Concept in XXL
When Stahl- und Apparatebau Huppertz AG moved into its new premises at the turn of the millennium, the company's first own large-part coating plant also celebrated its premiere. Managing Director Karl-Heinz Huppertz, who had already been operating a powder coating plant since 1989, had opted for a JumboCoat system from paint system manufacturer Meeh, which "was exactly the right solution for our requirements at the time," as the trained blacksmith and structural fitter explains. "It has met our needs exactly for two decades with its enormous flexibility." The metal construction company in Saint Vith in eastern Belgium now employs 35 people in the areas of design, production, surface finishing and final assembly. They manufacture individual pieces, large-scale or series parts made of steel, stainless steel and aluminum. The company also manufactures subassemblies including hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical installations - with or without machining.
Since the move, the company has continued to grow - not only as a supplier to the steel, automotive and chemical industries, but also with its own laser technology and a very good workload as a contract coater. "The market is there, our designs and coatings are in demand, especially abroad, as our export quota is 70 percent. However, we were increasingly reaching our capacity limits," reports Karl-Heinz Huppertz. One of the reasons for the investment in new, significantly larger painting technology was daughter Mireille's decision to continue the business, which was founded in 1959, in the third generation. With an MBA in foreign trade, experience abroad and know-how from a vehicle construction company, Mireille is ideally equipped for her new tasks. In wise foresight, father Karl-Heinz had previously acquired an adjacent plot of land, and so the earthworks for a new hall could begin in June 2018. "We had to move and compact around 27,000 m³ of earth for this," explains Mireille Huppertz. The first support pile was pulled in at the beginning of April 2019.
Due to the positive experience with the first coating plant and the technical support from Meeh, Huppertz asked the Wimsheim plant manufacturer again after 20 years. Together, they quickly developed a new coating concept: "Huppertz brought extensive experience with him from the old plant, but also as a steel fabricator, and knew exactly what he wanted," says Meeh sales engineer Dietmar Damm. And so the Huppertz team was able to carry out many things themselves; for example, the Belgians opted for larger spans between the supports. In addition, Huppertz attached importance to separate cabins for the pretreatment of the steel and aluminum components in the new plant. The reason for this is the constantly increasing demands on the quality of the surfaces: "Many machine builders in the surrounding area are therefore happy to outsource the painting to us, and so the share of contract coating is now 80 percent," reports Huppertz. Already in the planning stage, the processes and control technology were changed and two separate pump sumps were integrated.