Staermose Industry A/S is a leading Danish industrial company specializing in laser cutting, sheet metal processing, and the production of insulation cabinets for heat exchangers. With 40 years of experience, the company delivers customized solutions to customers across Europe.

Roughly a quarter of Staermose Industry’s production involves insulation cabinets for heat exchangers. Each order is unique, manufactured according to customer drawings with strict demands for precision and fast turnaround. These requirements drove a comprehensive modernization of their production setup.

In 2022, the company invested in a Zünd G3 L-3200 digital cutter with two extension tables. This move brought significant staffing savings, a safer work environment, and a major boost in quality. It also enabled better material utilization and the ability to handle complex cutting and routing in a single workflow.

We spoke with Lars Kaysen (Project Manager), Erik Nymark (Department Manager), and Allan Daugaard (Project Manager) about their experiences bringing a Zünd cutter in-house.

The cutter has yielded substantial labor savings, especially in the cabinet assembly department. Previously, employees manually cut holes – a labor-intensive process where an operator used a circular saw to cut square sections, followed by manual hole drilling and milling using a cup drill and jigsaw.

Now, the entire cutting process is performed in one seamless operation. This has significantly reduced manual labor and improved the working environment, with less dust exposure for assembly workers.

Another advantage is the ability to save and reuse cutting files, which greatly simplifies daily tasks.

The company now achieves far better material utilization, as multiple orders can be processed from the same material sheet. This not only reduces waste but also streamlines order planning and execution.

In the past, only one order was processed at a time. The digital cutter now handles complex shapes in a single pass, optimizing every sheet by cutting several orders simultaneously. The router module enables varying material thicknesses so parts fit together like a puzzle, reducing production time to a quarter of what it was.

To maintain order tracking, Staermose Industry uses a printer tool to mark each part with a serial number, ensuring complete traceability.

New Materials and Opportunities

Staermose Industry primarily cuts mineral wool for heating and PIR foam for cooling. Material thicknesses range from 20 to 65 mm. Mineral wool is cut with a knife, while PIR foam is milled in two passes with simultaneous vacuuming.

As the team gains experience with the machine, new materials like foam and cardboard are being introduced. Components that were previously outsourced – such as foam gaskets – are now produced in-house.

Technical Expansion: The Router Module

Initially, the machine was equipped with cutting and printing tools. To further improve speed and precision, a router module for PIR foam was later added. This combination enables the complete finishing of insulation materials directly on the cutting table.

During cutting, each part is printed with a serial number to ensure traceability, even when multiple orders are processed on the same sheet.

Previously, holes and edges were cut manually with a cup drill and jigsaw during cabinet assembly. Now, both milling and cutting are completed in a single process – saving time and resources.

An insulation enclosure for a heat exchanger with PIR foam for cooling.

Production begins with laser cutting and bending of sheet metal for the outer casing.

Outer casing and insulation are assembled; serial numbers ensure a perfect fit.

With no adhesive used, insulation must fit precisely into the metal profiles.