Sapa Shape Magazine 1 2008 - Aluminium / Aluminum

Shape

A magazine from the Sapa Group • # 1 2008

SIT IN STYLE DANISH FURNITURE CLASSICS MAKE A COMEBACK

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TALKING TO CUSTOMERS YIELDS SMARTER SOLUTIONS LARS ENGMAN – THE DESIGNER BEHIND IKEA’S TOP SELLERS SOUND-DEADENING PANELS MEAN QUIETER TRAINS NEW WHEELCHAIR A BIG HIT AT PARALYMPICS IN CHINA

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here are hundreds of thousands of aluminium applications out there, but there is potential to develop so many more. Countless products can be made with aluminium, bringing benefits to our customers and their end users. The environment benefits as well, since aluminium is lighter than materials such as steel and other metals, and it breaks down easier, causing less strain on the environment. By combining our knowledge of aluminium with customer knowledge about products, we gain a much larger knowledge base that we can build on together. By interfacing regularly with customers and being involved in product development, we can help customers find the right solutions for their products and solve customer problems. This is why Customer Value Management (CVM), which delivers superior value to customers and gets an equitable return on the value delivered, is an essential part of the way we work at Sapa. We combine the value chain of aluminium with the final product, using aluminium where it is best suited. Working together with customers and building up our combined competence enables our customers to have the very best products on the market. The value of the total solution is shared between Sapa and the customer so both parties benefit. Take for instance Sapa’s long-time customer Seldén. Together, the two companies invested in developing a seamless boat mast. This not only gave Seldén an edge on the yachting market, but provided Sapa with a complete mast portfolio. And then there’s the solution we designed for the Plantagen plant store. You might wonder where aluminium fits in among flowers. An observant Sapa engineer noticed how staff at Plantagen struggled with heavy metal trolleys laden with plants, and he created a prototype for the store that was not only lighter, but cheaper. We recently opened five new Innovation and Application Centres to work with such product development. They are located in Vetlanda, Sweden, Portland, the United States, Navarra, Spain, Lodz, Poland, and Bolzano, Italy. Customers from around the world are welcome to come to these centres and learn more about aluminium and how it can benefit their products. We work on developing new products every day, and by matching customer product knowledge with our aluminium application knowledge, we have a winning combination.

CONTENTS #1

Winning solutions

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a high-tech wheelchair from the Canadian company Cervélo saw the light of day at the paralympic games in China. the innovative design is the work of two top sportsmen, both of whom have experience as wheelchair users.

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“i believe more people would like to work with aluminium, but their imagination fails them,” says lars Engman, a design consultant and former design manager for ikEa.

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the most affordable car in the world, the tata Nano, is intended to give india’s population an alternative to the motorcycle. Sapa heat transfer in Shanghai supplies the heat exchanger strip, among other items. Sl is using sound-deadening panels on locomotives and carriages to improve conditions for people living near the roslagsbanan line.

Shape

A magazine from the Sapa Group • # 1 2008

SIT IN STYLE DANISH FURNITURE CLASSICS MAKE A COMEBACK

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Ole enger, President and CeO Sapa

Building a successful partnership with a customer is not something that happens overnight. the goal is to find a unique solution to the customer’s unique problems, believes Jan-Evert Johansson, sales director at Sapa profiler.

TALKING TO CUSTOMERS YIELDS SMARTER SOLUTIONS LARS ENGMAN – THE DESIGNER BEHIND IKEA’S TOP SELLERS SOUND-DEADENING PANELS MEAN QUIETER TRAINS NEW WHEELCHAIR A BIG HIT AT PARALYMPICS IN CHINA

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Sapa is an international business group that develops, manufactures and markets value added aluminium profiles, profile based components and systems and heat exchanger strips in aluminium. Sapa has annual sales of approximately EUR 3.8 billion and roughly 17,000 employees in companies throughout Europe, and in North Amercia, Central America and China. Shape is the Sapa Group’s customer magazine, and is issued twice annually in 14 languages. Shape is also available at www.sapagroup.com

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Editor-in-Chief: Eva Ekselius Editor: anna-lena ahlberg Graphic design: karin löwencrantz Production: otW publishing Printing: Strokirk-landströms, lidköping Changes of address: Customers should inform their contact person at Sapa, employees their salary department and others the Communications Department on +46 (0) 8 459 59 00.

