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HEMA Rostfritt AB has 23 employees. In Lillsjöns Industriområde, the entire business can accommodate a generously increased 8,000 square meters. The size is needed, because here large water purification tanks are manufactured. The most common are seven meters high, but even tanks with a height of twelve meters are occasionally built on the premises. Around 250 tonnes of stainless steel are processed annually. We looked in and had a tour from CEO Stefan Moberg.
Two giants side by side
The first thing you see when you enter is a shiny new 20 meter long 6kW fiber laser cutting machine. It was installed in the spring of 2021 and has the capacity to cut sheets with a length of 6.2 meters and a width of 2.5. It is impressive in itself, but the special thing is that in the same room there is a similar, but older machine - It is 4 kW and is even longer, its 23 meters.
”With it, we can take plates up to 8 meters long, which we sometimes need to cut for our largest water tanks” says Stefan.
Real stainless steel plates are loaded into the fiber laser.
Export to Thailand
The company was founded in 1970 and is today a purely contracting company that manufactures large tanks and stainless steel facilities for customers such as Nordic Water, Åhus Vin & Sprit, GB-ice cream, Larsson Starch and municipal water treatment plants and more. It can therefore be assumed that we have all, in some form, come into contact with a product that has somehow passed HEMA's manufactured products.
”That's enough, but much of what we do is also exported. About 75 percent approximately, Thailand produces five times more starch than the whole of Europe, so many plants go there” says Stefan.
Succeeding at having two 20-meter laser cutting machines in the mammoth class is not the easiest thing.
Precursor
It's always exciting with big machines. Here in Älmhult, they were among the first in the Nordic countries with an 8-meter laser. It is the one that remains in the same room as the new one. The laser operator Håkan Moberg remembers when he started the first laser cutting machine, which at the time was a revolutionary machine.
”It was week 17 in 2001 when we pressed the start button, it was a special feeling I remember, and it has been many hours since then”
A real faithful servant in other words. Is it retired now?
”No, we used it yesterday and we have orders that are on it, the biggest items we get orders for need just this size. It is clear that the new one is faster, in it you just put the plate in and press start. The cutting speed with the fiber technology is impressive”, says Håkan Moberg.
Stefan Moberg CEO of HEMA and Bystronic's new representative Jannis Kolimenos looks satisfied with the new fiber laser in record size.
New seller impressed
Both the old and the new laser were passed on to HEMA by Bystronic's salesman Thomas Eklund, who started in the southern district in 1989 and retired before the turn of the year. During his 31 years, the pleasant and sympathetic Thomas visited almost all mechanical workshops throughout southern Sweden.
Now he is succeeded by Jannis Kolimenos and we wonder a little curious who he is who will now visit workshops in the district?
”I was born in Trelleborg 49 years ago and have lived in Malmö since the age of 15. I have previously sold printing equipment in the graphics industry, which has taken me all over Europe, so I have extensive experience of large plants and capital products. I switched to Bystronic when Thomas retired and look forward to meeting both old and new customers.
What do you do in your spare time?
”I have been diving since I was 11 years old, and played in the Swedish National Team in underwater rugby for four years. I have been involved in taking gold in three Nordic championships”!
It was impressive, so you are not just swimming on the surface?
”No, I take a deep breath and go down, my personal best is 30 meters deep where I also fished with a harpoon”.
And now you have dived into the depths of fiber laser cutting machines and press brakes and machines that help mechanical workshops create growth in the business?
"Yes, and it feels exciting. Visiting HEMA here in Älmhult was nice and impressive to see a really big fiber laser in action”.
Company facts
HEMA Rostfritt AB. The company is located in Älmhult, was formed in 1970 and merged in 1993 with Allbo Rostfria. Today, there are 23 employees and 26 million in turnover. The company has been wholly owned since 2000 by Stefan Moberg and manufactures equipment for water purification and the food industry.