing service. In this magazine, you can read more about our new paint shop and customer stories. We hope that our customers will prosper with us and that we will all continue to grow in the future. Please get in touch if you want to increase your production efficiency, for example, with our warehousing service!

Happy reading!

MÄKELÄ ALU SALES TEAM

Contents

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the new powder paint shop begun operations

A service package for surface- treated aluminium profiles an extensive network of competent partners

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personal contacts are importat

– Kompetenzcenter-Metall GmbH our customer alulux

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LUOMA-AHO In alajärvi

– why are we here?

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The new powder paint shop begun operations in Kuusankoski We invested in a new modern paint shop in early 2019. We prepared the start-up of operations all spring. The powder paint shop is located in Voikkaa, Kuusankoski. The project progressed as planned, and the start-up was completed at the end of the summer.

“The preparations were well on track. Paint line testing begun at the end of April, and pilot production begun in May. The first customer profiles were delivered at the end of May,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Production Director Tomi Pilbacka.

The start-up operations were supported by staff members from Luoma-aho’s surface treatment, logistics, IT and quality departments. Arto Kokkoniemi was appointed as the supervisor of the new paint shop. In addition to the supervisor, the Voikkaa site will initially be operated by nine employees. The aim is to expand the unit to run on three shifts.

“The start-up was implemented in stages, gradually increasing the amount of different paints and profiles.

Luoma-aho’s paint unit will handle the rest of customer deliveries according to current practices. Customer deliveries planned for Voikkaa begun at the end of July 2019,” says Pilbacka.

Thanks to Voikkaa, Mäkelä Alu’s storage service got more capacity.

Right: SAT’s experts are preparing the new equipment at Voikkaa in spring 2019.

4 A significant step Setting up the new paint shop is a significant step for Mäkelä Alu, since the company’s profiles were previously treated exclusively at the Luoma-aho site.

“We are very excited at the Luoma-aho site as well. Our increased painting capacity will enable us to maintain and improve our service capability and thus allow our customers to develop their own production processes. We are talking about a so-called flow production process, which includes, among other things, a warehousing service, which is part of our AluServices concept,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Chairman Petri Mäkelä.

More storage space The capacity of Mäkelä Alu’s warehousing service will also increase with the Voikkaa operations.

“Our warehousing capacity will increase,

”Our warehousing capacity will increase, which will mean more flexible services to Mäkelä Alu’s customers” MIKA KORKEA-AHO, SALES DIRECTOR

which will mean more flexible services to Mäkelä Alu’s customers, which is an important part of the company’s strategy. We are pleased that now we have more much needed storage space to sell. The warehousing service is convenient to customers: it lowers the customers’ warehousing costs as they do not need to worry about the operating expenses of a warehouse,” says Sales Director Mika Korkea-aho.

Voikkaa also provides a more flexible location when it comes to deliveries in Southern Finland.

The location enables faster delivery times in certain deliveries and improves the security of supply.

Luoma-aho’s paint shop is smaller than Voikkaa’s. At Luoma-aho profiles are surface-treated still in both horizontal and vertical paint shops.

AluNews 2019 I our customer tells

A service package for surface-treated aluminium profiles Mäkelä Alu supplies aluminium profiles for the Swedish window manufacturer Svenska Fönster AB’s entire range of windows.

The profiles are delivered to an external subcontractor who stores and processes the profiles before the windows are manufactured.

“We started cooperation with Mäkelä Alu on a small scale in 2013. In 2015, our cooperation expanded significantly with the introduction of Mäkelä Alu’s specialty colours. Mäkelä offers specialty colours that can be customised to order. This places high demands on order accuracy and the quality of profiles. The specialty colour segment also includes the surface treatment of plates. Mäkelä Alu also supplies standard colours for some of our windows,” says Stefan Hellgren, Purchasing Planner at Svenska Fönster AB. “Mäkelä Alu’s operating model helps us to produce our products cost-effectively and enables us to offer our customers an extensive range of windows in different colours. This makes us an attractive window supplier for a wide range of customers. We are very pleased with our cooperation with Mäkelä Alu. We think that Mäkelä Alu is a committed supplier who wants to develop its operations together with Svenska Fönster,” Hellgren adds.

Successful cooperation is based on trust Mäkelä Alu offers warehousing and surface treatment services to Svenska Fönster.

“Since the beginning of our cooperation, we have earned Svenska Fönster’s trust to supply

The people from Svenska Fönster were visiting at Mäkelä Alu’s paint shop at Luoma-aho in autumn 2019. them with more and more painted aluminium profiles in different colours. The cooperation has been very interesting,” says Anders Bengtsson Mäkelä from Mäkelä Alu AB. Mäkelä Alu AB is Mäkelä Alu Oy’s subsidiary located in Sweden.

“A short delivery time from order to delivery places high demands on the warehousing and management of raw profiles. This requires committed and customer-oriented staff. Our unique logistics model enables the fast delivery of painted profiles. Having our high-bay warehouse and paint shop in the same location brings flexibility to colour modifications in both small and large orders,” says Anders.

Would you like to know more?

Contact our team and set up an appointment!

