Lämneå Bruk is a wire machinery and equipment manufacturer based in Ljusfallshammar in Central Sweden. Lämneå Bruk is a family-run company surrounded by beautiful forests and lakes with a long-standing history, that goes all the way back to 1727 when the company received the permission and stamp from no one else but the Swedish King to produce iron. Around 100 years later, the company already started manufacturing machines for the wire industry and stopped with the iron production completely in 1873 to focus solely on wire equipment.
Lämneå Bruk supplies highly customizable equipment to wire manufacturers all over the world and due to the more than 100 years in the wire industry, thy have extensive experience of the changing needs of the industry.
Interview with Jonas Hagstedt, President of Lämneå Bruk.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Jonas Hagstedt: Lämneå Bruk’s focus is on providing turn-key-solutions, to customize and to cater for a variety of customer requests. We specialize in the design and manufacture of machines for the ferrous and stainless steel wire industry.
As a reliable and knowledgeable supplier of complete lines and plants for the wire industry we can manufacture a wide range of wire machinery including pay-offs, mechanical de-scaling equipment, drawing machines, spooling and respooling machines, No Twist Coilers for all applications from 0.3mm up to 14mm as well as take-up units and smaller appliances such as pointing machines.
Unknown to most, we have been building control systems including PLC controls, frequency inverters and operating terminals (HMIs) since the 1990s in our own workshop. That means, we produce 100% customized electrical cabinets and control panels which is certainly unique for a machine manufacturer, and even more remarkable to mention that these control systems can be used not only for Lämneå Bruk machines but also for other manufacturer’s equipment.
The high level of customization, Lämneå Bruk’s excellent customer service and the fact that every part of the machines, is manufactured on-site in Sweden are certainly factors that make the company unique. Lämneå Bruk’s mission is to provide each customer with the best, most profitable technical solution.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
J.H: Lämneå Bruk has recently launched the second generation of our Descaling Sandpaper Machine, one of five high-quality machines in the companies’ mechanical descaling portfolio.
The Descaling Sandpaper Machine comes in 1 or 2 300mm wide sanding belts and with rod wire guide rollers as well as integrated line speed feedback to avoid the risk of over-sanding in case the line stops.
Furthermore, the device is equipped with advanced features such as belt tracking control, synchronization to line speed and individual drives for each flyer and sand belt to have full rpm flexibility.
Lämnea Bruk’s Descaling Sandpaper Machine is suitable for low to high carbon & stainless-steel wire. As all Lämneå Bruk machines it is manufactured completely in our own workshop in Sweden to assure highest quality and is designed, manufactured & tested according to European safety standards.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
J.H: As outlined before, Lämneå Bruk supplies machines for the ferrous and stainless steel wire industry, ranging from smaller equipment such as pointing machines or rotating die holders to complete lines and plants.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
J.H: The wire machinery industry is extremely busy despite of the pandemic. We were facing some issues related to labor shortage and raw material supplies. However, the demand in the industry for wire machinery is huge and offers interesting potential for new, innovative ideas.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
J.H: I believe that the trend goes towards the demand for more automatic machines. That is why, we are constantly developing innovative and top-notch fully automatic lines, such as our Fully Automatic Precision Layer Winder that can now be purchased together with an automatic palletizing robot – an invention that will make our customers’ life much easier. A robot checks the total weight of the finished spools that the machine has spooled thoroughly. Should there be any discrepancies, the robot will put the spool aside to get double checked by the staff and continues with the next spool for an uninterrupted process. If everything is in accordance to the set standards, the finished spools can be moved onto pallets and packed for shipping.
A trend I have noticed among customers and in general are the requirement for higher speed levels. We have developed a new take-up for different wire types, the No Twist Coiler, that enables unlimited speed in the wire take up.
And finally, there will be more pressure to invest in R&D for the development of more energy-efficient and more environmentally- friendly equipment to maintain a sustainable business in sync with the environment we are operating in.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
J.H: One of our main pillars of success is to come up with innovations and therefore we strive for constant technological development and have discussions with various departments in-house of how we can use our engineering resources in the best possible way.
In the past years, we have launched Fully Automatic Respooling Lines for various spool sizes, focused on process automation and as mentioned, most recently have launched a new Sandpaper Descaler for optimal rod preparation.
However, probably the most significant recent innovation is the No Twist Coiler 1200 for more streamlined production lines. This machine acts as take-up for the Drawing Machine and at the same time the package can be used as pay-off for a better, streamlined wire production. The major advantage is the handling of the wire package as undriven pay-off, resulting in twist-free and straight wire. This machine is truly an energy saver and has significantly quicker changing and set-up times. We have also been working on a No Twist Coiler for smaller wire types down to 0.3mm.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
J.H: After a temporary drop in sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic and worldwide uncertainties in 2020, we have recovered stronger than ever in 2021, and we could record one of our best results in the company’s history. I am looking optimistic into 2022 when we can hopefully have more interpersonal meetings and presence at trade shows again. As a company, we have big plans, are expanding our production area due to the increased demand and order volume and we have invested in new equipment to move even further towards process automation and Industry 4.0. All in all, the team is in eager anticipation for 2022 to continue this exciting phase of expansion for Lämneå Bruk.