FennoSteel Oy from Parkano offers 3D cutting services with Scandinavia’s first 3 kW LT8.10 fiber tube laser, covering diameters from 12 mm up to 240 mm. With the machine, the company not only improves the efficiency of its exhaust pipe production, but also increases the degree of further processing of its products as a steel tube supplier and expands its subcontracting tube processing services.
FennoSteel from Parkano is known in the consumer sector mainly for its exhaust systems, which the company manufactures on a very broad scale for passenger cars and vans. In addition to pipes, the exhaust product range includes catalysts, lambda sensors and other exhaust system components, and approximately 50% of the exhaust product line is exported. FennoSteel also manufactures exhaust pipes for work machines, both for original equipment installations and customised applications. During this spring, FennoSteel will expand its exhaust product range to also cover heavy transport equipment.
Exhaust pipes account for approximately 70% of FennoSteel’s turnover, while the remainder of the EUR 14 million turnover comes from the manufacture of thin-walled tubes. In the highly competitive market of steel tube suppliers, the Ollila family company, founded in 1985, succeeds particularly in applications requiring coatings. Coatings include, for example, zinc and Magnelis, a zinc-magnesium coating that provides up to three times higher corrosion resistance compared with traditional galvanised coating. FennoSteel manufactures steel tubes in its own production up to the size range of 89 mm / s = 4 mm, and the company supplies tubes extensively for various applications, including roofing safety products, traffic sign posts, heating pipes and other uses.
Also for heavy-duty tube processing
The BLM Group Adige LT8.10 fiber tube laser, equipped with a 3D cutting head, was delivered to FennoSteel’s production last December by the factory’s Finnish representative, Oy Fredko Ab.
“We wanted to increase the degree of further processing in our tube production, and we selected the Adige LT8.10 fiber tube laser to carry out this task. Adige’s reliability, operational dependability, design and usability convinced us. We were able to put the machine into production use without difficulty, and Adige has met our expectations,” says Quality and Production Manager Miiro Kuusikko.
“At first, we considered a slightly smaller tube laser, but this Adige LT8.10 model had other features we wanted, and our choice therefore focused on a larger model than originally planned. With it, we gained additional capacity also at the larger end of the range, up to a diameter of 240 mm and s = 12 mm, with a maximum loading length of 8.5 m and unloading length of 6.5 m. Thanks to the machine’s 3D cutting head, we can also produce bevels and various demanding holes to a very high quality,” Kuusikko promises.
Parts made with the fiber tube laser for exhaust pipe production were previously manufactured using, among other methods, plasma cutting, precision sawing and drilling, so the new machine eliminates several work phases in FennoSteel’s production.
“Our professional team of 90 people has recently been well employed in one to three shifts, and steel tube production in particular has been on a growth path. We are able to respond to this growing demand with the fiber tube laser by offering products with a higher degree of further processing than before. With the new machine, our production response time has also improved, and the customisability of our customers’ products is now even more flexible. Flexibility and fast response times are indeed among the cornerstones of our operations. The market has already noticed the possibilities of our fiber tube laser in the early stages of the machine’s use, as we have gained new work and new customers thanks to the machine. The machine has proven to be very good, and thanks to its efficiency, it still has plenty of free capacity for new work as well. It is therefore worth contacting us for various steel tube processing needs,” Kuusikko encourages.
