Schuler North America’s building expansion and new technology will bolster its leading position in tubular hydroforming production
In August 2024, Schuler North America announced a significant expansion to its Hydroforming Production Center, which already hosts 3500-ton and 8500-ton hydroforming presses, with the latter being the largest press of its kind in the US. On the cusp of this announcement, we speak with Klaus Hertell, Vice President of Hydroforming, and Jaime Israel, Marketing and Communications Manager, about the company’s recent investments and its evolution in the region.
“Schuler Incorporated was founded in 1961 as the American subsidiary of Schuler Group. The Schuler North American headquarters opened in Canton, Michigan back in 2001. Our next big milestone was in 2013, when ANDRITZ became Schuler’s majority shareholder,” Klaus begins. “Throughout these changes, we’ve remained true to our core values of passion, partnership, perspectives, and versatility, which are visibly expressed through our core behaviors: customer focus, shared commitment, ownership for performance, and openness.
New technologies
“At its core, Schuler is an equipment supplier in all areas of forming, from the networked press to press shop planning. Our North American facility offers new equipment, spare parts, and a portfolio of lifecycle services for all press systems, including preventative maintenance, press shop design and optimization, turnkey installations, retrofits for existing systems, and localized production and service. Our best-in-class position in the metalworking and materials industry serves automotive manufacturers and tier suppliers, as well as battery, home appliance, electronics, forging, and other industries.”
Schuler’s Hydroforming Production Center is a full-service provider and offers Tier 1-3 parts production, hydroforming dies, design recommendations, FEA analysis and simulation, prototyping, and minor assembly. “We’re expanding the center by 10,000 square feet, which will provide the space for a new 5000-ton hydroforming press, bending cell, and automation technology,” Klaus explains. “This significant investment is part of our strategic growth plan to increase our production capabilities for our customers.
“The new press is currently being manufactured in Brazil by Schuler Group subsidiary, Prensas Schuler and is scheduled to arrive in January 2025. With advanced controls and hydraulics, the new press will provide greater flexibility and enable us to better serve our customers. We’re constantly exploring ways to improve our products and test new technologies. The new press will improve cycle time, result in increased throughput, and incorporate our innovative testing methods to reduce energy consumption.”
On the topic of sustainability, Klaus continues: “Sustainability is two-fold: economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. We address our social responsibility to be a good employer, what we call ‘Employer of Choice,’ for our people and provide a positive work environment with high safety standards.
Turnkey solutions
“There are several ongoing initiatives across the Group. In North America, we use green energy to power our facility, and we reuse water throughout the
hydroforming process. Our goal for next year is to achieve ISO 14000 certification, and we’re also experimenting with Schuler’s Efficient Hydraulic Forming (EHF) technology to reduce our required energy consumption.”
As our conversation continues, Jaime shares details of Schuler North America’s recent trade shows, The Composites & Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) and The Battery Show North America. “CAMX is the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America,” she shares. “We exhibited in San Diego this past September, and the show provided an ample opportunity for us to expand into new markets and present our innovative technologies. We presented our turnkey compression molding solutions, including our EHF technology, press lines that range up to 16,000 tons, proactive maintenance, spare parts, and modernization support.
“We also exhibited at The Battery Show North America this October with our teams from ANDRITZ, Schuler Group, Sovema Group, and Bitrode Corporation, to showcase our latest battery cell production technology for laboratories, pilot plants, and gigafactories. This includes equipment for central processes: battery cell assembly, formation, and testing of cells, modules, and packs, and the production of prismatic and cylindrical battery housings. We also presented a new calender developed for the upstream electrode production process step.
Exciting expansions
“We have some additional upcoming announcements for 2025 beyond future shows and events that we will release later in the year,” she continues. “A key focus for us this year, and next, is expanding our local availability and capabilities for the North American market, especially in the Southeast US and Canada.”
Klaus agrees: “We’ll continue to grow and evolve with our customers, and we’re looking forward to seeing how our site expansion will provide new capacity, increased availability, and additional capabilities for our customers. The automotive industry and EV market are constantly changing, and we are ready to help the market with their production goals.
“Schuler constantly develops exciting products that allow us to continuously support our customers while driving profitable growth for the company’s long-term future,” he concludes. “This coincides with our passion of getting younger generations interested in production careers and creating an environment and culture that our employees are genuinely proud to be part of.”