Fit for the future with the SBZ 151 Edition 90 and eluCad

Profile machining centre from elumatec ensures a sunny outlook

Even though Warema only added roof systems for outdoor living to their wide range of products three years ago, they’re causing a real stir in a market where some of their competitors have 15 years of experience.  “Our business is booming”, says Eberhard Striffler, Head of Production at the company’s site in Wertheim – little wonder, when they received double the number of orders for slat roof systems by June 2021 than they did in the whole of the previous year. This rapid growth is being driven by their employees – and by the elumatec SBZ 151 Edition 90 profile machining centre.

        Production staff Bastian Herrmann (left) and Peter Ullmann:

the SBZ 151 Edition 90 has increased productivity and expanded Warema’s range of services.

Image copyright: Warema Renkhoff SE, Wertheim, Germany

For the Warema Group, a successful group of companies which currently brings together seven brands under one umbrella, 2020 saw record turnover. Founded in 1955, the medium-sized company has around 4,400 employees worldwide split into two divisions, “Sun & Living Spaces” and “Plastics & Engineering”. Warema are headquartered in the German town of Marktheidenfeld and have additional production sites in nearby Limbach and in Pécs in Hungary, while their outdoor living roof systems are manufactured in Wertheim.

They have high growth figures and full order books for the next two to three years, and there’s one product above all that explains this success: the new modular L50 roof system from the Lamaxa series, which combines top quality with an elegant look and high functionality. The basic model can be adapted to suit almost every customer need, and the L50 is available as a free-standing version, with a wall connection or in a series or star arrangement. And if the end customer wants a version with aluminium slats, fabric curtains or a glass roof from their specialist dealer, Warema can deliver that too. There’s also a wide range of options for customization, such as sockets, radiators, side awnings and sliding elements.

   The Lamaxa L50 modular roof system: elegant, functional and customizable.

Image copyright: Warema Renkhoff SE, Wertheim, Germany

All profiles for the slat roofs are machined in Wertheim using the SBZ 151 Edition 90, and the L50 is a good example of what Warema need the profile machining centre to do. “We want to expand our range and increase productivity”, says Striffler.

SBZ unlocks resources

His colleague Michael Eitel, Outdoor Living Final Assembly Manager, recalls the time before they began using the machine in January 2021. Previously the heavy profiles were sawn to size, then the markings for the drill holes were made, which were bored using manual drills. “We needed many more employees to produce the same number of units as today”, says Eitel. Now, however, these staff can focus on other work in the same area. “The profile is clamped, then it comes out ready” – that’s Eitel’s short description of the accelerated process. And Warema also save time thanks to the two-sided machining offered by the SBZ 151 Edition 90, which allows the operator to load the next control programme while the machine is still sawing.

The SBZ 151 Edition 90 is programmed with eluCad, and as Warema have used this user-friendly software from elumatec at their site in Marktheidenfeld since 2018, existing data could be used for the new machine. Striffler is very pleased with how the profile machining centre and the software work together: “Once the program has been stored, the profile always comes out of the machine just the way we want it. We’ve seen a noticeable increase in quality as a result, and we avoid time-consuming reworking.” The increased reliability is a huge benefit for the specialist dealers, with whom Warema have built up an excellent relationship.

“Our partnership has grown over many years,

and as a result elumatec just know what makes us tick.”

Eberhard Striffler, Head of Production at Warema Renkhoff SE

elumatec – providing a guiding hand since 2011

Warema’s products are manufactured for the specialist trade and for industry. Hardly anyone knows the resulting requirements better than Jörg Lang, the elumatec sales expert who has looked after Warema since 2011. He recommended the MGS 142 and TS 161 mitre saws in 2014, and both the MGS 142 and TS 161 models are now in use at Warema. This was followed by the profile machining centres: initially the SBZ 122 and then the SBZ 140, before the 16.3-metre-long SBZ 151 Edition 90 joined the stable in January 2021. Also new in 2021 were two DG 142 XL double mitre saws, another SBZ 151, and a new SBZ 141 installed last week.

The company’s innovative roof systems can only be manufactured with profile machining centres. “This isn’t actually window construction anymore – it’s now metal construction”, says Christopher Horlebein, Technology Project Manager at Warema. And the Lamaxa L50, with profiles which can only be processed with the SBZ 151 due to their size, is a perfect example of that. Horlebein recognised the need in the spring of 2020 and met Jörg Lang in the summer. “He saw that even though the product is in the upper price segment, the manufacturing process for it was still largely manual, and this laborious working method was hampering our growth”, explains Horlebein. 

SBZ 151 Edition 90 at WAREMA: faster workflows, ergonomic operation – and future-ready.

Image copyright: Warema Renkhoff SE, Wertheim, Germany

For the Technology Project Manager, spring is always an exciting time: “We usually find that we need more capacity for April. It’s good that it happened so quickly after I contacted elumatec.” The first testing with the SBZ 151 Edition 90 was conducted at elumatec in the summer of 2020. “Straight away we had access to the machine and were able to figure out the solutions for all our needs. The elumatec technicians looked at our profiles and drawings, and then we came up with the solutions together”, says Horlebein. The profile machining centre was purchased in September 2020 and delivered at the beginning of January 2021. Construction and set-up were completed within two weeks, so Warema were ready to handle the increased demand in April – and their customers got the sun protection they wanted from their slat roofs in time for the summer.

“We’re treated flexibly, and they don’t make any promises they can’t keep.”

Christopher Horlebein, Technology Project Manager at WAREMA Renkhoff SE

A bit more towards the middle, please

One small but critical detail shows how well Warema and elumatec worked together. While the SBZ 151 Edition 90 was being installed, it had to be moved by one and a half metres. This could have been a big problem, but it was moved without a hitch, and it led Horlebein to give this simple summary of elumatec’s service: “We’re treated flexibly, and they don’t make any promises they can’t keep.” Striffler adds: “Our partnership has grown over many years, and as a result elumatec just know what makes us tick.” And other staff who currently use the SBZ 151 have also benefited: they were hired in February 2021, were trained on site and were able to start immediately.

 Machine operators Bastian Herrmann (left) and Peter Ullmann

are delighted with the SBZ’s performance - and with the service from elumatec.

Image copyright: Warema Renkhoff SE, Wertheim, Germany 

All of this means the outlook is sunny for Warema – in the market and in their machine halls. But Horlebein isn’t resting on his laurels: “There’s still potential for us to exploit, and the SBZ 151 is completely future-proof.” It’s unlikely to be the last elumatec machine to give the shading experts at Warema a bright future.

“The SBZ 151 is completely future-proof.”

Christopher Horlebein, Technology Project Manager at WAREMA Renkhoff SE