Comments Off on Manufacturing expansion in Alcomex India will also supply the US door spring market
Alcomex will supply in the US (United States of America)
In the US, almost every American house has a garage. Therefore, the market for residential overhead garage doors is enormous in this continent. Together with an increasing demand for overhead doors from the industrial building sector, the American door spring market is about four times larger than in Europe. This is an opportunity that Alcomex will make good use of.Alcomex India will supply doorsprings in the US.
The manufacture of door springs is an important expertise that the Alcomex Group holds. Alcomex is manufacturing both standardized and customized torsion and tension door springs. The custom-made door springs are manufactured in the Dutch city of Opmeer and Marki, Poland.
Standard door spring production
Since 2008 Alcomex has manufactured standardized door springs in Pune, India, where the Indian subsidiary owns a 10,000 square meter industrial site. Most of the produced volume is exported to Europe. The Indian factory has experienced constant growth since the start and annually, producing approximately one third of our global volume of door springs. The facility employs about 90 highly skilled workers who work in two-shift.
New production line and warehouse
Alcomex has made a major investment in India to expand the manufacturing and warehouse in order to take advantage of the potential in the US market. In the second quarter of 2023, a new production line will be taken into use. There will be new coiling and shaping & assembly machines as well as lines for painting, powder coating, printing and waxing to mention a few of the new machinery and equipment. At the end of the year, a new-built warehouse of 2,500 square meters is also ready to stock the door springs before shipping. The expansion will of course bring many new job opportunities.
Jelle van Vliet & Conrad Hietink, MD’s of Alcomex comment on the investments:
The size of the investment in India is about 1.9 MEUR and will more than double our capacity, opening the way for a successful entry in the North American market.
Freighters have a long durability. They can be used for decades before needing replacement. But even for these huge vessels there comes a time when they’re put out of commission. Getting rid of tons of steel is however no easy job. They’re often dumped and get washed ashore. Frank Geerdink, Director of Aseco Europe B.V, found a sustainable solution for this problem.
To make this project possible, Aseco has collaborated with CMT. In the CMT shipyard decommissioned ships are cut up in different parts by using huge cutting wires. At the end of this extensive process, all that is left are big slices of metal. Some of these parts can be molten into steel, others get turned into recycled products. Aseco even manages to produce energy from some leftovers!
They main advantages of disassembling ships in such a manner:
It’s a 100% save; for the surrounding environment, nature and people.
It reduces Co2 and also reduces air and water pollution.
A safe environment can be created without having to disassemble a ship directly in the ocean (which often leads to pollution).
It’s an automated system that doesn’t require hard and physical labour from workers.
Are you curious about this disassemblement process? Check the video below.
enthusiasm by the team. Sustainability is an important pillar for Alcomex. So having the opportunity to collaborate with Aseco on such an important project fits perfectly with Alcomex.
Aseco required very specific pressure springs to place in between large steel pearls. The mechanical process could not function without these springs. They also needed to be dirt resistant in order to make the disassembling process economically viable. And to be able to cut straight through freighters the springs had to be especially strong. Such a complex project requires a custom solution; a service that Alcomex offers.
Before the project could be launched, Aseco and CMT international required approval and subsidies. Due to the complexity of the project it took several years before all requirements were met. Luckily in 2022, approval was given and they could finally start.
The solution
Before Alcomex could start their production process, a couple of NDA’s needed to be signed. Because the project was still in its first stage, confidentiality had to be assured. After signing however, Alcomex started manufacturing the specific springs required by Aseco. By installing the springs within a certain distance of one another, it was possible to cut through the ships.
Frank Geerdink, Director of Aseco about Alcomex.
The deciding factor to work with Alcomex was their way of communication. They understood in rapid time what we needed in order to run our first tests. The fact that they were able to custom make the products that we needed, exactly at the right time, is even further proof that we choose the right company to work with.
Are the Alcomex Springs important? Without a doubt! Even though 5 other businesses sent their springs for testing, the clear and concrete manner of communicating by Alcomex was by far superior.
Comments Off on Alcomex expands its e-commerce product range by 900 new standard stock springs
Alcomex is always working on providing a better service to its customers. Not only when we are directly in contact, but also online. We work hard to continuously improve our e-commerce experience. Not only for a better customer journey in our web shop, but also to provide a better and larger product range online. Alcomex has become part of the Lesjofors Group. This partnership brings us a lot of opportunities and synergy projects. The first synergy project is the addition of 900 standard stock springs in our online shop.
Which new standard springs are we adding?
We are expanding our web shop assortment with more than 900 new products in the following categories:
Conical compression springs,
Vibrator springs,
Extension springs with turnable loops,
Thread fittings,
Double torsion springs,
Lockwashers Type A,
Lockwashers Type B,
Lockwashers Type C
Moreover, we are also adding a great number of new products to our already existing torsion and disc springs assortment. With these improvements within our product range, we can provide our private and business customers an even better applicable spring for their application.
