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SINCE GEBR. SCHÜTT KG IN NORTHERN GERMANY AUTOMATED ITS PRODUCTION, IT HAS BEEN ABLE TO SECURE LARGE PROJECTS THAT WOULD PREVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN BEYOND ITS CAPACITY.
INVESTMENT OPENS UP NEW AREAS OF BUSINESS
In light of a boom in Germany’s timber sector, Gebr. Schütt KG in Landscheide in northern Germany has automated its facility, using Weinmann technology. While in southern Germany, timber is a widely accepted method of construction, in the country’s north its uptake has traditionally been weaker. However, for some years now the desire for energy-optimised, sustainable buildings has led to an increase in demand for timber constructions, driving market expansion.
STRONG OUTLOOK FOR GEBR. SCHÜTT KG
Tillmann Schütt is the Managing Director and owner of Gebr. Schütt KG, in Landscheide, Schleswig-Holstein. The company has 196 employees and is active in industrial and commercial construction, where its buildings often use supporting structures made from glue-laminated wood. This is not a coincidence; it uses around three quarters of the glue-laminated wood products it makes for its own projects and looks set for growth. Last year, strengthened by the tailwind of a significant boom in timber projects, it built a new production facility, equipping it with an automated wood frame element production line from Weinmann.
TIME GAINS THANKS TO PREFABRICATION
To take full advantage of the time gains offered by timber building, the company has opted to employ a high level of prefabrication, particularly given its future focus on larger construction schemes.
Before its new production plant was built, the company had reached its limits with manual production on a conventional turning table, in terms of capacity and efficiency.
“For normal projects, our existing equipment was OK; for large projects, it was no longer sufficient,” recalls Tillmann Schütt. “Back then, we wouldn’t have had the confidence to do the projects that we are doing today. For example, we’re currently building student accommodation in Kiel with 155 residential units. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without automated production.”
“For normal projects, our existing equipment was OK; for large projects, it was no longer sufficient. Back then, we wouldn’t have had the confidence to do the projects that we are doing today. For example, we’re currently building student accommodation in Kiel with 155 residential units. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without automated production.”
Tillmann Schütt, Managing Di-rector, Gebr. Schütt KG.
PRODUCTION METHODOLOGY
The new production line starts with an insert table for creating the frame work. This is followed by three further work tables, two of which are designed as turning tables. The tables are supplemented by two longitudinal transports with hinged slat conveyors. The required openings are formatted and routed by a WALLTEQ M-380 multifunction bridge. The bridge is equipped with a 12-slot tool changer and two clamping devices with sliding shoes, thereby enabling soft wood fibres to be processed in a way that pro-tects them.
Timber frame elements run through four production stations: on the insert table, the frame works are clamped automatically with pneumatic main clamps, to ensure that the dimensions are highly accurate. An integrated longitudinal transport conveys the frame works to table two automatically, where the sheathing is applied for the inner side and processed by the multifunction bridge.
Insulation is applied after the turning operation on table three, from where the elements are transported to table four via a longitudinal conveyor. Table four moves transversely. On this table, the second element side is closed and then secured, cut, and equipped with the desired openings using the WALLTEQ M-380.
NEW PLANT FACILITATES PROPRIETARY PREFAB
Enabled by its state-of-the-art facility, Gebr. Schütt KG has developed its own SMB (Smart Modular Build-ing) system; a scalable modular solution in grid stages of 1.35 metres. According to Tillmann Schütt, the system increases the efficiency of planning and cost-efficiency for commercial constructions. The first two projects in the new series have already been realised with two two-storey office buildings, each with office space of approximately 550 square metres. From the upper edge of the base plate to the turnkey handover, the construction time was three months in each case.■
