Equal partners

With more than 125 years of experience in compaction machinery and pioneering work in the field of oscillation technology, Hamm is one of the industry’s frontrunners. It is therefore appropriate that the specialist in compaction technology is working with HANSA‑FLEX. The fluid technology specialist supplies hose lines for 80 different machine types to Tirschenreuth in Bavaria, where the rollers are developed and produced.

In Europe’s most modern roller factory extending to 58,000 square metres, Hamm produces tandem rollers, rubber-wheeled rollers and single drum rollers up to a total operating weight of 28 tonnes. Hamm ensures effective production with eight, efficiently designed production lines, optimised material flows from goods receipt to delivery, and intelligent storage systems. An important component of the ingenious production concept: hose assemblies from HANSA‑FLEX.

Series production

8,000 hydraulic hose lines per week are manufactured at the HANSA‑FLEX location in Košice in Slovakia for Hamm’s HD and Euro series. There they are picked in advance for specific machines and put together as kits customised for preassembly and production cycle assembly operations. The Hamm material number, which HANSA‑FLEX embosses on the sleeves, indicates exactly where each hose line is to be installed. “All hose assemblies are shipped in pallets with push-on frames, in which each kit is separated from the others by a cardboard box,” is how Andrea Albrecht, Managing Director of HANSA‑FLEX Slovakia, explains the procedure. When the goods reach the customer, three HANSA‑FLEX employees store the hose lines on the Kanban shelving. “We deliver our hose lines directly to the assembly line, structured according to the individual operating process. This not only eliminates the time-consuming search for components, but also the need for intermediate storage,” Albrecht adds. To ensure that the required goods are available at the roller manufacturer’s production facility at the right time, the hose line assemblies are called off according to delivery schedules. “Our truck makes regular trips from Košice to Tirschenreuth to deliver the ordered goods,” says Albrecht.

Individual custom-made products

The HANSA‑FLEX branch in Bayreuth, which is only 60 kilometres from Tirschenreuth, is responsible for providing Hamm with support. Special hoses and fittings for the rollers are also manufactured there. “Proximity to the customer is a great advantage, especially when time is of the essence; for example with overnight deliveries or spare parts,” explains Sebastian Schlüter, sales representative at the HANSA‑FLEX Coburg branch, who has been working closely with Hamm for seven years. “Once a week I visit the customer to discuss current projects and explore potential for optimisations.” For this purpose Schlüter talks directly to the employees on the assembly lines. “By engaging with the technicians on site we can identify difficulties at an early stage and make adjustments, for example, to the type of layout,” Schlüter says in summary.

Prototype development

Hamm also relies on the advice of the experienced specialists at HANSA‑FLEX for prototype development: during an initial analysis the installation conditions of the hydraulics are examined closely. “Because the entire machine has already been designed, the hydraulics have to be adapted to the available space at the very end,” says Schlüter, providing an insight into how things are done in practice. “We fit the machine with suitable hose lines according to the spatial conditions and other requirements.” In addition to the length, the connections and the diameter, the features of the hose line are also important: whereas they are only exposed to minor stress during steering, the lines for the roller drive and compaction need to function reliably under heavy-duty conditions. “We therefore use hose lines with several steel inserts that not only withstand the strong vibrations, but also a pressure of over 350 bar,” says Schlüter. Once the hose assemblies have passed the initial sample inspection by Hamm’s quality assurance department, nothing then stands in the way of series production.

Comprehensive cooperation

The know-how of the fluid technology specialists is also required for the maintenance of Hamm’s production machinery. In addition to measuring and changing hoses and pipelines in the hydraulics, the service also includes the replacement of pipelines for high-pressure washing equipment as well as tank and filling systems.

This is particularly important if there is a machine breakdown on a construction site. In order to avoid long downtimes, a quick response is required: either the Rapid Hydraulic Service mobilises and produces the required components directly in the workshop truck, or Hamm requests spare parts from Bayreuth, which are then shipped by express delivery.