Insight

Welcome to the 2024 Janus Perspective, a unique feature that includes a wide cross section of global fastener business leaders. Named after the Roman God 'Janus' – who had the ability to look to the future and to the past, and was often depicted with having two faces – this feature brings together thought leaders from every facet of the industry, from around the world, to give us their retrospective on 2023, as well as prospects and challenges for 2024.

Jens Gutsche, managing director

After an unexpectedly very good financial year in 2022, the aim was not only to take the economic momentum with us, but to build on it. 2023 also marked a significant milestone for our machine construction company in its mission to drive digitalisation forward and shape the industry through innovation, design and development.

Participation at the Fastener Fair Global show in Stuttgart, Germany, in March 2023 proved to be extremely successful. Our exhibition stand, together with our sister company EWMenn (a manufacturer of thread rolling machines), not only attracted the interest of numerous visitors, but also led to promising discussions with customers and a fruitful exchange with industry colleagues. The spring trade fair was also a good indicator for cold and hot forming technology at that time.

Over the course of the year, we visited various consumer trade fairs in order to identify potential forming technology products. We are increasingly seeing that it is becoming more common for potential customers to request machined parts in larger batch sizes for cold and hot forming. Our new 2D and 3D simulation programme, which we purchased around three years ago, is very helpful here.

Throughout the year we also deepened our network and strengthened existing relationships by participating in in-house events organised by customers, suppliers and business partners. The highlight of our activities was our Wuppertal Fastener Days (WFD), which were held at our site for the first time in September 2023.

Together with co-exhibitors and business partners at WFD, we presented our latest machines and applications for single/double stroke (also with the additional equipment of a double stroke machine with preheating up to 300°C and a CO₂ extinguishing system) via a 6 stage press, a thread rolling machine (EWMenn), three machines from our parent company, WAFIOS AG, and, as a highlight, a pre-premiere of our prototype of a newly developed nail press with unique features.

We also emphasised the issue of sustainability with, among other things, two customer double stroke machine retrofit upgrades that were currently being assembled.

We were also able to show our customers our patented Pneumatic Transport System (PTS), which replaces the parts discharge conveyor, on a type HC 6-75 rotor press demonstration machine. The decisive advantages are the avoidance of part mixing after part type changes, reduction of oil discharge, and thus oil consumption, and the position orientated discharge of the parts.

With a view to the increasing digitalisation trend, we have created and implemented iQ functions on one of our machines for the first time and also demonstrated these to our customers. With the iQ Setup Assist function, the set-up of our machines will be even more user-friendly, easier to understand and therefore more reproducible. The Energy Monitor iQ function also provides a centralised overview of the current and total electrical and pneumatic energy consumption for the running machine operation. The development of new iQ functions and HMI visualisation for our future machine generations will be an important part of our continuous progress.

For 2024 and beyond, I expect innovation topics such as longevity, digitalisation, sustainability, simplification, and cross-company collaboration in machine construction, to keep us very busy as there is a lot of potential in these topics. Our machines have been characterised by their longevity for many decades, as our customers have repeatedly confirmed with praise. The service life of our machines plays an essential role for our customers. Based on the service life, that is, the period during which systems and machines are fully operational, it is possible, for example, to carry out a risk assessment and forecast future investments. 

In order to continue to meet the challenges of long-lasting machines, we pay attention to the highest quality of mechanical, as well as electrical and electronic components, and their optimum interaction in the assemblies through to the finished machine or system – with the corresponding peripherals and automated connections. 

Joint product development with partners, in an ongoing dialogue with customers, is very important to us. The more knowledge, expertise and experience flow into product development, the greater the potential for success for innovative designs. A team of versatile specialists is more likely to find customised solutions for long-lasting products than a single individual, for example, in terms of cost-efficiency and the correct feasibility study.

On the subject of digitalisation, it is common knowledge that everyone is currently calling for digitalisation and digital transformation. In machine construction, too, this is an Industry 4.0 innovation topic with huge potential for value creation. The degree of digitalisation in the product development process is also increasing, for example, through technically required 3D simulations or IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things).

The more product developers know about existing technologies and manufacturing methods, the more optimised solutions they can find.

Secondary applications are also an increasingly important innovation topic in machine construction. Thus, for instance, we have an increasing demand for the retrofitting of wire preheating devices to our machines. We not only install preheating devices on our new machines but also, at the customer’s request, prepare the machine in such a way that the later retrofitting of a wire preheating device or the use of a transportable wire preheating device is possible.

Another important innovation topic in machine construction is simplification. Turning 20 parts into 7 – a maths problem that significantly simplifies and reduces machines and their components. The aim is to achieve lighter, more sustainable and more cost-effective product developments. Cross-company collaboration also has great potential for developing customised solutions in partnership. Of course, this requires courage to open up. Silo thinking and a single track culture of innovation within their own organisations make it difficult for traditionally structured machine construction companies to take the step into partnership-based cooperation.

We seek to exchange information with our customers, because the better we understand their requirements and expectations, the more customised the solutions we develop and the associated machines and systems will be.

Overall, we are optimistic about the coming year and look forward to continuing our success story as a cold and hot forming machine manufacturer. We will be showcasing our latest developments again at the next wire^® and Tube show in Düsseldorf, Germany, in April 2024 and are already looking forward to interesting technical discussions with our customers and business partners.