Soumagne, June 2022 - The focus of Victor Joskin, founder of the eponymous group, on high-tech tools in the JOSKIN production structure is not new. This focus is not denied by his son Didier, who co-presides over the destiny of the company and is in charge of the production:
"We absolutely want to serve our customers as well as possible and with quality, while reducing our delivery times for “à la carte” machines, and keep some Advantage series in stock with a more attractive price for customers," he explains. "To that end, we are investing in state-of-the-art production machinery. Despite the high initial cost, these investments result in improved quality and production processes and, consequently, in an increased user satisfaction."
In 2022, after a (slightly) quieter period due to macro-economic events, investments in machine tools in Soumagne have resumed.
First of all, a new 41 m³ nitrogen tank was installed to supply the 5 CO2 laser cutting tables which run on 3 breaks during the week. In the same sector, two 15 kW optical fibre laser cutters for thick 4 x 2 m steel sheets were installed. This optical fibre technology is characterised by a significantly higher processing speed, almost no deformation on the steel sheet area being worked on, and a much lower energy consumption.
In the bending department, the installation of a new 3 m DAVI double-bend automatic press brake was finally made possible after deconfinement. In addition, a new 1,000 t press brake with a 9 m table and all the devices to precisely position the parts, as well as a bending angle control system, is currently being installed.
On the machining side, visitors to JOSKIN will not fail to notice the Armin handling robots that replace humans in loading and unloading lathes and machining centres. The new Iemca CNC lathe with automatic bar feeder, on the other hand, is probably more inconspicuous among the 20 machines present in this workshop. As regards the cutting, a space is awaiting the arrival of a third laser for cutting tubes and profiles.
Finally, in the welding department, 3 new robots will be added to the 14 already in operation in Belgium and Poland, and Kardex automated vertical carousels are announced for storing jigs and small series of parts before welding.
As for the available space on the site in Soumagne, JOSKIN is obliged to play Tetris in order to keep its nerve centre there and the above-mentioned technologies of high added value!
The employees in charge of the Group's central development, production and IT were all together into a cramped building. It has therefore logically been doubled with an additional floor area of 600 m². Once completed, the teams from the technical offices will be provided with a comfortable and ergonomic working environment, which will also allow to reinforce them with extra staff.
Space could also be found for 4 small extensions to the workshops: an additional 600 m² for the department welding the trailer bodies, 595 m² for the unloading of small deliveries for the factory, 90 m² for the new Kardex carousels mentioned above and 210 m² for the preparation of the components before painting. These 4 buildings should be built in 2022.
For the rest, as part of its strategy of assembly units dedicated to one or more ranges of products to speed up the production flow in order to keep up with demand, JOSKIN has to seek investment solutions elsewhere.
On the Trzcianka site in Poland, the construction of a 12,000 m² buffer storage hall between the production factory and the galvanisation unit began in March. On the one hand, it is intended to take the storage spaces out of the production areas as much as possible in order to make maximum use of them for production and assembly. On the other hand, finished products manufactured in standardised series can be stored and finished according to the customer's choice of equipment. An extension of the site is also on the agenda with some 9 ha.
In France, at the Leboulch site in Normandy, a permit application is underway for a new 5,900 m² hall. It will mainly house welding works, but also an imposing automatic shot-blasting machine for large parts that are difficult to process in the site's historical shot-blasting machine. The location of this hall should also improve the organisation of the site's internal flows, with expected increases in productivity.
Finally, with the kind permission of the Luxembourg Ministry of Economy, JOSKIN is planning a brand new 15,700 m² unit on a 6 ha site in Esch-sur-Alzette in the south of the Grand Duchy. It will be a factory dedicated to the assembly of large tipping trailers and muck spreaders. It will include a surface treatment line with automatic shot blasting, painting and conveying. The trailers will be assembled with the help of remote-controlled assembly carts. This project is in the permit phase and will be built in 2023.
This will not bring JOSKIN's plans to a close. Studies are underway for other factory projects, if possible in the vicinity of the historic Wergifosse site in Soumagne. However, given the urban situation and the difficulty of recruitment in Belgium, searches are also carried out abroad.
