Doppelmayr from the Austrian city of Wolfurt entered the cable car market at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1937, it produced the first tow lift. In the process, the company laid the foundation for its long-standing cable car tradition both nationally and internationally. In 2002, the company merged with Garaventa, a Swiss expert for aerial tramways and funicular railways.
Today, the Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is regarded as a quality and market leader in the cable car industry. The carts transport ski vacationers, city residents, tourists and materials. “Our customers want high comfort, safety and an appealing exterior”, explains Walter Eberle, production planner at Doppelmayr. Level sheet-metal cuts are one key to the Group’s success. In Wolfurt, Doppelmayr assembles these parts to create complex primary components such as return-end stations and sheave assemblies.
Doppelmayr processes around 10,000 tonnes per year. The company relies on the versatile material for a good reason. “Sheet-metal can be shaped very well and gives us freedom when designing the systems”, explains Eberle. “In addition, it can also be leveled very well in comparison to other materials. This simplifies subsequent processes such as welding or edging.”
For a long time, a system from HRC Precision Leveling AG leveled the panels. The Swiss company has belonged to ARKU since 2015. However, with a processing width of 1,500 millimeters, the machine soon proved to be too small. Because many customers are implementing increasingly ambitious projects with larger cable car systems. The company required a new solution.
The cable car experts, first heard about ARKU’s FlatMaster® 88 200 from HRC in 2016. Doppelmayr/Garaventa immediately expressed great interest in the hydraulic precision leveler.
The 2,000 millimeter processing width looked to be the perfect solution for the company´s own large panels. The FlatMaster® processes panel thicknesses between 2 and 23 millimeters. As such, it covers the essential parts spectrum of Doppelmayr/Garaventa. The system also ensures that punched, laser-cut and flame-cut parts are almost entirely free of internal stresses.
Following successful tests in Baden-Baden, the company purchased the machine in June 2016. The company from Wolfurt now uses the FlatMaster® to process around one third of its yearly sheet-metal. This amounts to far more parts than before, within the same time frame. A good reason for Walter Eberle to be happy: “With the FlatMaster® from ARKU, we are in a perfect position to serve the high demand for safe and aesthetic cable car constructions.”