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Interview
in Vol. 16 - January Issue - Year 2015
New Plant in Konin, Poland
Ulf Kapitza, Head of Sales and Marketing of AGTOS
Side view of the new AGTOS plant in Konin, Poland
Finished components are assembled and stored ready for dispatch in the new production hall
AGTOS tunnel-type blast system for processing structures prior to being coated with powder
Due to the continuous growth of the manufacturer of turbine-wheel blast systems in Germany and Poland, the production area has been almost doubled and a new representative office building will replace the existing annex. Recently, the production hall, with an area of just under 2,700 m�, was made available for use, and the office building completed and taken into service. There were several reasons for investing in the Polish plant. One of these was the increasing number of assembled machines and systems. Besides the quantity, there has also been a change in the types of machines. Also, large turbine-wheel blast machines are leaving the plant at an increasing rate. Consequently, the need for larger production and delivery spaces has risen significantly. Finally, the Polish plant previously lacked the space for demo machines, which are used to demonstrate our technology to customers and to carry out blasting tests. At the same time, the number of employees in the production department and the process planning department, as well as other departments, rose. This led to the decision not only to increase the production area almost twofold, but also to build suitable offices and meeting rooms. "Our plant in Konin has had a complete makeover as a result of this investment," said managing director Antonius Heitmann. "The response from employees and customers has been very positive. As a medium-sized company, we can see great potential for our further development. New types of machines and systems are also being added." The steady growth of the sales organisation enables AGTOS to enter new markets.
MFN had a chance to talk to Ulf Kapitza, Head of Sales and Marketing of AGTOS.
(?) MFN: Hello, Mr. Kapitza. As we know, AGTOS is mainly active in blasting. Please tell us more about your company.
(!) U.K.: AGTOS focuses on all activities concerned with turbine-wheel blast technology. Turbine-wheel blast machines for roughening, cleaning, removing rust, descaling and strain hardening are planned and designed by its own employees, and manufactured and programmed in its own plants. Also here, workpieces have to be transported from other processing locations to the blast machines and onward transportation has to be managed. For this reason, we often deliver entire systems and machines, i.e. complete solutions. With the processing of millimetre-size chain parts right through to the treatment of steel structures of the size of overseas containers, there are virtually no restrictions on the operating capability and size of the systems.
Used blast machines for trading complete the product range. These machines, too, are professionally adapted, according to the specific production requirements of the customer. The options here range from repair work to modernisation and right through to the adding of components for used blast systems. As a result, cost-effective but, at the same time, high-quality and practical solutions can be produced. This is especially interesting for companies with limited budgets, which require a blast system at very short notice or wish to use such a system temporarily rather than for continuous operation.
As well as the provision of spare and wear parts for AGTOS blast systems, matching components are also provided for blast machines produced elsewhere. Likewise, maintenance, repair and modernisation tasks can be carried out for blast machines produced both by AGTOS and by other manufacturers. Thus, the customer has a competent contact person for all matters relating to turbine-wheel blast technology.
(?) MFN: MFN had an interview with AGTOS in 2013, can you explain what’s new and different since then?
(!) U.K.: Meanwhile we gathered many results of our customers on the tungsten metal version of our high performance turbines. This product enables customers to reduce maintenance costs and periods. Since 2013 we made some investments into our Polish factory. The production surface is now nearly doubled and our people moved to a new office building.
(?) MFN: Could you introduce us the most significant services your company offers?
(!) U.K.: This point is the same as 2013. We are working closely together with our customers and we are developping new solutions for them. A very impressive example is a shotblast machine for a manufacturer of agricultural machines. It was his idea to turn the whole chassis in front of the turbines and we made it happen. Due to the shotblasting process the workpieces are prepared for powder coating. This kind of solutions is our strength and we combine this with excellent maintenance and service performances.
(?) MFN: How do you see the future of your company?
(!) U.K.: Due to our motivated employees, an expanding sales net and the investments we made we are very optimistic that our growth goes on.
MFN would like to thank Ulf Kapitza for the interview!
For Information:
AGTOS
Gesellschaft für technische
Oberflächensysteme GmbH
Gutenbergstr. 14, 48282 Emsdetten, Germany
Tel. +49.2572.96026-0
E-mail: info@agtos.de
www.agtos.de
