Since the introduction of a new generation of Panasonic welding robots un-der the name TAWERS at the beginning of 2006, Valk Welding has fitted the TAWERS robot in more than 150 robot systems in European companies. The most important starting point for developing this new generation of welding robots was to market a universal robot that could be used for MIG, MAG and TIG. Until recently the TAWERS welding robot could only be used for MIG or MAG welding processes, but now it can also be used for the TIG welding pro-cess without difficulties. The major advantage is that the standard wire mo-tor, which is controlled as a servomotor within the robot system, is suitable for MIG, MAG, and TIG wire feed. In the autumn this innovation can be seen at the major welding-technology fairs.

The TAWERS welding robot belongs to the latest generation of welding robots from manufacturer Panasonic and stands out because of its high movement speeds (180m/min) and high communication speed. Panasonic achieved the latter by combining robot control and welding-machine control in one CPU. The extremely high communica-tion speed has enabled the development of new functions, such as SP-MAG, Arc-Lift and Arc-Welding Monitoring. For the welding practice, this means a splash-free and significantly faster welding process, a

shorter cycle time and better control over the welding quality.Using one system for both welding processes has never been this easy. All you need to do is switch to a different software programme, change the torch for MIG, MAG or TIG and change the consumables!

The TAWERS welding robot for MIG, MAG and TIG will be shown ‘live’ to the public at the Valk Welding stands at the following European fairs:- HI 2007 in Herning, Denmark, 4-7 September - MSV in Brno, Czech Republic, 1-5 October

• Missing link between MIG and TIG . . . . . . 2

• MGG Group B.V. uses welding robotisation

to keep abreast of competition . . . . . . . . . 3

• Valk Welding wants to grow in Europe

as system integrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

• Thule Towing Systems takes first steps

towards jigless welding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

• Handling robot uses Vision system to

locate beer pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

• Polish Reha-Pol-A welds 80,000 chair

frames with Panasonic welding robots . . 8

• Welding robot increases capacity of

Czech trailer manufacturer Panav . . . . . . . 9

• PFA unit (Pneumatic Feed Assist)

prevents wire-feed problems . . . . . . . . . . 10

• Van Hool benefits from PFA units . . . . . . 11

• Danish Bosal-Sekura switches to

Panasonic TAWERS welding robots . . . . . 12

• Valk Welding continues to grow in Denmark

• Wide range of stainless-steel welding wire

available from stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

• Super-light welding Speedglas helmet . 14

• News in brief and events. . . . . . . . . . . 15-16

Valk mailing

In this issue

a publication of Valk Welding 7th

year

- 2

007

- no

1

Welding-robot-installation for

D'Hollandia

© Valk Welding BV, 2007Alle rights reserved.

TAWERS welding robots now suitable for

MIG-MAG and TIG!!

TAWERS welding robots now suitable for

MIG-MAG and TIG!!

By applying new control technology, Panasonic has managed to market SP-MAG welding as the missing link between MIG and TIG welding. This welding application, which has its origins in the automotive industry where it was used to weld thin-walled materials, has provided the long-awaited solution for many suppliers to the automotive in-dustry. SP-MAG has earned its spurs in welding applications for the manufac-ture of exhaust pipes, where several half trays need to be welded.

Mechanical and construction benefitsDue to the close co-operation between Valk Welding and Panasonic, Valk Welding not only achieved welding-technical benefits, but also a number of mechanical and con-struction benefits in the welding robots. A number of purchasers are already enjoying benefits, such as:

• Bent-arm construction that creates a significantly larger operating radius for the robot. In combination with the integra-ted welding-current cable, this patented construction is one of the major advanta-ges of this welding robot over comparable products.

• Besides the bent-arm construction, an auto-calibration method has been integra-ted into the arm of the welding robot that can be applied to all six axes. This functio-nality is the one that is appreciated most by the welding-robot programmers. The auto-calibration method is used to remedy devia-

tions caused by collisions as a result of faulty product positioning or open clamping tools,

which means programme corrections have become a thing of the past. • The mechanical construction of the robot - Panasonic paid a great deal of attention to the minimum dimensi-ons of the wrist and arm construction - has ensured that the TAWERS robot can be used in the smallest nooks and

crannies that comparable systems can only reach with special torches or cannot

reach at all.

Arc-Welding MonitoringWelding-parameter monitoring is a standard function in the control that can be expanded with several levels of monitoring systems. This makes Panasonic the first robot sup-plier in the world with an all-in package for top-quality welding that can be monitored and recorded with software. This has made the link between top-quality welding and monitoring.

The developments of the TAWERS welding robots have

not stopped since their introduction on the Benelux

market in 2006. It is customary for new products with

new technologies to be used in those areas where using

welding robots used to be difficult if not impossible.

With the introduction of the TAWERS, a range of ap-

plications have become suitable for robotised welding

and several welding-robot installations have been fitted

successfully with our clients.

SP-MAG - missing link between MIG and TIG

TAWERS has expanded the scope of the welding robot

2V

AL

K M

AIL

ING

2

00

7

TM

MIG weld in 0.6mm base material

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

7

With sites in Tegelen in Limburg, Bergen and Antwerp in Belgium, the MGG Group B.V. is one of the largest aluminium casters in Euro-pe. The entire process of engineering, tooling, casting, finishing, machining and assembly takes place within the group. The site in Tege-len largely focuses on sand casting automo-tive parts and aluminium heat exchangers for the boiler industry. To give you an example of the production - each day this site processes approximately 30 tonnes of aluminium.

Weld up slots laterMGG supplies to all the major names in the boiler industry. It is clear that the products are subject to stringent requirements, and the finished castings must be hundred percent tight. All castings are tested carefully, visually and with x-ray, before they are machined further. The aluminium automotive parts and heat exchangers are cast in a mould that consists of a top and a bottom half. The inside of the mould is obtained by inserting a sand core, which needs to be removed after the material has hardened. In order to make this de-coring possible, some castings have slots; these slots must be welded up later on, and within MGG that work is carried out by two welding robots.

Robot supplier with welding knowledgeRuud Jagt, welding technician of MGG, re-members welding the castings by hand in the past and his experience was essential during this welding-robot project. “We had set our-selves the target of doubling production by using the welding robots. Any robot supplier can meet that requirement, but successfully

robotising the welding process requires a supplier with in-house knowledge of robots and welding technology. Valk Welding was able to supply the complete package and was prepared to work together with us to develop the welding process on the robot.”

