erikkila customer magazine 5/2012

ERIKKILA expandsits selection of bridge cranesSPARTAN and SPARTAN+ in the bridge crane product ranges

In product presentations: SPARTAN bridge crane

CASES: Metso’s new facilities and lifting equipmentPurso has faith in automationThyssenKrupp chooses SPARTANVillares invests in efficiency

PASSION IN CRANESCustomer magazine 5-2012

2 Customer magazine 5-2012

EditorialLIST OF CONTENTS

Metso’s new facilities operating with ERIKKILA lifting equipment ................................................. 3

In product presentations: SPARTAN ..................................5

Purso’s profiles stay in order ..............................................6

ERIKKILA seen as reliable for the future ...........................7

Training the future work force .............................................8

Special aluminium profiles in the grip of SPARTANs .......9

Villares steel moving under the power of SPARTAN.........10

News from ERIKKILA ..........................................................12

Editorial in Espoo, August 1995: “Companies don’t do anything, peo-ple do!” That’s how Juha Erikkilä began his editorial in Erikkilä Oy’s customer magazine Robotics 1/95.

It’s nice to see that we are again in the same kind of situation. The inau-guration of the factory’s expansion is a highlight of the company’s 100th anniversary. Again people are doing!

The new culture outlined in Juha’s article with the cornerstones of cus-tomer-centredness, mutual respect, co-operation, endeavour and flexibil-ity are still a part of our operations.

The hundred-year history of the com-pany could not culminate any better. The Group’s financial year, which fin-ished in March, is its greatest ever, in terms of turnover. This creates a sound basis for the next one hundred years. The new products unveiled in 2010 and the long-term business in light cranes have been the enablers of this, both in Finland and abroad.

As the operating environment chang-es with the upheaval in the eurozone, ERIKKILA is focusing on the improve-ment of domestic productivity through automation and new working methods.

The training of the work force through apprenticeships and on-the-job training has proved to be the right choice. We are continu-ing to develop our own training pro-gramme, by which we are targeting skilled and responsible employees.In this publication, we present a

broad spectrum of customer-cen-tred solutions, the most significant of which are the company’s largest light crane delivery and the first de-liveries of the new SPARTAN line.

Masala 22.5.2012

Mikko ErikkiläManaging Director

Publisher: ERIKKILA OYMasalantie 22502430 Masala, Finland

tel. +358 9 2219 0530fax +358 9 297 5021

Address source: ERIKKILA OY’s customer and target group register

PASSION IN CRANES is ERIKKILA OY’s customer magazine

Editor-in-Chief: Mikko Erikkilä

Editor: Anu Erikkilä

Lay-out: Silva Orkosalo-Paananen

Printing: Multiprint Oy

3Customer magazine 5-2012

The Finnish production and ad-ministrative functions for Metso’s industrial valves moved from Hel-sinki to Vantaa at the beginning of 2011. As a result of the move, more than 800 employees also switched from Roihupelto in Hel-sinki to Hakkila in Vantaa. The decision to build the new facilities was made in autumn 2009 in the middle of the financial crisis. Con-struction work began at the begin-ning of 2010, and the facilty was officially opened on 22 Sep 2011.

Metso Automation Oy delivers valves all over the world to companies in such fields as oil, gas, process industries and forestry. Thanks to the new facili-ties, the production process is becom-ing more efficient and the conditions for the further development of quality and delivery reliability are improving.

The move also provides better op-portunities to invest in occupational safety and occupational well-being.ERIKKILA’s co-operation with Metso Automation at the Hakkila plant be-gan in spring 2011 at the start of the move. This had been preceded by a bidding competition between sup-pliers, which led to ERIKKALA be-ing selected as the supplier of light crane systems for the new plant.

Most of the equipment from the old plant was already obsolete, so Hak-kila needed a large amount of new cranes. In the end, a total of 210 bridge

and jib cranes were acquired to rein-force Hakkila’s stock of equipment.

About 80% of all cranes were supplied by ERIKKILA. For ERIKKILA, the project began in February with the installation of more than 30 light bridge cranes for the as-sembly points in the delivery centre. This was later followed by bridge and column jib cranes for the other assem-bly areas. For heavier jib cranes, foun-dations had to be cast before the start of the installation of the equipment.

