Precise work results have made Huning what it is today. The fact that the company processes the surfaces and cut edges of its workpieces with a sanding machine from WEBER is part of that success.

Huning is one of those medium-sized companies whose performance and innovative strength continue to earn admiration for German industry abroad. The Huning Group stands for high-quality technical solutions for the agricultural sector. To achieve perfectly finished surfaces and cleanly processed edges, Huning relies on a sanding machine from WEBER.

There are few companies that combine ecology and economy – responsible environmental management based on efficient industrial solutions – as consistently as the Huning Group. No wonder, since the company’s story began in 1977 with the founding of HUNING Umwelttechnik.

Today, almost 50 years later, the company headquartered in Melle, Lower Saxony, between Osnabrück and Bielefeld, employs around 330 people. They develop and produce customized complete solutions and services in the fields of environmental technology, mechanical engineering, vehicle construction, and renewable energies such as biogas. Metal processing plays a central role in all of these areas.

 

Practical Technology

The group has divided its diverse solutions for the agricultural sector into six business units. One of their greatest strengths is that each division develops, installs, tests, and continuously improves its own products. The result is technical solutions consistently tailored to the real-world needs of their users.

The six divisions of the group are:

• HUNING Umwelttechnik develops and produces complete systems for the treatment of biological sludges.
• HUNING Anlagenbau offers systems for the storage, conveying, and treatment of sewage sludge and biomass as well as technology for biogas plants.
• BRAND Stirring and Pump Technology produces slurry mixers and pumps, among other things for biogas plants.
• HEITLING Vehicle Construction specializes in silo and tipping bodies and semi-trailers for agricultural vehicles and feed transporters.
• HUNING Motor Technology provides professional engine services for combined heat and power plants driven by sewage gas, natural gas, or biogas.
• HUNING Mechanical Engineering is the group’s classic metalworking division. The mechanical engineers supply components to the other divisions and also operate as contract manufacturers for external customers. Their facilities can handle workpieces up to 2.5 meters wide and 8 meters long, covering all machining methods from cutting and shaping to surface finishing and refinement.

 

Custom Manufacturing and Small Series

“Our mechanical engineering orders come about 30 percent from external customers in the region, while around two-thirds originate from other HUNING divisions,” explains Achim Patz, Head of Laser Technology and Sheet Metal Processing at HUNING Mechanical Engineering. He has been with the company for nearly five decades and has experienced and shaped its development first-hand.

“We manufacture metal parts, for example, for tank structures, special machinery, biogas systems, or sludge processing plants – everything produced by HUNING Anlagenbau, Umwelttechnik, or HEITLING Vehicle Construction.” Typically, these are one-off or small series productions of up to 200–300 units.

While steel used to be a common material, the company now works exclusively with aluminum and stainless steel. “If you process aluminum, stainless steel, and steel on the same machine, you always face the problem of contamination by steel dust, which can cause rust. By sticking to aluminum and stainless steel, we avoid that completely.”

 

Delivering Clean Results

Among the challenges in metal processing are burrs and uneven surfaces. “Aluminum is particularly prone to burr formation. But if you want to deliver clean results – and that’s exactly what we strive for – you need to remove those burrs and ideally refine the surfaces as well.”

Previously, they used a wet sanding machine with coolant water. “Over time, that became too complex, so we started looking for a dry sanding solution,” Patz says. After evaluating several manufacturers, they decided on a WEBER TT 1600.

“Our machine has three units: a roller with sanding belt up front to remove laser burrs and create finish patterns on stainless steel; a central planetary head unit with five heads, each with six tools for edge rounding; and a third station with a Scotch-belted contact roller for smoothing the surface.”

Aluminum and stainless-steel parts up to 1,600 mm wide can be processed with the WEBER machine. Even complex laser-cut parts with holes or cutouts can be deburred, laser reflections removed, and edges rounded – all in one single process. “The parts we produce are usually painted, and paint adhesion is much better on rounded edges,” explains Patz. For stainless steel parts, finish patterns can also be applied on both sides.

 

With Extraction and Filtration System

Patz and his team chose the WEBER machine partly because it can be combined with an extraction and filter system for aluminum dust – for which the machine is certified. “That’s a clear gain in safety, since magnesium content in aluminum dust poses a high fire and explosion risk even in dry processing.”

Patz and his team have now been using the WEBER machine for eleven years. “We’re still extremely satisfied. It’s very reliable – though, of course, that also depends on how well it’s maintained and how carefully it’s operated. I can absolutely vouch for our team’s professionalism in that regard.”

Once the planned new hall is built, Patz adds, they intend to purchase another machine – “at the moment, we simply lack the space.” The decision on which model to choose is still open. “What I really like about WEBER, however, are their automation concepts. I can easily imagine that a machine combined with a robotic handling system could make our work even more efficient.”