CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THE "ENGINE" OF OUR COMPANY

What follows is the beginning of the story of our collaboration with a major Australian service center and distributor of steel products.

This is the story of a collaboration started about 10 years ago with an Australian customer thanks to the help of our local dealer. In this case, the customer is one of the leading national steel service centers and distributors of steel long products, including reinforcing bars and meshes, hollow sections, tubes, bundles, rolled and wire products. The supplier operates in more than 150 locations throughout Australia but he also has an international footprint due to the presence of manufacturing installations and scrap metal sites around the world.

It all started with the purchase of a V-25APC, which belongs to Hydmech's range of automatic vertical band sawing machines and is ideal for cutting various solid and structural materials from -60° to +60°. In order to optimize the purchase, the customer decided to equip the sawing machine with Hydmech's Material Handling System to facilitate the handling of the pieces to cut.

Satisfied with the efficiency of the purchased products, in 2018 the customer decided to purchase other systems for some national locations. The first order was for a V-18APC, an automatic vertical band sawing machine from Hydmech for miter cutting from -60° to +60°. Subsequently, the customer purchased another vertical automatic band sawing machine from Hydmech, the V-25APC sawing machine for cutting solid and structural materials from -60° to +60°, which is extremely versatile for different applications. In this case, the sawing machine was equipped with our Material Handling System to increase productivity through more efficient and effective material handling, thus optimizing the use of resources and space.

In 2021, the customer commissioned a new installation consisting of Hydmech's V-20 semi-automatic vertical band sawing machine and KK530 motorized and idler roller conveyors. This sawing machine model enables miter cutting from -60° to +60° on various types of materials such as beams, structural steels and bundles of square tubes. In order to work in combination with the sawing machine and make the production process smoother, the customer opted for our motorized and idler roller conveyors, which allow to handle any kind of section and bundle. The customer needed to install part of the material handling system outdoor, so customizations had to be made; in addition, some roller conveyors were equipped with the following MHS options: safety covers, vertical rollers and tray for coolant recovery.

2022 was a very positive year for our collaboration as we were able to meet new customer requirements emerged in various locations across the country. In fact, the following installations were realized during the year:

- V-18APC-60, an automatic vertical band sawing machine from Hydmech for miter cutting from -60° to +60°. Together with this model, the customer also requested KK530 motorized and idler roller conveyors.

- Shark 382-1 Sxi Evo, a semi-automatic band sawing machine for cutting metals from -45° to +60°, and KK530 motorized and idler roller conveyors.

- VW-18, a semi-automatic vertical band sawing machine from Hydmech, and KK530 motorized and idler roller conveyors. This sawing machine is a reliable choice for all cutting applications of medium-light metals from -60° to +60°. As far as Material Handling is concerned, the customer requested to equip some roller conveyors with loading/unloading side adapters, safety covers, vertical rollers and stop devices at the bottom of the roller conveyors. The same installation was commissioned and manufactured for three different sites.

- M-20A, an automatic band sawing machine characterized by exceptional cutting capabilities between 0° and +60° on a wide range of materials and ideal for heavy-duty applications. In addition to the sawing machine, the customer commissioned a Material Handling System consisting of KK730 motorized and idler roller conveyors, some of which were customized to allow outdoor installation.

The collaboration is constantly evolving and, in these early months of 2023, the customer has requested a new installation involving the VW-18 semi-automatic band sawing machine connected to KK530 motorized and idler roller conveyors.