Crane technology for Finkernagel
Heavyweight for wire Heavyweight for wire
The traditional company from Sauerland produces 3,000 tonnes of wire every month. In addition, there are around 850 tools - all of the highest quality. Fritz Finkernagel Drahtwerk GmbH & Co. KG supplies suppliers from the automotive, construction, electrical and mechanical engineering industries with cold heading wire and forming tools. For the production process, the family-owned company relies on Blumenbecker's crane technology and industrial services. The latest project is a real heavyweight: 15 tonnes of structural steelwork ensure that everything runs smoothly in the production of wire.
A total of 36 cranes are spread over 25,000 square metres of production space at the company's headquarters in Altena. Two new crane systems, each with a lifting capacity of four tonnes and a span of over nine metres, were recently added. ‘Blumenbecker offered the “all-round carefree package”, consisting of structural engineering, crane runway, crane systems, conductor line and crane technology,’ says Uwe Packruhn, Technical Manager at Finkernagel.
Crane technology for the new wire drawing plant
The overall package was convincing. At the beginning of 2023, Finkernagel commissioned Blumenbecker to plan, manufacture and install a crane runway and two parallel crane systems. ‘The crane system supplies a newly built wire-drawing plant that can produce wire in the dimensional range Ø 4.0-12.0 mm in several forming stages using a downstream bending winder in various delivery forms. The investment was necessary to meet our customers' increased demand for high-quality cold heading wire,’ explains Packruhn.
Blumenbecker took over the engineering services, such as production drawings and analytical verifications and calculations in accordance with DIN standards. Installation planning and execution of the work based on DIN EN 1090-2 EXC 3 and DIN EN 1993-6 were also part of the job. The production-oriented interfaces had to be coordinated and taken into account in the tight schedule. After all, the assembly was to be completed just four months after the order was placed.
A sure instinct in the former warehouse
The service technicians had to be on their toes during assembly: the hall used to serve as a warehouse. A good five years ago, the wire warehouse was expanded and the production area increased. The company invested in the machinery in order to be able to realise the increases in volume. However, the former warehouse is not very high. It was not possible to erect it with a truck-mounted crane. ‘We had to work from below with a forklift truck, which required more manoeuvring and a sure instinct,’ explains Michael Piechaczek, project manager at Blumenbecker Industrie-Service GmbH. ‘It is always challenging to integrate new equipment into an old building stock,’ Packruhn also knows. ‘For example, there were important cable routes in the area of the crane runway that could not be relocated. Here, the crane runway construction had to be adapted accordingly. In addition, it was necessary to adapt the working area of the new crane system to a layout of the wire drawing plant that was not yet fully available at the time the contract was awarded.’ These were all challenges that Blumenbecker solved.
Satisfaction and a good connection
‘The teamwork was perfect, so that we were able to successfully complete the first major project,’ says Piechaczek, who is also pleased about the good relationship with the client. And what does the client say? Packruhn sums up the project as follows: ‘Blumenbecker has been one of our partners in supporting our crane systems for years. The contact persons on both sides work hand in hand in a spirit of trust. The new crane system is the largest single project that Blumenbecker and Finkernagel have handled to our complete satisfaction.’
‘The new crane system is the largest single project that Blumenbecker and Finkernagel have handled to our complete satisfaction.’
Uwe Packruhn, Technical Manager,
Fritz Finkernagel Drahtwerk GmbH & Co. KG
