HGG Wins Smart Manufacturing Award
The Dutch Royal Metal Union recognizes their continual process improvement to reduce cycle times and costs through innovation, digitalization and automation.
Posted: April 19, 2017
On March 23, the Dutch Royal Metal Union awarded their 2017 Smart Manufacturing Award to HGG Group BV (Wieringerwerf, Netherlands), which received the award because of the “Smart manufacturing example they have set for the metalworking industry.” According to a spokesman on the decision-making committee, “By constant process improvement through innovation, digitalization and automation, HGG continues to demonstrate major reductions in throughput time and costs.” The company received a check for €5,000.
Smart manufacturing examples at HGG include 3D printing to facilitate faster prototyping, robotic technology improvements that result in robots being ten times more accurate, and customer delivery times that have been reduced from 28 weeks to 6 weeks. Key component initiatives have enabled the company to achieve these successes, including modular component design integration, dedicated team formation representing different disciplines, and improved co-operation between suppliers and stock product management.
“Smart manufacturing has been an integral part of our DNA since 1985,” said Mark Helder, the general manager of HGG, in a Dutch news release. “We call it ‘metalfacturing’ and strive hard to make sure it is part of every employee’s DNA.” The Dutch Royal Metal Union is an independent association serving the Dutch Metalworking Industry with 13,000 affiliated members. This union represents small to medium-sized enterprises in areas including machine and equipment construction, metal manufacturing, measuring and control technologies, electronics, welding and construction, machining, sheet metal working, maintenance and trade services, etc.
HGG is a leading supplier of pipe cutting machines, robotic profile cutting lines and associated cutting equipment solutions around the world, with subsidiaries in the Philippines, China, India, and the Middle East. In the U.S., HGG Profiling Equipment (Medina, OH) is their subsidiary that provides sales and service support for North America, Central America and South America and serves an array of industry customers in steel construction, piping process industries, offshore/onshore, crane building, ship building and others.
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