The project lasted eight months. All work had to be seamlessly coordi-nated with other moving and instal-lation work taking place at the plant. Support teams from ERIKKILA’s Estonian factory were also in-volved in the crane installation work. In the Metso project, thanks are

Metso Automation’s new facilities operating with ERIKKILA lifting equipment

“Metso Automation had selected the right

supplier for its light cranes.”

Light aluminium and steel profile cranes in valve assembly cells


Machine tools served by a light bridge craneFor further information on this subject, contact:

ERIKKILA OYMikko Erikkilätel. +358 40 538 1797

Metso AutomationVeli Rajala [email protected]

SPARTAN bridge crane

due to ERIKKILA’s Project Man-ager for the planning process and the adherence to the timetable. ERIKKILA’s expert overall manage-ment of the project should also not be ignored. “The successful com-pletion of ERIKKILA’s crane pro-ject, including crane documenta-tion, showed that Metso Automation has selected the right supplier for its light cranes,” says Production De-velopment Engineer, Rauno Kuntsi.

Another special advantage of ERIKKI-LA’s equipment proved to be its easy adaptability, thanks to the connection solutions used in the support structures.

The coordination of the work of many different contractors was very chal-lenging. Two machinery transportation contractors and electrical, HEPAC, compressed air and crane contrac-tors were all working on the site at the same time. Floor surfacing was also being done, but everything took place in complete harmony. In addition to all this, the actual construction of the fac-tory was not yet fully complete when the move was already in full swing. In other words, the factory area was like an ants’ nest in spring. It is un-derstandable that, in places, time-tables had to be adjusted to accom-modate all parties. “Taking the nature of the factory move into account, the equipment was installed on time either well or at least satisfactorily.

The tight schedule for moving the machinery presented a challenge, because compressed air and energy were brought in the steel structures of the light cranes when the dis-tance between hall pillars was 25 m,” says Building Manager, Veli Rajala. Now the lifting equipment has al-ready been operating at full capac-ity for some time. Both sides have good memories of this massive co-operative project. Rauno Kuntsi sums up his thoughts of ERIKKILA with the sentence: “A suitably large com-pany, which operates with flexibility.”

”A suitably large company, which operates

with flexibility.”

In connection with Metso’s move to new premi-ses, ERIKKILA installed more than 200 cranes, 150 of which were new PROSYSTEM and SPARTAN models.


Contact the Sales Department:

[email protected]. +358 (9) 221 90 530

NO WELDING IN INSTALLATIONS,ALL CONNECTIONS

WITH BOLTS

Technical specifications:

• Cable-free power feed and wireless data transfer

• Kit structure - purchase in parts or as a complete crane

• Simple• Fast installation• Fast delivery• Structure that can be

adapted to suit the need

The maximum span of the ERIKKI-LA SPARTAN crane is 18 metres and the capacity is 1.6 - 10 tonnes.

SPARTAN was so named be-cause of its simple and efficient construction. It is the world’s first and only bridge crane system, with wireless control and cable-free power feed as standard. Wire-less technology in the control of the crane and conductor bars in its power feed make SPAR-TAN more durable and mainte-nance-free than its competitors.

Having made thousands of bridge cranes over the last 30 years, ERIKKILA has made them easy to sell and buy with the aid of the kit system. In spite of utilising the latest technology, price-wise SPARTAN is very competitive and attractive.

The crane is available with ei-ther wire rope or chain hoists, and many optional features, such as automatic position-ing and a return-home feature.

SPARTAN IN FIGURES

MAX. LIFTING CAPACITY 10 TONNESMAX. SPAN 18 METRES2-SPEED LIFTING AND MOVINGMOTORISED MOVEMENT IN 6 DIRECTIONS1 TREE PLANTED FOR EACH CRANE SOLD

IS THAT ENOUGH?

Feel free to ask for an offer for SPARTAN+!

In product presentations: SPARTAN


SPARTAN+ bridge crane equipped with turn table

Purso Oy’s aluminium profiles and their refined products are suitable for land, sea and air. ERIKKILA’s equipment is in turn suitable for handling Purso’s products. All the plant’s automatic racking sys-tems are ERIKKILA products.

