Rescue from the staff shortage

The Schnurr company in Nordrach in the Black Forest has been processing wood for almost 170 years. Today, the company is a sought-after partner when it comes to individual wooden packaging or sawn and planed timber. The high demand gives Managing Director Michael Schnurr both pleasure and headaches: How can we work even more efficiently and ergonomically despite the tight labor market situation? One solution is partial automation due to its small footprint and pragmatic implementation options. The vacuum specialist euroTECH from Rosenfeld supplied Schnurr with an easy-to-implement vacuum lever solution for feeding the cross-cut saw.

The demographic development in Germany is also affecting the Black Forest. More and more older people are working longer and longer. Every employer is vying for young talent. If you also work in an industry that is traditionally considered physically demanding, you have a doubly difficult time as an employer. Michael Schnurr is the managing director of a traditional sawmill and planing mill in the heart of the Black Forest. He can do little to change the general population trend. But he can change the work processes in his company: "The most important thing for us is to take the pressure off our employees. Only if we use the possibilities of modern production and technology to make work easier will we be an attractive employer in the future and be able to shake off the image of the harsh working environment in the sawmill."

Focus on the well-being of employees

This is why he is open to the topic of automation. When you enter a sawmill and assembly hall in the Black Forest, you expect a rustic atmosphere and hard-boiled "woodworkers" at heavy machinery. Not so at Schnurr in Nordrach. There are oversized pictures and works of art on the walls, music is playing, two robots and modern handling technology impress visitors. A good mix of younger, older, male and female employees take care of machines, robots, parts and systems in a relaxed manner. "We attach great importance to a pleasant working atmosphere and the health of our employees. The robots are a great relief. However, we can't expand our space indefinitely," explains Michael Schnurr. Fully automated production areas with robots require safety zones and fences to prevent accidents. The two existing robots are used to nail pallets and to feed a CNC machine.

More efficiency required on the cross-cut saw

Now the focus was on the cross-cut saw. A worker who had been employed there for many years used to place boards and squared timber in various thicknesses, widths and lengths of up to five meters from the stack onto the saw one by one. This was becoming increasingly difficult for him, as the squared timber measures 10×12 cm and can weigh 30 to 40 kg. Michael Schnurr needed a solution that would take the strain off the employee, minimize the need for personnel, take up less space and increase efficiency.

Solution partner euroTECH

He confidently turned to euroTECH in Rosenfeld. The company is known for its comprehensive engineering services in the vacuum handling of all kinds of materials. Small and medium-sized companies in particular benefit from our customer-oriented solutions, which Area Sales Manager Mirko Weinhold at Schnurr sees as exemplary: "In principle, we can cover a wide range of requirements at manageable costs with our design department, variable standards and in-house production. This allows us to relieve our customers of planning tasks and offer the required flexibility. Thanks to our many years of experience in the field of automation, we deliver tailor-made results that go far beyond simply offering products. We designed partial automation for the cross-cut saw workstation at Schnurr. Full automation was ruled out due to the space-consuming forklift access to the raw material and the prescribed fenced-in safety area."

Man and machine hand in hand

Specifically, a gantry with a suction frame has been installed, which lifts the load via a chain hoist. The operator then moves a complete layer to the cross-cut saw via a smooth-running crane track. The necessary suction and ventilation as well as the up and down movements are controlled by an ergonomically shaped operating handle. The surface grippers have been designed by euroTECH so that the eT-Gripper suction boxes can easily lift all types of timber from 70 mm wide and up to 5000 mm long as a layer. This is a particularly efficient advantage on this system.

Enormous increase in productivity

Michael Schnurr is delighted: "The partial automation not only saves us space, but also saves us investment in complicated control systems and sensor technology. Whereas it used to take 15 minutes to load and process a single piece of squared timber, the vacuum suction cup now takes entire layers, which the operator can saw with ease in one minute. This is an enormous increase in productivity, which allows us to make much better use of the saw's existing capacity. The sawn parts are currently still removed by hand, but we are already considering using vacuum technology here too in order to become even more efficient. We are continuing to focus on automation and practical solutions such as those offered by euroTECH. Put simply, intelligent lifting systems do the heavy work and the machine operators ensure that the work process runs smoothly. This eliminates the need for safety fences at these workstations, as the operators are in control. In this way, we relieve our employees of one-sided hard and physical work and can work more efficiently with the same number of staff. At the same time, the automated load handling allows us to keep older employees at these workstations for longer." A convincing result that provides real relief for both employers and employees.