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Mäkelä Alu collaborates with an extensive network of competent partners Thanks to our network of partners, we are able to provide a wide range of further processing services to our customers, including component manufacturing and assembly.

With the help of our network, we have provided our customers, for example, with sound barriers and roll-up doors, and have delivered door and balcony systems for luxury cruisers.

Our network includes approximately 15 partners.

One-stop-shop principle Mäkelä Alu’s sales personnel make the service process easy and convenient for the customer.

“There are different starting points. The customer may have an idea for the aluminium profile they need, or we may work on the profile together from planning to production.

The customer can order the desired further processing service from us. We take care of the entire process and deliver the finished parts to the customer as agreed. This is very convenient for the customer,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Network Manager Jouni Peltomäki.

Our network has several machining centres,

approximately 20 in total, which demonstrates the potential and capacity of our network.

“Over the past few years, our partners have invested in new equipment that represent the latest technology in the field. We can machine pieces ranging from 30 mm to 14 000 mm in length. The maximum width for a piece is 1 500 mm and the maximum height is 1 200 mm, so we are able to process finished products of various sizes.”

Further processing services can also be combined with Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® or AluCallOff® storage services.

“This gives our customers the opportunity to increase their operational efficiency,” Jouni states.

Local and reliable Nearly all of the suppliers in our network are located in the immediate vicinity of Mäkelä Alu’s factory area. The transport of products

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does not take up much time, which also reduces the carbon footprint of our end products.

“Our network also includes companies that are located in Vimpeli, approximately five kilometres from us, and a few other companies that operate in other regions, such as our colour anodization partner that operates in Espoo,” explains Jouni.

All companies committed to the network are required to maintain an ISO-compliant quality management system or an in-house quality management system. The network is constantly developed and monitored.

“We measure performance on the basis of delivery reliability, consumer complaints, and accidents. Our subcontractors report these figures to us on a regular basis.”

For more information, please contact our sales department. Check out our contacts at http:// www.makelaalu.fi/en/contact-us/sales/

Couple of examples from our network. There is machined sample piece, bent profile and a colour anodization samples in the picture.

The services of our expert network include: • Aluminium profile • Grinding and polishing manufacturing • Precision cutting • Machining • Powder coating • Punching • Colour and nature • Sheet metal work anodization • Bending • Assembly • MIG and TIG welding • Procurement of parts • Friction stir welding (FSW) and components • Robotic welding

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AluNews 2019 I our

customer tells

Kompetenzcenter-Metall GmbH

Personal contacts are important The company, Kompetenzcenter-Metall GmbH, was founded by the shareholder and managing director, Christoph Langen, and has its core competence in the field of aluminium drawing profiles and their further processing.

Based in Cologne, the company currently employs 25 people and has a high-tech automated plant and exclusively manufactures in Germany.

Kompetenzcenter-Metall GmbH has extensive technical expertise, as well as a documented quality management system in accordance with DIN ISO 9001:2015.

The key qualifications that characterize the company particularly include customerorientated consultation, especially with regard to the cost-benefit analysis of system solutions planned by their customers, fast and flexible response times with regard to the flow of information, and partnership-based collaboration in all respects.

As a high-performance service provider in the field of aluminium machining, the company

supplies products and components for the automotive industry, the aerospace industry, the refrigeration equipment industry, the aircurtain system industry, the shower cubicle industry, the photovoltaic industry, window and façade technology, the metalworking industry, and the glass processing industry. The company paid a great deal of attention to producing the glass roof structure for the Football World Cup stadium in Cape Town/South Africa at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (Images attached) ”Here, the selection of our primary material suppliers plays an important role. Not only good primary material quality and punctual delivery are of extreme importance to us as a ’job shopper’, but also personal contact with our partners is of great importance to us,” said Managing Director Christoph Langen during our last visit to Cologne in May 2019.

We are very pleased about the good collaboration with Mäkelä Alu Oy and continue to look forward to good cooperation in the future.

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alulux

OUR CUSTOMER ALULUX Alulux is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of modern roller shutter systems, external venetian blinds, screens and garage doors.

Alulux has been producing exclusively in Germany since 1960. And with commitment and know-how has developed into a global pioneer in the industry. The branded products are optimally designed for the requirements of specialized retail customers.

Alulux has been part of Cement Roadstone Holding (CRH), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, since 2012.

The worldwide operating building materials manufacturer has about 85,000 employees. Within the Group, Alulux belongs to the group Shutters & Awnings (CRH SA) with approx. 280 employees at the location Verl.

The focus of Alulux is organic growth. Alulux bundles its strengths and continues to focus on the national and international roller shutter, door and sun protection markets. Alulux is a traditional roller shutter manufacturer, accounting

Kai Robert Böttninger, Leena Kalliokoski, Heinz Gorges. for about 80 percent of its turnover. The remaining 20 percent are in the outer blinds and screens segment. Garage doors belong to the niche products with approximately 8,000 units per year. Almost half of the turnover is generated abroad.

Alulux is firmly committed to partnering with specialist retailers in 2019 as well. Sales via this route will continue to be the only way for Alulux to reach the end user.