Siuro-based Purso makes extruded al-uminium profiles and products processed from them, as well as aluminium building systems. Every year, the factory produces about 17,000 tonnes of different alumin-ium profiles, about 35% of which go for export. There are almost 19,000 dif-ferent types of profile. The products are used in almost all fields of indus-try from construction and electrics to logistics. Purso Oy is also Finland’s largest company in this particular field.The co-operation between Purso and ERIKKILA began about twenty years ago with the installation of the ROB-SYSTEM automatic racking system. The latest project with ERIKKILA is the new ROBSYSTEM racking solu-tion launched at the beginning of 2012 for Purso’s new anodising operations. The automatic racking system helps

and streamlines the handling of warehouse goods, enables the op-timal use of warehouse space and frees up the employees for other tasks, thus boosting pro-duction. Furthermore, all goods are constantly

available, with none bur-ied under a pile. Purso uses four ERIKKILA racking systems of different ages. Purso also uses ERIKKILA jib cranes, bridge cranes, semi-gantry cranes and reversible jibs. The lifting equipment carries products between different production processes and treatments, and when they are being transferred between work stages and intermediate storag-es. The raw material and finished prod-ucts thus move through production by means of cranes in many places. Purso’s Technical Director, Seppo He-

lin, lists ERIKKILA’s advantages as being its Finnishness and its handy lo-cation a relatively short distance away. Because the older items of ERIKKILA equipment are still working faultlessly, a working life of at least twenty years is expected for the latest deliveries. Purso has faith in ERIKKILA and its equipment. Seppo Helin and Produc-tion Director, Jukka Lähteenmäki, sum up their experiences of ERIKKILA as positive, mentioning particularly that the company always keeps its prom-ises. They especially appreciate the tailoring of the lifting equipment ex-actly to suit the needs of the custom-er. “Co-operation cannot continue so long, unless there is something good in the partner and its equipment,” says Seppo Helin with a glint in his eye.

For further information on this subject, contact:

ERIKKILA OYPetteri Lempiäinentel. +358 9 221 90 50

Purso OySeppo [email protected]

Purso’s profiles stay in order with automatic

racking systems

Purso’s profiles in an automatic racking system

“The co-operation between Purso and ERIKKILA began about twenty years ago with

the installation of the ROBSYSTEM automatic

racking system.”


has seen good times and bad, and faith in its survival, even in these latest times, has only continued to increase.

ERIKKILA has a clear desire to be renowned as one of the most innova-tive service and solution suppliers of workplace cranes. As a result of con-stant development work, the range of products will continue to expand and the company will keep trying to introduce innovative solutions to the market. ERIKKILA hopes to be able to act as a pioneer for the industry.

Fair winds are not only blowing in the field of products and production, but also in management and human resources. The next generation has stepped up to the plate, in the form of Juha Erikkilä’s sons, Mikko and Matti. In order, they represent the fourth gen-eration of the family business. Matti has been apppointed Marketing Man-ager and Mikko, Managing Director.

The same pattern can also be seem among the employees.

Young blood is gradually being in-troduced to the company through the creation of new jobs and the retirement of older employees. Generational change in one form or another is always challenging.

The roles of many people must be redefined, and it always takes time to get used to such changes. The people at ERIKKILA have al-ready managed to grow accus-tomed to the company’s new man-aging generation from all angles.

Mikko Erikkilä has assumed as his objective to build a company for himself, his children and his em-ployees, which will keep going for at least the next one hundred years.

Faith in the future is strong at ERIK-KILA. The hundred year-old company

”Faith in the future is strong at ERIKKILA.”

”Fair winds are not only blowing in the field of

products and production, but also in management and human resources.”

ERIKKILA seen as reliable for the future

The Masala factory in spring 2011


ERIKKILA is training employees through apprenticeship training. Ap-prenticeship training is an efficient model, both for the company and the trainees. The trainees get to complete a course towards their vocational qualification and immediately get a foothold in working life. Apprentice-ship training is also a safe and prac-tical way of getting to know working life and the industry. The company for its part can train the profession-als that it needs. Training enables the passing on of professional skills to the new generation as in the time of the old master-apprentice model.

ERIKKILA’s apprentices, Antti Mulari and Tero Kaltiainen, say that they have found for themselves a good way of studying for their vocational qualification. Watching working meth-ods and carrying them out in practice sure beats sitting over a book! Also available are many teachers, who can offer their own view of things. In that way, the personal opinions and work-ing habits of teachers do not gain too much influence, allowing the appren-tices to draw their own conclusions and formulate own working practices based on the information they re-ceive. A good atmosphere in the work

place also helps, even on not so good days. Such a support network is rarely found in the traditional school system.

