Frank van der Drift, managing director Mombarg Beton, in conversation with Robert Lemm, Aerolift Industrials.
“We have been positively surprised by the many advantages of the vacuum turners,” Frank van der Drift says.
With its factory in Achterhoek in the Netherlands, Mombarg Beton has been a well-known brand for precast concrete elements for many years, supplying contractors throughout the Netherlands. The growth of a business requires continuous optimization of its processes. For one such process, Aerolift Industrials offered a solution that exceeded expectations. Frank van der Drift – managing director of Mombarg Beton – explains how.
“Mombarg Beton started as part of a small construction company,” says Frank, handing out caramel waffles with coffee. “One of their specialisms was pouring concrete basements on site. After going bankrupt, the concrete branch was taken over. Having completed MTS Construction Engineering, I started as a trainee in business IT in 2005. Subsequently, I became a regular employee and went through various positions, from work planner and salesperson to manager and director. In my early years, the focus was still on basements, but the range of concrete elements expanded due to market demands. Because of a major project in Zwolle, our former concrete plant in Doetinchem was too small. We found another location in Ulft, right next to the concrete plant. Therefore, we experienced multiple growth spurts and effectively handled each one.”
“We have specialized in designing and producing precast elements that we deliver to medium and large contractors throughout the Netherlands. We mainly focus on basements, pits, stairs, landings, balconies, and galleries, but we are also open to working on other elements. As a concrete factory, we can manufacture a single concrete staircase, or provide tailor-made components for entire apartment complexes consisting of hundreds of homes. Our way of working shows that both existing customers keep coming back, and new ones come to us spontaneously.”
“My background in computer science has enabled us to automate as many of our business processes as possible. In summer 2023, we launched something new. Something that a few colleagues said could not be done. Namely, we built the website prefabbetononline.nl where one can configure selected concrete elements. For now, only stairs can be ordered, but later we will extend that to columns and trusses, balconies, landings, and individual steps. By analysing data from up to 10 years ago and identifying variables, we could standardize products and processes in many cases. Several contractors use our configurator and find this unique solution very practical.”
“For the online product configurator, it is crucial to have our processes organized. Regardless, we were consistently working on that. One process that needed optimization a few years ago was demoulding, finishing, and storing the elements. Previously, even on good production days, the process would still get jammed up, resulting in no time savings. So how could we take that bottleneck out of the process? As there was already an Aerolift vacuum lifter in the factory, they were one of the parties we approached, and for good reason! After the Aerolift staff completed a thorough inventory of our needs, they proposed a vacuum lifter with a turning function as the solution.”
“Before investing, we carefully considered the possibilities of this lifting solution. It would save man-hours, because vacuum technology eliminates the need to seal lifting anchors, which is quite time-consuming. We were able to calculate that this would already account for the investment. Furthermore, the lack of lifting anchors would also prevent ugly marks and damage to the concrete. However, it was difficult to determine how much smoother the rest of the process would run, and what happens to longer and heavier elements, such as gallery elements. After all, our existing overhead cranes had limited lifting capacity and ditto power connection. The solution to this problem involved using two identical vacuum turners with variable frequency drives to limit peak currents that could be connected one to another. Additionally, the solution included multiple suction pads with a quick-change mechanism to save time.”
“Since we started using Aerolift’s vacuum turners, the cycle time has greatly reduced. Demoulding is much faster and gentler because the force is distributed over the entire suction pad. As a result, there is almost no demoulding damage to the mould or the element. This means the expensive mould lasts much longer, we can pour faster, and we can even manage with 1 FTE fewer at the finishing stage. We are positively surprised by the many advantages of the Aerolift vacuum turners.”
Would you like to handle concrete elements or other objects in your factory faster, safer, and more efficiently? Feel free to contact us to discuss the advantages of using vacuum technology in your specific situation.
