US FORMLINER WITH NEW FACTORY
The American RECKLI subsidiary has moved: The new hall in the US state of Georgia provides US Formliner with more manufacturing space and ensures higher productivity.
The American RECKLI subsidiary has moved: The new hall in the US state of Georgia provides US Formliner with more manufacturing space and ensures higher productivity.
At the 2100 square-meter location on Commerce Boulevard in Athens, Georgia, everything revolves around aesthetic concrete: Since the summer, US Formliner and its partner company Nawkaw, an expert in staining concrete, are working in new, larger production areas.
More than two-thirds of the area is used by US Formliner for production. The casting table alone covers more than 240 square meters. “The table is 30 meters long and gives us the opportunity to cast even larger matrices according to our customers’ needs,” says Jörg Hein, production manager in Athens. The new hall also offers more space for cutting and quality control of the matrices.
Under Hein’s guidance, the entire US Formliner team managed the move in four weeks. They worked overtime and even on weekends to disassemble production tables, shelves, and equipment at the old factory and rebuild it at the new factory. In-house, the team expanded the new carpentry area to optimally design the shop according to the individual steps in the production of positive models. “Everyone in the team helped make a contribution,” says Hein. Despite a tight schedule, the employees made sure that production did not stop during the move. On April 25, they poured the first matrice in the new hall. A week later, on May 1, the move was officially completed.
The biggest advantage of the new hall may actually surprise you: “The entire system is equipped with a strong air conditioning,” says Hein. What seems like an optional feature in the German climate is an absolute necessity in the hot and humid summer in Georgia. “Now we can also pour matrices in the afternoon. That wasn’t possible in the old hall because of the high temperatures and especially the humidity,” says the production manager. Heat and excessive humidity affect how flowable the polyurethane is: Because the molding compound cures too quickly in hot and humid conditions, the hot afternoon hours were used for finishing and quality control of the molds. Now casting can be done all day long. The air conditioning not only provides a more pleasant working environment for the team, but also faster and more productive manufacturing.
The significantly larger area of the new hall also allowed for reorganization of the area where the positive models were stored. Hein is pleased that the models are now accessible much more quickly. Containers of production materials shipped to America from RECKLI in Herne can also be unloaded and stored more effectively in the new hall.
US Formliner and its partner Nawkaw share around 170 square meters of office space, changing rooms and a cafeteria. The colleagues are particularly pleased about the new break area and the cafeteria, which has both an indoor and outdoor area and space to relax.
