Rinder brightens your future
Are already 45 the years that separate the Rinder current of that cream company with the name Marzana and Cia. In 1952 and situated in the Biscayan place of Guernica. In the actuality, his central activity consists in the design and manufacture of elements of lighting for all a diversity of vehicles, with a special accent in the motorcycles and scooters. Account for this with equipment for the tooling of metal, the metalización of pieces of plastic, the welding by ultrasounds, the siliconado, the injection of the own pieces and a technical office and of design composed by 9 professionals and 5 stations of design. No in vain it treats of a supplier of equipment of lighted up, inside the cual the injection is the main process, but that does not define to himself same like transformer of plastics. In fact, it does not inject pieces for other companies.
Some 115 people are the pillars of a Rinder that finds in full phase of expansion and reorganisation of his productive structure and that in 1996 reached a turnover of 1.700 Mpts., surpassing widely the 1.400 of 1995 and leaving the distinguished way to attain the 2.000 Mpts. To finals of the present year.
The technical office purchases big importance in Rinder.
A visit to the plant, that has the certificate of quality according to norm ISO 9001, and the words of his managers put of self-evident that find us in front of a company that has known to do a gap in the field of the lighting of industrial vehicles and, especially, motorcycles. José Luis Varela, Director of Production affirms: "Manufacture a total of 2.500 references, between which find all the necessary pieces for the foci, rear lights, etc. of the vehicles. We deliver to our customers the lighted up, and in these moments are posing us the realisation of semimontajes, for a more complete service. For example, we are studying the possibility to manufacture a frontal streamlining that incorporate the lighting, taking advantage of that it is a field that dominate".
Piaggio, Nissan, Ford, Yamaha, Derbi, Deep, Suzuki are some of his customers in this industry, what gives a sample of the implantation of Rinder between the big of the sector. Besides, of the plant of Guernica go out pieces for the foreigner, roughly 30%, although it exists a strategic plan whose aim is to arrive to 50% in the next two years.
In any case, the sector of spare absorbs 60% of the production of this manufacturer of equipment of lighted up. The almacenistas, for example, do asked increasingly frequent and smaller, a form to work that it forces to the manufacturer to store and to have a logistical structure very organised.
Choose well the material
Polycarbonate, mainly of GE plastics and Bayer (Lexan, and Makrolon and Bayblend respectively) and metacrilato (Plexiglas of Röhm) are the two main types of plastic that consume. By volumes of utilisation the metacrilato heads the ranking, with 140 T annual, followed of the polycarbonate, with 81 T/to and, more move# away, the polipropileno (22 T/to), the ABS (20 T/to), the polyamide (7 T/to) and the polyester. But no everything is so simple in this sector like injecting and supply. In function of the exigencias of the manufacturer, the production of headlights can reach a degree of notorious complexity. Like this, the headlights of PC are glazed in a special plant, in a delicate process that awards to these pieces a greater only protection in front of the rayado, as well as an upper protection in front of the ultraviolet rays. Here, in the plant of Guernica, the manipulation of the headlights has to be very accurate, until the point to have to enter them in stock exchanges immediately after his moldeo, with the end that no adhere them dust or any odd body that would deteriorate the final result. "Obviously -explains the director of production- send to the outside these headlights supposes a disorder for us, since we send the pieces until there so that they give them back to us later, with all the entramado logistical and organisational that this requires."
Robot of Sepro PIP 200 AZ extracting a piece of the machine.
The decision to use metacrilato or polycarbonate is easy, at least for Rinder. In reality it is the own customer the one who determines the material that needs, with some very known results in function of the plastic that use. In few words, the metacrilato breaks, and the polycarbonate no. Although Rinder does not do but follow the guidelines of what mark the manufacturers, the decision to choose a material or another depends, in addition to the theoretical requests of the original equipment, of the cost and the quality that wishes offer.
Processes and equipment of production
45% of the pieces that go out by the doors of Rinder are pilot backsides, sometimes with turn signals incorporated, 30% headlights, and 25% remaining is composed by diverse products, as headlights antiniebla or pilot for truck. In quantities increasingly small supplies pieces for the lighted up in bicycles, that every time incorporate fewer accessories of this type. And all this, logically, demands a series of processes that do not limit exclusively to the transformation of plastics. Like this, in a walk by the plant find us with the workshop of tooling of metals or a zone devoted exclusively to an automatic process of siliconado designed by the own company and that uses to join the parabola with the plastic. They call also the attention the two equipment for the metallised under empty, a treatment forced in many of the pieces.
