With the inauguration of its new assembly hall for mega/giga trimming presses, abk Pressenbau is sending a strong signal for innovation and the future. A particular highlight of the event was the live demonstration of the SP30/23-4-300 trimming press in fully automatic operating mode, including an automated tool change – an impressive demonstration of technological excellence.
A milestone in the history of abk Pressenbau
The opening marks a significant milestone for the family-run company and was celebrated as part of the first abk Customer Day 2024. Customers, partners, employees and media representatives were invited to the two-day celebrations. The event started with a get-together in the Event-Galerie Obernburg, which provided space for socialising and networking.
The main day began with an official welcome from Managing Director Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke, who welcomed the guests together with Managing Directors Andreas Kohlmann and Ulrich Krimm. In her speech, Aulbach-Heinecke emphasised the strategic importance of the new hall:
‘With this assembly hall, we are creating the necessary infrastructure for the production of mega/giga trimming presses and setting another milestone in the history of abk Pressenbau.’
State-of-the-art infrastructure for mega/giga deburring presses
The new hall offers space for the assembly of up to four large presses of the latest generation. With a column passage of 3 metres, a press force of 400 tonnes and a die plate size of 3000 x 3000 mm, abk is setting new standards. Four models of the new presses were presented at the Customer Day, impressively demonstrating the technical advances.
One highlight was the live demonstration of the SP30/23-4-300 trimming press, which was presented by Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke. The guests were able to experience first-hand how a fully automated mould change and subsequent operation were successfully carried out in just 15 minutes – a technological breakthrough in the field of megacasting.
Innovation and growth
After the live demonstration, Alexander Walde presented the development history of the new generation of presses and gave an outlook on future projects. While the SP30 models are already available in series production, the next generation of the MEGACASTING series is in the starting blocks, with a planned production start in autumn 2025.
Aulbach-Heinecke emphasised the strategic focus on large structural components: Mega-/Gigacasting was a conscious decision for us. We have clearly focused on developing innovative solutions for the challenges of machining large components.’
Sustainability and social commitment
Sustainability is another focus of abk. The company modernises older machines through an extensive retrofit program that brings them almost up to the level of new systems. In August and September, abk was also able to cover all its production electricity requirements with its own photovoltaic systems – an important contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions. Furthermore, abk demonstrates its regional commitment by donating over 30,000 euros to community projects and educational initiatives.
The Customer Day lecture program offered exciting insights into current topics in the international die casting industry. Experts such as Dirk Schmidtbleicher (Bühler AG) and Siegfried Heinrich (Schaufler Tooling) highlighted trends such as megacasting and emphasised the importance of the partnership with abk Pressenbau. Other presentations, including those by Patrick Decker (Römheld) and Dr. Alexander Leonhard (Parker Hannifin), dealt with topics such as tool changes and condition monitoring. The presentation by Timm Weiss (Böhmer Maschinenbau) focussed on automation in megacasting. The topic ‘Special Features of Trimming Tools in Megacasting’ was presented by Benjamin Horlebein (Aulbach Entgratungstechnik). Stefan Melzer from Sitema spoke about redundant ram securing in trimming presses.
Conclusion with factory tour and evening event
After the presentations, the guests had the opportunity to visit the tool shop of Aulbach Entgratungstechnik GmbH in Elsenfeld, where Managing Director Benjamin Horlebein guided them through production. The event concluded with a festive evening event, at which Lisa Aulbach-Heinecke thanked the whole team for their outstanding commitment.
The successful inauguration and the success of abk Customer Day 2024 underline the innovative strength and future viability of abk Pressenbau in a dynamic industry.
Source: Primetals Technologies
