INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Stockholder upgrades bar storage system

German steel and aluminium stockholder Günther+Schramm has upgraded its high-bay store to ensure the continued reliability of the Königsbronn materials stocking and distribution operation. Carried out by engineers from the original warehouse manufacturer, Kasto Maschinenbau, the modernisation service is available to customers in the UK and Ireland through the group’s subsidiary in Leicestershire.

Supplying over 60,000 tonnes of metals and plastics annually to manufacturers in southern Germany and neighbouring countries, Günther+Schramm employs 180 people who place a lot of emphasis on timely delivery of the high quality products. This activity requires a smoothly functioning warehouse, but the company’s pre-existing storage and retrieval system had started to impose limitations on what was possible.

Michael Sticke, assistant operations manager responsible for the Kasto system in Königsbronn, says: “After three decades of service, the original mechanics were causing frequent disruptions, leading to significant downtime. It was a classic example of a bathtub curve, where initial issues subside, followed by a long, stable period before a rise in failures due to age and wear. We were always at risk of waiting a week or two for a replacement component, preventing us from serving our customers in the meantime.”

So the decision was taken to modernise the Kasto SNLS 5000/7100 S high-bay bar storage system, whose cassettes accommodate material up to 7.1 m in length to a maximum weight of 5 T per location. Given the stockholder’s positive experience with Kasto equipment over the years, including various sawing systems such as a KASTOvariospeed C 15 circular saw with robotic handling of cut pieces, Günther+Schramm naturally chose the same firm for the extensive retrofit.

More information www.kasto.com

Multi-million expansion at Doncasters

Precision castings specialist Doncasters has commissioned a new fully automated shell line at its Groton facility in Connecticut, USA, a key advancement in the company’s long-term manufacturing strategy. The $13m capital investment expands the Groton site’s operational footprint by 17,000 ft² and introduces next-generation automation and environmental control systems. Equipped with three high-precision six-axis robots and the IC-Crystal Shell Management System for process management, the new line significantly enhances production capacity, part quality and operational reliability.

More information www.doncasters.com

Prima Power Expands Italy Plant

Earlier this month, Prima Power inaugurated the expansion of its Cologna Veneta (VR) plant, a centre of excellence for sheet metal bending solutions. The facility offers over 50% more production capacity thanks to an additional 2500 m² and a 150 kW photovoltaic system, enabling sustainable growth.

Prima Power’s expanded VR plant has a new service building with an academy hall area for training, additional offices and renewed functional spaces, enhancing employee wellbeing.

Global production at the company also see a boost: the expansion completes the renewal project of Prima Power sites worldwide, making them more efficient, sustainable and fully integrated.

More information www.primapower.com

QA industry highlights in a nutshell

A new event format, ‘QA Expert Days’, will kick off a new event rhythm for Control, the international trade fair for quality assurance, in 2026. In future, the trade fair will take place in odd-numbered years – next time on 27-30 April 2027. In even-numbered years, the industry will gather for the two-day QA Expert Days. The debut of the two-day congress event, which presents specialist knowledge and industry innovations in a compact format, will take place on 20-21 May 2026. This exclusive meeting of experts will be a high-calibre and concentrated meeting among sector decision-makers.

More information www.bit.ly/44FRXzZ

Precision at its strongest with WFL M70 MillTurn

The new M70 MillTurn, the latest addition to the WFL product family, is suitable for applications which require both productivity and precision. It offers working lengths up to 8000 mm and a swing diameter up to 850 mm. In addition, WFL says the new M70 MillTurn offers optimal stability and geometry for precise, reliable machining thanks to high pull-in forces at the tool interface, as well as a range of additional options for productive deep-hole drilling processes and special technologies. With the capability to machine workpieces weighing up to 5000 kg, the MillTurn is suited to heavy-duty applications.

The M70 MillTurn features the familiar, reliable disc tool magazine or chain magazine offering up to 200 tool stations and capacity for tools weighing up to 35 kg with a maximum length of 900 mm. In addition to automatic tool changes, the set-up process can also take place in parallel to the machining time, which allows the magazine to be tooled for different orders without any loss of time. Two magazine variants are available for heavy special tools weighing up to 200 kg each.

According to WFL, the M70 also features reliable main and milling spindle drives, delivering precision and advantageous versatility for different customer needs.

Specially developed tools which have been designed to work seamlessly with the MillTurn enable the precision machining of complex workpieces. As hard to access machining areas often require the use of long special tools, the use of robust prismatic clamp holders means that boring bars, solid drills and angular heads can be attached to the turning-boring-milling unit in a highly stable manner.

More information www.wfl.at