Building Switchgear Systems in a High-Wage Country
"Automation and integrated, end-to-end processes make things significantly faster, even when producing just one highly customised system." - Hade Automation Managing Director Markus Klopfer
How can smaller manufacturers remain competitive in countries with higher wages? One good example is Hade Automation, located in southern Germany. The company, with 24 employees, designs and manufactures switchgear systems for building automation. The key to remaining competitive: integrated electrical engineering designs using EPLAN, with automated data transfer to production.
Why not do business in the Czech Republic or Poland? In Germany’s neighbouring countries, there are many capable control cabinet and switchgear system manufacturers who are well networked and in some respects offer much better production conditions: lower wage levels, significantly lower energy costs and fewer business regulations.
So why should a building automation company have its control cabinets designed and manufactured by Hade Automation in southwestern Germany? The question is justified, particularly as Hade’s customers are often large companies that are used to cross-border supply chains. And Hade is rather small, with its 24 employees. One of the two managing directors, Maik Reichle, can answer this question: “Yes, we are a rather small control cabinet manufacturer, but we work with a high degree of automation – and always have. This is why we remain competitive, even against companies in countries with lower average wages. Because we use automation intelligently and sensibly, we’re extremely flexible, just like you’d expect from a small, specialised company.”
Integrated planning means faster delivery
It seems to be a clever recipe for success, but what are the ingredients? First off, the project work starts directly on a design platform, specifically: with EPLAN. Markus Klopfer, the other managing director, explains: “Ideally we use the 3D data from EPLAN to put together the quote for the job. We read the bill of materials directly into our system and can then calculate the price very accurately.”
From the company’s point of view, integrated, end-to-end planning also gives them a considerable competitive advantage because it already includes the production phase. The company invested in an automated CNC machining system early on: “We were pretty forward-looking with this, but we also had a ‘pain point’ – a stock of preassembled control cabinets in a wide variety of configurations, but it felt like we never had the right one for the respective client. On-site manufacturing has really given us a boost in productivity.”
The second generation of machines is now already in use at the company: a Perforex system from the Rittal Automation Systems portfolio for the mechanical processing of control cabinets and flat panel parts. Markus Klopfer: “This makes the integrated, end-to-end design and manufacture much more efficient and we also benefit from the collaboration with EPLAN. We have dramatically reduced our stock levels and can still deliver much more quickly. The cabinets are automatically processed and the respective client can choose, for example, where the air conditioning unit is positioned.”
While Hade relies on in-house, integrated control cabinet design and manufacturing, the cables are preassembled by a third-party services provider – but also using the data supplied from EPLAN.
Hade Automation is in a strong position with carefully considered processes and a high degree of automation in engineering and control cabinet manufacturing.
The company has been exclusively using Rittal control cabinets since 2006. The integration from engineering all the way to manufacturing is a decisive advantage here.
Developing a new business line
Another part of the recipe for success is the company’s openness to new projects and assignments, and even new business lines. About two years ago, Hade Automation developed a new line of business, as Markus Klopfer explains: “We have always designed and manufactured control cabinets for power generation, for photovoltaic systems, for example – and for ever-increasing amounts of energy. Large power suppliers here in the region came to us looking for partners in switchgear system manufacturing. They purposefully seek out and prefer working with smaller companies that can quickly react to client requests. That’s where we can really shine.”
From Hade’s perspective, it was the obvious choice to integrate these additional processes into EPLAN and to establish a direct link between planning and production. The EPLAN portfolio includes the “Copper” module, developed specifically for these types of tasks. It enables companies to plan and create visualisations for copper rails in 3D – and to process the data in the Perforex system, for which a special rail processing module was acquired.
Markus Klopfer: “We simply attach the module to the machine and can comprehensively process our Rittal copper rails, for instance to attach NH fuse-switch disconnectors. That can require a good fifty drill holes per rail. We send the data – with perfect dimensional accuracy – directly to the processing centre.”
The Perforex from Rittal Automation Systems processes copper rails and enclosures based on data from EPLAN.
Hade Automation uses a variety of EPLAN tools to plan and design control cabinets and building automation technology, all based on the digital twin.
Scaled automation
With this high degree of automation and the tight link between production and planning, Hade disproves the common misconception that such processes are more suitable for larger control cabinet manufacturers that can mass-produce their products. Markus Klopfer: “We carefully consider where automation makes sense for us – but it does make sense in most cases. Automation – along with the integrated, end-to-end use and continued processing of data on a central platform – brings us clear benefits from rationalisation and optimisation, even if it’s for just a single highly customised system. This can already be seen in the speed of production; we can now cable two control cabinets in the time it used to take us to fully cable one.”
The company’s current prospects also include the 3D planning and design of building automation technology using building information modelling (BIM). Markus Klopfer: “This is the future and we’re prepared. We are planning everything digitally using BIM for a pharmaceutical production facility in the Munich area. The 3D model of the control cabinets is integrated into the digital representation in such a way that you can virtually open the cabinet doors and look inside them.” Visualisations with EPLAN eView are also very important – and are already routinely used by Hade Automation.
All in all, the company feels that it is well prepared for current and future requirements. Hade Automation has already identified one of them, as Markus Klopfer explains: “We’re receiving a lot of enquiries about modernising switchgear systems for energy technology – the keyword here is energy transition. This applies to both the infrastructure for energy transmission as well as to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in public buildings and in industrial facilities.”
A view of the control cabinet manufacturing facility at Hade Automation.
View of a structure distribution – created in EPLAN.
