- Hey Åsmund, can you come out for a short meeting? We have to talk.
Chairman of the Board Sten Kåre Bergman in Alukak Systems is on the phone to Åsmund Voster in Allinvent. He's got a new idea, but needs help getting it realized.
For over 30 years, Aluhak has produced scaffolding and scaffolding equipment for use in the oil and gas industry, construction and for the private market. The company's head office is located at Klepp in Rogaland, and in addition they have branches in Trondheim, Bergen and Oslo. As the name suggests, it is aluminum that is used in the production. The aluminum products they supply compete against scaffolding in steel. Weight and corrosion are two of the selling points. This is important, not least offshore. With its low weight, unique strength properties and long life, aluminum is a unique material for use in the production and development of scaffolding.
Downtime and the future
- For us in Aluhak, everything went on rails from the day we started up in 1987 and until 2014, says Bergman. But in 2014 it was as if someone turned off the light, he says. The oil crisis hit us hard and we had to rethink our operation. In order to survive, we had to make drastic adjustments in the way we produced and we had to cut costs.
We take a walk outside Aluhak's modern premises at Klepp, where large quantities of scaffolding are ready to be sent out to customers all over Norway. In 2001, parts of the production were moved to the Polish town of Stettin. It was also invested in facilities in the city Police just north of Stettin.
Automation
- The downturn in the oil industry made us decide to develop for the future, Bergmann explains. We made plans on finding ways to automate production. Could we use better and smarter technology to make things more efficient? We also realized that automation would cost the same in Poland as in Norway. The idea of moving production home to Norway began to become more and more attractive. And it is no secret that the market we are in responds positively to the fact that things are produced in Norway.
Local and smart
The plan for Aluhak was good. They wanted to move production back to Norway. They wanted to focus on automation and smarter methods. The goal was safe, Norwegian and resource-friendly production with top quality. But then it was this little thing: How to make everything go on smoothly? It's not enough to just want automation, reading a bit online and pressing a few buttons.
Expertise
Bergman and his colleagues realized that they needed help from someone who had competence. It was here that Allinvent came into the picture.
- After looking carefully at the production in Aluhak, we suggested that they use an advanced welding robot, says Åsmund Volster in Allinvent. To Aluhak this sounded like a good idea.
But everyone who has been through the automation of industrial production knows that not only is buying a robot and putting it in a production hall. Everything must be incorporated and managed in the right way.
- Here we received invaluable support from the people of Allinvent, says Bergman. They delivered something we had no idea, he admits. Allinvent not only has expertise in the technology. They are also local, and it was quite important in the commissioning of the new production line. They could set up at short notice and be an important supporter of us in Aluhak. You do not need to bring in experts from distant countries when the knowledge is found in the neighborhood.
Top quality all the way
With an automated production, Aluhak delivers reliably and with the quality the Norwegian market demands. Bergman says that in the long run they want to move the entire production to Norway. Today, Aluhak has annual sales of approximately NOK 130 million.