How do you find a good assembly partner?

Bart Smulders of B-Style on working with SixPointTwo:
“You have to understand each other, without having to explain everything”

In 1973, Ad Smulders invented the wheelchair van. That was the beginning of B-Style, the company now run by his son Bart Smulders. In the year 2022, B-Style delivered conversion kits from Oss to selected conversion companies around the world. This allows these companies to convert commercial vehicles of various brands into wheelchair vans, wheelchair buses, city buses or taxibuses. “More than 95% of our conversion kits are sent abroad, including Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe”, says Bart Smulders.

B-Style converted commercial vehicles for many years. The company sold them to customers in the Netherlands as well as other European countries. “In 2017, we decided to focus entirely on supplying conversion kits to conversion companies. This is because the market has changed a lot over the years. More and more conversion companies have joined in, while the legal requirements and certifications have become increasingly extensive and onerous.” The change is in line with the innovative nature of the company. “With a team of 20 people, we concentrate entirely on developing, supplying and servicing conversion systems and solutions for combined transport. We can now focus even more attention to product development: building and testing prototypes.”

Always a complete solution
Any conversion kit that B-Style supplies for a specific commercial vehicle application can be used anywhere in the world. “For this, we look closely at the market and at the legal requirements and certifications. For a Volkswagen taxibus, a conversion company in Finland gets the exact same conversion kit as a conversion company in the Middle East. That taxibus is then rendered suitable for driving on snowy roads and in the mountains as well as for trips in the desert. We thus increase the overall quality of the kit.”

Safety first
B-Style relieves its customers of their concerns. “We arrange all the paperwork concerning certification and legal requirements. Irrespective of whether a customer is located in Spain, India or Australia: they can be confident that our conversion kit will meet all local requirements.” B-Style also arranges all matters with the commercial vehicle manufacturers. “They issue a letter of no objection for the conversion kits we make for their commercial vehicles. Among others, we are a Premium Partner of Volkswagen and Van Partner of Mercedes. If a kit goes to Hong Kong, Volkswagen Hong Kong can immediately check whether it is conformant.”
All these precautions are necessary since we are concerned with passenger transport in this context. “The safety of people is crucial. We have to guarantee that the conversion remains in one piece even if an accident happens.”

Assembly
The changeover to focusing exclusively on conversion kits has been a major operation. “For instance, we also ensure that the conversion companies we supply to are fully in control. For their part, they must be able to fully rely on the quality of our conversion kits. Each set must therefore be complete, down to the last nut.”
Many parts of the conversion kits, such as sheet metal parts, wiring harnesses and plastic parts, are made by partners. “Because assembly is a time-consuming process, we like to collaborate with partners who can not only manufacture components, but can also assemble larger components. The time we save in this manner can be invested in product development and service.”

Cooperation with SixPointTwo
After an introductory meeting with Iman Landheer in December 2021, a collaboration with SixPointTwo was launched early this year. “We were looking for a new party that can also perform assembly work. As agreed, we started small. We first requested quotations and then placed an order for making simple steel components. Step by step, we expanded that to components in larger series and to more complex components. We have now taken the next step: SixPointTwo now also assembles larger components.”

Assessing assembly partners
What is the basis on which B-Style assesses assembly partners? “The first requirement of course is that their product should meet our specifications. This requires that they interpret our drawing correctly! But we also expect them to think about smarter ways to make the product.” In addition, communication is important. “Do we get quick answers to our questions? Do they respond quickly, jointly examine solutions with us, and in case there are mistakes, do they also have the courage to reach out and follow through?”

