"Solution offered by MicroStep was simply the best choice"

The German company MAFI Transport-Systeme GmbH is focused on the development, design and production of heavy-duty vehicles, semi-trailers, cargo/roll trailers and special lifting trailers used for manipulation with containers. The main customers who rely on diesel and eletric tractors from MAFI are seaports and airports around the world but also the automotive, steel, aluminum and paper industries, as well as logistics centers. The company's beginnings date back to 1957, but today MAFI has about 400 employees and 75,000 square meters of factory space where products are developed, designed and manufactured. "Our strengths are flexibility and the ability to produce most parts for our products in-house," explains Michael Hilpert, Head of Prefabrication.


Around 400 employees and 75,000 square meters of factory space in Tauberbischofsheim (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), where products are developed, designed and manufactured. The company's origins date back to 1957.

The company has been using MicroStep's plasma and oxyfuel cutting system to process sheet metal and pipes since 2018. Flanges and boards are mainly cut with the machine. MAFI only cuts structural steel, most often with a thickness of 15 mm or thicker. On average, 40 to 50 tons of steel are cut per week. Batch sizes range from 1 to 200. “In 2020, we had so much work to do that the system ran almost continuously in three shifts. In terms of machine uptime and services, it's just great. I am very satisfied. We have already had orders for 200 identical parts, which we started in the last shift and which were processed without any defects," said Hilbert.

A special advantage for MAFI is the possibility to automatically prepare weld edges on workpieces thanks to the integrated plasma rotator. "We used to mill the preparation of the weld seam manually. "I think that this saves us 10 to 20 percent of time. That is why we now have increased demands. With previous processes tolerances used to be much higher, with this system accuracy is constant."

The MasterCut series has an oxy-fuel torch for processing higher material thicknesses up to 150 mm. There is also integrated a device for cutting pipes and profiles with diameters from 30 to 300 mm to a length of 7,500 mm.

Previously used cutting system had technologies for plasma cutting and also for oxyfuel cutting, but only for 2D sheet metal cutting. Outdated 2D CNC cutting machine no longer produced the required results, so the replacement was necessary. One thing was clear: it should be a plasma and oxy-fuel combination again. The transport system expert took a closer look at three manufacturers of cutting systems during their research. “We kept coming back to MicroStep. I was very impressed that people from MicroStep were thinking ahead. It's not just a standard machine. For example, one of the improvements of the machine were linear guidelines. The fact that we decided to add a pipe cutting also first appeared only as part of the consultation. We looked at it on the spot and we were immediately impressed," says Michael Hilpert, looking back at the purchase decision made at the end of 2017. These were the decisive factors in the purchase: “Good sales support but also excellent technology. The overall package from MicroStep was simply the best."

 

“We took a closer look at three manufacturers. The decisive factors in the purchase were the good sales support, project planning but also excellent technology. The overall package from MicroStep was simply the best," says Michael Hilpert - Manager in MAFI Transport-Systeme GmbH.