Mubea and Sapa: together towards a better business
In our business, we often search together with the customer to find the perfect solution: a machining center tailor-made for machining specific aluminium pieces. Today, the Sapa Group has 9 Mubea machining centers installed worldwide: the result of a collaboration that started on a small scale, but now has international ambitions.
Mubea as Sapa supplier
Mubea Systems began working with Sapa Belgium (Lichtervelde) as a supplier of finished big aluminium profiles. Gradually, the relationship became more intense: Sapa wanted to satisfy the needs of its customers, and so they worked with Mubea Systems to make better and better machines. Sapa knew what the market demanded and would demand in the future. We had the expertise to build the right machines and the software knowledge that enables the customer to easily machine their desired profile. Mubea Systems became one of Sapa Belgium’s processing cells, and at one point even processed 24 / 24 profiles for Sapa Belgium.
Sapa Belgium (Lichtervelde)
First Mubea Machines in China
When Sapa decided to build a plant in China to extrude profiles for mass transport, the decision to invest in Mubea machines was quickly made.
Sapa was familiar with Mubea Systems and knew that our machines could process profiles to the requirements that their customers defined. Thus, over the years, a total of 9 Mubea machines have been installed in Sapa plants in 6 different countries:
- Sapa France (Le Garric): Alu-Flex 8 meter
- Sapa Canada (Guelph): Alu-Flex 15 meter
- Sapa Netherlands (Drunen): Alu-Flex Twinhead 18 meter
- Sapa Hungary (Köfem): Alu-Flex Twinhead 18 meter
- Sapa Belgium (Lichtervelde): Profile-Flex Twinhead 27 meter
- Sapa Chalco China (Chonqing): Multi-Flex 6 meter
- Sapa Chalco China (Chonqing): Multi-Flex Twinhead 30 meter
- Sapa Chalco China (Chonqing): Multi-Flex XL 6 meter
- Sapa Chalco China (Chonqing): Mega-Flex Twinhead 30 meter
Sapa Chalco (China): a complete setup for train manufacturing
But Sapa Chalco’s (China) most recent project is truly a Mubea total concept: for the first time in 1 plant, there is a complete solution for finishing railway carriages. (Mega-Flex Twinhead 30 m for floor and roof constructions, Multi-Flex XL for milling panels and train doors and the Multi-Flex Twinhead 30 m for sole bars and cantrails).
NDRC of China visits Sapa Chalco-plant
The Vice-Director of the NDRC Industry department (National Development and Reform Commission of China) Mr. Yu Dongming (photo below) recently visited the SCAP-plant and discussed with the CEO Torbjorn Sternsjo about the details of SCAP’sadvanced technology in aluminium fabrication.
NDRC encouraged SCAP to continue to enhance their fabrication capability and improve the deep fabrication processing ability. He affirmed that this is a growing area in the aluminium industry in China.
Train parts machined by Mubea machines at the Sapa Chalco plant:
- Sole Bars/Cant Rails with Mult-Flex Twin Head 30 m
| **Work Piece Length** | 30.250 mm | 1,190.9 " |
| **Work Piece Width** | 1.300 mm | 51.18 " |
| **Work Piece Height** | 650 mm | 25.59 " |
- Floor Panels/Roof Panels with Multi-Flex XL 6m
| **Work Piece Length** | 6.250 mm | 246.06 " |
| **Work Piece Width** | 3.000 mm | 118.11 " |
| **Work Piece Height** | 650 mm | 25.59 " |
- Floor Panels/Roof Panels with Mega-Flex 30m
| **Work Piece Length** | 30.250 mm | 1,190.9 " |
| **Work Piece Width** | 3.500 mm | 137.80 " |
| **Work Piece Height** | 1.000 mm / 1.500 mm | 39.37 " / 59.05 " |
Mubea's solutions in train manufacturing:
Download our train manufacturing brochure!
The trend is clear: trains are getting faster and are covering ever more distance. With countries like China nearly doubling their high-speed electric train services, it seems obvious that mass transportation is the future of travel.
It will become an enormous market. After all, high-speed trains are an ecological and cost-effective alternative to short distance air travel. That’s why Mubea Systems is progressively focusing on large industrial profiles that are used in transport systems such as high-speed trains, trailers, trams and underground rail systems.