Minkels chooses smart automation with SafanDarley

Smart automation for continuity and scalability

For Minkels, automation is no longer an option, it is a prerequisite. In a market where speed, quality and scalability are decisive, Minkels chose SafanDarley’s automated bending solution: the R-Brake 130T.

Minkels is part of Legrand and develops high-quality cabinet, containment and cooling solutions for data centres. Demand is growing rapidly. And as a Dutch manufacturer, you need to think ahead.
As Rik Hellings (responsible for maintenance and machinery) puts it clearly:

“No investments are made here anymore without automation.
If you want to keep manufacturing in the Netherlands, you have to automate.”

Why automate?

For Minkels, automation comes down to three things:

1. Controlling costs in the Netherlands
   Labour is becoming scarcer and more expensive. By automating, you reduce the number of labour hours required per product. Not by replacing people, but by using them more intelligently. Once started up, the R-Brake 130T can produce unmanned for up to nine hours. That is not a goal in itself, but it does ensure predictable output and lower cost per part.
2. Ergonomic and attractive work
   Heavy, repetitive bending work is taken over by the robot. Employees shift to monitoring and optimisation tasks. This makes the work physically lighter and technically more interesting.
3. Consistent, higher quality
   Automation ensures repeat accuracy. Less variation, fewer corrections, lower failure costs. This is essential, especially for series of 1,000+ parts per week.

In the Dutch manufacturing industry, you simply cannot remain competitive without this step.

From an integrated machine park to automated bending

Minkels carries out the entire production process in-house: from laser cutting to powder coating and assembly. The next logical step was automating sheet metal processing with the R-Brake 130T.

After a careful selection process, Minkels chose SafanDarley. Not only because of the technology.

“Your relationship, the advice, and the fact that you could do things a competitor could not, were what made the difference for us.”

The partnership has been in place since 2010. Trust is built by delivering what you promise.

The strength lies in scalability

What makes this investment truly strategic is its scalability.

Minkels makes a one-time investment in all the required software licences and the training needed to work with a SafanDarley R-Brake. From that moment on, the foundation is in place.

When Minkels decides tomorrow to add a smaller automated cell, for example a Mini Cell, it can immediately operate within the same software environment as the R-Brake 130T. Programming, operation and customer-specific settings are already configured.

That means:

• No new learning curve
• No separate programming structure
• No duplicate implementation
• Fast expansion

That is scalability in practice.

“We made one solid investment. Now we can scale up whenever we want.”

— Rik Hellings