Shaping the future

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INSIGHT: CVM A long development process lies behind the shaped profiles for Kabe, which builds caravans and motorhomes.

the CUSTOMER nEXT DOOR

Sapa has developed a unique aluminium profile in collaboration with Kabe. Now the companies are jointly developing new profiles for a variety of applications. “The biggest benefit is the networks we have formed with each other,” says Pierre Thuresson. # 1 2008 SHAPE • 

INSIGHT: CVM

Daniel Fröberg (left) and Pierre Thuresson, with aluminium profiles for caravans.

the aluminium profile that joins the roof and sides of Kabe’s motorhomes and caravans doesn’t appear all that remarkable. Nevertheless, a great deal of complex work has gone into its design and function. Pierre Thuresson, from sales at Sapa Profiler, explains the background. “We’ve been supplying profiles to Kabe for six or seven years now and we developed this profile together with them. The big challenge was to bend the profiles successfully, as the radius is close to the limits of the material.” AT FIRST GLANCE

of trial and error followed, during which many shaped profiles had to be scrapped before a solution was found. “The project for Kabe has grown in volume, as well as being extended to other aluminium profiles. Caravans previously used large amounts of plastics, which are now being replaced with aluminium,” explains Pierre Thuresson. The partnership with Kabe has likewise led to more aluminium profiles being used in their motorhomes. In this case the roof rails are made from two joined profiles – one that is purely functional, which is then capped with a pair of anodised profiles that clip together to give the roof rail an attractive finish. “Again, this profile was developed in close consultation with the customer. We have a large network of contacts in Kabe and vice versa, which facilitates development work and communication.” Another factor that has simplified collaboration is the geographical closeness – Sapa is based in Vetlanda just 60 kilometres from Kabe in Tenhult. “Being so close to each other has certainly not been a drawback,” says Pierre Thuresson with a laugh. A CLASSIC PROCESS

TEXT DAG ENANDER photos MAGNUS GLANS

 SHAPE • # 1 2008

Lars Gustafsson

Jan-Evert Johansson

Per Owe Isacson

“Working closely with customers is our winning formula” Sapa has been working closely with its customers for 0 years – and this will become increasingly important in the future. “Half of our turnover can be put down to close collaboration with customers,” says Jan-Evert Johansson, sales director at Sapa Profiler. SO WhAT dOES customer value management actu-

ally mean? And how can other parts of the Sapa Group become as successful as Sapa Profiler – Sapa Company of the Year 2008 – by collaborating with customers? “Shape” brought together Jan-Evert Johansson, Lars Gustafsson, acting sales director, and Per Owe Isacson, sales manager for the South Region. Here are their thoughts and ideas. “In actual fact Sapa has been working closely with customers and focusing on customer value since the early 1960s, it’s just that we’ve never given it a name before. It’s only in recent years that we’ve started talking about Customer Value Management, cvm, says Per Owe Isacson. JanEvert Johansson agrees: “We’ve been working on creating added value for our customers for a long time. This process is well established within our organisation. We’ve conducted customer surveys to find out what our customers really think about us and we’ve worked to make improvements in areas where we have not been living up to customers’ expectations. Our customers know that we understand what customer value means in practice. Our customers focus on their products, and we help them to improve the design and costeffectiveness by finding smart solutions based on aluminium profiles. We have the knowledge and resources to understand the customer’s value chain, their products and their business as a whole. After a while, working closely with customers becomes a self-perpetuating process, which explains why our market growth is so good.” “Other companies in the Group make roughly 10 per cent of their turnover from added value, while Sapa Profiler makes closer to 50 per cent. That explains why we won the award for Company of the Year,” adds Lars Gustafsson. How do you build a close and successful relationship with customers? According to Jan-

