Orion Beton produces in Enschede – the picture shows the headquarters with its own precast concrete plantFor the digital modernisation in their software sector, Progress Software Development GmbH, a company of the Progress Group, is the reliable partner. The successful cooperation with various machines and software solutions dates back to the year 2003.
The core business of Orion Beton is the production of lattice girder floors, which has been optimised in the fully automated circulation unit of the precast concrete plant. The ebos® and profit MES systems developed by Progress Software Development, accompany all aspects of the production process in a consistent manner. These integrated and complete systems replace a variety of partial software solutions, enabling employees to carry out their entire work processes in a single homogeneous and user-friendly system.
“Our production stability was increased immensely by using ebos, and thanks to the optimised pallet assignment, the production process runs much smoother,” says managing director Jan Rook.
Software solutions guarantee smooth processes
The erpbos solution, which was specially developed for the precast concrete industry, functions as a higher-level ERP system and is used for planning and controlling all business and production processes. From sales, calculation, project management, production and assembly planning, to logistics and materials management - all the processes are managed by a centralized system.
Pallet assignment in ebos. With ebos it is possible to replace a large number of partial software solutions with a single, perfectly integrated system.The big challenge in implementing the modernisation was to install ebos and erpbos together, to replace the existing system and to have everything up and running within a few days. Progress Software Development achieved this through an intensive lead time and qualified specialists on site during the go-live.
Production module in erpbos. The difference between erpbos and other ERP systems is that the entire Progress know-how, from mechanical engineering to the production of precast concrete elements and software development, has been combined in one solution.“The decision in favour of erpbos and thus in favour of Progress was made, among other things, because of the open structure of the database and the structural updates. The possibility of integrating ebos into erpbos played an important role, as did the fact that we have been familiar with the cooperation with Progress for almost 20 years,” emphasises Jan Rook.
A success story lasting over 40 years
Orion Beton was acquired by AGAR Holding in 1973. Only two years later, the company moved from Delden in the Netherlands to its current location in Enschede, where it also started producing the lattice girder floors. In the beginning, the company produced 50,000 m² per year, but over the years the production volume has increased considerably through various modifications. For example, a new hall including a circulation plant was built in 1986 for the production of floor slabs. This was extended in 2003 by an M-System mesh welding plant. In 2014 the VGA Versa lattice girder welding plant was installed, which is equipped with a fully automatic height adjustment during production. An additional bending machine for reinforcement bars enables the company to produce the reinforcement itself and to manufacture and weld cages. Recently, another important component was integrated, the fully automatic stirrup bending machine for reinforced steel from the EBA S-line. All these machines come from Progress Maschinen & Automation, also a company of the Progress Group.
Orion Beton has two large production halls. The first one is used to produce the traditional lattice girder floors by means of a highly modernised carousel plant. In the second hall there is a more than 3 m-wide bed for the production of prestressed lattice girder floors and a second bed for the production of other products, such as unit floors or beam floors.
The M-System mesh welding plant was developed for the most flexible production possible and thus fits very well into the overall concept.Advantage through a wide range of services
“A prerequisite for high performance with calculable accuracy are machines and software solutions, which on the one hand can be optimally integrated into our existing plant and on the other hand contribute to a targeted increase in efficiency,” says Tonny Bunte, the project manager for erpbos in the company.
The VGA Versa lattice girder welding machine producesjust-in-time lattice girders in different heights for the carousel plant and is equipped with an automatic top wire diameter change.
Orion Beton found the right partner for these high demands in the Progress Group. Reliability, experience as well as familiarity with the performance have been the decisive factors for this long-standing successful cooperation.
