Industry
Canteen kitchens, food counters, and shopfitting
Good advice from industry experts – TRUMPF Financial Services GmbH
Ronny Ferl is not exactly a newcomer to the industry. He has worked in sheet metal production for more than 20 years. To be more precise, in the construction of counters and food serving areas for restaurants, canteen kitchens and cafeterias. In the summer of 2018, when he and a business partner wanted to start their own business in precisely this industry, this specialist knowledge was suddenly of little value – at least when it came to getting a loan from the local bank to set up the company. Ferl says: "Founding a company in Germany is impossible without a lot of capital and collateral." The experts at TRUMPF Financial Services GmbH had a slightly different perspective on Ferl's business plans. They quickly gave the go-ahead for financing the first TRUMPF machines: “The contacts at TRUMPF Bank know the industry and its machines. This means they make decisions based on completely different criteria. The entire financing process was completely simple and uncomplicated,” Ferl recalls. Positioned in this way, he was able to start up FEGA Solutions.
FEGA Solutions GmbH
www.fegasolutions.deSince the company was founded in July 2018, FEGA Solutions GmbH has grown rapidly from two to 26 employees. At the company headquarters in Radeburg, Saxony, they manufacture high-quality counters and cupboards for cafeterias, food counters, canteen and restaurant kitchens, and shopfitting. FEGA supplies these to specialist dealers. Enormous creativity is required for the construction and implementation, because the stainless steel elements are all special solutions that the experienced FEGA team designs and manufactures individually according to the customer's wishes.
TRUMPF Products
- TruLaser 1030 fiber
- TruTops Boost
- TruBend 5170
Applications
- Laser cutting
- Bending
Challenges
When Ronny Ferl thinks about the first months of FEGA Solutions, he has to smile. He says: "At first we had no machines at all. Just an office where we designed. The parts were manufactured by external contract manufacturers. This was neither fast nor economical, but as a first step we simply wanted to win the projects in order to gain a foothold in the industry as a new company.” The strategy worked. More and more orders came in. So many that outsourcing the parts was soon no longer an option. Ferl and his business partner, Gosbert Gast, responded to this challenge. They bought a used EHT press brake with their own capital. In doing so, they were able to at least bring the bending process in-house. “Continuing to buy the laser blanks was no longer an economical solution, however. We already had too many orders on the table for that,” says Gast.
The company had to get its own machines. Ferl and Gast were in agreement: they had to be machines from TRUMPF. “The quality of the systems is simply the best, and they are also reliable. Exactly what we needed," says Ferl. However, he returned from his appointment at the local bank disillusioned: “It was almost impossible to get financing for the new machines. We would have had to put up our entire assets as collateral.” The two did not want to take the risk.
Solutions
Ronny Ferl wanted a TruLaser 1030 fiber to start laser cutting in production in-house. "As the founder of the company, I never dreamed that we could afford a high-tech machine from TRUMPF", Ferl recalls. But his local TRUMPF sales representative advised him to talk to the TRUMPF Bank and it quickly became clear: It's a go! “The experts at TRUMPF Bank have a completely different perspective on an investment like this. They know the industry and its machines and therefore make their decisions according to completely different criteria. The entire financing process was simple and uncomplicated. We had offers for the machines, a certain amount of capital and a subsidy from the state of Saxony. So the whole package was put together rather quickly.” Looking back, Ferl says: “Investing in high-tech machines as a beginner? With financing from TRUMPF Bank, that's no problem."
Implementation
Now nothing stood in the way of getting started with laser cutting. "We couldn't have waited any longer, the orders were already piling up," says Ferl. The installation and start-up of the machine went smoothly: "I was very impressed by how well-planned everything was and how reliably it was implemented. It's obvious that true professionals are at work here!” With the TruLaser 1030 fiber, a new laser technology also found its way into production at FEGA. "We had always worked with CO2 lasers before; the solid-state laser was new to us.” That's why he sent two of his machine operators to TRUMPF in Ditzingen to be trained on the new machine. "Here, too, the support from TRUMPF was worth its weight in gold and we were able to get started quickly." Today the team uses the system to cut stainless steel parts. The lot sizes vary between 1 and 100 pieces.
Along with the laser cutting machine, Ferl and Gast also invested in the TruTops Boost production software: “This has also accelerated our production. A TruLaser 1030 operator can nest their entire daily production independently within 30 minutes. In the past, this took two to three hours," emphasizes Gast. Based on the positive experiences, in 2020 Ronny Ferl decided to buy a TruBend 5170 and also to make this second investment through TRUMPF Bank. The outcome has convinced him: “I would do the same thing again and again. It went absolutely smoothly and working with the contacts at TRUMPF Bank was always very pleasant.”
Forecast
For FEGA, the signs are still pointing to growth and Ronny Ferl already has his eyes on the next investment: With a TruLaser Weld 5000, he would like to get into automated laser welding. “Up to now we have been welding by hand. This takes longer and is of course not as precise as in automated production. It means that we have to rework the parts and sand the edges smooth. This is always difficult, especially with stainless steel, because you can see every brushing later on the surface.” He hopes to receive the appropriate financing from TRUMPF Financial Services GmbH again. Because Ronny Ferl is convinced: With TRUMPF as a partner, things will work out just fine.