Mäkelä has been one of

the most important strategic suppliers for the company for 25 years.

A collaboration we can be proud of. Meanwhile, Mäkelä manufactures about 100 different profiles, including the profiles for the new Alulux project Enext 3.0. After this long time, the Alulux contact person Heinz Gorges is replaced by Kai Robert Böttinger. That’s why they visited us in January 2019.

We look forward to good cooperation also in the future.

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Mäkelä Alu’s production facilities are located in South Ostrobothnia, in a small village called Luoma-aho in Alajärvi. We have been operating here for over 80 years now. We are very proud of our location, especially now that Suomen Kylät ry named Luoma-aho Village of the Year 2019. The picture shows people from the village association and Esko Mäkelä in the middle. Photo: Henri Ruuska

Luoma-aho in Alajärvi – Why are we here?

Luoma-aho is a thriving village of 350 people that has more jobs than residents. The village is home to several industrial and service sector companies. Mäkelä Alu is actively committed to supporting the development and vitality of the village.

11 “Being located in Luoma-aho means much more to us than just having good logistics connections. My grandfather Fredrik Mäkelä founded the company in Luoma-aho in 1937.

My father Esko continued the business, and during our 80year history, we have grown significantly and witnessed various phases, war and recession, good times and bad times,” says Petri Mäkelä, the Chairman of the Board at Mäkelä Alu. “Our mission is to improve the competitiveness of our customers. However, improving local wellbeing is also an important part of our mission. We are a major operator in our region, and we employ nearly 300 people.

We play a key role in the development of the local community as well as the regional economy. We always make decisions on a long-term basis and strive to collaborate with our staff, the community, and the entire region to ensure that everyone can live and work here for the next 80 years as well,” Petri adds.

The story of our extrusion line Young Esko Mäkelä was buying his first extrusion line in Germany in 1989. It was an important deal, both for Mäkelä Alu and for the company selling the machine.

Once the deal was concluded, the German business partners

”We are a major operator in our region, and we employ nearly 300 people. We play a key role in the development of the local community as well as the regional economy.”

PETRI MÄKELÄ, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

suddenly burst into applause and cheers. This must have been an important deal, Esko thought. Later, it turned out that something else had happened at that very moment: the Berlin Wall had fallen. However, that moment remained an important milestone in the history of Mäkelä Alu, as it marked the beginning of a new era: the production of aluminium profiles, which still continues to this day.

Active investment in the modernisation of production Three years ago, Mäkelä Alu started implementing large investments, amounting to approximately 10 million euros in total. The first thing on the agenda was updating the aluminium extrusion line that Esko had purchased 30 years ago.

“This type of upgrade is a significant and laborious task. The old extrusion line was replaced with a modern P4 extrusion line system. The complete reconstruction of such an important line requires careful preparation, and its start-up takes several weeks,”

says Production Director Tomi Pilbacka.

Deploying new technology is not always the easiest way, but it is driven by the desire to be a pioneer and the goal of continuous improvement.

“Between 2018 and 2019, the updates continued by investing in, for example, the high-bay warehouse area and a new paint shop. We also make intangible investments by providing further training for our staff.

Having multi-skilled staff is important for the success of our company,” Pilbacka adds.

In recent years, Mäkelä Alu has invested in its surface treatment facilities. The company has opened a new paint shop in Voikkaa and modernised its anodising plant. The functionality of the paint shop in Luoma-aho has also been improved.

“Our goal is to be the leading provider of surface treatment solutions for aluminium profiles. Our aim is to offer cost-effective solutions for our customers, for example, in the form of additional services, such as providing warehousing for surfacetreated profiles,” says Sales Director Mika Korkea-aho.

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durable and stylish The specialty of our AluCoating® surface treatment concept is Decoral, a decorative coating that can imitate stone, wood, or almost any desired pattern.

Decoral is an excellent coating option for aluminum profiles when visually appealing but lightweight structures are required. Wooden structures tend to be heavy; aluminum may be a more sensible option for large structures.

The use of aluminum can also significantly reduce the fire load.

A Decoral-treated profile has the same characteristic as a

powder-coated one. The surface treatment is very durable and

protects the aluminum from wear.

In outdoor use, Decoral surfaces do not require any maintenance, and dirt can be washed off them easily. Decoral-treated materials can also be recycled. The Decoral coating can be applied up to 6.7-metre-long aluminum profiles.

Decoral-treated aluminum profiles have the same properties as powder-coated profiles.

Visit our website to learn more about our coating options: www.makelaalu.fi -> surface treatment -> Decoral

Did you already download the alu vendor -app?

You may have noticed that you can easily monitor the status of your shipments with your mobile or tablet. You can see the situation in real time anytime, anywhere. If you want to keep track of your orders online – just download the AluVendor app from the AppStore or the Google Play Store.

To sign up, you will need the IDs that you can ask from your salesperson or by requesting from sales@makelaalu.fi.

MÄKELÄ ALU OY | Mäkeläntie 2, 62830 LUOMA-AHO, FINLAND +358 6 557 7600 | sales@makelaalu.fi | www.makelaalu.fi