Simple cell and complex welding processValk Welding supplied its first cell in 2000 - a standard cell with a Panasonic VR006 welding robot and turning table was sufficient to meet the required capacity. The manipulator and the clamping jig were made by MGG itself from a perspective of simplicity and safety. The operator puts one heat exchanger in the clamping jig and fixes the strips with a tack weld before the welding robot fully welds the strips. Ruud Jagt, “As the heat ex-changers need to be one hundred percent gu-aranteed tight, this is carried out with a pe-netration of 5-6mm and an advance speed of 50 to 100 cm/min. In close co-operation with Valk Welding and gas supplier Air Products, we switched to Argon/Helium in combina-tion with AISI12 welding wire. This achieves better penetration at higher advance speeds and with lower amperages.

95% less manual workBesides achieving a production increase, obtaining consistent quality was an equally

important objective on using welding robots. Ruud Jagt, “By using the welding robot and achieving a higher and more consistent qua-lity, we were allowed to use the slots more often. In turn that meant we were processing more castings in our department. In 2004, we commissioned a second welding-robot cell with a VR006L welding robot and a program-mable three-axis rotating manipulator. This improved the access to the products and significantly shortened the cycle time. Both cells are now used five days per week in a three-shift system. All in all we have reduced manual work by 95%, which did not only meet our objective, but the work for the ma-nual welders has become less monotonous and less heavy.”

www.mgg.com

We all know that welding aluminium castings requi-

res more than a standard recipe - the structure is not

the same as that of standard aluminium and this me-

ans you need to establish the correct combination of

gas, welding wire, parameter settings, and you need

a great deal with knowledge and experience to meet

the imposed quality requirements. The MGG Group

acquired a wealth of experience with the manual

welding of heat exchangers in the past and over time

they developed their own recipes. The increase in the

numbers, the greater complexity, and the increased

competitive pressure from China made automation

the inevitable next step. Together with Valk Welding

and gas supplier Air Products, MGG has successfully

managed to robotise the welding process.

3

Ruud Jagt (r) of MGG and Bas van Haagen, technical consultant Valk Welding

MGG Group B.V. houdt met lasrobotisering concurrentie buiten de deur

MGG Group B.V. houdt met lasrobotisering concurrentie buiten de deur

.. after welding the slots

Before and ..

The company has achieved sharp growth in recent years by selling and supplying welding robot systems, welding equipment and robots for handling applications. Sales were given an extra boost when Bosal placed a large international order for the supply of welding ro-bots and welding wire. To meet its objective, Valk Welding is planning to extend its delivery programme for consumables with a complete range for the whole of Europe. The company has now received ac-creditation for ISO-9002 and is working hard on the introduction of Welding Performance Management. There are also plans to extend the distribution network. Valk Welding now operates 24-hour de-livery in the Benelux region.

Breakthrough in flexibility During the past ten years Valk Welding has made an important con-tribution to the development of flexible robot automation solutions. Prior to that, the use of robots was restricted mainly to large series. That soon changed when Valk Welding introduced the programming and simulation system DTPS. The DeskTop Programming & Simula-tion System (DTPS) facilitates off-line programming, including simu-lation and the development of welding jigs. That made it possible to programme welding robots for more than standard production purposes, which made their use less dependent on series sizes. DTPS has since grown to be one of the most frequently used programming systems for arc welding robots. One-off welding with a welding robotEven today, software solutions are once again making it possible to improve efficiency. The integration of robot programming in the overall process control system with Custom Made Robot Software simplifies the programming to such an extent that it is even possible to profitably weld one-off items with a welding robot. (CMRS was developed by Valk Welding). Valk Welding has succeeded in giving itself a strong market presence with these developments, which has quickly translated into international orders.

The latest generation of welding robotsDevelopments in robot systems have led to the introduction of a new generation of welding robots in which the robot and welding machine controls are integrated in a single 64-bit CPU. As a result of that the Panasonic TAWERS welding robot communicates 250% faster with the control system. That has made start, stop and Arclift

functions and innovations such as SP-MAG possible, resulting in a virtually spat-free welding process. With this technology Pa-nasonic has succeeded in combining the arc characteristics of conventional MAG welding and pulsating-arc welding in such a way that the benefits of both systems (limited heat introduction versus spat-free welding) are gained. SP-MAG is also known for its reduced heat generation, good gap-bridging properties and improved wetting of the melt bath. That ultimately leads to a spat-free and neat weld that requires no further treatment. These benefits come best into their own for use in plate metal up to 3mm. The TAWERS welding robots are among the fastest on the market.

4V

AL

K M

AIL

ING

20

07

Valk Welding is working hard on further strengthening its

position as a European system-integrator. The company that

earned its spurs in the sale and installation of welding robot

systems is now supplying robot systems for both welding

and handling applications throughout the whole of Europe.

Since the successful launch of its own establishments in

Denmark, France and the Czech Republic, Valk Welding has

managed to double its sales volume, with countries outside

of the Benelux region accounting for 50% of the increase.

1.2 mm 1.2 mm 80A

bij 50 cm/min

plans further growth as a system-integrator plans further growth as a system-integrator in Europe

Separate Handling DivisionThe robot expertise of Valk Welding has been noticed beyond the welding world, and that is demonstrated by the increase in the num-ber of completed handling projects. Three years ago, Valk Handling was formed as a separate division. It is staffed by in-house software engineers who are led by a Project Manager. The Handling Division is increasingly involved in automation projects, both for our welding clients and others. This division has already supplied more than eighty Panasonic and Nachi robots for handling applications. In order to be able to use the most suitable robot for each project, the programme was expanded with Fanuc robots in 2006. With the heavy six-axis, and the fast two and four-axis Fanuc pick-and-place robots, Valk Hand-ling is able to meet the needs of a broader range of applications. Valk Handling has already integrated thirty Fanuc robots into a range of projects, and this means that Valk Welding has all in all realised more than 100 handling applications with Panasonic, Nachi and Fanuc robots.

Demand for robot automation continues to growValk anticipates an annual turnover growth of approximately 20%, as a result of the strong demand for robot solutions for welding and handling projects in western and eastern Europe. Remco Valk, “The automation wave that swept through western Europe during the past few years is now repeated in double-quick time in eastern Europe. With the help of subsidies from Brussels, eastern European com-panies are investing in the latest technology, and where possible in unmanned production systems. This is not the most obvious develop-ment in a region where wage costs are still low, but a lack of skilled people and operators appears to be the main reason for automation.”

Supported by the know-how of Valk Welding Nederland, the Czech site of Valk Welding in Ostrava and the Danish site in Nørre Aaby are working hard on building up a strong client base. Therefore this Valk Melding pays plenty of attention to the projects in these regions.

