ARKU Maschinenbau GmbH � Siemensstraße 11 � 76532 Baden-Baden � Germany � T: + 49 72 21 / 50 09-0 � E-Mail: info@arku.de � www.arku.de ARKU, Inc. · 11405 Grooms Road · Cincinnati, OH 45242 · USA · Phone: +1 (513) 985-0500 · Fax: +1 (513) 985-0580 · E-Mail: info-us@arku.com · www.arku.com

The leveling and deburring expertsInfoMAX

CONTENTS

DEBURRING: P. 1 and 2

LEVELING: P. 2, 3 and 4

Delta, British Columbia – Mahogany trees, pines or oaks are a miracle of nature – and the foundation of many everyday objects. Furniture or flooring

wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for hardwood and softwood. But the raw material isn’t available straight away. Optimil Machinery has what it takes to turn to-wering trees into processable lumber with its processing equipment. Its ma-chines are sought after by lumber pro-ducing companies in North America. But the customer base stretches far be-yond the Canadian/American territory. Optimil also ships to Australia and New Zealand.

Fully automated

Since 1983, Optimil has helped saw-mills reach a crucial goal: produce more lumber from their wood resour-ces. Manufacturing the machinery requires a full machine shop. In its 100,000 square feet production faci-lity, Optimil covers steel fabrication,

equipment assembly and electrical wiring. To maintain consistent product quality, the company largely relies on automated processes. Laser tables,

horizontal boring mills, and CNC mil-ling are major production pillars. For its heavy-duty components, the com-pany utilizes oxyfuel cutting techno-logy.

Robust material

“We process thick materials, since we build heavy duty equipment,” explains company owner Ross Chapman. Cut-ting is done smoothly, whereas de-burring proves more challenging: For

a long time, the company was having employees use hand grinders to pre-pare parts for the fabrication process. This process proved to be very time

consuming and causes repetitive strain injuries which are very serious.

Consequently, Optimil’s goal was a combination of efficient deburring and fewer work-related injuries. One day, Ross Chapman was flipping through a trade magazine – and read about ARKU’s EdgeBreaker®. “Purchasing a deburring machine was a compelling idea,” he recalls. “We first discussed the project internally. The entire team agreed that an EdgeBreaker® could

Ross Chapman, President at Optimil (right) and David Wilkins, Operations at Optimil (middle) as well as Nathan Brown, Sales En-gineer at ARKU Inc. are discussing the future possibilities of deburring.

Built tough: The EdgeBreaker® 4400 cleanly deburrs and edge rounds the materials with no problems.

Big saws, thick partsOptimil Machinery Inc. enhances deburring results with ARKU EdgeBreaker® 4400

Deburring

Der Weg ist das Ziel

We have always focused on brin-ging value to our customers. In or-der to accomplish this we strive to provide you solutions to keep you a step ahead. For decades our parts levelers have served this purpose, allowing companies in a variety of industries to offer flat and stress-re-lieved materials. Our deburring and edge-rounding machines, introduced in 2015, offer opportunities to deliver burr-free and edge-rounded parts. Both procedures are complementa-ry, enhancing the overall value chain and enabling your company to prepa-re your path towards Industry 4.0.

Thanks to the cooperative partner-ship with our customers, we have gained considerable feedback and experience over the years which we incorporate into our research and development for better sheet metal. Experience for yourself the benefits our machines can deliver to your company and come visit us in our leveling and deburring center in Cin-cinnati, OH.

We are eager to support our partners in staying ahead.

Nicholas Miller President of ARKU Inc.

Staying a step ahead

Continued on page 2

No. 51 / 2018Parts Levelers · Press feeding lines · Coil preparation lines for roll formers · Deburring machines

Brookville, PA – 55 years ago, David R. Miller started providing metal ma-nufacturing services from a small ga-rage. Today the company is one of the top OEM fabricators in the country with three locations spread across Western Pennsylvania. However, despite the many changes, it has remained faithful to its core business: high-quality metal fabrication and welding services.