Evert Johansson it is not something that happens overnight. “It’s about helping the customer throughout the process, and being flexible. The goal is to find a unique solution to the customer’s unique problems.” “Just look at Kabe,” says Lars Gustafsson. “This is clearly an example of a successful partnership with the customer. Now we are looking at ways of using the experience we have gained from that project with other manufacturers of caravans and motorhomes. Getting to know the industry and the needs of potential customers through other customers can be an advantage. Copying products between customers is of course out of the question, you would suffer the consequences immediately.” ThIS IS ONE REASON why development work at Sapa’s

Innovation Centres will be carried out in strict confidentiality. The centres will play a vital part in customer collaboration, by bringing know-how and manufacturing resources together under the same roof. “Our Innovation Centres will also allow us to share our collective knowledge in areas such as profile construction and design with our sister companies in the Group, and thus help to strengthen and deepen customers relations in every company in the Sapa Group,” says Per Owe Isacson. So the basic idea behind Customer Value Management is really quite simple. Lars Gustafsson has the formula: “Start by improving the customer’s existing aluminium products, and then take a look at how other materials can be replaced with aluminium.” TEXT DAG ENANDER phoTos MAGNUS GLANS

footNote: In September Sapa Profiler was voted as the Group’s Company of the Year, partly thanks to its work on Customer Value Management. # 1 2008 SHAPE • 5

INSIGHT: CVM

The new Innovation Centre in Vetlanda will open in spring.

Know-how and collaboration under one roof In order to grow you need to keep on innovating and shortening the time between product conception and launch. Sapa’s new Innovation Centre will provide a global forum for collaboration between the Group’s companies and its customers.

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ork is well underway on the 6,500square-metre industrial site in Vetlanda. This is not intended as a flagship building, but the modern exposed aluminium structure of the interior and exterior will leave no one in doubt that this is a development at the cutting edge of the industry. Sapa’s Innovation Centre will open its doors in spring and symbolically combine the company’s expertise in aluminium with its customers’ industrial know-how. “The building itself will convey the message that Sapa is a creative and innovative company,” says Christer Thorn, formerly plant manager for Sapa’s press plant in Finspång, and now the first manager of the development centre. The new centre will house premises for technical services, prototype building and training. Customers from all over the world will be given the chance to carry out their own development  SHAPE • # 1 2008

work, on location and under the strictest confidentiality, alongside Sapa’s specialists. Engineers from any Sapa company will be able to gather or share expertise in aluminium, profiles, engineering and design, structural calculation, prototype manufacture, machining, logistics, sampling and testing. “We are very strong technically, and our development centre will provide an excellent tool for spreading knowledge within the Group, as well as beyond it, through collaboration with our customers’ product developers, designers and production engineers,” says Thorn, adding that the centre in Vetlanda will hopefully be followed by others in the United States, Asia and Europe. largely built on our close collaboration with customers. A large share of our turnover comes from the fact that we are “SAPA’S SUCCESS is

actively involved in the design stage. We are now focusing on increasing this added value. We hope that the centre will help us shorten the time between idea and product launch.” Sapa has invested eur 3 million in its first customer centre, located close to one of the company’s plants in Sweden. Around fifty employees will work there permanently to support the work of the innovation centre, but it is expected that a steady stream of colleagues and customers from every part of the Group will carry out work there occasionally. “My vision is that the centre should help the Sapa Group to become a company that sells technical solutions in the form of machined components much more widely than at present.” says Thorn. “Our task now is to draw up plans of action that will make that vision a reality.” Text Erico Oller Westerberg

BRIEF NOTICES

Hunting for the perfect game >

Rugged outdoor activities test the reliability, quality, and the strength of the gear beyond average everyday use. In order to meet the needs of Alaska Range Outdoor Gear, Sapa Profiles, Inc. in Portland, Oregon, developed backpack frames built to be comfortable, stable and durable while packing heavy loads. Alaska Range Outdoor Gear contacted Sapa for a professionally manufactured backpack frame. From a simple 2D drawing, Sapa’s in-house sales engineers, product development and design teams worked together and within a few short weeks had a prototype ready for review. The result was a hand-welded 6061 aluminum alloy frame that was solution heat treated to increase its strength and survive strenuous wear and tear. Most impressive, the final product weighted less than 1 kilogram, which was over 65 percent lighter than the original steel metal alternative.

