Welding of Cans: One Man Instead of Six

Welcon A/S

The efficiency of welding processes. Welding of circ seam needs to be more efficient.

Challenges

  • High labor costs
  • High production time
  • Need to ensure profitable operation

Results

  • One man can do work of 6 men
  • Better prepared for future development
  • Improvement in the efficiency of the welding process

"We won't know if what we’ve done has been sensible until around three years from now. But so far it has worked out really well."

Jens Risvig Pedersen  |  CEO and Co-Owner, Welcon A/S

Efficiency Improvement Process by Process

The Danish company Welcon has a total of three welding stations, each with four welding heads, plus a station with three welding heads. Four welding heads is the limit in terms of how many circ seams can be welded at the same time.

The variation in steel thickness would be too large if a bigger number of cans were to be welded in the same process, which is why a range of welding heads would be locked and not operating. For the biggest bottom sections, the steel plate thickness is up to 75 millimeters.

After having optimized the circ seam welding process, Welcon began to streamline the remaining production. The next process that was carefully studied and changed was the welding of longitudinal welds. This has to do with the steel plate that is welded together on the outside to form a round section.

Here robots were installed, meaning that one man can now do the work of six men.

Objective Fulfilled – for Now

Today production runs the way Welcon’s owners dreamt of about five years ago. But that does not mean the company has stopped investing entirely. The towers keep getting longer and wider, and no one knows if this development is going to stop. The CEO says the investment strategy has ensured that it is still profitable to keep up production at the factory.

Jens Risvig Pedersen

“If we hadn’t begun investing back then, we wouldn’t have had a factory today. If we hadn’t kept up with developments, we wouldn’t have been able to attract orders anymore. We’re completely sure about that. We won’t know if what we’ve done has been sensible until around three years from now. But so far it has worked out really well.”

WELCON A/S

Welcon A/S is a Danish company that primarily produces turnkey steel constructions.

They focus on the most productive welding methods. The newest welding methods are tested and documented before being taken into use. The machinery allows Welcon to produce a wide range of steel constructions, where the main emphasis is on towers to wind turbines.

Welcon has factory floorspace of over 60,000 m2 in use.