pater firma, a polish company, remains com- mitted to

CONCRETE PRODUCTS & CAST STONE

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When Omag, a concrete machine manufacturer fromEmden, Germany, found itself in financial difficulties in2013 for the second time, many industry insiders predictedthe demise of this traditional North German mechanical en-gineering company. Nonetheless, the insolvency adminis-trators endeavoured to find a suitable investor for the trou-bled company. The white knight was found in Jakob Weets,a trucking and logistics specialist from Emden. In 2013, thecompany recommenced operations with 16 employees as“Omag Service GmbH”. A period of uncertainty followedrestructuring but now Omag is once more on the road tosuccess. The first customer after this reorganisation was aPolish company, Pater Firma, who purchased a completeblock making system. Pater Firma had been a customer ofOmag with two concrete block lines even before this newbeginning and proved to be a very faithful customer whoremains committed to the Omag brand name.

Pater Firma is a family-run business founded by AndrzejDaniluk in 1976 and is today one of the best known andbiggest concrete block manufacturers in Poland. The com-pany has been financed solely with Polish capital and is stillcontrolled exclusively by the family at this current time.

This successful company’s portfolio does not just include themanufacture and sale of high-quality concrete paving blocks.Its business area also comprises the sale of building materialsto both wholesale markets and end users. In addition, follow-ing the traditional influences of Polish culture, Pater Firma hasopened up international markets. Pater Firma has experi-enced strong development over the last few years and beenawarded many prizes on account of the high quality of itsproducts. Only highly qualified employees are engaged inmanufacturing its concrete products.

With its new concrete block manufacturing system, PaterFirma focussed on two suppliers. A Polish company, K.R.U.K.,was responsible for the dosing and mixing technology plusthe curing chamber; Omag supplied the concrete block mak-ing machine including the circulation system.

Complete concrete block system from one source

The range of services and products supplied by Omag Serv-ice GmbH includes designing individual plants and construct-ing advanced integrated systems for the concrete block in-dustry. On top of this, the company offers its customers serv-

Pater Firma, a Polish company, remains com-mitted to their supplier even in difficult times

Omag Service GmbH, 26723 Emden, Germany

Pater Firma office building New Pater Firma concrete block production facility

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ice, such as maintenance, repair, training, and remote main-tenance, throughout the world.

Omag Service GmbH is capable of manufacturing replace-ment parts and system components in 100% vertical integra-tion. This guarantees extremely good flexibility and qualitymonitored in-house. The warehouse in Emden is kept stockedwith parts costing more than € 2.5 million to ensure excellentavailability for over 750 Omag production lines in operationthroughout the world.

Omag Tronic 140/120 block making machine

A great deal of creativity and flexibility is needed on the mar-ket nowadays to be able to meet the increasingly fierce com-petition and maintain a leading position. The demands that

System layout – view from above

System layout – 3D view




the global market places on reliable state-of-the-art blockmaking machines keep growing steadily. Omag has createdthe conditions for a precisely harmonised high-performancesystem with its innovative ideas and efficient, advanced engi-neering.

Project development and manufacturing takes place on an in-dividual basis for every customer throughout the world. Con-crete slabs, insulated hollow blocks, paving blocks, garden el-ements and kerbstones, amongst other things, can be pro-duced on Omag’s stationary block making machines with uni-versal application.

At Pater Firma, the Omag Tronic 140/120 concrete block ma-chine, which can manufacture products from 25 up to 500 mmin height, is the key component of the concrete block line. Ac-cording to manufacturer’s specifications, 1.20m2 concretepaving blocks without facing concrete can be produced in10.5 seconds in each cycle with the Omag Tronic 140/120.

The cycle time is lengthened by two seconds for facing con-crete. Or else, to take other examples, six kerbstones or 15blocks at 400 x 200 x 200 mm can be produced per cycle. Pro-duction is carried out at Pater Firma on softwood boards of1,400 x 1,150 x 50 in size. A double bucket conveyor suppliesboth facing and core concrete.

