Automated production process in response to changing market conditions

In today's changing market, where efficiency plays an increasingly important role, as a company you have to adapt and think along with customers and market demand. An automated production process can provide solutions to challenges such as the major housing challenge facing the Netherlands. Intal has automated its production process even further in order to produce large numbers of frames in a short period of time.

Catching up in aluminum industry

Rudy Schipper, managing director of The Intal Group, acknowledges that while the wood and plastics industries were ahead of the curve in terms of automation, the aluminum industry is busy catching up. "On the one hand, this is because more and more inner-city construction is taking place, which involves much more repetition of elements in projects. On the other hand, machine development has not stood still either. There are machines with advanced technologies on the market today that you can link together, creating a real LEAN train." 

Produce in large numbers

Within the LEAN philosophy, the ideal manufacturing process is described as a One-Piece Flow system where efficiency is the guiding principle. "By this is meant that a product flows smoothly along a continuous production line and is processed step by step, without queues and unnecessary operations. At the end of the production line, a complete finished product then rolls out." And that's exactly what Intal does. "We use state-of-the-art machine technology to work as efficiently as possible in terms of repetitive operations," Schipper said. "Our production process is fully equipped to produce large numbers of window frames quickly and efficiently."

Unburden contractors, shorten construction process

"Thanks to the high level of efficiency in the production process, we save on personnel costs and energy consumption, allowing us to offer our products at an attractive price. In addition, this reduces lead times, saving our customers even more time and money." But there are more advantages according to Schipper: "By delivering the façade elements as complete as possible in a conditioned factory environment, you are not affected by weather conditions, which allows you to guarantee the quality of the products. Also, the fracture risk of glass in a factory environment is much less than on a construction site, which will reduce failure costs." He emphasizes that Intal makes well-considered choices early in the production process, further reducing risks. "And thanks to an automated production process, we are able to plan meticulously and produce predictably, so there are no surprises for us or our customers."

Just-in-time production and delivery

Schipper explains that during production, the "pull principle" is central. "That is 1 of the 5 principles within the LEAN philosophy. Produce when the customer needs it. To know exactly when there is what need, our project managers have close contact with the executives on the construction site. This enables us to produce our facade solutions just-in-time; only when they can actually be assembled on the construction site. The customer pulls the products out of the process to itself, so to speak." By using automated processes, Intal can adapt much more flexibly to changing market conditions. "This allows us to respond quickly and flexibly to our customers' demands in an efficient manner." 

Independent position

In addition, Schipper points out another important added value of Intal: "Because we make our aluminum windows, doors and curtain walls from our own Intal profile systems, and through the acquisition of IJdema Powder Coating and Thermal Breaks, we are not dependent on system suppliers. In addition, we work very closely with established partners for glass and hardware. This has the great advantage that our production never goes wrong, we can deliver quickly and completely, and high quality and reliability are guaranteed." Currently, Intal supplies large numbers of aluminum facade solutions for various projects, such as Hyde Park in Hoofddorp. There, Intal is realizing aluminum facade solutions for building block Notting Hill (by KBM Group), building block Camden Town (by Dura Vermeer) and building block Knightsbridge (by Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling). "We like to pull together with the client to achieve optimum performance," Schipper says in conclusion.