Raufoss Technology in Raufoss, Norway has tasked AP&T with upgrading one of the company’s existing forging lines used to produce aluminum parts. The order includes a specially built bending machine and a new hydraulic press with 2500 tons of press force. The upgraded line is planned to be operational by January 2024. 

“At our facility, we develop and produce link arms and other aluminum parts for many leading car manufacturers. The upgrades that AP&T will be making on our forging line will pave the way for us to better meet our customers’ needs,” says Hans Petter Kristiansen, CTO of Raufoss Technology. 

The collaboration between the companies stretches back about 25 years and encompasses technical equipment and service. 

“We are continuously discussing how we can make our production more efficient. When it comes to the forging line, we saw an opportunity to improve the process and performance by exchanging the bending machine. In 2021, we developed a solution with advanced process control based on our technology for hydraulic presses that would be ready for installation in 2023,” says Dan Barvö, Key Account Manager at AP&T.

After the summer vacations in 2022, Raufoss made a new request. This one pertained to the same forging line, but a different machine.

“The customer wanted to replace one of the line's hydraulic presses with a larger press and they wanted to know how fast we could manufacture a new one. Not the simplest question to answer considering the delays in the supply chain that remained after the pandemic,” says Barvö.

Well aware of the problems unplanned downtime can cause suppliers to the just-in-time-dependent automotive industry, it was important that AP&T present an optimized, thoroughly considered solution, despite the time constraint. 

The proposal was well received, the order was placed in December 2022 and since then, AP&T has worked hard to shorten the lead times. According to the plan, everything needs to be in place and be integrated into the existing line at Raufoss in the beginning of January 2024. 

“We are truly looking forward to it. With the new equipment in place, we will be able to manufacture larger components than before while shortening cycle times and making our process more efficient. We feel safe with AP&T and know the result will be excellent,” says Kristiansen.