An optimal user experience
To ensure that our ordering process online is as easy as can be, we have added two new functionalities in our e-commerce platform.
Pay on account (for businesses)
As of now it is possible for business customers (with or without an account) to pay on account. By doing so your organization will receive the products even faster than before.
No results? Get a custom made spring
Are you looking for the right spring within your application, but are there no results? No problem. You now can easily create a custom made springs order via a form in our web shop. By filling the form out you will get in contact with our sales engineering team who will help you in the process of creating the right spring for your application.
By expanding our product portfolio to almost 5.000 springs – which we can deliver directly from stock – and providing a better online customer journey. We strive to fulfil an ever-rising online demand for industrial springs with the best possible quality and a high level of service.
Comments Off on Spring-in-spring – optimal tension springs for garage doors
Customer case: ConDoor
Springs are a vital part of the perceived quality of a sectional overhead garage door. If door springs are not well balanced, the door does not run smoothly. Spring technology is a complex part of the sectional overhead garage door and a combination of factors determine the quality, life span and functioning of a spring.
A fruitful partnership
Alcomex, part of the Lesjöfors’ Group is a highly specialized leading supplier to the door spring market in Europe. One of Alcomex’s customers is Condoor, a major producer of insulated overhead doors for industrial and residential buildings producing more than 50,000 doors per year. Since 2017, Alcomex is the sole supplier of door springs to the company after a process of investigating, bench-marking and testing of Alcomex’s solutions.
Kees-Jan Honig, CEO of ConDoor, comments on the test process:
“After running a severe testing program in our own lab, we started producing small batches of doors with Alcomex springs. When all the lights turned green in 2017, we took the next step and Alcomex became our sole supplying partner in springs. Which means that we are 100% relying on their operational excellence performance. Also our customers, the door dealers that install the door at the homeowner or industrial facility, were happy with the new quality, life span and balance as well.”
Innovative spring solution revolutionized the business
Condoor is impressed by Alcomex innovative approach. Alcomex introduced a Quattro tension spring solution which brought many benefits to the table for Condoor. Earlier, tension springs were perceived as the lesser solution in the garage door business.
Kees-Jan Honig explains:
“Torsion springs could be calculated exactly to the right door weight and lifting system and with tension springs people always claimed that you had to compromise on this. The Quattro system proved to be perfect for our residential doors. Thanks to the spring-in-spring solution, the system was able to comply with the tough European safety norms. Also, the construction of the spring sets proved to be very compact, using little build-in space, which made it possible for us to offer pre-tensioned hardware sets to our customers, saving them time and money on site. The next step was the availability of that system for higher door weights, meaning bigger garage doors. Nobody wants to go back to the more complex and expensive old solution now.”
Long-term relationship
Condoor’s experience is that it is better to develop a relationship with a supplier to a level that both parties benefit from, rather than switching frequently. A speaking example of flexibility is the direct supply that Alcomex organized from its’ factory in India to Condoor’s plants in the Netherlands.
“Both parties have to make money and on both sides there are people working to do their utmost. But people make mistakes sometimes and for us, it is important that problems are solved without any hesitation and that our supplying partner can follow our growth. In Alcomex, we have a partner with good logistic performance, high-quality product with ongoing development and a team of people that seem to realize what we need every day”, says Kees-Jan Honig.
Comments Off on A special edition of our Wired Magazine: 30 years Alcomex. Read it now!
Exceeding expectations, the foundation for the success of Alcomex.
In the latest edition of our Wired Magazine, we proudly look back on our 30 year history. Alcomex excisis 30 years and a lot has happened.
For us the aim is that, while we are looking back with pride to our 30-year company history, we do realize that the secret of our success should be the ongoing ambition to live up to customer expectations and, on each new day, try to even improve our performance. 30 years of growth is a great achievement, but it means nothing if tomorrow we disappoint one of our customers. For example, by late delivery, bad quality, non-competitive pricing, or a failing customer service.
That is the reason why we have now taken the opportunity to reload the Alcomex brand, by renewing our company values, mission, vision, and culture. We would like to be known, now and in the future, as the company that always tries to exceed the expectations of customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and local communities. While considering the impact we have on the planet we all live on. That is quite a big ambition and a major challenge. But we do know that the secret of our success lies in working with happy customers and in life-long partnerships.
“We would like to be known, now and in the future, as the company that always tries to exceed the expectations of customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and local communities. While considering the impact we have on the planet we all live on.”
Alcomex going strong for 30 years
So far, the growth of Alcomex Springs Group is above expectation. Who would have thought that we could supply door springs to the US-market? Now we do, in large quantities. We can do this thanks to a strategic decision we took 15 years ago, with the start of our presence in India. Alcomex is in a good position for further growth. This is based upon a rapidly growing e-commerce platform, significant investments in machinery and facilities, and the new people that have reinforced our international teams.