Clients comprise OEMs across a varie-ty of industries, including construction equipment, railroad rolling stock, ma-terial handling equipment and others.

Services include oxyfuel, plasma and laser cutting, as well as metal forming. Different types of welding add to the service portfolio.

Cutting issues

“Welding requires cut parts that are absolutely level,” explains company president David K. Miller. “Customers

expect consistent quality at fixed costs. But our cut architectural products were not as flat as desired. That was the reason to look for an efficient leveling solution.”

A trip abroad brought David Miller closer to his goal: in 2014, he visited laser job shops in Germany. During his stay, the company’s president was able

to witness ARKU levelers in operation. “The parts came out flat and in a very short time,” he remembers. “So I thought: ‘Why not give this a try?”

Teaming up with ARKU

Together with Patrick Zimmerman, a sales representative of his equipment distributor Mid Atlantic Machinery, he contacted ARKU in Cincinnati. First, Mil-ler decided to run tests with construc-tion and railway parts with ARKU. “We wanted to level materials with a chal-lenging structure,” he points out.

The FlatMaster® used by ARKU left a lasting impression: its series of alter-nating bends produced flat and stress-relieved parts. In comparison, manual flattening may require anywhere from a few minutes to several hours and does not remove internal stress. “We noticed that the results outdid the press brake we were using at the time,” Miller ex-plains. “That’s when we settled for an ARKU FlatMaster® 120. The machine would allow us to level parts and plates up to 1 3/8 inches thick.“

Since June 2018, Miller Fabrication So-lutions has drastically reduced welding times. “Thanks to the FlatMaster® 120, we have boosted our welding accura-cy as well. The stress-relieved parts are easy to work with and require less fixtures,” Miller reports. With the Flat-Master®, the company is set to tackle challenging jobs.

www.millerfabricationsolutions.com

InfoMAX

Rich Steel, Director of Business Processes at Miller Fabrication Solutions (left) and David K. Miller, Chairman of the Board (middle) alongside with Sean Self, Service Technician at ARKU Inc.

Weld accuracy, time savings advance to the next levelMiller Fabrication Solutions enhances downstream processes with the ARKU FlatMaster®

Leveling

Coil Lines

deburr the majority of our components, including our heavy duty parts. This would greatly help us reach our goals.”

The right decision

As a result, Optimil visited ARKU’s fa-cility in Cincinnati and ran tests. When these proved successful, Chapman de-cided to make the move. For a good rea-son: “The EdgeBreaker® 4400 was easy to use and provides a high performance. To our great advantage, it also handles thicker materials. Some providers on the market do not offer this capability.”Chapman does not regret his choice. Thanks to its consistent performance, the EdgeBreaker® achieves results

that highlight the quality of Optimil’s products. “The machine handles thick parts with consistently high deburring and edge rounding results. Our wor-kers really appreciate the easy-to-use interface. Moreover, the quick-change of the drum and the brush consuma-bles ensure easy operation.” This re-duces Optimil’s downtime significantly. Not to mention the hand grinders: The workforce no longer must carry out this dangerous task. “Experienced metal fabrication workers are hard to find. Employees now have more time for fabrication, and we can increase our output.”

www.optimil.com

Quick-change feature: Nathan Brown, Sales Engineer at ARKU Inc. is showing Ray Tyler, Opera-tions at Optimil, how easy it is to change consumables on the EdgeBreaker® 4400 thanks to the intuitive quick-change feature.

Continued from page 1

Hago in Iuka, Mississippi has just received their third ARKU coil line in the US. This line features the unique CompactFeed® design which saves valuable space in the press room. The installation and commissioning was conducted by Sean Self, Field Service Engineer for ARKU Inc. Therefore allowing the automotive parts supplier to increase capacity while simultaneously operating smoothly and cost efficiently.

Third coil line for Hago Automotive Corp. in Mississippi

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ARKU offers a variety of refurbished machines which are available on short notice. All machines are rebuilt by certi-fied service technicians. Contact us to set up material tes-ting today!

Are you in need of certified used equipment?

