Historical Monument slice by slice from the laser cutting system
JS Lasertechnik demonstrates expertise and strong attachment to its home region with striking exhibit at the Hannover Messe 2016
A miniaturised steel likeness of the Stendaler Roland, a famous monument in the town of Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, has been travelling to the Hannover Messe 2016. It is being “reinterpreted” for the fair: made from 200 individual steel plate discs fastened one on the other on a tubular skeleton, it will be three-dimensional and stand two metres high on its base, with a 1.40-metre-long executioner’s sword in its hands. With its knight statue at the joint stand of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, the company JS Lasertechnik GmbH from the city of Stendal wants to demonstrate its attachment to the home town, the possibilities of its laser cutting plant, the skill of the CAD designer and the company’s ability to develop individual solutions even for unusual ideas.
“We are showing that we can handle complicated tasks”, says Mats-Milan Müller, responsible for the marketing of the JS Lasertechnik Gruppe. As an example, he names the framework construction for the dome of the Zeiss Großplanetarium in Berlin, produced with the laser tube; no other provider had dared tackle the necessary bevel cuts. With components for the frame of a racing car, the Stendal company will this year be involved for the first time – as sponsor of the team of the University of Applied Sciences, Berlin – in the international design competition Formula Student, which will be held in late summer at the Hockenheim Ring.
The company’s range of services reaches from fully automatic flatbed and tube laser cutting to sheet machining to assembly group and high-volume production. The 5-axis cutting head of the tube laser can provide round tubes up to a diameter of 250 millimetres with various cuts, openings and bevel cuts up to 45 degrees, and machine square, U and L profiles. One can thus create, for example, pipe-jointing systems for flexible cable-routing or tube-fixing systems for scaffolding construction. The cutting plants machine steel, stainless steel and aluminium.
Laser technology makes possible high speed, great versatility, precision and quality from the individual part to high-volume production. “We supply components that are further processed. Our assembly-supporting technologies mean savings in time and money for our customers”, explains Müller. The need for subsequent milling and drilling can be dispensed with. Hook-pin systems, markings and stretchable bend joints simplify further welding and assembly work, remove the need to set up machines or assist the building of scaffolding constructions.
An innovative oven programme is an additional project. The wood-fired oven combines the principle of the tube convector, which quickly distributes hot air in space, with an integrated, highly effective storage mass. The combustion system developed by JS Lasertechnik is patented; the hot air oven for houses, apartments or workshops impresses with an efficiency of over 80 percent and enormous heating performance.
Managing Director Jens Schumacher started off small in 2007 with three employees. As a service provider predominantly founded for regional metalworkers, JS Lasertechnik quickly drew the attention of larger customers. The company has long since become active nationwide and now wants to also increase its market presence in Austria and Switzerland. The number of employees in Stendal has risen to 47, and the company is prepared for further growth, having purchased a neighbouring building.
At JSP Gommern GmbH in the county of Jerichower Land, the JS Lasertechnik Group employs 16 people. With its technical equipment, this business extends the Stendal company’s range of services. Two lasers machine sheets up to a size of 6.0 x 2.5 metres, a tandem sheet metal bender makes it possible to process sheets with a maximum length of 8.0 metres. “There are only a few providers for these dimensions”, says Müller. Last year, JSP Gommern was taken over from insolvency, thus securing jobs.
The employees realise complex customer requests with a combination of craftsmanship, experience, technology and know-how. For this they develop tools that make the necessary steps possible in the first place or discuss the further development of the machines with the plant engineer. For several months, two field service employees have been travelling with equipment suitcases in Northern and Southern Germany, in order to show what lasers are capable of when they are guided in the most modern and professional way. “Even in the digital age, personal contact is still important and often decisive”, knows Müller as a marketing expert. “It consolidates trust, the meetings give our customers inspiration for new product ideas and for the development of technology and of our company.”
JS Lasertechnik is focussing on foreign markets for its further growth and is working out an internationalisation concept in collaboration with Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. The administration employees are being brought up to speed with English courses, and the integration of foreign personnel and students into the company is also part of the strategy. For example, an exchange student from Jordan will soon be beginning a six-month internship at JS Lasertechnik after his semester abroad at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.
The company wants to further intensify its contact to the university in order to allow a knowledge transfer and to offer students the opportunity to develop concepts for practical application. Finding qualified employees is not difficult for JS Lasertechnik: “The stable development and the good company climate motivate our employees and thanks to our positive aura we receive lots of applications”, reports Müller. Growth will not fail because of a lack of skilled personnel: also helping to ensure this are, he says, the company’s own vocational training, integrated degree programmes, internships offered for school students and the good links to the university and to the region’s vocational colleges.
Author: Bettina Koch (text / photo)
Caption
Plant operator Tobias Henneberg stands at the operating terminal of the fully automatic tube laser plant TruLaser Tube 7000 for the processing of round and square tubes up to a diameter of 250 millimetres.