Pyramide of succes
Our strategy is strongly connected to the five ‘securities’ in our Pyramid of Success, a business model that we apply consistently for a number of years now; product quality, reliability, the right price, flexibility, and innovative technical solutions. Each and every decision is taken by evaluating it against the background of these basic check points. This for us ensures that we always try to take a direction that is beneficial for our main stakeholder: the customer.
Wired
Wired is our magazine through which we update our employees, customers, and other stakeholders with important developments within Alcomex Springs Group. We share stories and we open the dialogue for ideas and exchange of views.
Take your time to scroll through the eight pages below and discover all you want to know about our mission, vision, core values, and listen to what our partners and customers have to say. And more…
Comments Off on Alcomex India: A 15-year journey with continuous improvement
Alcomex India celebrates their 15 years anniversary. It was with foresight that in 2005 the previous owners of Alcomex, Mr Fred Baas and Mr René Kalkhuis, started the search for a spring manufacturing location in India. The choice for India was based on the geographic location; ideal for future market developments and on the opportunity for lower production costs. It was a big adventure, since until then there had only been one production facility for Alcomex, in Opmeer (NL). After reviewing and visiting various potential locations in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Pune, the choice for the first manufacturing plant outside Europe became Pune.
Pune is close to Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, with its deep-water seaport and international airport. With a new express road planned between Pune and Mumbai the location had all the aspects they were searching for.
The start in Pune
In January 2007 the first employee was appointed and together with the company secretary and a chartered accountant. After completion of all documentation and receiving approval from the Indian Government, on 7 March 2007 “ALCOMEX SPRINGS PRIVATE LIMITED” started its journey.
In April 2007, an office and small production space on the Weikfield Industrial complex in Sanaswadi Pune was rented and in parallel the search for a plot of land was formally started. A plot of land in the proximity of the Talegaon Dhamdhere village, 30 kilometres northeast of Pune was selected. This was an agricultural area. So the land had to be developed from scratch; obtaining permits, connection to water- and power supplies and road improvements.
In the following month small machines were bought for cutting and welding and we started to produce pallets. More machines, like presses and de-coilers, and more employees came in and the pallet production. For the local market it appeared to be a solid way to earn some money in these early days. After the first CNC coiling machines and forklift truck were sourced in October 2007. We started production of small industrial springs. The first container with pallets was shipped to the Netherlands in November and some sample springs were couriered by air. We were in business!
Alcomex India up and running
In April 2008, production moved from the rental location to our new (and current) factory. The factory where the team started the installation of the coiling machines, tempering oven and the shot peening & powder coatings system. Production progressed and over the years the deliveries slowly increased.
In 2010 we bought a new coiling machine from a national supplier. Equipped to produce torsion springs up to 12 mm wire diameter. Three more of these machines were shipped to the factories in Netherlands and Poland in 2011. To increase capacity and upgrade the quality of the finishing of the torsion springs… An automatic powder coat system with conveyor belt operation was installed in 2013. In the following years we also entered the Indian spring market and started to supply loyal partners. Partners like Gandhi Automations, Avians Automations and Metaflex.
In 2016, under new ownership, Conrad Hietink and Jelle van Vliet became the managers of the Alcomex Group. With them the company started a new journey of growth. The focus on sales and expansion-projects resulted in rapid growth of volumes in Pune. To keep up with this, HDPE fillers and endcaps were developed, produced on integrated cutting and assembly lines. In 2018 we introduced a second production shift, increasing the number of employees. In 2020 major investments were implemented. Two new plug fitting lines, two bigger furnaces, a new LPG installation and a new coiling machine for wires from 4 mm to 12 mm.
15 years anniversary
We proudly celebrated our 15th anniversary with the complete team on the 7th of March 2022. The complete team engaged in a day filled with sports and dance activities. After a joint breakfast, followed by some speeches highlighting the past (Sandeep Patil, Managing Director), the present (Jeroen Hosper, Managing Director Operations Alcomex Group) and the future (Nitin Wagh, architect of the new building). The new office extension was formally opened, and the project for Building “B” was formally started by a traditional ground-breaking ceremony.
In its first 15 years, Alcomex Springs Pvt. Ltd. has exported more than 1.750 containers to eight different countries and numerous customers. This year, the first containers have been shipped to Canada and the USA. So the brand new 2.500 m2 facility, expected to be ready in the first half of 2023, is needed to keep up with the growing demand. Investment in new coiling machines, a shot peening machines, a powder coating system, waxing systems, plugging lines, forklifts and presses will ensure the needed capacity for years to come.
On behalf of the complete Team of Alcomex Springs Pvt. Ltd. I would like to thank all colleagues, suppliers and customers for their commitment and support in the past, present and future! Let’s grow the business.