Understanding each other is another requirement. “If, for instance, we specify that a product must not be sharp, our partner must understand why we require that and also what we mean by it. After all, everything we make passes through human hands, at SixPointTwo, at our end, in the conversion companies, and at the transporters’ end as well.” Another important aspect: you shouldn’t have to explain everything. “I once heard the story of an entrepreneur who had had components made for a consumer item from a foreign assembly partner. Those components met all the technical requirements. But they had one drawback: they stank beyond belief. That assembly partner was indignant when the entrepreneur called him out on it. Where in the specifications was it stated that this was not allowed? Well, if you have to explain that …”

The future
The phase of exploring what B-Style and SixPointTwo have to offer to each other is over. Bart Smulders is positive. “We will continue to work together. One problem is just that the market is unpredictable at the moment. The market has still not recovered from corona. Vehicles are being delivered with delays. As a result, we cannot look beyond two to three months at the moment. We discuss this with our customers and our partners. But if the market develops as we hope, then the collaboration with SixPointTwo will definitely grow!”

Are you curious about what SixPointTwo can do for your company as an assembly partner? If so, please contact Iman Landheer, tel +31 6 4224 3466, e-mail iman.landheer@sixpointtwo.eu.

Behind the scenes of online shops and parcel delivery …

Every link is indispensable

In December, children look forward expectantly to what Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus will bring. Grown-ups are equally anxious: will the presents arrive on time? Those making ‘normal’ purchases from online shops also want to know whether they will be delivered normally in the last month of the year. Millions of orders and millions of parcels are processed day in, day out in the Netherlands and in surrounding European countries. SixPointTwo is also a link in the logistics chain that ensures this. A look behind the scenes …

In the sorting centres of Amazon and DHL, among others, many parcels are transported by the sorting lines 24 hours a day. These lines contain numerous subcomponents and modules produced by SixPointTwo. They are part of large sorting systems and perform their work inconspicuously within them. They have in the meanwhile become indispensable …

Sorting system for parcel dispatch
Automated, fast parcel handling that limits human activity to the minimum: that is what parcel dispatch is all about. A good example is the bulk sorting system used by an international logistics service provider in a network of regional mail sorting centres. SixPointTwo has made several components like roller conveyors with side guides, for this sophisticated system. These roller conveyors ensure that parcels move steadily and smoothly. The side guide prevents parcels from falling off the track. We also made other systems with powered rollers for this bulk sorting system, to shift parcels to another conveyor.

Cross-sorting system
An international parcel delivery service provider processes hundreds of thousands of parcels from more than 1,000 collection points every day. This is done in two automated sorting centres. Together, these huge sorting centres cover more than 10,000 square metres and are equipped with fully automated conveyor belts, robotics, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and high-quality image recording. We created modules for this logistics system, with which the flow of parcels can be slowed down or accelerated as required. This ensures streamlined delivery of parcels to the sorting station, from where they can be sent to the appropriate distribution points. From there, they are then distributed to recipients.

Reliability is crucial
In a sorting system, every link is important. This is because the whole line comes to a standstill the moment even one part fails. The result: delays, extra costs and disappointed recipients. Obviously, this cannot be allowed to happen. SixPointTwo has built in extensive quality control to prevent downtime. All the subcomponents and modules we deliver are carefully assembled according to work instructions. They are then fully tested according to a test protocol based on the four-eye principle. Products equipped with motors pass through additional functional testing before they are released by our Quality Department. We use a FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) for this purpose.

The final component in SixPointTwo’s quality assurance is our own track-and-trace system. Although our customers do not make this a hard requirement, we consider traceability a must. With the track-and-trace system, we can trace the corresponding batch numbers of all components and raw materials used for the final product by means of the unique product number. We can also always retrieve the assembly date and release date from the quality department.

We make sure that things run smoothly …
The flow of online orders and packages is constantly increasing. From the consumer to the delivery person: everyone in the logistics chain wants to ensure that the process runs smoothly, literally as well as figuratively. Not just in the month of December, but on all days of the year. SixPointTwo is happy to contribute to that!

