Sweet victory
In just one year, biomedical sector start-up, Luc&Bel, has made a name for itself. A set of Engel victory machines has contributed to the company’s success which manufactures high-precision components for the medical industry in a cleanroom
Like the company's other three founders Massimo Magnani, Francesco Greco and Costantino Bianchi Maiocchi, managing director Luca Ferrari is not a new face in the industry, and the location chosen for the new production site in the northern Italian town of Carpi also promised success from the start. Since being introduced to biomedical technology in the 1960s, the area surrounding Mirandola in the Province of Modena has become an important region on the global scale for suppliers in the industry. The circumstances at the beginning were anything but ideal for the new site, however. Just a few weeks after the building work had started, the region was hit by a powerful earthquake, the consequences of which are still being felt by numerous companies now.
Luc&Bel was not too badly affected, but the completion of the building was delayed by four months and extra money had to be invested to safeguard the building more effectively from future earthquakes. Production was finally able to start in January 2013.
Strong suppliers guarantee future security
Luc&Bel is based on two main pillars: high-quality fittings, which the company sells under its own label, and contract orders that cover the development of products, their construction and their mass production. The 1,200m2 clean room housing 12 Engel victory injection moulding machines with clamping forces ranging from 80 to 300 tonnes is the firm's standout feature.
"Our planning has been far-sighted from the start," stresses Ferrari. "A cleanroom validated once would cost a great deal of time and money to expand, which is why it was important to us to offer a wide spectrum right from the beginning. Building a new greenfield factory represented a huge opportunity for us, and we put all our experience together to create the best possible manufacturing conditions. Combining these with the best technologies available has now put us in a position to focus on innovation and quality permanently."
Engel is Luc&Bel's sole injection moulding machine supplier. Ferrari says: "When choosing suppliers, we look for quality and efficiency, and most importantly, stability. Engel has strong roots in Europe and here in Italy as well, and is able to guarantee us continuity, even when it comes to the after-sales service.
Technology provides efficiency
Another Engel advantage guarantees Luc&Bel production efficiency: it's tie-bar-less technology. Thanks to their tie-bar-less clamping units, changing the mould on the Engel victory injection moulding machines is easy and can be done very quickly. In addition, relatively small machines are able to accommodate large moulds. For multi-component processes and the integration of assembly steps in particular, large, bulky moulds are often required, but in combination with relatively low clamping forces. The tie-bar-less technology helps to reduce operating costs here and, in effect, unit costs.
"We focus on products with a high added value," stresses Ferrari. Among other things, components for intravenous infusion, dialysis and heart surgery are currently being manufactured for customers. Many products are assembled as soon as the injection moulding process has been completed, so there is an automated assembly cell, the first of its kind, right next to the injection moulding machines in the clean room.
Short distances are the hallmark of Luc&Bel's production concept. Parallel to the injection moulding machines in the clean room are the systems supplying the granules in a corridor separated from the clean room. This is also where the sprue granulators are. In closed systems, high-quality materials are turned into regranulate.
Luc&Bel currently employs 14 staff in Carpi, but another ten employees are expected to be added to the team in the medium term, with a view to reaching a turnover of ten million euros. "We have analysed the market very carefully and are sure we will achieve this target," says Ferrari. "We concentrate on highly innovative products and integrated manufacturing processes, which gives our products and, in turn, our customers an edge over competitors.