Did you know that ... increasing the use of aluminium in vehicles can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent. Source: The Aluminum Association

Sapa TeleCom changes name

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Sapa Thermal Management is the new and more appropriate name for the Sapa TeleCom business segment. In recent years Sapa TeleCom has mainly provided solutions for managing or removing undesirable heat generated by electronic systems. Its first order came from Ericsson in 2000. Since then the business area’s experience and expertise in thermal management has continued to grow. Big customers at present include Nokia, Siemens, Nortel, Andrew and General Electric. Turnover from thermal management is around EUR 25 million. Almost 80 percent of the operations of Sapa Profiles Shanghai relate to the processing of profiles for cooling systems, and China is also an attractive future market for the business area. Under the new name Sapa will be able to market its products to companies in new sectors including the power industry, wind power and consumer electronics.

Clean machines >

The Jensen Group is a company with a global lead in providing machine solutions for the laundry industry. Jensen Sweden manufactures the conveyor systems that are used to sort laundry. “Our task is garment finishing, in other words conveying garments from the machines and sorting them so that each company gets the right laundry; placing garments on hangers and passing them through a steam finisher,” says Tore Johansson, vice president of Jensen Sweden. The company has developed a transport system known as Metricon for finishing garments after they have been washed. Sapa was responsible for refining the design of the long aluminium profiles for the system. The profiles in turn contain a plastic profile on which runs a chain carrying small pegs that drive the garments along. “We chose to use aluminium because it is a lightweight material that is easy to cut and bend as needed. In the laundry environment we also need durable materials that will resist moisture and corrosion,” says Johansson.

Cargo rail shows the way

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In April, Volvo and Sapa Automotive won first prize in the Power of Aluminium Awards in the category Transport & Cars. The product that won the award was a cargo rail made from aluminium. The jury was impressed by the clever use of aluminium and the design of the rail, which made the product both flexible and practical. Power of Aluminium is an umbrella organisation that works to market aluminium globally, read more at www.powerofaluminium.com.

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CUTTING EdGE

Jeff Adams with the new wheelchair at the 2008 paralympics in China.

BUilt fOR SpeeD MADE TO MEASURE

Two top athletes who refused to be limited by their wheelchairs set out to rethink what a wheelchair can do. Several prototypes and eight patents later, what could be the fastest and most user-friendly high-tech wheelchair stood on the starting line at the 2008 Paralympics. 8 SHAPE • # 1 2008

Jeff Adams and Christian Bagg are Canadian com-

petitive athletes. Adams is a three-time Olympian and five-time Paralympian medallist in 1,500metre wheelchair racing. Bagg was a semi-professional mountain biker and big-air snowboarder before an injury during a competition left him in a wheelchair. Both men are visionaries. The two are driven to help empower fellow wheelchair users by improving wheelchair design. They have found that many people use wheelchairs that are too big for them. The high purchase price, around 4,000 u.s. dollars, means wheelchairs are not replaced often. Many are bought too large with the idea that users will “grow into them”. Adams and Bagg design wheelchairs that employ components, allowing their users to personalise them to fit current needs. The users can later buy additional components such as seats or backrests to match future requirements, without having to buy a new wheelchair. “The concept for this wheelchair, which is an everyday wheelchair, comes from sport,” Adams says. “The way we see it, life is a competition and you owe it to yourself to have your best competition every day.” Adams and Bagg had worked on some prototype examples of the everyday and racing wheelchairs. They took the designs to Phil White and Gerard Vroomen, cofounders of Cervélo Cycles, one of the world’s top bicycle manufacturers. Bagg, a machinist by trade, saw the possibilities

of using bicycle technology to improve wheelchair design. “We spoke with Cervélo Cycles about our hope of using existing technology from the bicycle industry to develop innovations that were not previously available in the wheelchair market,” he says. Cervélo Cycles agreed to form a partnership with Adams and Bagg and work with them to bring their wheelchair design to market. “For us, a wheelchair is just a sideways bicycle,” Adams says. “So by partnering with one of the best bicycle manufacturers in the world, we figured we could get one step closer to designing a product that would make the most of technology and expertise and have the most potential to improve the user’s quality of life.” Cervélo suggested that the two entrepreneurs talk to Sapa Profiles Inc. in Portland, Oregon, about manufacturing their wheelchair product. If the wheelchair frame was to be made from welded