Bend, OR – CLS Fabrication Inc. is a good example of an American suc-cess story. In 1985, Eric and Barbara Fleming founded a company for laundry machine coin mechanisms in their own garage. Over the years, CLS

Fabrication has expanded and deve-loped into a trusted partner for OEM sheet metal and structural material customers.

Two key elements have contributed to

their success: “The core of our strength is unquestionably our employees. We all work hard and always strive for con-tinous improvement,” says Benjamin Mitchell, COO of CLS Fabrication. Se-condly, the company reinvests pro-

fits in infrastructure and high-quality equipment. This is also reflected in the Oregon machinery park. Since October 2018, it features a new ARKU FlatMaster® 55 165 precision leveler.

The best equipment for high-quality products

The company started out by contract leveling with ARKU at their facility in Cincinnati. “We were very pleased with the leveled and stress-relieved materi-als we received from ARKU”, Mitchell underlines. “So we decided to acquire an in-house leveling solution to offer our customers this quality ourselves.” By relieving the internal stress of the material, downstream processes are now a lot more accurate and efficient. It also provides a new direct revenue cen-ter given their choice to offer leveling as a service. CLS Fabrication can conti-nue to offer their customers exactly the quality they need.

www.clsfab.com

A true American success storyCLS Fabrication achieves excellent flatness with ARKU FlatMaster® 55 165

Are you in need of leveled and/or deburred, edge-rounded parts/sheets? ARKU is your one stop shop for all your leveling and deburring needs. Contact Chad Ellis (Toll Processing Manager) - chad.ellis@arku.com or simply call +1 513-387-0586.

Toll processing from ARKU

Fresno, CA – When it comes to cutting metal, Central Cal Metals is the right address. Clients from the automotive, food and architectural industries rely on the family-owned business. Besi-des cutting various materials including wood and rubber, the company offers leveling expertise for a large array of alloys. Especially decorative architec-tural grilles need to be leveled – before and after cutting.

“It is essential for our grilles that cut-ting, coating and forming are com-pleted smoothly. Both downstream and upstream processes benefit from leveled metal,” Operations Manager Tom Alandt explains. Leveled parts stay flat during the laser process and incre-ase cutting accuracy. Additionally, they make for easy coating and forming.

The expo experience

However, due to internal cut-outs, architectural parts were warped after cutting. The company had just a small amount it could level with a press brake.

“As a consequence, we needed to in-crease the leveling quality for good,” Alandt stresses. But where to start? At Chicago’s FABTECH expo in 2017, Tom Alandt saw the FlatMaster® 55 in action. Upon his request, ARKU carried out le-veling tests on site with demo material. As somebody who is familiar with flat-ness issues, he immediately noticed the high quality of the results. “From that moment on, I was eager to work with a FlatMaster® in Fresno,” he reports.

In April 2018, Central Cal Metals or-dered a FlatMaster® 55 165 precision leveler. The machine has been run-ning since June 2018. “Thanks to the investment, we offer tighter leveling tolerances at a lower price,” Alandt explains. The leveler helps Central Cal Metals to level and stress-relieve their metal. “That’s a real step forward,” he summarizes. His customer base is fully satisfied as well: The flat parts add to the appeal of their constructions – without any quality cutbacks.

www.cencalmetals.com

Chad Ellis, Toll Processing Manager at ARKU Inc. is giving an extensive training on operating and maintenance to the operations team after the machine had been installed.

Tom Alandt, Operations Manager at Central Cal Metals (right) and Nicholas Miller, President at ARKU Inc. inspecting one of the intricate grilles prior to leveling.

A cure for stressCentral Cal Metals relies on a FlatMaster® 55 165 for efficient metal processing

Leveling

Leveling

Racine, WI – The more complex the products, the more precise the requi-red parts: As a contract manufacturer, Styberg Engineering knows the drill. The company produces metal parts for drivetrain applications for all kinds of vehicles. Over the past years, client

requests have changed drastically: parts needed to be increasingly smaller and thinner. Consequently, the toleran-ce ranges became much tighter, requi-ring more precise leveling operations. With ARKU’s leveling expertise, Styberg continues to deliver high-grade compo-nents.

