Project Description
How do you produce profitably in Switzerland? – The result
Profatec AG was faced with the decision whether to outsource production to the Asian market. This decision was necessary because the production was to be expanded. However, thanks to the installation of various robot arms, this was not necessary. The production can continue to be operated in Switzerland.
The challenges in the company
In 2003 Profatec AG was founded in Malans. For more than a decade, the company has now been offering specially moulded plastic solutions for various industries, such as the automotive and pharmaceutical industries.
For the further growth of the company, injection moulding should then be added to the range in 2007. This should lead to higher profitability and further targets.
In most cases, small companies will have to resort to manufacturers in the Asian market in this case. Companies like Profatec cannot always quickly provide more space and hire additional employees. In order to be able to grow production in Switzerland nevertheless, the company turned to Universal Robots with the question of production automation.
Cost pressure
Competitive pressure
Expansion necessary
“Without our robots we would have no chance against the lower prices from China. We are therefore all the more satisfied that we have succeeded and that we are able to go in the other direction to secure jobs in Malans and free our employees from monotonous tasks.”
The solution from Universal Robots
Two things were particularly important for Profatec. The machines have to be quickly adaptable to the injection of new plastic parts, and the processes have to be fast and flexible so that smaller order quantities can also be handled well.
A UR5 robot was used for a first test. The robot could be used flexibly on 5 injection moulding machines and the results were completely convincing.
After the test phase Profatec invested in two more Universal Robots collaborating robots, namely two UR10s. This enables the company to expand production, reduce costs and increase profitability. Profatec can use the UR5 and UR10 robots on any machine. The UR10 robots have a higher load capacity of 10kg and a larger working radius of 1300mm than the UR5.