ERP system and laser cutting machine understand each other

Efficient production automation starts with people work

SixPointTwo has various in-house techniques for sheet metal processing. Laser cutting is one such technique. A Trumpf laser cutting machine was purchased for this purpose in 2018. Before the machine was delivered, consideration was given to the optimum method for the machine to communicate with ECI Bemet’s ERP system that SixPointTwo had been using for many years. Gerrit KleinJan of ECI Bemet and Tomáš Kautcký from Trumpf tell us what that entailed.

Sheet metal cutting is all about quality and cost efficiency. Therefore, the ERP system and the laser cutting machine must communicate well with each other in all phases of production control. “The biggest challenge is to always ensure the correct data gets from the ERP system to the laser cutting machine so the machine can provide feedback. Working with SixPointTwo, it was decided to first define the optimal process of production and control”, says KleinJan. He knows the ERP system through and through. “At the time, I was also involved in its implementation.”

Include outsourcing as an option
Together with the SixPointTwo team in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, KleinJan and Kautcký went through the process step by step. Specific wishes were formulated during this process. “SixPointTwo wanted to be able to decide during the process whether to outsource an order if this offered a more cost-efficient option and/or if it was a better fit after considering planning and available capacity. The decision is made partly on the basis of the information that the machine sends back”, says KleinJan. How does that work? ”The ERP system communicates the orders the machine will execute. One of the things used for this is the start date and the delivery date of each order. The machine must then return information for each order: How much time will it take to complete the job? Is there enough time, or does the job require too much capacity from the machine? In the latter case, the order will be returned to the ERP system and the order outsourced.”

Nesting
KleinJan noticed the option of integrating outsourcing into the production management process was not being utilised very often. “After internal processing had been chosen in the process, an option to choose outsourcing based on available capacity was still required. This was a challenge, particularly for the programmer. We solved this within the link between ERP and laser cutting machine by including fields within the ERP that state which cutting jobs are already nested in the laser cutting system and which jobs are not. For each of these fields there is a definition about which data must be supplied from the laser cutting machine. This two-way street offers real communication. And it’s necessary for optimal control. As soon as the laser cutting machine has completed a job, the machine returns specific data for a subsequent calculation, such as the duration of the cutting operation and the material consumption.”
Another challenge focused on the exceptions: “What do you do if something goes wrong during the production process, if the order is cancelled, or the order is only partially completed? We also thought about this beforehand”, says KleinJan.

Smooth process
Defining the process was a smooth operation according to Kautcký. “We quickly came to our agreements: we took just two days to decide how we would go about it all. For Trumpf, the challenge was not as great as it was for ECI Bemet. Our first task was to provide documentation about the machine and adequate descriptions of the interfaces.” After completing the programming work at ECI Bemet, the necessary tests were carried out. The link appeared to work from the outset. “SixPointTwo played an important role in achieving this positive result”, says Kautcký. “They had a clear picture of the process and knew exactly what they wanted. You don’t see that often in projects like this.” KleinJan: “They gave us the time to ensure we had good preparation. This enabled us to deliver a great product with Trumpf.”

Will blockchain become the source of truth in the steel market?

Tom Meulendijks: “SteelTrace is changing the supply chain!”

It takes thousands of hours to manually check a product for customer specifications, legal rules and standards. The result is often a PDF document confirming that the product meets all requirements. But do you really want to take a PDF document as a watertight guarantee? Tom Meulendijks, CEO of SteelTrace, spotted an opportunity and room for improvement.

“A few years ago, I worked on a tool for managing these PDF documents for a supplier to the petrochemical industry. At the time, it was assumed that changes could not be made to such documents. And I thought the control process could be properly secured using blockchain technology. This allows you to store all the data about standards, regulations and customer specifications. You can then translate that data into algorithms with which you can check and secure the data.”