The young people now in training might in future be responsible for ERIKKILA’s expertise. New manpow-er is needed, both in order to expand operations and to replace employees who are retiring. The training of young people is also ERIKKILA’s own con-tribution to the good of society. The neglect of young people has recently created a lot of concern throughout the country. ERIKKLA is trying to fight against this unfortunate trend.

PROSYSTEM® This light crane system is perfect for indus-trial environments. It improves the productivity of the handling of loads up to 2,000 kg.

Antti and Tero enjoy working at the factory

Training the future work force

5. Easy installation

6. Unique chamfer tubes that ensures precise alignment of the travel surfaces

7. Comprehansive range of standard accessories includ-ing patented overload indicator

8. Requires little maintenance

9. Can be adapted to changing needs

10. Improves productivity, safety and work ergonomics

BENEFITS:

1. Modular and tailored

2. Rolling resistance only ap-prox. 1% of the moved load

3. The best weight-carrying capacity ratio

4. Fast delivery


In spring 2011 ThyssenKrupp Aero-space Finland Oy moved to new premises in Jämsänkoski. The new plant provides the opportunity to op-erate in uniform and sufficiently large facilities. The large factory hall ena-bles the possible expansion of opera-tions, and there is also enough space for three SPARTAN bridge cranes.

Jämsänkoski-based ThyssenKrupp Aerospace Finland Oy’s factory is part of the ThyssenKruppin Aero-space Group. The unit makes parts for the aviation industry, Patria, Kone and Rolls-Royce. The plant is spe-cialised in processing thick materials and materials made of special com-pounds. Most of the material is dif-ferent compounds of aluminium, but metals such as titanium and brass are also processed at the plant. The metals reach the plant as sheets, rods, tubes and profiles. 3-4 million kg of sheets pass through every year.

The milling machine at the factory is the largest of its type in the Nor-dic countries. Once the move from Mänttä to the new facilities had been ensured, the company started looking for suitable crane manufacturers and ended up choosing ERIKKILA. ERIK-KILA’s advantages included being Finnish and having suitable delivery times. The selection was also influ-enced by insufficient knowledge of the load-bearing capacity of the hall’s wall and roof structures. Because, how-ever, they had precise knowlegde of the strength of the floor, they decided on SPARTAN. The cranes had to be adapted to suit the existing facilities, which can be seen, for example, in the very long spans of the SPARTANs.

The factory currently has three of ERIKKILA’s SPARTAN bridge cranes.

Each so-called key machine thus has its own crane, which moves the raw material for the machine to pro-cess. 80-90% of the material used is aluminium. Most of the activ-ity is the processing of sheet metal. SPARTAN lifts the sheets onto the saws and the top-milling and water-cutting machines by means of suc-tion cups. The sizes of the sheets vary to some extent, but in practice they are always so large that moving manually is not possible or sensible.

The SPARTAN bridge cranes were equipped with compressed air ca-bles and power supply reels so that the existing grabs could be used.

”The use of brige cranes together with suction cups has made it possi-ble for the machine operator to per-form all tasks independently,” says Operations Manager, Toni Mikkola. The suction cup crane is also very gentle with the materials, as it doesn’t scratch or dent the sheets. The bolt connections used in the cranes’ struc-tures make installation easy. The con-nections also guarantee the correct position of the tracks and provide the opportunity to connect exten-sion parts to the whole, if necessary.


ERIKKILA OYTeija Paakkaritel. +358 40 509 4499

ThyssenKrupp Aerospace Finland OyToni [email protected]

“The bolt connections used in the cranes’

structures make installation easy.”

The lifting of aluminium sheets with a suction cup

Special aluminium profiles in the grip of SPARTANs

SPARTAN end piece


Metso, Andritz, Aikawa Group and Sulzer Pumps. On average it han-dles 15-20 orders per day, and deals with about 300 customers annually.

A year ago, Villares invested in im-proving the efficiency of its opera-tions. It bought new sawing lines for cutting the steel, but in order to adapt the new saws to the hall the company had to make chang-es in terms of the use of space.

The transfer of material between the sawing lines and the warehouse pre-viously took place using forklift trucks, but a more efficient and safer solu-tion was needed. The hall’s weak wall structures prevented the installation of fixed lifting equipment, and the availa-ble space was also limited. SPARTAN was therefore the perfect solution. SPARTAN was chosen based on its features, as nobody else could offer a similar solution to the problem. SPAR-TAN stands on its own feet and can be moved when the need arises, thanks

The Finnish branch of Villares Metals International B.V. last year invested in improving the ef-ficiency of its operations. Inves-ments included the purchase of a SPARTAN crane from ERIK-KILA. Branch manager Jarkko Salonen says that, at the end of the day, ERIKKILA was the only possible supplier, as nobody else could provide a similar solution.

