247 Tailor Steel: Targets and visions
by Dagmar Dieterle
The Dutch supplier of cut-to-size metal sheets, tubes and bent parts has opened what is now its third German plant in Langenau near Ulm. We spoke with Carl Berlo, CEO of 247TailorSteel, about the company's further aspirations and goals.
marketSTEEL: Mr. Berlo, what is the difference between 247TailorSteel and other sheet metal processing companies. What is special about 247?
What makes our company special is Sophia, our online software that drives production and logistics thanks with artificial intelligence and is available 24/7 for offers. Sophia is able to read files of a 3D model of a component that a customer has ordered by itself. She immediately recognizes what are bent parts, flat parts or tubes and the customer receives a quote within a minute. In it, he immediately sees the price at which he can purchase the desired product. The later she chooses the delivery date, the lower the price. In this way, he does not have to wait for an offer and does not lose any time.
Another advantage is that all machines and all products come from one source. At the moment we have about 60 lasers in the group of companies, of which 45 are flatbed lasers from the Trumpf brand and 15 are tube lasers from the BLM company. The tube lasers process tubes from 6 to 8.5 meters in length, and for bending we can bend up to 45 kg in standard up to 8mm. In addition, the first bending robot is available at the Oyten site, which can bend up to 100 kg. Here we plan to equip all plants with bending robots so that customers can also order heavy bent parts in Hilden and Langenau.
marketSTEEL: You celebrated the grand opening in Langenau near Ulm on November 23, 2022. Why there? What is the strategic benefit behind it?
We specifically chose the location because of its border location between Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and its proximity to Austria. We have good highway access here, so we can deliver to our customers quickly. It was always clear to us that we needed to establish a location in southern Germany. And everything fit here: The municipality, the land and also the price. Now we are looking for personnel, as the workforce is to be increased to up to 250 employees.
With the production area of 15,000 square meters, our goal is to equip it with 13 flatbed lasers, 12 pressbrakes and 10 tube lasers. Incidentally, Langenau is the first German plant to be equipped with tube lasers. In Oyten and Hilden, we only have flatbed lasers and bending benches. But the main market for tubes is in southern Germany. From here we can serve the market in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Austria.
marketSTEEL: What are your goals and visions at 247 Tailor Steel?
We want to be as close to the customer as possible. The delivery routes should be shortened to a radius of 150 to a maximum of 200 kilometers. This will enable us to serve customers at short notice, even with rush orders. We also plan to have our own fleet of vehicles so that we no longer have to rely on external logistics partners. Our proximity to customers is also reflected in the current construction of further plants in the Netherlands and Belgium. We are also considering locations in the region near Frankfurt/Main and in Linz, Austria.
marketSTEEL:: What is behind the name 247?
Our name is our program. 247 means that customers can upload their files and request quotes at any time of the day or night at Sophia. 247 is also available at the kitchen table or during vacation. Finally, we also produce in 3-shift operation in Germany and in the Netherlands we are even occasionally there for the customers in 5-shift operation.