The company was founded over 90 years ago as a small tool and die busi-ness. It quickly gained clients from multiple industries, including military, bicycle and automotive. They purchase parts for transmissions, brakes, and engines, amongst other things. During its long history, Styberg has faced quite a few market changes. “The longer we stay in business, the tighter the parts tole-rances have to be,” says John Baker, Vice President of Manufacturing at Styberg.

“Besides, a lot of customers require tight leveling tolerances down to .004 inches.” However, Styberg’s existing leveling equipment wasn’t capable of leveling parts this thin. So Baker ap-proached long-term partner ARKU for a new solution.

Tight tolerances

“We initially reached out to ARKU in 2014. Back then, we needed spare parts for our old HRC 80-1250 leveler. ARKU was able to promptly supply us,” Baker remembers. Based on that positive ex-perience, ARKU was the obvious contact for a new leveler as well. Within less than half a year, Styberg purchased a refurbished HRC 30-750. The machine originates from HRC which is an ARKU subsidiary, a fully-owned company since 2015.

Since the implementation in Septem-ber this year, the new leveler is up to the task: “The HRC 30-750 achieves the desired tolerances and enhances our productivity,” Baker says. Thanks to the new leveling machine from ARKU, Styberg’s clients can rest assured: When vehicular components need to perform, they can trust in the precision of Styberg parts.

www.styberg.com

Imprint Masthead / Publisher: ARKU experts in leveling and deburring Masthead: Albert Reiss, owner of ARKU Coordination: Alexandra Schuldt, Head of MarketingDesign: Marschner+Kühn GmbH & Co. KG Composition: Rommel & Company Print: OneTouchPoint

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Keeping up the speed Styberg Engineering boosts leveling quality with HRC 30-750 leveler from ARKU

Matthew Hubbell, Field Service Technician at ARKU Inc. (right) and Mike Tresider, Supervisor at Styberg Engineering, inspecting the readout values of the new HRC 30 leveler.

First jobs are always a surprise: You never know what exactly to expect, and it takes time to gain traction. For sales representative Christian Nau, things have settled well. Right after completing his studies, he chose ARKU as his first employer. Christian has tackled his tasks with great commitment ever since: With

a bachelor’s degree in Business & Law as well as a Masters degree in East Asian Economy & Society, Christian has what it takes to serve a diverse customer base. Based in Baden-Baden, the 31 year old sales expert supports customers ranging from the UK to Germany, India and South East Asia. He works closely with his clients to deliver the opti-mal precision leveler and/or debur-ring machine for their manufactu-ring processes.

However, customer support is only one of Christian’s many talents. He regularly visits the Cincinnati site to share his experience and train new sales colleagues. Christian’s tasks comprise communicating new com-pany developments to the group and assisting sales engineers during customer visits. His task allows him to hop between cultures: The nati-ve German likes the casual working atmosphere in the US, which makes his job even more rewarding. “We are very happy to have Christian supporting us also in 2019 – and look forward to developing our ta-lents in the best possible way!”, ex-plains Nicholas Miller, President at ARKU Inc.

Leveling

Straight to ARKU

Two ARKU birthdays were celebra-ted at this year‘s evening event on the 14th of September: In addition to the company’s 90th anniversary,

the 60th birthday of the owner Albert Reiss was also celebrated. This made for an evening full of surprises. At first, the Managing Director Marcus Bartle presented a fascinating retrospective of ARKU’s past decades. The Management Team then rolled in a special gift

for the Managing Partner into the hall: a miniature model of ARKU’s premises - much to the delight of the owner. He received the present

together with family and colleagues. „The evening celebration was an unforgettable experience for ARKU and for me personally. I would like to thank all of the employees who made this memorable day possible,“ says Reiss, summing up the celeb-rations.

An unforgettable gift: Albert Reiss (3rd from right) received the miniature model with his wife Susan (4th from right) and his children Hannah (2nd from right) and Simon (1st from right).

An unforgettable gift