Long-established company Wöhrl embraces automation
The Bavarian family-owned company Wöhrl has recently commissioned a fully automated circulation plant for precast concrete elements, thereby making a forward-looking investment for future generations. Rising customer demand, a growing shortage of skilled workers and a 30-year-old plant made the investment inevitable. Together with its long-standing technology partner, the Progress Group, and the planning office Prilhofer Consulting, a solution was developed that combines circulation technology, reinforcement production and digital planning software under one roof.
160 years of tradition – and the courage to embrace the new
The company’s history dates back to the 1860s. What began as a farmstead developed over the decades into a regional brickworks, where initially everything was produced by hand from clay extraction to the laying of the fired bricks. It was not until the 1920s that the first machines were introduced, before the Second World War brought operations to a standstill.
In 1948, the father of the current managing director, Thomas Wöhrl, began the reconstruction at the age of 19, drove forward mechanization and had the first tunnel kiln built in the mid-1960s. At the same time, he ventured into the production of concrete roof slabs, at a time when many brickworks were still relying exclusively on their core product.
The new plant: Fully automated and forward-looking
Production is now fully automated across two levels and incorporates a number of special technical features. On the upper level, the M-System BlueMesh® mesh welding machine operates directly from the coil and can weld the cross bars to the longitudinal bars from both above and below. For the automation of reinforcement, a flexible Versa lattice girder welding machine was installed, the previous version of which had already been put to very good use in the old plant. Another highlight is the fully automatic concrete distributor eCon Drive®. The machine saves material and time thanks to the precise production data transmitted to the machine via the Progress Group’s software. The entire carousel plant is
now state of the art: A Form Master shuttering, deshuttering and storage robot, a pallet cleaner, a compaction unit with two vibrating frames, a turning device for double walls, an automated storage system and the corresponding transport and logistics equipment complete the modern setup.
A partnership with Progress spanning decades
Wöhrl had carefully considered the decision to choose Progress Group as the sole supplier, taking regional alternatives into account. The long-standing and well-established collaboration at all levels, from project development through assembly to ongoing operations, was ultimately the deciding factor for Wöhrl in choosing the group of companies headquartered
in Brixen, South Tyrol.
The mindset is a good fit and we’re working with people we know well. That makes a big difference,
Thomas Wöhrl, CEO Wöhrl Ziegelwerke-Deckensysteme