More combined welding and pick-and-place applicationsIncreasing automation in the production processes of the metal indu-stry requires welding and handling automation, sometimes integrated into one project. Remco H. Valk, “With the expertise of the welding

and handling division, and by using the options offered by the Pana-sonic and Fanuc systems, we are able to develop suitable solutions. This mainly offers opportunities for jigless welding, which we consider to be one of the most important growth items for the future. We are currently working on a number of projects where a pick-and-place robot positions loose components against a frame for towing hooks, whilst the welding robot immediately welds them. This avoids the need for expensive jigs, which also saves significant amounts of engineering time that is otherwise spent on developing the jigs. An example project such as welding towing-hook frames is extremely suitable for this setup, as it concerns welding small parts and the numbers are often small in the case of specials.” See also page 6.

Valk Welding operates worldwide

Valk Welding is planning further growth from its current five establishments in the years to come. The company will work in partnership with local Panasonic dealers where necessary. Projects have been completed on this basis in Russia, Turkey and China. Valk Welding currently employs 75 people. The company’s sale of welding equipment has contributed to its sharp growth in recent years. To achieve continued growth Valk Welding is planning to extend its delivery programme for consumables throughout the whole of Europe.

www.valkwelding.com - www.valkhandling.com

In the middle of March this year, Valk Welding received the NEN-EN-ISO 9001:2000 certificate from DNV Certification BV The Netherlands (Det Norske Veritas) for supplying welding wire and welding consumables. Valk Welding, robot integrator and supplier of welding consumables, has worked hard on streamlining the procedures in accordance with the ISO guidelines in view of the strong rise in the sales of consumables for the welding industry. This international industry standard is extremely impor-tant to Valk Welding in the sale of welding consumables outside the Benelux. Valk Welding’s sales of welding wire outside the Benelux have experienced explosive growth during the last four years - from 90 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes of solid welding wire. The international expansion has led to further growth expectations for this year and next year. In order to meet the clients’ needs, Valk Welding would like to expand its supply programme in this area to a complete range for the whole of Europe. The distribution system is already set up for 24-hour deliveries within the Benelux and will shortly be able to do the same for the whole of Europe.

iso 9001 international industry standard for Valk Welding

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

75

plans further growth as a system-integrator plans further growth as a system-integrator in Europe

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

7

Thule Towing Systems, owner of Brink Trekhaken, wants to automate its production process further - it plans to leave the product insert in the welding-robot installati-ons to handling robots. This should not only produce savings on Thule’s wage costs, it should also eliminate the need to make a separate jig for each type of towing hook. The manufacturer has started a pilot project with Valk Welding that is set to serve as an example for all the welding-robot installations of the Thule Group in the Netherlands and France.

Currently, Thule Towing Systems uses fifteen welding-robot installations in its production site in Staphorst, where loose components are welded into complete towing hooks. In 1990, Valk Welding supplied to first cell with a Panasonic welding robot of the AW genera-tion, which is still used in a two-shift system in 2007. All the welding-robot installations that were supplied subsequently are built on the basis of the H-frame concept, always with the latest generation of Panasonic wel-ding robot. With this concept, the company was far ahead of its time. The robot com-pletely welds the towing hook on one side, whilst the operator places the loose compo-nents in the jig for the next towing hook on the other clamping table.

Thule Towing Systems would like to take that process a step further. Purchasing Manager Wim Feddes and the responsible Manufac-turing Engineer, Jojanneke Krabbe, explain why. “We have a separate jig for each type of towing hook, and that makes a total of 2,000 jigs. Producing a jig costs a lot of time and the components need to fit exactly. If they do not fit exactly or if the jig is damaged, the robot welding process is disrupted, and the welding robot stops.” “For each towing hook, the operator needs to insert an average of five components in the jig. That is monotonous manual work for which you could use a handling robot. Hand-ling robots are able to place the loose com-ponents one by one in the correct position against each other, after which the welding

robot can tack and weld them. You can com-pose a towing hook component by compo-nent without using a jig. This requires more programming work, but you can programme and simulate it all offline.”

Currently, the people of Thule Towing Sy-stems are analysing with Valk Welding how you can set up the feed and discharge of the components and the completed towing hook, how you establish the correct position of the loose components and how you deal with tolerance differences. Valk Welding is developing software-based solutions, and the project group of Thule Towing Systems is exploring the opportunities offered by Vision systems.

Within the Thule Group they strive towards

Thule acquires BrinkIn September 2006, Thule acquired the parent company of Brink International BV. That makes Thule the global market leader in Sports Utility Transportation. Brink International has production sites in Hoogeveen, Staphorst, Denmark and France.

The operator needs to insert the components in the jig by hand.

Thule would like to use handling and welding robots to as-semble its towing hooks step by step. (3D simulation - Valk Welding)

6

standardisation in order to have the option to exchange production parts with other sites. Wim Feddes, “That also means we strive towards one supplier for welding robots and welding wire. We believe that Valk Welding has the best track record; they have an enormous know-how and they have the drive to turn this project into a success. They also have a welding and a handling division that work closely together. On one of the trade fairs, Valk Welding showed a pilot setup for a jigless welding cell, where a handling robot and a welding robot welded a product together. It should be clear by now that this is a learning and development process for Valk Welding too, but they have gained our confidence.”

www.brink.eu

Thule Towing Systems takes first steps towards jigless welding

Heycop Metaalindustrie B.V. is a medium-sized supplier that has long passed the status of job shop with its 35 employees. Heycop has major clients in the maritime sector, ca-tering (Heineken) and electricity, and supplies sophisticated products with a high added value. The company produces complete beer pumps for Heineken, and part of that work is outsourced by Heycop to Chinese partners. The machining of complex and sophisticated parts, such as the castings, remains in Hou-ten. With its roots in the casting world, ma-chining castings has been the core business of the company for more than one hundred years and that has turned Heycop into a true specialist in this field.

Heycop regularly sits around the table with some clients in order to consider how the cost price of the machined castings can be reduced. Director Jos de Haas, “The beer market expects an annual price reduction, and in that sense it is no different than the automotive industry. The client would like to go to China for the price, but for reasons of quality, logistics and delivery times, produc-tion in the Netherlands still takes preference. Therefore you need to realise strong reduc-tions in the wage-cost factor in order to be able to compete.”