Characters incl. spaces: 6,272

The Schnurr company in Nordrach in the Black Forest has been processing wood for almost 170 years. Today, the company is a sought-after partner when it comes to individual wooden packaging or sawn and planed timber. The high demand gives Managing Director Michael Schnurr both pleasure and headaches: How can we work even more efficiently and ergonomically despite the tight labor market situation? One solution is partial automation due to its small footprint and pragmatic implementation options. The vacuum specialist euroTECH from Rosenfeld supplied Schnurr with an easy-to-implement vacuum lever solution for feeding the cross-cut saw.

The demographic development in Germany is also affecting the Black Forest. More and more older people are working longer and longer. Every employer is vying for young talent. If you also work in an industry that is traditionally considered physically demanding, you have a doubly difficult time as an employer. Michael Schnurr is the managing director of a traditional sawmill and planing mill in the heart of the Black Forest. He can do little to change the general population trend. But he can change the work processes in his company: "The most important thing for us is to take the pressure off our employees. Only if we use the possibilities of modern production and technology to make work easier will we be an attractive employer in the future and be able to shake off the image of the harsh working environment in the sawmill."

Focus on the well-being of employees

This is why he is open to the topic of automation. When you enter a sawmill and assembly hall in the Black Forest, you expect a rustic atmosphere and hard-boiled "woodworkers" at heavy machinery. Not so at Schnurr in Nordrach. There are oversized pictures and works of art on the walls, music is playing, two robots and modern handling technology impress visitors. A good mix of younger, older, male and female employees take care of machines, robots, parts and systems in a relaxed manner. "We attach great importance to a pleasant working atmosphere and the health of our employees. The robots are a great relief. However, we can't expand our space indefinitely," explains Michael Schnurr. Fully automated production areas with robots require safety zones and fences to prevent accidents. The two existing robots are used to nail pallets and to feed a CNC machine.

More efficiency required on the cross-cut saw

Now the focus was on the cross-cut saw. A worker who had been employed there for many years used to place boards and squared timber in various thicknesses, widths and lengths of up to five meters from the stack onto the saw one by one. This was becoming increasingly difficult for him, as the squared timber measures 10×12 cm and can weigh 30 to 40 kg. Michael Schnurr needed a solution that would take the strain off the employee, minimize the need for personnel, take up less space and increase efficiency.

Solution partner euroTECH

He confidently turned to euroTECH in Rosenfeld. The company is known for its comprehensive engineering services in the vacuum handling of all kinds of materials. Small and medium-sized companies in particular benefit from our customer-oriented solutions, which Area Sales Manager Mirko Weinhold at Schnurr sees as exemplary: "In principle, we can cover a wide range of requirements at manageable costs with our design department, variable standards and in-house production. This allows us to relieve our customers of planning tasks and offer the required flexibility. Thanks to our many years of experience in the field of automation, we deliver tailor-made results that go far beyond simply offering products. We designed partial automation for the cross-cut saw workstation at Schnurr. Full automation was ruled out due to the space-consuming forklift access to the raw material and the prescribed fenced-in safety area."

Man and machine hand in hand

Specifically, a gantry with a suction frame has been installed, which lifts the load via a chain hoist. The operator then moves a complete layer to the cross-cut saw via a smooth-running crane track. The necessary suction and ventilation as well as the up and down movements are controlled by an ergonomically shaped operating handle. The surface grippers have been designed by euroTECH so that the eT-Gripper suction boxes can easily lift all types of timber from 70 mm wide and up to 5000 mm long as a layer. This is a particularly efficient advantage on this system.

Enormous increase in productivity

Michael Schnurr is delighted: "The partial automation not only saves us space, but also saves us investment in complicated control systems and sensor technology. Whereas it used to take 15 minutes to load and process a single piece of squared timber, the vacuum suction cup now takes entire layers, which the operator can saw with ease in one minute. This is an enormous increase in productivity, which allows us to make much better use of the saw's existing capacity. The sawn parts are currently still removed by hand, but we are already considering using vacuum technology here too in order to become even more efficient. We are continuing to focus on automation and practical solutions such as those offered by euroTECH. Put simply, intelligent lifting systems do the heavy work and the machine operators ensure that the work process runs smoothly. This eliminates the need for safety fences at these workstations, as the operators are in control. In this way, we relieve our employees of one-sided hard and physical work and can work more efficiently with the same number of staff. At the same time, the automated load handling allows us to keep older employees at these workstations for longer." A convincing result that provides real relief for both employers and employees.