Quality assurance is crucial
To achieve his idea, Meulendijks founded SteelTrace in 2017. The company is active in Asia, the United States and Europe. “We focus on the market for the high-end steel used in the (petro)chemical industry.” The quality of the steel and its associated certification is crucial in this market involving vast sums of money. “You can’t tell the difference between good and bad steel just by looking at it. In addition, steel often only arrives at the end user’s location from the factory after travelling through various suppliers.” With paper documents, this is a process that’s wide open to fraud. “Suppose someone buys high-quality steel pipes from a good steel manufacturer. They can then buy cheaper pipes of inferior quality and easily copy the certificate and heat number of the high-quality pipes. They can then use this certificate and send it with the inferior pipes that they resell.”

Platform for transparency and certainty
From steel manufacturer to end user, SteelTrace makes the supply chain transparent. “Our platform has four certainties built into it: real-time structured data, traceability, protection against fraud and automation.”

Real-time structured data: efficiency
Control processes can be slow. “I know of cases where ships were unable to sail because the quality manager was only able to review the paper documents a week after the lab tests, and then a few problems appeared.” When the supply chain works with SteelTrace, things are different. “Control activities take place in one go. Quality managers, labs and inspectors enter the data directly into the platform and sign it digitally in real time. If test values deviate from the specifications and/or standards, this is immediately detected and logged.” Reviewing paper documents is no longer necessary, all platform users can see exactly where the process is at any time.

Traceability: every step is visible
The SteelTrace platform ensures every step is visible. “Who conducted the test? Was the person certified to do that? Was the machine certified and calibrated? Was the inspector authorised to sign? Everything is visible. In addition, all the data is secured with blockchain technology and can always be traced back to the source.” Data can be easily checked via a smartphone. “Every platform user has a secure digital identity to identify them.”

Protection against fraud
The identity of everyone who plays a role in the control process within the supply chain is checked in advance and their powers established. Quantity tracking and transfer of ownership are other built-in protections against fraud. “During sales, certificates are simultaneously transferred with the ownership of products. Certificates are always linked to products. There are always as many certificates as there are checked products within the SteelTrace platform. This removes the financial incentive for fraud.” See the example in the insert for more information.

Unnoticed fraud is not possible
A manufacturer makes 1,000 high-quality steel pipes. They are entered into the SteelTrace database. The 1,000 pipes are certified and checked. Whenever the manufacturer sells a pipe from this set of 1,000, ownership of it passes to the buyer along with the certificate. Suppose someone buys 19 inferior pipes on the black market and one high-quality pipe from the set of 1,000. This person then requests the certificate for the high-quality pipe from within the SteelTrace platform. The step is digitally registered. If they then mark the 19 inferior pipes with the heat number of the high-quality pipe, they’ll have a buyer for each pipe. But before the transfer of each pipe can occur with a certificate, each buyer must request the digital certificate in SteelTrace. Once they do, the 19 buyers will receive a message from SteelTrace informing them that the certificate is no longer in the seller’s possession. They’ll then know that something is wrong.” 

Automation: compliance by design
All the standards, requirements and data supplied by suppliers are automated. As a result, all the control and monitoring processes are automated and the data is immediately available in its entirety. Tests and test values can be checked automatically. Manual, error-prone checks are no longer necessary. Meulendijks: “The result is that customers save tens of thousands of man-hours, which equates to millions of euros. That’s our business case.” But even more savings can be made. “Because the company’s risk profile is improved, the insurance costs go down. A reliable supply chain also pays for itself in incident reduction: there will be less premature perishing of materials. As part of due diligence, assets will be valued higher.” Meulendijks has long since ceased to receive sceptical reactions to the blockchain technology. “Our target group is interested in any secure, digital solution that makes it possible to work even more effectively.”

SteelTrace is changing the supply chain
Meulendijks sees many more applications in the steel market. “We can also make processes and additions to the base steel material transparent and secure. These include welding, forging steel or adding plastic to pipes. We can also make information about the carbon footprint and ESG scores visible.” He also sees another useful application: “Making the country in which the steel operations have been carried out visible. This allows you to demonstrate in which tax bracket your company falls, which means you can avoid excessive tax assessments.” And Meulendijks looks even further ahead: “SteelTrace’s ambition is to become the single source of truth for the entire steel supply chain.”