Heycop took the first step together with its tool supplier Sandvik in order to refine the tooling of the Mori Seiki tooling centre, which reduced the cycle time from 10 to 5.5 minutes. The next step was to automate the manual insertion of the workpiece with a handling robot, which increased production and saved wage costs. Jos de Haas, “That is

why we went ahead with Valk Handling. A visit to Fanuc Benelux and to Valk Handling in Alblasserdam convinced us. Fanuc is one of the few that has its own Vision system, whereas others purchase that from third parties. We preferred a robot and a Vision system from the same source. At the time, Valk Handling had little experience of such systems, but expressed a willingness to invest in this knowledge. Ultimately, we both spent a lot of time and energy on this project.”

In principle, a Vision system is no more than a camera with software that communicates with the robot control. The camera hangs above the feeder conveyor and takes a shot of the casting and passes the position of the contact point to the robot. Jos de Haas, “You need to take account of a number of basic principles, the contrast between con-veyor and product is important for example. The lighting is also an influencing factor, both in terms of intensi-ty and colour. Shadows cause inaccuracies, so you cannot place the cell under a skylight. If you do not take these aspects into account, you are confronted with deviations. For irregular workpieces that are not supplied in a fixed position, this is a perfect

solution. If you keep the prerequisites in mind, the cell can be set up quickly for a new product. The programming of the robot and the Vision system was easier than we antici-pated. The extremely user-friendly software from Fanuc makes the Vision system, which is integrated into the Fanuc robot control, the most powerful and universal Vision system that is currently available on the market.”

www.heycop.com

Valk Handling robotised the insertion and remo-

val of castings by using a Fanuc handling robot

in the Heycop Metaalindustrie processing cen-

tre in Houten. A Vision system has been used

in order to pick up the castings in the correct

place. With the robotisation, Heycop’s produc-

tion was increased by 30% and is carried out

virtually without staffing for 16 hours a day.

The robot and the processing centre have been

co-operating without problems for 18 months

and process other castings besides the

18,000 beer pumps on an annual basis.

The camera hangs above the feeder conveyor and takes a shot of the casting in order to calculate the position of the workpiece contact point. As the X, Y and Z grids of the camera and the robot match, they can communicate with each other, and the robot knows where the contact point is. The easy-to-ope-rate Fanuc software enables rapid changeovers to a different type.

www.heycop.com

Handling robot uses Vision system to locate beer pump

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

77

Welding robot projects in Poland and Czech Republic successful due to Western know-how

The automation wave that swept through western Europe during the past few years is now repeated in double-quick time in eastern Europe. With the help of subsidies from Brussels, eastern European companies are investing in the latest technology and more specifically in welding robotisation. This is not the most obvious develop-ment in a region where wage costs are still much lower than in western Europe, but a lack of skilled people and operators appears to be the main reason for automation. The suppliers in eastern Europe also need to comply with the high quality requi-rements that OEMs impose on the welding work of their suppliers, and robotised welding is a standard requirement.

Besides Reha-Pol-A and Panav, Valk Welding CZ’s client base has expanded strongly in Poland and in the Czech Republic. Valk Welding supplied seven welding-robot cells to Polish trailer manufacturer Wielton, the last of which is currently being assembled and tested at the main site of Valk Welding in the Netherlands before it is commissioned by Wielton. In the Czech Republic, Valk Welding has managed to build up a good reputation amongst suppliers to the automotive industry, including a manufacturer of towing hooks, a manufacturer of seats for busses, and a trailer manufacturer. Toge-ther with the Panasonic robots that were supplied by third parties, the total installed base in this region has risen to 150 welding robots. In order to enable future growth, Valk Welding has set up an intensive training project to train new Czech employees, and that will help to raise the know-how

in the field of welding robots to western European levels in the near future.

Valk Welding CZ, Ostrava - mob: +420 724 050 235 - tel: +420 596 790 198 - www.valkwelding.cz

When the Belgian wheelchair manu-facturer Vermeiren set up an operation in Southern Poland in 1994 under the name of Reha-Pol-A , two Panaso-nic welding robots supplied by Valk Welding moved to Poland as well. This was Valk Welding’s first customer on the Eastern European market. Meanw-hile, the 15 welding robot installations supplied by Valk Welding to Reha-Pol-A have produced an enduring customer-supplier relationship. Reha-Pol-A is a classic example of a company with high-volume production according to strict quality standards, which delivers 80,000 wheelchairs per year from Poland to the entire global market. This makes Reha-Pol-A the largest producer of wheelchairs in Europe.

The deployment of welding robots at Reha-Pol-A was actually not inspired primarily by labour cost savings, which is an impor-tant issue in Western Europe, but purely by efficiency considerations. The 15 welding robot cells ensure a daily output of 250 pcs in 3-shift operation, something which manual welding simply cannot compete with. Another important factor is the reliably high weld quality of this type of product. The production facility in Poland was expanded in 2004 by 10,000 sq m; it is now used to construct only the frames for the more than forty different types of designs.

The base material for all types is 2 mm thin-walled piping material, which is punched, bent and laser-cut. The tools Reha-Pol-A employs to achieve this include modern BLM

bending machines and an Adige tube laser. All these components have to be welded together to form complete frames. The welding robot cells which Valk Welding has supplied to Reha-Pol-A for this purpose are all based on the H-frame concept, with two revolving mounting tables of 3 m per cell. The advantage of this design is that welding always takes place at a single mounting table, which enables optimal running times for the welding robot. The dimension of 3 m was chosen to have sufficient mounting space to weld all components for a given type on a single cell. Each cell has been fitted to accommodate 1 or 2 types. For that reason, the oldest types are still being robot-welded using the original Panasonic welding robots of the AW generation, which were installed in the late 1980s. Meanwhile, these welding robots are nearly twenty years old and have run over 50,000 production hours. As long as the old wheelchair models are still on the market, we are making efforts to keep these welding robot cells in operation.

General Manager Slawomir Golec was in-volved in the deployment of welding robots from the earliest beginnings. He sees nothing but benefits in the cooperation and support offered by Valk Welding. “The know-how available to Valk Welding in this area is simply not to be found in Poland at this time. Our people have now learned enough to be able to solve maintenance and malfunction-re-lated issues independently. With the local presence of Valk Welding (Reha-Pol-A is only a two-hour drive from Ostrava), we are bene-fiting from shorter communication lines and having support in our own language.”

For the future, Slawomir Golec counts with

an increase in labour costs, which are cur-rently still low in European terms. They are the main determinant of the cost of the assembly process. “Manual craftsmanship will always remain important. Therefore, you need to make continuous improvements in efficiency, especially in frame production. We try to achieve that by continually using the latest available technologies, among other things. Therefore, the latest robot cells include the latest Panasonic TAWERS welding robots.” The General Manager specifically mentions the high velocity of the new gene-ration of robots, their collision detection and the splash-free welding process as the main strengths. Collision detection is a software-based solution which shuts the welding robot down immediately in case of excessive loads on the torch and trip circuit. The advantage is that the operator can switch the welding robot back on without the need for recali-bration, which produces considerable time savings.

www.rehapola.pl

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

78

Polish Reha-Pol-A welds 80,000 chair frames with Panasonic welding robots

Besides 80,000 wheelchairs, Reha-Pol-A also produces 25,000 beds and 100,000 products such as rollators and chairs for the homecare market.