Characters incl. spaces: 6,272

The Schnurr company in Nordrach in the Black Forest has been processing wood for almost 170 years. Today, the company is a sought-after partner when it comes to individual wooden packaging or sawn and planed timber. The high demand gives Managing Director Michael Schnurr both pleasure and headaches: How can we work even more efficiently and ergonomically despite the tight labor market situation? One solution is partial automation due to its small footprint and pragmatic implementation options. The vacuum specialist euroTECH from Rosenfeld supplied Schnurr with an easy-to-implement vacuum lever solution for feeding the cross-cut saw.

The demographic development in Germany is also affecting the Black Forest. More and more older people are working longer and longer. Every employer is vying for young talent. If you also work in an industry that is traditionally considered physically demanding, you have a doubly difficult time as an employer. Michael Schnurr is the managing director of a traditional sawmill and planing mill in the heart of the Black Forest. He can do little to change the general population trend. But he can change the work processes in his company: "The most important thing for us is to take the pressure off our employees. Only if we use the possibilities of modern production and technology to make work easier will we be an attractive employer in the future and be able to shake off the image of the harsh working environment in the sawmill."

Focus on the well-being of employees

This is why he is open to the topic of automation. When you enter a sawmill and assembly hall in the Black Forest, you expect a rustic atmosphere and hard-boiled "woodworkers" at heavy machinery. Not so at Schnurr in Nordrach. There are oversized pictures and works of art on the walls, music is playing, two robots and modern handling technology impress visitors. A good mix of younger, older, male and female employees take care of machines, robots, parts and systems in a relaxed manner. "We attach great importance to a pleasant working atmosphere and the health of our employees. The robots are a great relief. However, we can't expand our space indefinitely," explains Michael Schnurr. Fully automated production areas with robots require safety zones and fences to prevent accidents. The two existing robots are used to nail pallets and to feed a CNC machine.

More efficiency required on the cross-cut saw

Now the focus was on the cross-cut saw. A worker who had been employed there for many years used to place boards and squared timber in various thicknesses, widths and lengths of up to five meters from the stack onto the saw one by one. This was becoming increasingly difficult for him, as the squared timber measures 10×12 cm and can weigh 30 to 40 kg. Michael Schnurr needed a solution that would take the strain off the employee, minimize the need for personnel, take up less space and increase efficiency.

Solution partner euroTECH

He confidently turned to euroTECH in Rosenfeld. The company is known for its comprehensive engineering services in the vacuum handling of all kinds of materials. Small and medium-sized companies in particular benefit from our customer-oriented solutions, which Area Sales Manager Mirko Weinhold at Schnurr sees as exemplary: "In principle, we can cover a wide range of requirements at manageable costs with our design department, variable standards and in-house production. This allows us to relieve our customers of planning tasks and offer the required flexibility. Thanks to our many years of experience in the field of automation, we deliver tailor-made results that go far beyond simply offering products. We designed partial automation for the cross-cut saw workstation at Schnurr. Full automation was ruled out due to the space-consuming forklift access to the raw material and the prescribed fenced-in safety area."

Man and machine hand in hand

Specifically, a gantry with a suction frame has been installed, which lifts the load via a chain hoist. The operator then moves a complete layer to the cross-cut saw via a smooth-running crane track. The necessary suction and ventilation as well as the up and down movements are controlled by an ergonomically shaped operating handle. The surface grippers have been designed by euroTECH so that the eT-Gripper suction boxes can easily lift all types of timber from 70 mm wide and up to 5000 mm long as a layer. This is a particularly efficient advantage on this system.

Enormous increase in productivity

Michael Schnurr is delighted: "The partial automation not only saves us space, but also saves us investment in complicated control systems and sensor technology. Whereas it used to take 15 minutes to load and process a single piece of squared timber, the vacuum suction cup now takes entire layers, which the operator can saw with ease in one minute. This is an enormous increase in productivity, which allows us to make much better use of the saw's existing capacity. The sawn parts are currently still removed by hand, but we are already considering using vacuum technology here too in order to become even more efficient. We are continuing to focus on automation and practical solutions such as those offered by euroTECH. Put simply, intelligent lifting systems do the heavy work and the machine operators ensure that the work process runs smoothly. This eliminates the need for safety fences at these workstations, as the operators are in control. In this way, we relieve our employees of one-sided hard and physical work and can work more efficiently with the same number of staff. At the same time, the automated load handling allows us to keep older employees at these workstations for longer." A convincing result that provides real relief for both employers and employees.