New style bicycle parking MB Fietsparkeren (bicycle parking)

Maurice Paulssen: “I make products I wouldn’t mind having myself.”

Maurice Paulssen has been developing products all his life. For example, he developed products for the car industry that were sold across the globe. Now he is active in the world of bicycle parking, with the Eindhoven-based company MB Fietsparkeren. Innovation is his passion: “I look at a product and I think: how can I make it better and more beautiful and sell it too!”

Through a relation who rented out bicycle parking spaces for events, he became involved in the creation and installation of bicycle stands in 2009. This gave Paulssen – a keen cyclist in his free time – the idea for better, more user-friendly bicycle parking.

Universal system
“My system is different because it is suitable for every type of bicycle”, says Paulssen. “It works by way of automatic clamps on the front fork. E-bike, normal bike, racing bike, transport bike, or a bike with a crate on the front: every bike is held upright.” This ensures ease of use and orderly bicycle parking. “At bicycle parking locations with traditional wheel stands, you will often see electric bikes and also other bikes parked next to the stand. Why? People are afraid the wheel won’t go in properly and warp the rim. This can never happen with my system.”

Suitable for racked parking
Paulssen patented the system in 2010. All MB Fietsparkeren’s parking locations are based on this system. You can recognise them by the V-clamp with the sloping groove for the wheel. The system is also practical for racked parking where bicycles are placed one above the other. “In conventional bicycle parking, you have to push the bike to the top, which is difficult, the bike becomes heavy. It is much more convenient for the bike to be able to move up and down horizontally. For this purpose, I have devised a lift for multiple racks on top of each other. This just moves up and down. The lift is not suitable for a train station where lots of people come and go at the same time, but it does work well in an apartment complex or company bicycle stands, for example.”

Three systems
MB Fietsparkeren has launched three bicycle stand designs on the market. You can see them all around the Netherlands: at Scheveningen beach, in Groningen at the Hanseatic University of Applied Sciences, and in various Limburg municipalities. You can also see them at several locations in Belgium, such as Aalst city centre. “The bicycle parking systems all work the same way, but are different in design and exterior. The MB ECO is the basic system. The MB BASIC has a more high-end design, with extra sturdy lock fixings. The crème de la crème is offered by our newest bicycle parking system: the MB Wave. This system can be fitted with integrated charging points for electric bicycles,”

Production in the Czech Republic
The stands are made from galvanised steel. MB Fietsparkeren outsources its production. “Drawings and parts lists all get sent to the production partner. I carry out the final inspection of the products supplied.” Experience was gained with various production partners. “We eventually found SixPointTwo. Their head office is close by: in Weert. It makes things easy for the final inspection. The contact is important too. I will get an immediate response to a question, I don’t have to chase it up by phone or e-mail.” Also important – of course – is the quality of the Czech-made products. “Radiuses or weld thicknesses: everything is made exactly in accordance with the drawing. In theory, this should be the case with other partners too, but in reality, there are differences. SixPointTwo just makes very good products.”

Constant innovation
Paulssen expects a lot from an innovation that will soon be launched: infrared sensors. “The idea was awarded the Intertraffic Award in 2014. Now the software is completely ready, and so is the market.” The infrared sensors are placed in the wheel groove. Once a bicycle is parked, a timer is activated. “One person can look at the PC screen and see where each bicycle is, how long it has been there, and when a bicycle is removed. Wardens can take a targeted approach to the issue of abandoned and stray bikes. What’s more, there is a constant overview of the capacity utilisation of the bicycle parking facilities: useful for determining whether they are actually in the right location.” In the event of bicycle theft, camera images can be viewed quickly. In short, very interesting for large companies, student campuses, and local authorities!”