Richel Group is laser-focused on developing those innovations that help growers address the ever-pressing challenges of climate change and sustainability. To provide growers with structures to smooth sail through these trying times, Richel acquired a laser machine for cutting and drilling tubes. "This new laser machine offers better cutting quality and greater precision," says the Richel team. "Bluntly put, the laser machine and other production tools allow us to respond to growers' demand much faster."
The new equipment offers new opportunities to create a greater number of drilling geometries and holes, allowing the development of new greenhouse structures and new assembly methods. "The opportunities to also experiment with new things are now endless," they remark. "But mainly, we have just made the assembly of greenhouses more reliable to gain speed and simplicity by developing noncircular holes, sockets, assembly aids such as part-proofers, pre-positioning or part-marking tips, for instance. These are all solutions to optimize assembly and reduce the number of parts."
The R&D teams also see this machine as "a great rapid prototyping tool for all our experiments and testing of new parts and configurations."
This new Laser 3D machine is a continuation of the group's investments aimed at increasing production capacity and improving product quality. "In the last five years, Richel Group has made significant investments in handling and storage equipment and has equipped itself with an automated press brake and a machine for automatically bending tubes."
Of course, all of that has come with an eye on employees to make the workflow not only more efficient for customers but for the Richel people too. "This project aims specifically to optimize working conditions by improving machines' ergonomics. For instance, cleaner production tools (no waste fluids, fumes aspirated and filtered)and a highly reduced risk of musculoskeletal disorders allow our operators to focus on higher value-added tasks."
Benjamin Richel, CEO of the company, declared: "The most satisfying thing is to see real enthusiasm, a real pride of the teams to work on the research and manufacturing of innovative solutions for the agriculture of tomorrow, and to reflect together on the new opportunities and perspectives to offer to our customers globally."
The Richel Group teams extend their sincere thanks to the SUD Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur Region for the grant granted to finance this investment.
For more information:
Richel Group
Quartier de la gare
13810 Eygalieres, France
Tel.: +33 (0) 4 90 95 14 68
Email: [email protected]
www.richel-group.com