Groei buiten de Benelux in

stroomversnelling

Welding robot projects in Poland and Czech Republic successful due to Western know-how

The automation wave that swept through western Europe during the past few years is now repeated in double-quick time in eastern Europe. With the help of subsidies from Brussels, eastern European companies are investing in the latest technology and more specifically in welding robotisation. This is not the most obvious develop-ment in a region where wage costs are still much lower than in western Europe, but a lack of skilled people and operators appears to be the main reason for automation. The suppliers in eastern Europe also need to comply with the high quality requi-rements that OEMs impose on the welding work of their suppliers, and robotised welding is a standard requirement.

Besides Reha-Pol-A and Panav, Valk Welding CZ’s client base has expanded strongly in Poland and in the Czech Republic. Valk Welding supplied seven welding-robot cells to Polish trailer manufacturer Wielton, the last of which is currently being assembled and tested at the main site of Valk Welding in the Netherlands before it is commissioned by Wielton. In the Czech Republic, Valk Welding has managed to build up a good reputation amongst suppliers to the automotive industry, including a manufacturer of towing hooks, a manufacturer of seats for busses, and a trailer manufacturer. Toge-ther with the Panasonic robots that were supplied by third parties, the total installed base in this region has risen to 150 welding robots. In order to enable future growth, Valk Welding has set up an intensive training project to train new Czech employees, and that will help to raise the know-how

in the field of welding robots to western European levels in the near future.

Valk Welding CZ, Ostrava - mob: +420 724 050 235 - tel: +420 596 790 198 - www.valkwelding.cz

Trailer builder Panav a.s., with its production of 1200 trailers per year and 360 employees, is one of the largest producer of trailers and tippers in the Czech Repu-blic. Now that the Czech Republic is making large investments in improvements in infrastructure, Panav is enjoying particular growth in the sales of trailers for heavy transport. However, the required capacity increase cannot be achieved with addi-tional workforce, due to the shortage of skilled professionals in the metal indus-try. This acute problem, which affects the entire Czech region, has been the reason for investing in a welding robot installation supplied by Valk Welding.

Valk Welding CZ, together with Valk Welding engineers in the Netherlands, have developed a welding robot installation for welding chas-sis beams with a length of up to ca 14meters. In order to weld these chassis beams, which consist of three parts, Valk Welding have de-veloped a unique solution, where the welding process is automatically interrupted at the locations of the notches. To achieve this, Valk Welding engineers have incorporated a laser sensor into the trip circuit, which scans the weld to determine its starting and ending points before the welding robot is activated. This system gives rise to huge time savings in the programming phase.

Production increasedAccording to eng. Ladislav Frycak of Pa-nav, who has supervised the investment in the new welding robot cell, the use of this welding robot is the only way to achieve the required productive increase without deploying additional workforce. The fact that the welding robot also allows savings in staff costs and enables a substantially higher quality of the weld itself, have been impor-tant additional factors in the decision to invest in a welding robot cell of this size. The cell is structured around a Panasonic VR-008L welding robot, which moves along a 22-meter track and can reach the entire length of the chassis beams. The development and construction of the mounting tables on both sides of the track was done in-house by Pa-nav. The positioning of the mounting tables on both sides allows changing the work-piece without interruptions to the welding process. Ladislav Frycak: “The time savings gained through the use of this concept have been so considerable that the preliminary process is now unable to keep up with the welding

production on the chassis beams. This means that we are not fully utilising the capacity we now have, but we expect to have reached the point of full utilisation by the end of the year.”

The welding robot cell is only used for welding the chassis beams. The cross-connec-tions and the customer-specific superstructu-res are welded manually. All other operations, such as plasma cutting, composition, irradia-tion, coating and final assembly are done in this order in successive manufacturing areas. For Panav, this welding robot cell is their first experience with welding robots. Neverthe-less, the company had drawn up quite a wish list for the project. The supplier would have to be ISO 9001 certified, and would also be assessed for quality, delivery time, know-how, service and of course price! From ten suppliers, Panav finally chose the proposal submitted by Valk Welding CZ. Valk Welding’s local presence as well as their experience in making long welds for customers including Polish trailer builders Wielton and Belgian bus builders Van Hool, were decisive reasons for the choice they made. The entire cell has been constructed at Valk Welding in the Netherlands, and was built up after testing and acceptance at Panav in January of this year. According to Ladislav Frycak, investing in a cell this size is only profitable at a mini-mum annual production of 1000 trailers (for smaller production volumes, other solutions are certainly possible ed.), so that Panav has the right size for such an investment, and has succeeded in leveraging it to build a position

of advantage on the Czech trailer market. The concept of the cell has also taken account of further expansions in robot welding of smal-ler products.

Laser sensor scanning interruption of welding trackThe chassis beams for the trailers are con-structed based on a top and bottom plate and a centre piece, with the latter containing notches for cross-connections. To prevent the welding robot from going on welding at the locations of the notches, the welding path is first scanned using a laser sensor which has been integrated into the trip circuit. From a horizontal position, the sensor scans the starting and ending points between two in-terruptions, and then the intervening length of beam is welded. The programmers at Valk Welding have developed a special software-based adjustment to the welding programme to accomplish this. On the part where the sensor does not detect any material (i.e. at the place of the notch), no welding will take place. This also obviates the need for manual preparation of a welding programme consi-sting of 250 to 300 steps, which produces corresponding time savings.

www.panav.czwww.valkwelding.cz

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

79

Welding robot to boost capacity at Czech trailer builder Panav

What is a PFA?A PFA is a pneumatically driven wire-feed tool that offers benefits over a mechanical system, such as a Push-Pull system. In a push-pull system the push and the pull side are linked or synchronised. The push motor runs a little faster than the pull motor and tries to get the wire through the wire cable without friction. In practice this is always accompanied by some slippage, and that makes the push-pull systems susceptible to breakdowns and expensive in use. They also damage the welding wire with all the cor-responding problems.

The PFA unit, on the other hand, consists of just one unit that is placed on the drum, and it works in combination with your existing wire motor. The PFA unit works completely independently of this wire motor and can therefore be applied to any wire-feed system from any manufacturer.

