October 24, 2014 02:00 AM

Automation firms join forces, look to automotive for future growth

Caroline Seidel

Stefan Maier, left, of Robot-Technology GmbH and Thomas Herian from 3Con, show parts that could benefit by combining their automation companies' services.

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY — Hoping to ease the way for automation in some specialized areas of automotive plastics like laser cutting of door panels, a German robot maker and an Austrian lamination and joining specialist announced a partnership at Fakuma.

One of the companies, 3Con Anlagenbau GmbH of Ebbs, Austria, also said it plans to start a service and assembly facility in Novi, Mich., near Detroit, as it said it sees strong sales growth in North America.

Fakuma, which took place in Friedrichshafen Oct. 14-17, is the first show that 3Con and Robot-Technology GmbH exhibited at jointly, and the first time they have disclosed the partnership, after starting the technical cooperation six months ago, said Stefan Maier, managing director of the Kleinostheim, Germany-based RT.

In an interview at their booth, executives said they see the partnership supporting two trends in the auto sector: car makers find new technology easier to adopt with stronger technical support, and the increasing number of global platforms of car models, with the same vehicle manufactured and sold in Europe, North America or Asia, is fueling demand for standardization.

“Our customers want global partners,” said Georg Schemmerer, head of sales in the United States and China, for 3Con. “More and more cars are being made on global platforms.”

The two companies are not investing in each other, and both said they prefer to keep the cooperation looser, Schemmerer said: “We are convinced the looser cooperation is the best, to be more flexible.”

Maier said that 60 to 70 percent of RT's technology, which includes laser-cutting and clip assembly for plastic components, can be integrated with 3Con's offerings, which focus on lamination, automation, welding, thermoforming and edge folding.

The venture is also designed to help control the price of such integration, he said: “We both have experience in the technology and we don't push the price so high.”

Photo

Caroline Seidel

A typical car door structure which could be produced through automated systems using equipment from both 3Con and Robot-Technology.

RT has 55 employees, while 3Con has grown from about 50 people two years ago to 175 today, with annual sales of about 50 million euros, Schemmerer said. About 75 percent of its sales are in Europe, he said.

Both firms said they do more than 90 percent of their business in the automotive market. Maier said they do not see much application for the technology outside the auto sector, given the high costs and need for significant volumes to make the automation cost effective.

In the car industry, however, 3Con sees significant potential in North America, and expects to have 30 employees at its Detroit center by mid-2015, he said.

“We have a lot of business in the U.S.,” he said. “This year we have 10 million euros in sales in the U.S. with no office.”

The company also is seeing increased demand because several years ago it began manufacturing more products under its own name and shifted from making its equipment for other companies, Schemmerer said.

3Con also expects growth from global car makers in China, he said.

“The same technology is being requested by Europe in China, particularly the German companies,” Schemmerer said. As one example, he said car makers in China are interested in automating processes such as vinyl edge wrapping of door panels, as labor costs rise.

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