ST Extruded Products Group (STEP‑G), part of the global Sankyo Tateyama Group, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aluminium extrusion profiles and lightweight solutions. The Hettstedt site operates an aluminium recycling foundry and supplies customers from sectors including automotive and rail vehicle construction, mechanical and plant engineering, the defence industry and various other fields with cast products. Around 70 employees work at the Hettstedt facility, where plant manager Oleg Hoffmann is responsible for local processes and operational excellence.

Until recently, STEP-G relied on two circular saws for this purpose. However, these had reached their limits in terms of cutting precision and productivity. At the same time, the flexibility of the system was restricted, as only billets with lengths of up to 5.5 metres and a maximum diameter of less than 500 millimetres could be processed. In addition, the kerf width of the circular saws ranged from 8 to 12 millimetres, resulting in large quantities of chips. These not only increased the energy required for remelting but also had a negative impact on overall process performance.

"This had a negative impact on our portfolio and, consequently, on our competitiveness," says Oleg Hoffmann. "The market is demanding significantly larger dimensions, both in length and in diameter."

Hoffmann explains: "We wanted to take a major step into the future and install a more powerful, safe and sustainable system. In selecting the supplier, we placed great importance on extensive experience in precision, accuracy, level of automation and availability."

In addition to these technical criteria, the positive experience gained with a BEHRINGER installation at the STEP‑G site in Bonn also played a decisive role in the final decision.

A precision measuring system ensures exact length determination, while two marking units, one for short and one for long billets, apply the job data directly onto the billets. The entire material flow has been streamlined and integrated seamlessly into the existing production process. 

Hoffmann emphasises: “We can transfer the billets directly from the casting line to the saw and remove both billet ends. This saves time and energy during homogenisation.”

A new approach was also implemented for the machine enclosure and extraction system. The enclosures are fully sealed, and the airflow through the saw frame and machine base has been designed to ensure that chips are extracted particularly efficiently and directly. 

The reduced kerf of the band saw results in a significantly lower volume of chips, thereby minimising material loss and substantially reducing the associated production costs. The chips collected directly are continuously extracted and returned to the melting process, further optimising the material cycle.

Result

The impact of the new sawing line is clearly measurable. “We have been able to triple our throughput and reduce the volume of chips by a factor of five, helping us to counteract the significantly increased production costs of recent years”, Hoffmann concludes. The high level of automation provides considerable relief for personnel, as manual and physically demanding tasks have largely been eliminated and operator intervention has been reduced to a minimum. At the same time, automated material flows improve ergonomics and enhance workplace safety by reducing manual material handling. In addition, the precise sawing technology ensures excellent squareness as well as consistently tight cutting tolerances.