Comments Off on Alcomex Springs: 30 years anniversary
30 years of exceeding customers’ expectations is the secret of Alcomex’s success!
We have something to celebrate! In 1992 Alcomex Springs was formally registered as a BV, which means that Alcomex exists 30 years and we celebrate this on September 2nd , 2022.
In the past 30 years a lot has happened and we can reflect on some great moments:
We are very proud, with a fantastic team of 350 employees, to be looking back at our 30 years of company history.
“The Alcomex Family”
We realize that the secret of our success must lie in trying to satisfy our customers’ expectations and being even better tomorrow. 30 years of growth and happy customers and other stakeholders is a great achievement, but it means nothing if tomorrow we would disappoint our customers by late delivery, poor quality, uncompetitive prices or failing customer service. Therefore we will continue our journey in the future with exceeding the expectation of all our stakeholders. We are proud of reaching this milestone and would like to thank everyone, especially our employees, for their contribution.
Kind regards, Management Board Alcomex Springs Group
Comments Off on Alcomex is happy to expand its product range with flat strip springs.
Spring hinges, self-retracting devices, seat belts, fall arresters, seat tippers, cable retractors, timers, but also use in children’s toys as ecological alternatives to batteries. This is just a brief list of a large number of uses of a separate group of coil springs made of flat (most often rolled carbon steel or high-strength stainless steel) tape. This group includes clock springs, constant force springs and power springs.
The construction of these three types of springs is visually similar. However, in terms of functionality and application, the springs are fundamentally different. The clock springs with space between the individual turns work without any contact between the threads. The developed force increases during winding and decreases during unwinding. Very often the working range is only within one coil turn. Conversely, constant force springs and power springs are tightly wound on each other and the force is created by partial or complete unrolling.
There are very few companies that can produce these springs. Not only the production itself is demanding. However, the manufacturer must also have strong technical know-how and the ability to provide the customer with the necessary technical support, often starting at an early stage of the customer’s idea or development. And very often it is not just the production of the coil spring itself. Part of the development, production and delivery is also assembly into various types of housings in which the springs are located and work in them.
One of our brand new production plants focuses on the production of these coil flat springs. State-of-the-art production technologies are complemented by a large R&D team, and the considerable logistics capabilities within our large Lesjöfors group allow the springs to be delivered worldwide. Take a look at our flat strip springs.
Comments Off on Roaring times! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a healthy and successful 2022!
2021 has been another eventful year. A year full of challenges, but also opportunities. We are looking ahead to the future with confidence.
In 2021 Alcomex has worked hard to be an excellent partner for you with a reliable performance. We are proud to see our Net Promotor Score (customer satisfaction performance) has increased from 52 to 54 points. This confirms that our customers are sharing this feeling.
At Alcomex an outstanding customer service, advanced spring technology, the latest production techniques and operational excellence are at the center of our business. We do not stand still, but always look to how we can improve in the future. In this way, as your partner in springs, we can support you in the best possible way.
Roaring times. Developments of Alcomex in 2021
Alcomex did not stand still in 2021. Times like these require an adaptive approach; companies need to be flexible to respond to unexpected trends or changes, while also maintaining a stable, strong and clear strategy. We would like to take you on a tour of some notable highlights of the past year.
Alcomex Climate Journey
Global warming is a major challenge for the world. At Alcomex we see this as an important topic for which we must take responsibility, together with our stakeholders.
In addition to reducing Alcomex’s CO2 emissions through various reduction initiatives, Alcomex compensates for its entire CO2 emissions footprint by planting trees. Last year we planted more than 6.800 trees to compensate for the CO2 emissions.
The challenges of energy transition offer Alcomex the opportunity to take an industry leading role in the springs industry.
Online growth of the Alcomex Group
An important pillar of growth is our digital expansion. In the past year, for example, we rolled out several e-commerce stores, including a French and Spanish one. This enables us to supply technical springs directly from stock in several countries within Europe. In this way we ensure high-quality springs and a “just-in-time delivery” within Europe.
However, the online growth does not stop at Alcomex. A completely new website has also been developed for our brands VIOD springs and Qsprings. In this way we are building a sustainable online presence and growth for the Alcomex Group.
Scaling up production capacity
With an increasing demand, it is important that we continue to scale up our production capacity for now and for the future. To make this production capacity possible, substantial investments have been made in, among other things: new tempering furnaces, new CNC-coiling and bending machines, new spring fitting lines, new spring cutting machines and new grinding machines.
The aim is to expand the production facility in India by 2,500 m2 by 2022 and the production facility in Poland by 5,200 m2 to be able to meet the needs of our customers even better and faster.
We are pleased to be your partner in springs again in 2022!
We wish you and your loved ones happy holidays and a healthy and successful 2022!
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