The block making machine’s robust framework is toughenough to take high stress levels but at the same time is suf-ficiently flexible to be able to absorb great vibration forces. It is possible to open and close the machine very rapidly atany time because of hydraulic clamping with the housing, andthe Omag mounted crane. This makes for quick mould chang-ing times and maintenance intervals. Thanks to the automatedmould changing system, each mould travels automatically toits position and is clamped. This facilitates very short mouldchanging times as well – in the order of a couple of minutes –with only one employee.

Concrete slabs, insulated hollow blocks, paving blocks, garden elements and kerbstones, amongst other things, can be produced on Omag’s stationary block making machines with universal application

Omag Tronic concrete block making machine



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The concrete block making machine also possesses a visualdisplay that can be utilised flexibly and provides informationand an overview of all relevant product parameters.

Omag Tronic S vibration system

The Omag Tronic 140/120 block making machine has beenequipped with the well-proven Omag Tronic S vibration sys-tem. Its determining parameters are precise control and verygreat repeat accuracy of the set vibration values. One of thebiggest industrial companies in the world is Omag’s engi-neering partner in this case.

Hydraulics

The hydraulic units are tucked out of the way with the elec-tronic switching cabinets on a platform. The hydraulic units

for the wet and dry sides are separated from each other andthus work autonomously. Performance-controlled axial pistonpumps have been utilised with the hydraulics. Proportionalcontrol valves with integrated electronics make infinitely vari-able pressure and speed settings possible.

The hydraulics can be adjusted via the visual display; all con-figuration data can be stored in relation to recipe. Continuallyhigh pressure performance is possible. This means that all hy-draulic drives are very well supplied and heat developmentis controlled.

Dumping station on the wet side

The production boards with fresh concrete products can op-tionally first pass through a block brushing device to havetheir surfaces brushed off whilst travelling on the slide track

Omag on the road to success after change ofownership and restructuring

Nobody knew initially how Omag would continue todevelop after the takeover by Jakob Weets and thechange of name in 2013 to Omag Service GmbH.

Jakob Weets knew that Omag had always had a goodreputation on the market and made the decision todevelop and invest in the company further – some-thing also occasioned by his personal and local con-nections to his home town of Emden. There weremany problems that needed solving. Both 2013 and2014 were very intensive and difficult years since cus-tomers were unnerved after two insolvencies.

Rumours coursed within the industry that Omag wouldnot construct any more machines but would concen-trate rather on service. This is obviously not the case asthe developments of the last few years show with nu-merous system installations in various countries.

The fresh start began in 2013 with 16 employees.Many former highly qualified employees, who had leftthe company in troubled times, have rediscoveredOmag and the Weets Group as active and attractiveemployers. There has now been a permanent influxfrom this group of industry specialists for a consider-able time. At the moment, Omag Service GmbH em-ploys more than 80 staff. The company continues man-ufacturing with the latest technology at its headquar-ters in Emden where the very spacious halls with anarea of more than 13,000 m2 offer a generous amountof room.

Omag is ready to demonstrate and explain its manu-facturing possibilities to its customers and other inter-ested parties during a visit on site at any time.

Weets Group

Behind the Weets Group name can be found amedium-sized company with approximately 500 em-ployees. The group’s core is the Jakob Weets e. K.trucking company based in Emden. At the currenttime, the head office is located in Emden, with furthersites in Hamburg and in Halle an der Saale.

Jakob Weets is a logistics specialist who also works to-gether with global partners from the automotive in-dustry, such as e.g. Volkswagen. Both Jakob Weets, asa businessman, and the entire Weets Group are knownby numerous customers as valued and trusted part-ners even far beyond regional boundaries.

The company around Jakob Weets had already cometo grips with innovative concepts concerning machineengineering in the past. His groups of companies istoday successfully engaged in producing automatedmulti-storey car parks, servo-presses and die-cutters,even in such sensitive areas as medicine technology.




from the concrete block machine to the elevator. They thenreach a dumping station at which a complete layer of blockscan be jettisoned, when, for example, an unfinished layer isrejected due to product changes or a shift ending.

36 production boards bearing fresh products can be gathered in the double elevator on the wet side. The doublelowerator then gives the production boards with hardenedproducts over to the packaging line from the dry side.