How does a PFA work?The PFA unit is pneumatically driven wire-feed unit. The main benefit of pneumatic drive is that if the air can still flow through the motor without generating heat when the motor does not run.The PFA unit uses this property to feed the wire and pushes it in the outer bend of the

wire cable. If the wire is pushed against all the outer bends until the end of the wire cable, the wire motor of the machine stops the wire - the PFA unit cannot longer feed the wire and stops. Slippage does not occur in this situation. The air flow through the motor of the PFA unit does not have enough power to let the wire spools slip or to distort the wire. In this situation, the PFA unit only keeps the wire under tension/pressure.

When welding is resumed, and the wire motor asks for wire, the wire is pulled from the outer bend of the wire cable. The PFA unit that held the wire under tension can feed the wire again because of the reduced counter pressure and will try to push the wire back into the outer bend of the wire cable. If more wire is asked, the PFA unit can work with even less counter pressure and will therefore feed more wire.

Due to this property, the PFA unit is able to feed the wire in a wire cable of 30 metres with several bends in such a way that the

wire can be pulled without force from the end of the wire cable. The only settings that are required to achieve this property are the air pressure and the pressure on the wire spools.

Opportunities with PFA unit1. A PFA unit offers a solution for any system with wire-feed problems.

2. Frictionless welding-wire feed, which me-ans the wear and tear of the liners and slip-page and scraping of the wire-feed spools are a thing of the past. Your wire motor is hardly under load and works more accurately.

3. With a PFA unit it is even possible to in-corporate the wire cable in the carrier and to lead it to the robot together with the other cables.

4. By applying a PFA unit, the wear and tear of the liners and the wire-feed system of the wire-storage medium (spool, drum or other) is almost completely eliminated.

The benefits of the PFA:• frictionless wire feed• reduced load on the wire-feed motor• reduced wear and tear of the wire-feed

spools• virtually no wear and tear on the wire

guides• wire feed up to 30m per PFA; can also

be used in series• central wire storage on pallet possible• fast changeover/feed through new drum • easy to install• requires no electrical interface• robust construction• three-year guarantee

When using longitudinal guides:• lighter and therefore faster carriage• reduced wear and tear of the conveyor• easy to control the position of the wel-

ding wire in the drum• no more dangerous and risky hoisting

of drums

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

710

PFA unit (Pneumatic Feed Assist) prevents wire-feed problems and reduces wear and tear to wire-feed and guide systems

AnalysisDuring the initial phases, Mario spent much time on analysing the company’s own opera-ting processes. He even wrote a programme that enabled him to read out the parameters for all the robots in order to compare their performances. On the basis of this informa-tion he was able to chart the non-productive elements of the welding process.

Changing drums costs timeAs these robots are placed on a conveyor, changing drums turned out to be extre-mely time consuming. The robot needed to be stopped and sometimes needed to be manoeuvred by hand to a position where the drums could be placed near the robot on the platform. Then the drums needed to be hoisted over the jig with all the correspon-ding dangers. A production stop of one hour was no exception when it came to changing a drum of welding wire.

The PFA offers reliefThe Pneumatic Feed Assist from Wire Wizard offered the opportunity to solve a number of time-consuming activities in one go. With the option to work with a wire cable of 30 me-tres or more, it became possible to place the drums outside the installation. The wire cable did not need to be brought to the robot with a hanging construction, but could go into the carrier together with the other cables that lead to the robot arm.

Quick longitudinal movementAs many products are welded, all three robots were placed on a conveyor. Mario Discart, “As the drums are no longer on the conveyor carriage with the robot, the carriage is much lighter and can manoeuvre much faster. You no longer need to bring 250kg, or in the case of two drums 500kg, to running speed and then apply the brakes. The carriage can also be made lighter and therefore che-aper, and the wear and tear of the conveyor is significantly lower.”

Less wear and tearAs the wire is pushed into the outside bend of the wire cable by the PFA unit, the wire in the wire cable has no friction. Mario Discart, “This means there is minimum wear and tear of the cable and no material is scraped from the wire, so there is less contamination too. The wire motor also has a reduced load with the PFA unit, as the wire is fed to the end of the wire cable and can be pulled out without using power.”

For stainless steel toVan Hool works on the new installations with a wire-exchange system that enables them to switch between steel and stainless steel. Stainless steel presents no problem to the PFA unit. As the wear and tear is minimal, the wire cables for the stainless steel wire have a hard-steel internal liner.

Increased optimisationMario Discart and his colleagues have optimi-sed the plants and the PFA units even further. There are trolleys to put the drums on and they have their fixed place near the cell. The cone with the PFA unit is mounted on a ver-tical strip on the wall, so it can be moved up when the drums are changed. The PFA unit is also used to insert new wire; it pulls the wire extremely quickly through the wire cable to the wire motor. All in all, a small investment has achieved major improvements that en-sure structural time gains and costs savings.

Benefits of using PFA units for Van Hool:• Drums can be changed faster - previously

1 hour, now 10 minutes.• No more dangerous and risky hoisting of

drums.• The carriage of the longitudinal guide with the robot on it is much lighter and can manoeuvre much faster.

• The longitudinal guide has a reduced load and is less susceptible to wear and tear.

• The wire motor of the robot has virtually no load, and the wire spools last much longer.

• It is much easier to control the position of the welding wire in the drum.

www.vanhool.be

During the past year, Valk Welding supplied four new robot installations to the company Van Hool in Lier, Belgium, Europe’s largest manufacturer of busses and industrial ve-hicles. Van Hool has been a client of Valk Welding for many years and is extremely satisfied with the supplied products

and services. From the beginning we considered how we could maximise the yield of the new robots. We talked with Mario Discart of Van Hool about the measu-res he and his colleagues had taken to make the robots as productive as possible.

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

20

07

11

Mario Discart benefits from using PFA units

Van Hool Van Hool

The first two welding-robot cells with a TA-WERS 1900WG welding robot were supplied earlier this year. Frits Henriksen, Operational Manager Production line 3 ‘Components & Raw Material’, is still busy programming all the elements, but he is already very enthusi-astic. “We have been using welding robots to produce frames for some time, but they were from a different manufacturer. Recently we

switched to the Panasonic TAWERS welding robots after positive experiences at a dif-ferent site of the Bosal Group. So, we are able to compare the new TAWERS welding robots. The ease of programming is what strikes you immediately aside from the high speed. We do this online, but it’s very quick with the teach pendant from Panasonic. The Danish employees of Valk Welding provided excellent support to get us started. I can only say that they did their job perfectly. I also visited the main site in the Netherlands, where the sy-stems for all European clients are assembled. You realise on all fronts that you are dealing with an international company with an enor-mous know-how in the field of welding.”

