Fagor Arrasate announces at Fabtech the opening of a new service-oriented plant in Chicago metro area

Fagor Arrasate, specialist in the design, manufacture and supply of cutting and forming lines, has presented at Fabtech 2019 in Chicago its project to build a new service plant in the Chicago area. Although the exact location has not been revealed, it is a clear example of Fagor Arrasate's commitment to the US market. In this regard, at its booths it presented examples of the most significant projects carried out so far for the automotive industry and the country's steel and aluminum producers.

The new Fagor Arrasate service plant will be operational by the end of 2020. Fagor’s greenfield project will be in a new building equipped with a bridge crane. The facility will also include offices and will complement the current Fagor Arrasate commercial and service structure in the country, coordinated from the company's U.S. headquarters in Willowbrook, Illinois. The project seeks to strengthen the after-sales service, engineering, and spare parts inventory while strengthening Fagor’s relationship with customers in a market in which Fagor Arrasate has carried out numerous projects in recent years and whose demand is booming.

Solutions for the automotive industry

As a clear sign of its commitment to the North American market, Fagor Arrasate was present at Fabtech 2019 with two booths, the most important metalforming event in North America. In booth D46043, dedicated to the automotive industry, the company has presented some of the most significant projects completed for the industry in the United States and Europe. These include, among others, a transfer press for a large industrial conglomerate, a fully automated 2500-ton composites cell, servotransfer presses and FlexCell synchronized presses. The company also presented some of the latest developments in stamping and blanking lines equipped with the most advanced automation systems.

Regarding the solutions for the automotive sector, it is worth noting the company's latest developments in hot forming lines (Press Hardening). In recent years Fagor Arrasate has consolidated itself as a turnkey supplier for OEMs and has completed several projects with delivery times of less than one year. Recently it has delivered two projects for a major European OEM as well as several press hardening lines for TIER1 level companies. Having the confidence of manufacturers of this size and the great experience accumulated in Fagor Arrasate’s own automation systems, in both transfers and feeders, endorses Fagor Arrasate’s important growth expectations in the press hardening sector.

Another of Fagor Arrasate's lines of development for the automotive sector is the FlexCell line. This system allows for the manufacture of average to small body parts in a single line, unifying processes that are usually done separately and with different equipment. In this way, thru its flexibility and versatility, productivity is increased in the stamping of metal blanks, with a lower investment.
Fagor Arrasate also presented its latest developments in high-speed press lines (Wave Lines). This system aims to respond to the growing demand for high productivity lines in the automotive industry. The system speeds up the process of handling and moving each part from one press to another by using high-speed robots with new generation synchronous control, which increases the line's productivity up to 40%. This technology is present in last year's Servo Hybrid WaveLine project for one OEM. This is the first high-frequency hybrid press line in Europe. It reaches up to 15 strokes per minute, works in continuous mode, and has a hybrid configuration and digital simulator in a Siemens PLS platform, which makes it one of the most advanced in Europe.

Solutions for the steel and aluminum industries

The company's second booth, A4586, was specifically aimed at steel and aluminum industries. Fagor Arrasate presented projects currently underway in the US, highlighting a slitting line. It also presented its aluminum cut-to-length lines (CTL) with Laser Flat technology. This development has a roto-oscillating die that reaches 180 strokes per minute and features a high level of precision in laser levelling, with a margin of error of less than 1 mm/m.

In relation to the steel and aluminum industries, Fagor Arrasate has launched several research projects to characterize the new materials used, with the aim of developing lighter and low to zero emission vehicles, and incorporating the knowledge acquired into the new developments of the company's levelling lines. The last milestone in this area has been the publication of the "Roll levelling guide", a technical book designed to offer guidelines to manufacturers in the sector, helping to achieve a correct levelling of metal coils: a critical step for its subsequent processing and that determines the quality of the resulting parts.

About Fagor Arrasate

FAGOR ARRASATE has the broadest product portfolio in the metalforming sector and provides its customers with a deep knowledge of the sector as a result of its more than 60 years of experience. It is a founding member of the MONDRAGON Corporation, one of the largest European industrial corporations, made up of 70,000 professionals.

The Group has 17 research centers, 6 production plants and 3 Service Hubs distributed internationally to guarantee global supply and after-sales service. In addition, Fagor Arrasate has a production plant in China and a dozen centers located internationally to guarantee direct service and relations with its customers, particularly in the USA, Germany, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and China. Its portfolio includes leading solutions in mechanical and hydraulic presses, complete stamping systems, transfer presses, robotic press lines, press hardening, forging; cut-to-length, slitting, combined and multiblanking cutting lines; band process lines such as pickling or tension levellers; special systems for forming metal parts, band profiling, dies and much more.