Characters incl. spaces: 6,272

The Schnurr company in Nordrach in the Black Forest has been processing wood for almost 170 years. Today, the company is a sought-after partner when it comes to individual wooden packaging or sawn and planed timber. The high demand gives Managing Director Michael Schnurr both pleasure and headaches: How can we work even more efficiently and ergonomically despite the tight labor market situation? One solution is partial automation due to its small footprint and pragmatic implementation options. The vacuum specialist euroTECH from Rosenfeld supplied Schnurr with an easy-to-implement vacuum lever solution for feeding the cross-cut saw.

The demographic development in Germany is also affecting the Black Forest. More and more older people are working longer and longer. Every employer is vying for young talent. If you also work in an industry that is traditionally considered physically demanding, you have a doubly difficult time as an employer. Michael Schnurr is the managing director of a traditional sawmill and planing mill in the heart of the Black Forest. He can do little to change the general population trend. But he can change the work processes in his company: "The most important thing for us is to take the pressure off our employees. Only if we use the possibilities of modern production and technology to make work easier will we be an attractive employer in the future and be able to shake off the image of the harsh working environment in the sawmill."

Focus on the well-being of employees

This is why he is open to the topic of automation. When you enter a sawmill and assembly hall in the Black Forest, you expect a rustic atmosphere and hard-boiled "woodworkers" at heavy machinery. Not so at Schnurr in Nordrach. There are oversized pictures and works of art on the walls, music is playing, two robots and modern handling technology impress visitors. A good mix of younger, older, male and female employees take care of machines, robots, parts and systems in a relaxed manner. "We attach great importance to a pleasant working atmosphere and the health of our employees. The robots are a great relief. However, we can't expand our space indefinitely," explains Michael Schnurr. Fully automated production areas with robots require safety zones and fences to prevent accidents. The two existing robots are used to nail pallets and to feed a CNC machine.

More efficiency required on the cross-cut saw

Now the focus was on the cross-cut saw. A worker who had been employed there for many years used to place boards and squared timber in various thicknesses, widths and lengths of up to five meters from the stack onto the saw one by one. This was becoming increasingly difficult for him, as the squared timber measures 10×12 cm and can weigh 30 to 40 kg. Michael Schnurr needed a solution that would take the strain off the employee, minimize the need for personnel, take up less space and increase efficiency.

Solution partner euroTECH

He confidently turned to euroTECH in Rosenfeld. The company is known for its comprehensive engineering services in the vacuum handling of all kinds of materials. Small and medium-sized companies in particular benefit from our customer-oriented solutions, which Area Sales Manager Mirko Weinhold at Schnurr sees as exemplary: "In principle, we can cover a wide range of requirements at manageable costs with our design department, variable standards and in-house production. This allows us to relieve our customers of planning tasks and offer the required flexibility. Thanks to our many years of experience in the field of automation, we deliver tailor-made results that go far beyond simply offering products. We designed partial automation for the cross-cut saw workstation at Schnurr. Full automation was ruled out due to the space-consuming forklift access to the raw material and the prescribed fenced-in safety area."

Man and machine hand in hand

Specifically, a gantry with a suction frame has been installed, which lifts the load via a chain hoist. The operator then moves a complete layer to the cross-cut saw via a smooth-running crane track. The necessary suction and ventilation as well as the up and down movements are controlled by an ergonomically shaped operating handle. The surface grippers have been designed by euroTECH so that the eT-Gripper suction boxes can easily lift all types of timber from 70 mm wide and up to 5000 mm long as a layer. This is a particularly efficient advantage on this system.

Enormous increase in productivity

Michael Schnurr is delighted: "The partial automation not only saves us space, but also saves us investment in complicated control systems and sensor technology. Whereas it used to take 15 minutes to load and process a single piece of squared timber, the vacuum suction cup now takes entire layers, which the operator can saw with ease in one minute. This is an enormous increase in productivity, which allows us to make much better use of the saw's existing capacity. The sawn parts are currently still removed by hand, but we are already considering using vacuum technology here too in order to become even more efficient. We are continuing to focus on automation and practical solutions such as those offered by euroTECH. Put simply, intelligent lifting systems do the heavy work and the machine operators ensure that the work process runs smoothly. This eliminates the need for safety fences at these workstations, as the operators are in control. In this way, we relieve our employees of one-sided hard and physical work and can work more efficiently with the same number of staff. At the same time, the automated load handling allows us to keep older employees at these workstations for longer." A convincing result that provides real relief for both employers and employees.

Characters incl. spaces: 6,272