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The West Flemish family business LVD, a global player in metalworking machines, is taking over the Belgian automation department of the German robot builder Kuka. ‘The labor shortage creates our market.’
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The hull of a Boeing, the elevator cars of Kone, the tractors of Fendt, the crane arms of Caterpillar, the TGV of Alstom, the dishwashers of Miele: the row of international industrial companies that use the bending machines, punching machines and laser cutters of the West Flemish LVD is tall. And yet the family business from Gullegem, in the hands of the second generation of the Lefebvre, Van Neste and Dewulf families (together LVD), has often remained under the radar.
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The company has a turnover of more than 200 million euros, has 1,250 employees and has factories in Gullegem, Slovakia, Italy and the US, not counting the two joint ventures in China. These represent another 70 million euros in turnover and an additional 1,000 employees. LVD machines process metal sheets from 1 mm to 6 cm thick and from a few centimeters to 20 meters in length. The company is one of the top three in the world in that niche. 93 percent of its turnover comes from exports.
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Due to the enormous shortage of technically skilled workers, the manufacturing industry is struggling throughout the West. Therefore, the demand for technology to replace people is high.
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LVD acquires the Solutions division of Kuka Benelux in Houthalen-Helchteren, a subsidiary of the German robot developer of the same name. The deal, for which no amount has been released, offers LVD the opportunity to become active in robotization and automation, according to CEO and co-shareholder Carl Dewulf. ‘Due to the enormous shortage of technically skilled workers, the manufacturing industry is having a hard time throughout the West’, says Dewulf. ‘Therefore, the demand for technology to replace people is high. In the US, where the labor pool is virtually empty, our order book is packed. That scarcity creates this market.’
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Patents
LVD also struggles with that shortage. Dewulf is happy with the takeover, because it mainly brings in the scarce engineers and valuable know-how in the form of software and patents. ‘In Houthalen-Helchteren, there are about 20 top specialists who together have decades of experience in the robotization and automation of production lines,’ he says. There are a further 80 engineers in branches in Germany and Finland who integrate the robot technology into customer projects.
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With Kuka on board, LVD can go beyond traditional sheet metal cutting, punching and bending and become a builder of automated production lines.
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The robot cells developed at Kuka Benelux can transfer body parts from one press machine to another, operate a coating gun, assemble air conditioners, apply glue to car windows, pick parts on production lines and package them. With Kuka on board, LVD can go beyond classic cutting, punching and bending to become a builder of automated production lines, in line with the new trend of Industry 4.0 and smart factories.
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LVD and the Belgian branch of Kuka have been working together since 2004. “For Atlas Copco, Kuka has automated the entire assembly of an air compressor. Placing a rotor in its housing is a complex manual operation that a robot can now do on its own. This is now not only faster, but also safer. The employees worked with chemical glues and the repetitive process led to physical overload.’
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Kuka’s technology also makes LVD’s machines faster. ‘Maneuvering a heavy, unstable metal plate in such a way that we can get eight folds to the millimeter in just a few minutes requires a robot gripper that is very universal and accurate. Programming this bending cell from our 3D software now only takes ten minutes instead of the many hours in which the robot and the machine used to be taught the movements.’
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China
LVD has been active in China since 1981 – making it one of the pioneers in Flanders – for several years now through two joint ventures. ‘At the time, it fitted in with our idea that a local presence would become important,’ explains Dewulf. ‘In the long run, it would become too expensive and take too long to ship the heavy machines from Europe to China. Moreover, we wanted to adapt to the needs of the local market. The machines we make there contain other components and sometimes simplified software.’
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A robot does not solve all problems. You have to make sure you don’t make the labor shortage even more pressing by replacing six workers on one machine with three engineers on an automated line.
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But that does not mean that Chinese manufacturers are not interested in the most advanced high-tech machines. ‘It is wrong to think that in China only simple machines are needed because they still have enough workers. The government strongly encourages robotization. China has not been the typical low-wage country for some time now. That focus has shifted to Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh.’
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Has industry 4.0, the technological development in which machines in factories do not work independently of each other, but are connected with each other and with a central control in a network, has not turned out to be too much of a buzzword in recent years? Dewulf understands the objection. ‘We try to make clear to customers what the real contribution is. To start with, our machines are full of sensors to indicate when maintenance is required or when a part needs to be replaced. This avoids hours of delay and high costs. In addition, the production flow will run much more smoothly if cutting, bending and punching of a flat steel plate are properly coordinated.’
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‘A central computer can also plan better throughout production. Which orders have to be queued first? How can we avoid time-consuming tool changes on the machines? All in all, this leads to faster production, lower costs, safer working, more customized production and higher accuracy. But it’s not because all this is possible that every customer has to choose the top of our range. The robot also does not eliminate all problems. You have to guarantee that you don’t make the labor shortage even more pressing by replacing six workers on one machine with three engineers on an automated line.’
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Reshoring
How does Dewulf respond to the increasingly louder call – with the supply problems during the corona crisis and the scarcity of raw materials due to the war in Ukraine – to relocate the manufacturing industry to the West (reshoring) again? ‘I see a mixed picture among my customers. I don’t believe that much of the production will suddenly shift again to the US and Europe, even if we were able to compensate for some of the shortage of hands and low wages in China, Vietnam or Bangladesh through automation. . But the sourcing of parts and raw materials will change. Western companies will no longer bet on one horse, but will spread their risks by buying from several places. Preferably in the three zones: Asia, Europe and the Americas.’
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Profile LVD
Metal processing family business of the Lefebvre, Van Neste and Dewulf families with Carl Dewulf as CEO.
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During the corona year 2020, LVD’s turnover had fallen from 216 million euros to 163 million. But in 2021, the turnover again exceeded 200 million euros (excluding the 70 million euros from China).
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1,250 employees (excluding the 1,000 people in the two Chinese joint ventures).
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Factories in Belgium (Gullegem), Slovakia, Italy and the USA and 25 sales and service centers. Active in 46 countries.
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Over the past two years, it has invested 20 million euros in upgrading the factories, the roll-out of experience centers and digitization.
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