Finger car units

The finger car unit automatically transports fresh concreteproducts from the block making system to the curing cham-bers. With its 18 levels, the finger car can move 36 productionboards doubled up at the same time. The distance betweenlevels, normally 300 mm, can be adjusted automatically forvery high products.

Hardening in the curing chamber

The curing chamber previously erected on site possesses 12tracks, of which one serves as a reserve. This means that, evenwhen fully occupied with 4,356 production boards, there isstill reserve space available for an extra 396 boards.

Its control unit enables fresh concrete products to be auto-matically placed into storage and hardened products re-moved on the dry side at the same time. In addition, theOmag visual display enables parameters to be adjusted sim-ply and be safely stored in relation to recipe.

Dry sides

Omag systems provide a degree of automation suited to thecustomer and his circumstances. Systems implemented up todate range from simple moulding machines without any

further storage or packaging systems right up to complete,fully automated, turn-key systems.

Packaging

The fully automated dry side, as has been installed at PaterFirma, assumes the entire task of packaging products. Chang-ing products from paving to hollow blocks can take place injust a few moments. All relevant parameters are stored onetime in a recipe in the visual display and can be sent to thecontrol unit at any time.

The cuber stacks single layers of concrete products into pack-ets. Servo-drives ensure its rapid, precise, powerful move-ments for travelling and hoisting motions as well for the swiv-elling hydraulic grabs.

At Pater Firma, the production boards – now in single file –travel through the packaging section on a sliding track. The

Visual display Control unit and switching cabinets in front of the concreteblock machine’s enclosure

Birdseye view dry side



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block releaser first pushes the hardened concrete productstogether, thereby releasing them carefully from their produc-tion board.

The next station is the block layer doubling device, which liftsa complete layer of blocks from a production board, holds itin the air and then subsequently deposits it on top of theblock layer on the following production board. The packaging cuber downstream takes these double layersof blocks, sets them down on a wooden transport pallet on aside belt set up in parallel and stacks them up to the desig-nated package height. Once this package height has been at-tained, the block package is transported in cycle on itswooden pallet in the direction of the film winder. The filmwinder was built by Pater Firma into the system on site.

A new wooden pallet is automatically supplied from the palletstorage point, which is located in front of the side belt, so thatthe cuber can create the next package of blocks without anyinterruption.

Packaging system

Servo-drives ensure rapid, precise, powerful movements for travelling and hoisting motions as well for the swivellinghydraulic grabs




Handling the production boards

Once the production boards have been freed of their load bythe block layer doubling device or the cuber, they are auto-matically cleaned off by a board brush. Then, via a V-belt con-veyor, the boards reach a board turning device, which turnsthem 180° to ensure that they wear evenly over time. The pro-duction boards are subsequently sprayed and stacked up bythe board stacking machine.

A special conveyor line then brings the stack either to an in-termediate board storage point or to the board stacking de-vice set up in front of the block making machine. A boardfeeding device subsequently conducts the boards singly intothe production line in accordance with the block machine’scycle time.

A very satisfied customer as proof of a successful project

As was mentioned above, two fully automatic Omag systemsalready formed part of the inventory at Pater Firma. That PaterFirma insisted once again on having a concrete block makingsystem from this German machine engineering company, de-spite the uncertain future – at least from outside – of the newbeginning at Omag, is proof of the satisfaction with whichPater Firma has been manufacturing with these two Omagmachines for a period of some years now and that this trust ismaintained up to the present time.

Pater Firma remains convinced of Omag’s high qualities –even, or especially now, under the leadership of Jakob Weets.This has fostered close cooperation between the companies,which are based on a common set of values and tradition. Itwas the good, friendly relationship to Omag which persuadedPater Firma to remain faithful and continue on together intothe future.

Should there ever be any problems, an Omag employee canprovide 24 hour service on site in Poland. �

OMAG Service GmbHWestfalenstr. 226723 Emden, Germany T +49 4921 8050F +49 4921 805401 [email protected]

PATER FIRMAul. Fabryczna 1017-300 Siematyczne, PolandT +48 85 6556416F +48 85 [email protected]

FURTHER INFORMATION

Pater Firma’s product portfolio can be admired in their show garden


pater firma, a polish company, remains com- mitted to

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