Has also of five machines for the welding by ultrasounds for, for example, join pieces of metacrilato with ABS. "Whenever the process was very regulated this process is very reliable -says J.L. Varela-. Our team in concrete, in place to do a welding to constant time, does a welding to constant power, something that provides a better quality and, especially, a precise welding for each group. It is necessary to take into account that these pieces are injected in a mould with two cavities, by what are not exactly equal and require some characteristics of soldier particularizadas. The machine measures the power transmitted to the piece, so that it always transmits the same power, attaining a much more reliable welding".
But still being necessary, these processes find to the shadow of the true heart of Rinder: the workshop of injection. A total of 16 inyectoras, of 35 T to 250 T, and the imminent acquisition of another of 400 T for the injection of streamlinings and guardabarros rear of motorbikes, configure, together with the three robots and two manipuladores, the angular stone of his business. They are seven Battenfeld, five Werner&Pfleiderer, a Engel, a Sandretto, a Triurzi and a Toshiba. The best organisation of the work and, especially, the step to the three daily turns, has allowed to this company reduce the number of machines in the three last years, take advantage of better his capacities and avoid unnecessary costs in the set up, time of atemperamiento, etc. Devote, at least, an inyectora exclusively to metacrilato and another only for polycarbonate, for example, is one of the changes realised in the last times, oriented to reduce to the minimum the dead times. "Have more work every year, but still are sobrados of capacity, mainly by the steps forward that are giving in the optimisation of our productive resources. Between other things, are studying a system for a faster change of moulds and, from a more general punto, find us immersed in a change of the 'layout', advised by an external quality consultancy. Of here to twelve months, after having relocated already all the inyectoras, will transform all the 'layout' integral of the company." Also the settings on foot of machine can consider one of the advances in the internal breast of Rinder.
Manipulador PIP 3010 XP of Sepro recently purchased and ready to be mounted in the inyectora.
As it could not be less, with some cycles of injection that oscillate usually between the 20 and the 50 seconds, the automation of the plant presents like a factor little less than unavoidable. "Have of three robots and a manipulador Sepro, as well as a manipulador cartesiano of the same mark that still are mounting since we have purchased it recently. All the robots that have, for download of machines, placing of insertos or cutting of coladas are of the French signature Sepro. Have a professional relation with this house from does years and always have been satisfied with them. Even we see that they are permeable to the suggestions of his customers and that, for example, in the last generation of robots that have launched, have realised some improvements. The robot Sepro is very reliable, very safe, once under way is a very continuous robot. In fact we do not have never incidences by fault of the robot. We are using robots when it is necessary to place insertos, when it is necessary to cut coladas and when the download of the machine requires a person, that delete with the robot."
An expansion expected
After some years of crisis, some difficult times in which sucumbieron no few small companies, the sector of the motorcycles is raising head. The times, today, present more optimistic. Of course, in Rinder breathes optimism founded. Beside the quoted in this report, Fernando Echevarría, Director manager of the company has revealed to plastic Universal the set up of a joint-venture in India, more in concrete in Pune (near of Bombay), that, together with a company of this country, has constituted for the manufacture of equipment of lighted up. The aim, in principle, is the supply to this country with enormous perspectives of future. We do not forget that in him they live near of 1.000 million inhabitants.
Good expectations
In Spain, the number of motorcycles registered has happened of some 3.800 units in February of 1996 to some 4.300 in the same month of the present year. Small figures if we compare them with the 28.800 of Germany, the more than 15.000 of the United Kingdom, the 14.000 of France or the more than 11.000 of Italy.
The global figure of all the European market also gives foot to the optimism. Of the 60.400 registered in 1996 has happened to more than 84.000 motorcycles. Regarding the calls "mopeds", of less than 50 cc, in February of this year, the Spanish sector produced 21.000 units, occupying like this the second place in the European market together with France, and very by behind Italy.
