Silesia is one of the most well - known Polish industrial regions. In that exact region in 1995 in the city of Strumień, Zakład Wyrobów Metalowych (Metalworking plant) Strumet was founded. Just like in the early beginnings, also today Polish manufacturer delivers the best service to the largest car companies and the subsuppliers for the automotive industry.
Closer look into the company
Strumet is one of the leading suppliers of transport and storage systems in the European market. Such simple but at the same time such important thing as a container, especially the reusable one, is the crucial element of the logistics process and also irreplaceable asset in any factory. It is because of a very simple reason – its multiple utility from storing components produced on the line to stocking end products at the warehouse and finally using them as a transporting tool. What makes Strumet so unique among all the other fellow companies from the same sector is the fact that almost every order means creating a new container design. Every container is tailored to the particular customer’s needs and that means uniqueness of the manufactured product. The basic material for the production of containers are semi-finished steel products such as sheets, flat and round bars, angles, round and rectangular tubes, etc. Manufacturing process itself is very long and detailed. The company is not using ready solutions. Every project is implemented from scratch. The whole process is carried out based on the 3 principles: maximizing the safety of the workplace and the employees, minimizing the costs associated with the use of the container and finally making sure the invironment is protected. Every step of the production process is followed by a hard work, involvement, years of studies and work experience of the highly qualified engineers that have their own construction office at the production plant equipped with the latest software including CATIA V5, Autodesk Inventor i NX Siemens. Customers of Strumet company can recognize the great precision that is put into the product along the way.
From the design to the the quality control phase
To be able to understand and get familiar with all the production phases of the container manufacturing, here are the steps captured in the brief description. Everything starts from creating the design that will come to life after a long process that can last from several weeks up to even several months and involves many trials and reseach but in the end it is all for a good cause – customer’s satisfaction. Then elements of the future container go to the cnc machines department where the shapes and profiles of the final structure will be created. Next we move to the gantry mill where the production of the elements supporting the details in the contaier takes place. Right from the gantry mill the container construction elements go to the welding plant where they get combined. Welding is a basic production technique for Strumet, therefore they use high quality welding machines and the welding process is supervised by qualified controllers and research institutes. 2014 is the year when the company introduced robotic welding processes at their production plant. Currently there are three robotized welding stations of Comau company. Welded elements go to the paint shop where they either get powder coated or hot dip galvanized. After such process the components must be cleaned off rust and degreased. Once prepared, the elements are dipped in the hot liquid zinc which reaches the temp of 450 degrees Celcius. We are now reaching the final steps of the whole process and those are sampling and the quality control. Every container goes through a detailed check to eliminate all the faulty elements that might diminish the quality of the service and the product itself. Every year an impressive number of 220 000 containers is produced at the production plant in Strumień and delivered to the leading car companies based in all parts of the world. It is possible thanks to Strumet’s own transport fleet as well as their trusted haulage partners.
Care for the natural environment
The natural environment has always been one of the priorities and the highest good for Strumet company. The only way to live healthier and happier is to protect the nature at all cost, because it will not only benefit us but also those that are about to come after us. To achieve that at the production plant only environmentally safe powder coating method is used to paint the products. This way factory ensures no volatile organic compounds gets emitted. It is all about being nature-friendly whenever it is possible. Keeping that in mind some investments have been made at the galvanizing plant. It has been equipped with the most modern equipment for environmental protection. All process bathtubs are equipped with a system protecting against any possible leakage of chemicals into the environment. The system is equipped with pumps and buffer tanks, which can cope with the simultaneous unsealing of several bathtubs. Bathtub lashings are connected to an absorber preventing chemical vapours from escaping into the atmosphere. In 2016 a new, airtight digestion chamber has been introduced and installed at the galvanizing plant. The plant itself is drip-free, which means that the process solutions work in a closed loop. The zinc furnace used to hot dip the elements has a tight cover. Therefore there is no possibility of vapours and fumes that are generated during the the whole process to escape directly into the atmosphere. The ventilation system with a powerful capacity of 50 000 m3/h is equipped with a filtration system, so that the air released to the atmosphere is thoroughly cleaned, and the recovered dust is recycled.
Highly set standards
Some say that quality is there when the customers keep coming back after their first encounter with the company, but it might not be enough for those who believe in the certified standards. In case of Strumet the quality is there, the customers keep coming back and there are a few certiticates owned by the company to prove it. The first one that the company was awarded with is the certificate of Quality Management System in ISO 9001 standard received in 2005. The system is subject to continuous improvement. It is an effective tool that helps to achieve the basic goal of full customer satisfaction. The production plant was awarded with their own certification called the Certificate of Factory Production Control according to EN 1090 and a certificate of welding quality according to EN ISO 3834-2. Welding Institute in Gliwice qualified Zakład Wyrobów Metalowych Strumet to Group I of Large Plants according to the requirements of PN-M-69009. Care shown for the environment has also been recognized and appreciated therefore also in that category Strumet was awarded with the Environmental Management System certificate in the ISO 14001:2015 standard. There are already plans in place for the future to register the plant in the Eco-Management and Audit System (EMAS). Soon there will be a new certificate added to the certification portfolio, because Zakład Wyrobów Metalowych Strumet is currently working on the implementation of the Information Security Management System according to ISO/IEC 27001.