The Finnish branch of Villares Metals International B.V situated at Juvan-malmi in Espoo is part of the Villares Metals International B.V. Group. The company delivers 1,400-1,500 tonnes of stainless steel and special steel per year, more than 400 tonnes of which is steel plate and 600 tonnes round steel.

Its selection also includes angle iron, square bar iron, hexagonal bar iron and hollow bars. The company cuts the material into sizes requested by the customer from pieces just a few millimetres thick to pieces several metres thick. Villares’ customer base mainly comprises companies oper-ating in the field of engineering. Its most important customers include

”A good concept that suits our environment.”

A double crane handling long rods

Steel at the Finnish branch of Villares Metals International B.V. is moved by SPARTANs

to its modularity. Because of the crane, the full use of capacity as detailed in the investment plan was achieved.

Previously, the saws were in parallel, and there had to be enough space between them for forklift truck traffic. Now the sawing lines can be con-tinuous and there does not need to be any unnecessary space between them. Jarkko Salonen also says that SPARTAN is “a good concept that suits our environment.” They are also satisfied with the mainte-nance service that ERIKKILA pro-vides. Whenever the need arises, somebody comes to service and repair the equipment in good time.


ERIKKILA OYMikko Erikkilätel. +358 40 538 1797

Villares Metals International B.V. Jarkko Salonen [email protected]


Did you know that ERIKKILAwas first in...

first in manufacturingPROSYSTEM®

light crane systems in

Scandinavia(1977)

first in establishing a factory

OÜ Eesti Kraanavabrikin Estonia as a western

crane company (1991)

first in patenting

ROBSYSTEM®

robotic cranes (1989)

first in devloping a raised bridge

construction into a PROSYSTEM®

light crane system (1978)

first in patenting

ERGOLATOR® ergonomic lifting device

(1995)

first in powder painting profiles (1989)

first in producing

PROSYSTEM® aluminium light crane

system in Finland (2003)

first in packing

PROSYSTEM® crane components

individually in vacuum

(2004)

first in developing a

PROSYSTEM® light crane system

compatible with Demag KBK-I & II system

(1980)

first in patenting integrated

rubber buffer in PROSYSTEM®

push trolley (1996)

first in using industrial

design for ergonomic control unit in

ERGOLATOR® (2002)

first in inventing and

patenting an overload indicator to

PROSYSTEM® light crane system

(2004)

first inmodular cable free

and wirelessSPARTAN

bridge crane up to 10t (2010)

The loading of a 12.5-tonne SPARTAN+ bridge crane in progress

www.erikkila.com

NEWS FROM ERIKKILA

Expansion of production facilities

In 2008, ERIKKILA decided to invest in the ex-pansion of its production facilities. The decision was linked to the birth of the new SPARTAN product range. The existing facilities at the fac-tory were insufficient for the production of SPAR-TANs. The start of the expansion work coincided

with the start of the economic downturn, but in spite of this the plans remained and employees received bonuses, bucking the general trend. The new facilities will enable the doubling of production. Before being used for their actual purpose, the facilities will serve as the stage for ERIKKILA’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

ERIKKILA turns 100 years

Throughout 2012, ERIKKILA will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The company originally founded by Toivo Erikkilä in 1912 is still run by the same family with Toivo’s great-great grandson, Mikko, now serving as Managing Director in 2012. Mikko told of his views about what 2012 may bring.

In honour of the anniversary year, the whole of ERIKKILA’s presentation catalogue has been revamped into a more standardised form and a new website has been opened. The anniversary year also sees the publica-tion of a book about ERIKKILA’s history as a company. The book was written by Mikko and Matti Erikkilä’s second cousin, Anu Erikkilä.

ERIKKILA’s environmental promise

We will plant a tree for each SPARTAN crane sold! Nature Conservancy will take care of the planting on our behalf. Nature Conservancy is one of the world’s leading nature conservancy organisations working on behalf of ecologically important areas. The planting will be done in the rain forest region of Brazil’s eastern Atlantic coast.

New website opened

ERIKKILA’s revamped web-site has been opened at www.erikkila.com. The site has a new look, new con-tent and new sections. It also has reference cases for different customers.

erikkila customer magazine 5/2012

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