• Advanced Manufacturing

Lantek responds to the evolution of the sheet metal industry in 2020

  • Digital Transformation
The immediate impact of Covid was the need for staff to work from home if possible, which meant that tasks like programming the cutting machines and preparing quotations needed to be quickly made operational from home offices. About 40% of our customers had an immediate need for this capability as soon as lockdown started.

Which cutting technology is the most suited to your plant?

  • Nesting
Thirty years ago, the global distribution of sheet metal cutting machine-tools was dominated by the oxycut variety (large thicknesses) and, to a lesser extent, the plasma variety (small thicknesses). There was a niche for punching machines along with water jet and laser machines. The latter were aimed at thicknesses less than 5mm and were expensive. Since then, the trend has shifted, shrugging oxycut in favor of other technologies according to thicknesses.

Adaptation and customization, beyond software

  • Advanced Manufacturing
In the age of digitization, a company’s ability to customize their offer is crucial to enable them to become the preferred choice of current and future customers. This is an adaptation which is necessary in every sector, and the metal industry is not exempt: how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? The key is not in the product, nor in the software per se, but in the processes and in the way that the various pieces of software are adapted to them.