A tour through one of the largest machine factories in the Netherlands

Machine Fabriek Elburg

Herrald Hulst, working as a Project Manager in the Sales department of Machine Factory Elburg, welcomed me (Marloes Middelkamp - Marketing Manager Trotec Laser BV) and my colleague Emiel Tiemessen (sales director Trotec Laser BV) to the office and production area of the Machine Fabriek Elburg.

About Machine Fabriek Elburg

Machine Fabriek Elburg is a specialist in machining castings, supplying accurate turning and milling parts and assembled products. They manufacture semi-finished products for trucks, engines, compressors, pumps, agriculture and oil & gas in both large and small quantities. With many years of experience, their products are exported worldwide, with the company establishing a strong position in the European market. They are certified according to IATF16949, ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and deliver 10PPM according to automotive requirement (= a maximum of 10 parts deviating per 1 million delivered parts allowed).

Founded in 1984, Machine Fabriek celebrated its 25th anniversary last year with all employees and partners. the team at Machine Fabriek Elburg now consists of 100 employees with the main business being the truck industry. Some of the major customers include companies such DAF Trucks in Eindhoven, DAF Trucks in Westerlo Belgium and PACCAR (parent company of DAF worldwide). They have various other large customers in the Netherlands and in Europe from the engine industry (Liebherr and MTU in Germany), the gas industry (Mokveld Valves from Gouda) as well as in the cooling industry (GEA Refrigeration Netherlands NV from Den Bosch), and the agricultural sector (Krone and Claas in Germany). Herrald Hulst talks about their ability to supply a wide range of industries: "We process both small and large quantities. In addition to 35 stand-alone machines in turning and milling, we also have a fully automated Flexible Manufacturing System on which we produce fully automated with robots 24/7".

The challenge

"We were looking for a laser marking machine because our new customer Liebherr from Germany wanted to have the parts provided with a lasered data matrix code. The laser was a completely new investment for us, and with the laser machine we now can meet the traceability requirements of clients so we can soon be deployed for more diverse assignments and customers. The laser marker is operated by 4 staff currently following a short training course. Following this they were soon able to operate the marking laser, "says Herrald Hulst.

Trotec solution

When searching for a high-quality laser machine, we compared various suppliers. We eventually opted for a SpeedMarker 700 marking laser from Trotec, who invested time and effort in both ourselves and the product. They came up with a competitive offer and complete concept that both Machine Fabriek Elburg and then end customer can agree with. We were also able to have some small series lasered at Trotec on a demo machine prior to the fast delivery so that the customer immediately had a result in-house for evaluation. We are very satisfied with the laser marking machine, because it is easy to use. It has made us even more complete as a supplier, "says Herrald Hulst.