Global material handling specialists Movomech

GLOBAL MATERIAL HANDLING SPECIALISTS

Movomech AB and Movomech International, both headquartered in Kristianstad, Sweden, specialise in material handling solutions for a range of applications in various industry sectors. The companies’ activities complement each other perfectly, and today the Movomech Group is also increasing its overseas business in markets such as India and South America. Victoria Hattersley reports.

Movomech AB and Movomech International are both members of Swedenbased Sunnex Group, which brings together a number of companies operating in the sectors of lighting, industry, medical systems and lifting. Established in 1986, both Movomech AB and Movomech International specialise in advanced material handling equipment although, as we shall see the former focuses more on standard solutions, with the latter being more special-project-based.

In addition to the production facilities in Kristianstad, there are sister companies in France, Germany, USA and Finland which focus on sales. The products of both companies have applications in a wide range of industry sectors, particularly automotive but also areas such as packaging, glass production, food production and HVAC.

Standard products

Movomech AB produces all the standard Movomech material handling products in-house, and sells these products internationally through local distributors. Its product portfolio includes a wide range of lifters, manipulators, cranes, rail systems, profile systems and transport systems.

Kristian Paulsson, sales manager of Movomech AB, explains a little about the company’s standard range. “We have everything here in-house, from the grippers to the end effectors, but we tend to make most of the standard components here. A particularly popular product is our lightweight aluminium rail system named Mechrail, and then you have the manipulators to go with this.

“We also, I think, have one of the best range of vacuum lifters on the market today, and this is something we will be focusing on more and more. We have identified that there may be an issue with meeting energy requirements in the future, as these lifters do take a lot of energy to operate. To tackle this issue head on, we have solutions such

as an automatic turn-off function after for example (adjustable) five minutes. We are seeing huge demand from the logistics industry, with major clients such as DHL, UPS or Fed-Ex.”

Special projects

Movomech International works on more client-specific projects, as Martin Alesmark, the company’s sales manager, explains: “We have a standard line but we are more project-based than Movomech AB. We have a workshop for customised production, where we develop and manufacture special products such as new lifters, or customised end effectors, for example.”

Movomech International is well prepared to take on any project. It has two full-time staff focusing solely on the creation of new lifters and components, or perhaps customised end effectors, for specific clients. The company employs the latest in CAD design systems for its product development, including CATIA from Dassault Systèmes.

Mr Alesmark continues: “The majority of our clients, around 90 per cent, are within the automotive industry. In the auto industry, when you mount the car you have to have a way to lift the doors, chassis etc, so typically we will install the rail system, lifter and the end effector, either as a manual or automatic system. The early stages of production, such as building the chassis, tend to be automated today, but the final assembly is more of a skilled job so it will usually be carried out manually to allow for final checks etc.”

Aside from the automotive industry, Mr Alesmark describes one project Movomech International has ongoing: “As soon as there is a lifting problem we are there. As an example, we are currently working on a one-off project for a lifting solution for big industry refrigerators weighing around 200 kilos. We are building a lifter to pick up the refrigerator to turn it around to enable assembly. Next week it will be something different, and so on.”

However, whilst Movomech International will always adapt a product according to clients’ needs if required, Mr Paulsson explains that in general the Movomech companies prefer to sell the standard range wherever possible. “Movomech International will sometimes even completely customise a product from start to finish, but in an ideal world we make it as standard as possible because it makes it easier in terms of production, keeping costs lower, after-sales service, documentation etc. It means we don’t have to be ‘reinventing the wheel’ all the time. The automotive industry always demands customised solutions according to the specific production situation.”

Global solutions provider

Movomech has a strong client base throughout the world in all the sectors it serves. In automotive alone, it works with customers such as Volvo, Scania, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, General Motors, Audi and Jaguar. The company’s strategy for global expan-

sion is to follow its clients wherever they go and then establish new business relationships and distribution partnerships on those markets. As an example, it is currently in the process of establishing an after-sales facility in India, with production also expected to start up there in the near future.

Mr Paulsson explains how this strategy works: “We were working on a project with Ford in India, who was already an existing client of ours, and because of this we began working with Indian distributors. We then achieved a breakthrough on this market by winning a contract with Tata Motors, which we would never have done if we didn’t already have the partner in India. Big customers like Tata would never buy Movomech equipment if we couldn’t show them we have support in India.” The company feels that India is an important market to break into because many of its core European clients are setting up production in lower-cost areas further south.

Movomech has also been working with Ford in Chihuahua in Mexico, as well as Scania in Brazil. Furthermore, it has followed its clients to China and Russia and, as Mr Paulsson says, it is gaining a strong foothold in the Turkish market as well. “In Turkey they are rapidly increasing their industrial production so there is a growing demand for our products. We have just started up in this market but I can see that our business is going to increase there in the coming year.”

The company’s ability to form and maintain business relationships in markets further afield is partly owing to the advanced online technology it uses in its workshops, which enables clients to follow the progress of the work.

Mr Paulsson explains: “Some of our customers in Europe like to come and inspect the work during customer trials, but for the ones who are farther away this is not always possible. Because of this, we now have online cameras in the workshop which they can log in to and manoeuvre themselves, asking us questions on speakers if they want to. This technology demonstrates that we are well prepared for clients on a global scale. It’s a good way for us to maintain a level of contact

Complete manufacturer in sheetmetal works

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with them and it’s always nice for them to see us in action if they can’t physically see us more than once or twice a year.”

Moving forward

Having fared better during the global financial crisis than many other companies, owing in part to its having won its biggest contract to date with Ford in Mexico just before the market crashed, Movomech is optimistic about the future. Both Movomech AB and Movomech International have a lot of work lined up for the coming year.

The upgrading of existing lines of products to meet demand from customers also continues to be a strong focus for Movomech. The companies have, for example, upgraded their Pro-Series of manipulators to make it easier for clients to handle their products. In terms of completely new products, Movomech AB has been working on a pneumatic wire balancer which is currently in the client testing phase and, following feedback, is expected to be on the market sometime this year.

When asked about the growth strategies for both Movomech companies and the Sunnex Group as a whole, Mr Paullson tells us: “For Movomech, growth will be organic but for the group as a whole there may well be acquisitions of companies that will complement our existing activities. We are constantly expanding and our turnover is increasing, so we see the future in a very positive light.” n