The TAWERS welding robots are used in an H-frame cell. In that concept, the robot serves two clamping places, each with a clamping table of 3 metres long. The clamping tables can be turned over their longitudinal axis

by using PanaDice-manipulators that are coupled to the control as an extra axis. That enables you to complete a round weld wit-hout stopping. The H-frame concept makes it possible to insert components during produc-tion. For small series that is the most effec-tive method, as the welding robot operates virtually continuously. Bosal-Sekura has some hundred different frames and components

The manufacturer of cabs for agricultural machinery, Bosal-Sekura

Industries A/S from Randers in Denmark, is one of the new clients

on the Danish market that recently switched to the Panasonic

TAWERS welding robots. The company is currently experiencing

strong growth and aims to double its turnover within two years.

Bosal-Sekura will use three TAWERS welding-robot cells to realise

that objective. Bosal-Sekura specialises in designing

and manufacturing driver cabs for

agricultural and industrial vehicles.

This 50-year old company has become

one of the largest in the world. Since

1989, the company forms part of the

Bosal Group.

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

20

07

12

Valk Welding continues to grow in Denmark

Since the start of the Valk Welding activities in Denmark some years ago, the number of welding and handling robots that were supplied to the Da-nish market has grown strongly, and a well-filled order portfolio forms a solid basis for the future.

By now Valk Welding is active in the Danish market with a fully-fledged team. Besides Marcel Dingemanse, who started Valk Welding’s activities in Denmark, Henrik Sørensen has been in service for more than one year as the welding-technical consultant for pro-jects that have been sold and installed.

Henrik Sørensen, who has more than 20 years of experience in welding technology with a

well-known Danish specialist, now supports the welding-robot projects at technical and commercial level. In order to follow up the growth that was realised during the last three years, Thomas Dalmark commenced service with Valk Welding Denmark on 1 June 2007.

Thomas Dalmark has a number of years of experience in the area of service, maintenan-ce and programming of industrial robots. In his previous job, Thomas already worked on an in-source basis for Valk Welding, which proved to be successful for the client and for Valk Welding.

Danish Bosal-Sekura switches to Panasonic TAWERS welding robots

Danish Bosal-Sekura switches to Panasonic TAWERS welding robots

that are welded in series of five to a maxi-mum of 20 pieces. Once the components have been programmed, the operator just needs to the select the correct programme on changeover. There are often five change-overs per shift, so it is important to keep this changeover time as short as possible.

Bosal-Sekura only constructs to order for its worldwide dealer network. The demand for Bosal-Sekura cabs is so great that produc-tion will be increased to two shifts after the summer and possibly to three shifts by the end of this year. Despite the automation and the effective working method, filling three shifts is currently the major obstacle due to an acute shortage of skilled craftsmen in the metal sector.

www.bosal-sekura.dk

Valk Welding at HI 2007 – Herning

During the HI 2007 fair in Herning, Den-mark, 4-7 September 2007, Valk Welding presented the latest generation TAWERS robots, where the unique concept of one robot that can be used for MIG/MAG and for TIG applications was demonstrated ‘live’ to the Danish public. Valk Welding introduced the TAWERS robots in Europe in 2006, and meanwhile more than 150 robot systems have been in-stalled in the countries where Valk Welding is operational. Some well-known Danish companies, such as SSR Stainless Steel, Suaer Danfoss, Ribe Jernindustri, Bosal-Se-kura, Thermo King and others already use welding robots, including TAWERS, in their production processes.

Due to an increasing and continuing demand for stainless steel welding wire from the industry, and from suppliers to the automotive industry in particular, Valk Welding has expanded its range in this area over the past few years.

Besides the standard stainless-steel welding wires from the ‘300’ series, Valk Welding now also supplies a wide range of nickel alloys and welding wires from the ‘400’ series. These types are now available from stock in the most common packaging, such as 15-kg spools, the so-called ‘Sandvik’ spool, and drums with a net weight of 250kg (80kg on order) for automation/ro-bot applications. Valk Welding can also supply the common stainless-steel wires as TIG weld sticks from stock.

All in all, Valk Welding supplies more than 1,000 tonnes of stainless-steel wire per year in the most wide-ranging spool and

packaging types. With Valk Welding’s uni-que distribution system it is even possible to supply the specials from stock, with the option to deliver within 24 hours in the Netherlands. This delivery option will be available throughout Europe shortly.

In order to meet the requirements imposed upon the international market for welding wire, the Consumables department of Valk Welding has been ISO 9001 certified since January 2007. With the certification and expansion of the distribution network, Valk Welding expects its geographical sales area to expand over the coming years. The entire range of welding wire can be found on our website www.valkwelding.com, where you can download a brochure in Dutch, French, English, Danish or Czech.

Wide range of stainless-steel welding

wire available from stock

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

713

Valk Welding continues to grow in Denmark

The new SL welding helmet is truly super lightweight with its 360 grams when you consider that a 9002V weighs more than 500 grams. The weight savings were achieved by using thinner but stronger material, so the helmet shield has not become smaller and offers practically the same face coverage as a helmet from the 9000 series.

New cassette without on/off switchAnother issue that came out of the research was that welders do not like the fact that a helmet switches off after a period of time. With the arrival of the SL helmet this problem has been removed completely with a movement switch. The helmet is always switched on when you start work. The new cassette also has a different colour range, from 8-12. The biggest plus of Speedglas is

that the batteries can be exchanged, and this applies to this version too.

Increased wearing comfortThe SL welding helmet is fitted with a new light-weight head band that has a greater range (50 to 64cm) than the head bands from the 9000 series that would sometimes prove too big. This head band can also be adjusted lengthways, which means that the helmet can be brought closer to or further away from the face.

ApplicationThe SL welding helmet can be used during most welding processes, such as MMA, MIG/MAG, TIG and plasma welding (PAW), and is particularly suitable for welding with a low to average amperage (0.1 to 250A).

Super-light welding helmet from Speedglas

Speedglas has developed a new welding

helmet following extensive practical

research amongst welders. The research

highlighted two specific needs - less

weight and more comfort. The new

SL welding helmet from Speedglas more

than meets these two requests and is

an addition to the existing range.

You probably know that Valk Welding

has been active in selling Speedglas

products for more than ten years.

