AuCom opts for automation with EPLAN and Rittal

Everything at the company in Sendenhorst, north-eastern Germany, is bursting at the seams. It’s not just the order books at AuCom that are full – the production work­shops are too. Tightly bayed switchgear sits just a couple of steps from wire processing and enclosure machining equipment. Everything is crammed into the tightest of spaces. Production operations at the European headquarters of this New Zealand compa­ny currently have an overall footprint of 2,800 square metres. That is why the specialist in electronic drive technology is urgently looking for more production and warehousing space, not to mention more staff. The company already invested a seven-figure sum in the construction of a new workshop in 2022, and another workshop is due to follow this year, at a similar cost. This mid-size company is certainly on a growth trajectory. It has doubled its sales compared to 2021 and its headcount quadrupled between 2020 and 2022. In 2023, the workforce is set to top 100.

Thomas Zirk-Gunnemann, Managing Director of AuCom Global Solutions, attributes this success to a rising demand for soft starters that has been brought about by the energy revolution. “Our products have never been more relevant than they are today,” says the electrical engineer. Soft starters help to reduce the energy consumption associated with starting up large industrial motors and ease the strain on drives, power grids and power plants. According to the Managing Director, these benefits have been prov­en in applications such as in Qatar, where air con­ditioning compressors used in the World Cup 2022 stadia were fitted with AuCom soft starters, and in Egypt’s giant “New Delta” infrastructure project, where they have been used in large pumping stations for water reservoirs.

400 Units for Egypt

Another reason behind the company’s commercial success, according to Zirk-Gunnemann, is its deci¬sion to invest in automating production processes and standardising enclosure technology. “Without these developmental steps, we would have had no chance of winning the ‘New Delta’ mega project,” he explains. “We had to provide assurances we could deliver the complete project, which comprised a total of 400 switchgear units for 70 new pump stations, within nine months – and that at a time when material flows and supply chains were unstable,” points out the Managing Director. On top of this, there was tough competition from local Egyptian switchgear builders, who have much lower labour costs. “Right from day one, we knew the only way we could compete would be by putting in place automated production.” The company has eight years of experience in switchgear production.
Having worked closely with suppliers and launched its own in-house panel building operations two years ago, AuCom understands the processes precisely. However, its partners were reluctant to in¬vest in automation technology. In late 2021, AuCom took matters into its own hands and invested in a fully comprehensive package of automation technol¬ogy and engineering software. “When we do some¬thing, we do it right,” declares the boss. The compa¬ny’s decision to procure the fully automated Wire Terminal wire processing system and Perforex ma¬chining centre from Rittal and to source engineering software from EPLAN paid off. “After just one year, we can say that we made the right decision and that it was exactly the right step for us in terms of being able to compete,” says Zirk-Gunnemann.