Christine Wagner, Managing Director of Alfred Wagner Stahl Technik & Zuschnitt GmbH in Pasching, Austria, places great emphasis on satisfied customers, as well as satisfied employees. Thus, innovations and investments in their machinery are integral to her successful leadership style. Therefore, the new ELEMENT from Messer Cutting Systems not only delights customers and management but also employees.
Steel cutting under the motto "Heavy Metal" is the core business of Wagner Stahl. Since 1946, the family - now in its third generation - has also been manufacturing customer-specific components in various grades and processing levels.
Christine Wagner has been the convinced leader of the medium-sized company in Upper Austria since 2011. "Continuity and sustainable development are just as important to us as family-friendly working hours or healthy and safe working conditions," explains Wagner her leadership strategy. "That's why it's important to me that we continuously renew our machinery and stay up to date."
Exceeding Expectations
Therefore, in 2022, an existing cutting system was to be replaced with a new one. "We set our expectations very high," says Wagner. "We wanted a high-quality cutting machine that not only exceeds the demands of our customers but also our own."
In addition, the system should
- cut with oxyfuel,
- offer a cutting area of 12,000 x 3,000 mm,
- have an extraction table,
- be available for short-term delivery,
- be space-saving to install, as the installation area was rather limited,
- provide excellent service,
- offer good value for money.
Decision for Messer
"At Wagner Stahl, we involve employees in important decisions. This fosters team spirit, respect, and trust," says Christian Aufreiter, Operations Manager. "Therefore, additional criteria were important to us in selecting the new machine, such as ease of use, modern technology, or low pollutant emissions," Aufreiter continues.
Messer Cutting Systems had been supplying consumables for the existing machinery park with seven machines for several years. "We have been a supplier to Wagner Stahl for some time and were able to score with the new ELEMENT with the management and employees," recalls Gerhard Wimmer, Head of Messer Cutting Systems Austria. "With our solution, we fully met all selection criteria."
Comprehensive Package
Today, Wagner Stahl operates with an ELEMENT machine platform from Messer Cutting Systems, including Global Connect control and an extraction table, six oxyfuel machine torches ALFA, and the Industry 4.0 software OmniFab Module Machine Insight.
Ready for Action in a Week
Within just one week of assembly, the machine was ready for operation. "The cooperation between Wagner Stahl and us as a supplier was extremely good. Thus, from the initial discussion to acceptance, we were able to meet the customer's high requirements," reflects Wimmer. "We never doubted that we had chosen the right partner," adds Wagner.
The machine is now running at full capacity. "Working with the ELEMENT is a real pleasure," reports Aufreiter. "Especially because we now have significantly better cutting quality as well as significantly lower downtime and simultaneously lower service and maintenance costs."
From his point of view, it is important that Wagner Stahl did not only focus on the purchase of the machine until installation, but also beyond: "The new machine is very easy to operate thanks to Global Connect. The colleagues were able to familiarize themselves with it in no time. Due to the high degree of automation, you don't have to be a specialist in metallurgy or oxyfuel technology. The control guides through all processes. One of our machine operators came from a different industry, quickly adapted to the ELEMENT, and now produces the best cut parts," says Aufreiter happily.
Excited for the Future
"We are so convinced by the Messer machine that we will modernize further systems," says Wagner when asked about future investments. "We already ordered another machine in March 2024," adds Aufreiter. This time it is an OmniMat with four ALFA oxyfuel machine torches up to 300 mm and a drilling unit.
With the second Messer machine, Wagner sees herself and her team well prepared for the future: "The industry is evolving rapidly. We will keep up. Being more flexible, faster, and better is the motto."
ELEMENT
The flexible machine platform ELEMENT combines high productivity and precision with individual configuration and updates. The machine stands for the flexibility to configure a system precisely according to individual requirements. The ELEMENT is the all-rounder for all common cutting and additional processes, for series tasks with continuous operation, as well as special tasks focusing on perfect cuts.
Oxyfuel Torch ALFA
With many well-thought-out features and possibilities, the ALFA torch takes oxyfuel cutting to a new level. For example, the torch nozzle can be changed without tools, eliminating misalignment of the torch, and drastically reducing setup times. Material is used more efficiently, as ALFA can effectively cut along the edge of the plate using sensors.
Global Connect
The Global Connect machine control is extremely easy to use. Machine operators are guided intuitively and forgivingly through all production steps. Plate processing is carried out without manual intervention. Reliable production data reports support seamless traceability.
OmniFab Machine Insight
OmniFab Machine Insight provides important information about the cutting machines in real-time during operation. All important information about the program currently being cut on the machine, the current shift, the utilization in the last eight hours, and the number and type of errors that have occurred on the machine are visible. This allows errors to be detected more quickly, including measures for their elimination to be initiated early.
Effective Extraction Table
The extraction table ensures a stable workpiece support for the cutting process and enables very effective separation of pollutants generated by thermal cutting.