Earlier this year, Anne van Loon, res-

ponsible for the Speedglas programme

within Valk Welding, was awarded the

‘Authorized 3M Welding Distributor’

certificate by René Huijsman, Sales Re-

presentative, 3M Welding - Speedglas. You do not receive the ‘Authorized 3M Welding Distributor’ certificate just like that!Since 3M acquired the Speedglas brand in the middle of 2004, 3M has worked hard on developing the Speedglas products and their sales. Speedglas’ trend to supply a top product was continued unabated. They took a critical look at the dealer network in the Benelux, as 3M wanted to select active and passive dealers.

3M presented a set of requirements to its dealers that could only be met by those dealers who were active in the Speedglas programme.That produced a significant reduc-tion in the number of dealers, and led to an elite group that were appoin-ted ‘Authorized 3M Welding Distributor’. According to 3M, these dealers meet the highest requirements, ”They are specialists in terms of welding processes and personal protective equipment for the welder, they at-tended specific training in order to remain up to date of product and market developments. It goes without saying that they carry the complete product range for the professional

welder and they have the 3M and Speedglas product range in stock.”Anne van Loon, “We are proud of the recog-nition of our commitment, expertise and experience that is expressed in 3M’s award of the certificate”.

Valk Welding ‘Authorized 3M Welding Distributor’

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

20

07

14

Anne van Loon, Valk Welding (l) and René Huijsman, Sales Representative, 3M

Peter Haspels Account Manager Wire Wizard Europe and RussiaAs of 1 June, Peter Haspels, previously

Product Manager Consumables, has

been appointed Account Manager Wire

Wizard, where he mainly focuses on

setting up a dealer and distributor net-

work for West/East Europe and Russia.

At the moment, the first steps are

being taken to develop a website and a

brochure for Wire Wizard.

The Wire Wizard wire dispensing systems optimise the wire transport between the drum and the welding robot. This extensive

range consists of cones, flexible tubes, inlet guides, and a large number of connectors and conduits that make the systems suitable for almost all brands of robot. On page 10 and 11 of this Valk Melding you can read more about the benefits and opportunities offered by the Wire Wizard and the Pneumatic Feed Assist System.

Between 8 and 16 August, the Junior European

Championships 420/470 were held in Medemblik.

Valk Welding was the principal sponsor of this

event, and used this opportunity to enable clients

and employees to experience competition sailing

close up.

VA

LK

MA

ILIN

G

2

00

715

On 23 June, Cees Wieringa, Com-mercial Director of Valk Welding and skipper of ‘Drs. X’, and his team won the first world title in the X-35 sailing class.

The X-35 world championships were held during the 125th Kieler Woche in Germany. Some 35 teams from eight different coun-tries competed for the world title, which remained tense until the last day as there was nothing to separate the top of the field. The last race became a neck-and-neck race

between the shared leaders Cees Wieringa with ‘Drs. X’ and Mark Richmond (Great Britain) with ‘Cool Running’.

With a good tactical race and by responding well to the wind changes, Cees Wieringa’s team managed to stay ahead of the other teams to clinch the world title. “For the largest part of the championship we sailed in the middle and concentrated on the boat speed, and that was the secret of our success”, said team member John den Engelsman.

During the first few days, the weather condi-tions were ideal for sailing the various races. On 13 August, the clients of Valk Welding could follow the competition of the 420 and the 470 class from the barquentine ‘Bounty’ whilst enjoying a bite to eat and a drink. They also had the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular sailing trip on the Extreme 40- catamaran of sponsor Holmatro. This succes-

sful day ended with a pleasant and sun-bles-sed barbeque on the deck of the ship.The championships were also successful for a number of Dutch sailors - Nina Keijzer and Anneloes van Veen (420) and Margriet Fokkema and Marieke Jongens (470) won sil-ver medals in the women’s events. For more information and photographs of the cham-pionships, please visit www.420470jec.org.

With clients to the Junior European Championships 420/470

With clients to the Junior European Championships 420/470

Cees Wieringa wins world title X-35Cees Wieringa wins world title X-35

Colophon

‘Valk Mailing’ is a twice-yearly publication of Valk Welding B.V. and is sent free to all business

relations. If you want to receive this publication in the future, please send an email to

info@valkwelding.com

Valk Welding B.V.Staalindustrieweg 15

P.O. Box 60NL-2950 AB Alblasserdam

Tel. +31 78 69 170 11Fax +31 78 69 195 15info@valkwelding.comwww.valkwelding.com

Production:Steenkist Communicatie, NL-Haarlem

steencom@tiscali.nl and Valk Welding B.V.

Photography:Valk Welding B.V.

Foto Schievink, Papendrecht Erik Steenkist

Trade Fairs and Events

MSV 2007 BrnoBrno, Czech Republic

1-5 October 2007

belgium Welding Week Antwerp, Belgium

16-19 October 2007

WeldexMoscow, Russia

30 October – 2 November 2007

Valk Welding Users clubAlblasserdam, the Netherlands

13 December 2007

Metapro 2008Brussels, Belgium

13-16 February 2008

Techni-ShowUtrecht, the Netherlands

10-15 March 2008

Industrie ParisParis, France

31 March – 4 April 2008

During the past few months, Valk Welding has welcomed a number of new employees in the sales, assembly, programming and ser-vice departments. From left to right on the photograph:

Bertrand van Genderen (sales department – welding wire), Wim van Renswoude (sales department - consumables), Philip Park (sales – region North), Anneloes van Rees (marketing & communication / secretary),

Bastiaan Hardam (offline robot program-mer), Erno van Zeben (assembly), Joop Raijmakers (assembly), Remco van Riel (as-sembly), Thomas Dalmark (service engineer Denmark)

Not on the photograph: Thomas Frohlich (service engineer Czech Republic), Jeroen Groenendijk (assembly), Marcel den Dekker (programmer), Daniël de Baat (jr project engineer)

New employees

On 13 December, the annual Users’ Club will be held in Alblasserdam. As we have moved to new premises, the users’ club will be held at Valk Welding where you will have the opportunity to see a robot installation

in assembly. If there is sufficient interest, there will be parallel sessions in English and French, and depending on the number of visitors, there will also be a parallel session in Czech.

Users’ Club 2007 on 13 December

Since the begin-ning of Septem-ber, Marit Spil-lenaar Bilgen has been in Malaysia where she will work as a volun-

teer, through Project Trust, in a children’s home for one year. To make her trip possible,

Marit needed to raise funds to cover her costs for the coming year. Valk Welding was pleased to make a contribution.On www.valkwelding.nl you can read more background information about this project. On www.maritmaleisie.waarbenjij.nu Marit writes regular reports on her experiences in the children’s home and on her experiences in Malaysia in general.

Valk Welding sponsors Project Trust volunteerValk Welding sponsors Project Trust volunteer