20 years of laser manufacturing at BUTTING

BUTTING is popping champagne corks to celebrate a special anniversary: For the past 20 years, laser technology has been successfully used in Knesebeck. Burkhard Mühe, departmental manager of the steel coil pipe production line, invited the employees to a small ceremony.

In 1990, the then management took a major chance calling on a great deal of courage and a passion for technology and invested in the innovative technology of laser welding. Within a short period, a supplier of laser technology was found, building measures introduced and training carried out for employees. Only a few months later, BUTTING put into service one of Europe’s first pipe welding equipment with laser technology. After a few test runs, pipes were welded with the laser for the first time at the end of 1991 for a customer order. Burkhard Mühe remembers: “During the first year, production was only carried out at night in order to keep electricity costs low.”

Within a few years, laser technology was being used in many production areas in Knesebeck. People are convinced by laser welding particularly because it reduces the thermal zone of influence and the resulting component distortion. The benefits for our customers are also reproducibility and a high degree of cost-effectiveness. Thus, we can implement your demanding requirements, from the food and chemical industries in particular, e. g. pipes and components absolutely free of undercuts.

Today, BUTTING also has a laser centre with state-of-the-art 4 to 11 axial CNC machines. Laser technology opens up many options for targeted project work both in relation to welding pipes and contour cuts to manufacture assembly components.

Various production lines equipped with the newest generation of welding and cutting lasers are used at BUTTING each day. To date, more than 18,000 km of pipes have been produced on the production line which was one of the first to have been equipped with laser technology.

BUTTING - Progress by Tradition