Lots of light in production

At the site in Rijssen, located in the east of the Netherlands, around 180 employees develop and manufacture feed wagons, silage wagons and feed distribution wagons. Production is based on seasonal demand. Johan H. Veenstra, CEO at Schuitemaker, comments: "In addition to our domestic market, we export to over 30 countries around the world."

The 40,000 square meter production area was initially used as a warehouse. Following a structural extension, it now also serves as an assembly hall. The aim was to carry out all activities for the final assembly of agricultural machinery in one line. To this end, Hall 12 was equipped with four stations for pre-assembly and seven final assembly workstations. For reasons of quality and delivery capability, Schuitemaker attaches great importance to a large in-house production depth. From the chassis to the dosing rollers to the loading walls, most components are manufactured on site and transported to final assembly for installation by industrial truck.

As much stroke as necessary, as inconspicuous as possible

To position the components, the company relies entirely on crane technology, which is used to position and install the elements, some of which weigh several tons. The decision to use crane technology was based on the principle of "as much lift as necessary - as unobtrusive as possible". One point was decisive: due to the pure assembly activity, the cranes should protrude as little as possible and the effects on the lighting situation of the working level below should also be kept to a minimum during crane movements. Johan H. Veenstra: "Due to the number of assembly stations, we need a larger number of cranes on one runway. This makes it all the more important to minimize the shadow effect caused by a crane crossing, which affects the concentration of our employees. That's why we opted for Demag V-type cranes with their open girder structure, which allows as much light as possible to reach the workstations."

Nine V-profile single-girder cranes, type EVKE, travel on the 102 meter long crane runway, which was installed at a height of 6.80 meters above the workstations. The cranes have a track center distance of 21,125 millimeters and are each equipped with a 6.3-ton Demag wire rope hoist. Schuitemaker's assembly personnel control the cranes by radio at a safe distance from the load. Six of the nine cranes can be operated in pairs in tandem mode at the touch of a button in order to position the machine elements weighing up to 10 tons.

Advice, planning and assembly of the cranes was provided by van den Berg Transporttechnik, a company based in The Hague and a long-standing representative for Demag cranes and hoists in the Netherlands and Belgium. The total of eleven Demag V-type cranes were assembled and commissioned by van den Berg within four weeks. The result: the ramp-up of line production was able to start without delay.

Assembly with 180 degree turn

The start of a wagon assembly process begins with the platform, which is initially delivered lying on its back and placed on the first assembly station by crane tandem. After the axle assembly, two cranes pick up a motorized turning device with which the vehicle base is turned through 180 degrees. The tires are then fitted and picked up by an electric pulling device, which is used to transport the car body from one assembly station to the next. "In addition to the ergonomic aspects, the precise handling of the components to be installed was important to us when selecting the crane systems," explains Johan H. Veenstra. "One example of this is the assembly of the side walls. The joining process for these elements, which weigh several tons, is carried out within minimal tolerances. Our team performs these tasks flawlessly with the V-profile cranes."

Production and delivery performance increased

With the realignment of its assembly line, agricultural machinery manufacturer Schuitemaker has taken a significant step towards its future positioning. Johan H. Veenstra: "A purely order-based production process based on the example of the automotive industry cannot be implemented in the agricultural sector, as orders are placed at very short notice. We have to manufacture and deliver the machines for our customers quickly in line with seasonal demand. Thanks to our new production structures, we can meet demand even more quickly - and, thanks to the possibility of multi-shift operation, we have the opportunity to increase our delivery performance even further. The V-profile cranes support our assembly teams in terms of ergonomics and safety so that we can implement our high quality standards."

Contact:Schuitemaker Machines B.V. 7461 AG Rijssen, Netherlands Tel.: 00 31 / 5 48 / 51 41 25 E-mail: [email protected]landbouwmachines.sr-schuitemaker.nl/en

Terex MHPS GmbH 58300 Wetter Tel.: 0 23 35 / 92-0 E-Mail:[email protected] www.demagcranes.de