With the commissioning of the Bikar Zone, a fully automated cutting center for rolled aluminium plates, Bikar has succeeded for the first time worldwide in automating the production of non-standardized blanks in the manner of series production and optimizing its production of semi-finished aluminium products economically and ecologically.
From the storage of the aluminum panels to the packaging of the custom-made blanks, all work steps in the Bikar Zone are fully automated. For Bikar customers, this means short delivery times for aluminum semi-finished products of the highest quality and precision. Everything is possible here, from cutting to the size of a postage stamp to door format and from batch size 1 to series production. “In the Bikar Zone, advanced robotics, driverless transport systems, pioneering sensor technology and software solutions developed in-house combine to form a unit that impresses with its precision and efficiency,” says Dr. Jan Wolf, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Bikar, summarizing the advantages of the high-tech cutting center. Continuous process optimization ensures steadily growing production volumes. Wolf adds: “A key feature of the Bikar Zone is the extensive in-house development of our software solutions. The ERP and MES systems developed by our more than 50 IT specialists and tailored to our specific requirements enable seamless integration and coordination of all production processes. Thanks to intelligent algorithms and real-time data processing, we can react flexibly to customer requirements and constantly push the boundaries of what is possible.” The new production facility is Bikar’s response to the constantly growing demand for non-ferrous metals, particularly in the field of semi-finished aluminum products. In 2023, the non-ferrous metal industry generated around 46.8% of the total turnover of the metal industry in Germany. A significant increase in demand is also forecast for the future. The reasons for this are the many positive properties that make aluminum a suitable material for many industries. Aluminum has become an integral part of aerospace technology, vehicle and aircraft construction, the packaging industry and many other areas.
Nominated for the NRW 2024 Environmental Business Award
Digitalization and efficient processes also make the Bikar Zone a pioneering project in the aluminium industry when it comes to sustainability. Precise measurement technology and digital production planning significantly reduce the amount of offcuts from the source material. The automation of the cutting process by robots enables more complex cutting plans that would be difficult to implement manually. As a result, BIKAR was able to reduce its annual material consumption by 140 tons, which corresponds to a saving of 1,400 tons of CO2 equivalent. Specially developed systems for extracting and compacting the chips produced during the sawing process enable alloy-pure separation. This significantly increases recyclability and minimizes the amount of material removed from the cycle. In downstream parts of the value chain, the affiliated recycling company Bikar Recycling ensures that customers can sell back their production scrap. The material is separated into alloys and fed back into the material cycle in large quantities, reducing the need for energy-intensive primary aluminum along the value chain. The company’s own forwarding company Bikar Logistics collects scrap and chips from customers on empty runs, optimizes transport routes and maximizes logistical synergies.
Another plant about to start construction
In order to optimally meet the increasing demand for semi-finished aluminum products and to continue the company’s growth of recent years, Bikar is building another fully automated cutting center on an area of 20,000 m² at its site in Korbußen (Thuringia). The focus there is on customers’ high demands in terms of on-time delivery, quality and traceability, particularly in the aerospace industry. Thanks to this focus, Bikar recently won its largest order in its history for one of the leading companies in the manufacture of aluminum aircraft components. Web: www.bikar.com