Equipped for excellence
Bekaert’s in-house engineering department plays a key role in the optimization and standardization of our production processes and machinery. This department designs, manufactures, installs and services the critical equipment for our production plants worldwide.
Newly designed equipment will always combine performance improvements in various areas including product quality, production excellence and flexibility, and cost efficiency. Our main focus areas are machine safety, ergonomics and the environmental impact.
Building the factory of the future
Our engineers and technicians use their broad experience to create the “Bekaert factory of the future”, by working on high performing, innovative equipment at a low operational cost, machines that require minimal change-over time, and ensuring maximum automation and robotics. Spool handling logistic pilot projects are running in plants in the US, Slovakia and China. Strong efforts are taken to automate equipment, allowing machine operators to optimally use their expertise on tasks with added value. The new machines are intelligent and human centered, alerting operators on performance and product quality.
Factory automation and manufacturing execution system are enablers to optimize productivity. The interconnection and digitalization show in the increased use of sensors and robotics. Advanced sensors and measuring tools are increasingly being integrated into Bekaert’s manufacturing equipment in order to control the specification tolerances during various production steps. This enhances Bekaert’s product quality testing capability in all critical process stages.
Bekaert Engineering is systematically exploring new techniques such as additive manufacturing (e.g. 3D Printing), micro-EDM (electrical discharge machining) and modeling and simulation technologies.
Modeling and simulation technology enables us to shorten the development time of our equipment drastically. Compared to systematic trial and error, it brings us much closer to a ‘first time right’ design and execution.