aluminium profiles, Cervélo said, Sapa Profiles Inc. was the obvious choice for production. Adams and Bagg travelled to Sapa in Portland to meet Ray Goody, product manager assemblies, and visit the Sapa factories. “I’ll never forget that first visit to Sapa,” Bagg says. “Jeff and I were looking at all the multimillion-dollar equipment that Sapa had, and we couldn’t believe that they would be interested in doing business with us. Our project is on such a small scale compared to other things they are working on.” “But Ray Goody told us that Sapa welcomes all types of projects, and that our project adds value to their company,” he says. “I have a manufacturing background, but in working with Sapa I didn’t have to try and control all the processes, which would probably be the case if we were working with other manufacturers.” Cervélo supplied Sapa with the complete design

print production drawings, with tolerances and manufacture notes. “The wheelchair that the company has designed is really a unique product,” Goody says. “There are multiple adjustments for comfort, and the frame design utilises mountain bike suspension technology.” “Sapa was able to offer suggestions on how different forming aspects could make the design look even more cutting-edge. We made use of a past production process that worked excellently for this application.” In addition, Sapa was able to use many of its

standard manufacturing methods so that the production work could be done in-house, using existing machinery, dedicated cell manufacturing and their highly skilled group of aluminium “tig” welders. Aluminium can become very soft when exposed to

high temperatures during welding, but Sapa has a method to make the aluminium frames sturdy and durable. “We were able to use solutions from our diverse operations, such as using aircraft-certified heat treatments on the welded aluminium that will ensure that the wheelchair frames will be as sturdy after welding as they were before,” Goody says. Marvel by Cervélo was launched in time for the 2008 Paralympic Games in China. The company sponsored the Canadian Paralympic team and donated a wheelchair to each wheelchair-using competitor. “The launch of the regular wheelchairs went great. Competitors from all over the world sought me out in the Olympic village just to have a look at the wheelchair. They were impressed by the quality, and now we have a heap of orders waiting,” says Jeff Adams. Things didn’t go quite so well on the track, however. “I was involved in a crash in the 1500-metre heats and was disqualified. That’s the way competition goes.” TEXT Tsemaye Opubor Hambraeus

Colin Beggs works on a prototype racing chair from Marvel by Cervélo. # 1 2008 SHAPE • 

PROFILE

“I believe more people would like to work with aluminium, but their imagination fails them” Lars Engman sitting in the Klippan sofa he designed for IKEA.

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Lars Engman Lars Engman is a design consultant who knows the furniture industry inside out. More than ten years as international design manager with IKEA have given him a broad view of the industry and an enviable list of contacts. Now he is selling his house in Älmhult, home of IKEA, and setting his sights on Portugal. a clear trend among Swedish design students. They have become glued to their computers and are scared to get their hands dirty. But that’s exactly what you have to do to become a good designer. You have to get out there and talk to the engineers,” says Lars Engman. His own career started with an apprenticeship, until he was snapped up by the Consumer Co-operative Society kf while working for a firm of architects. After thirty years with ikea, the last ten of which were as international design manager, he knows most of the big names in the industry and talks about them like a proud father. He himself came from a design generation that wrote its own piece of contemporary his­ tory, which could be summed up as follows: 1968, left wing, spirited and revolutionary. Bourgeois sophistication was out, and in its place was functionalism and clearly formulated political goals. Scandinavia gave birth to the Tiogruppen tex“I SEE

tile design group, the fashion producers Mah Jong and the textile company Marimekko. The Consumer Co-operative Society kf had a key influence on design, and that was where Engman found himself, alongside other current big names in the Swedish design world. Ever since then Engman has enjoyed working collectively. “I was always a little revolutionary, although often it’s like banging your head against a brick wall. Most organisations are resistant to change. But I like skating on thin ice just to see if it will hold,” he says. Niels Gammelgaard from Denmark he talked himself into starting up Studio Copenhagen in 1988, and they brought in new designers to work for ikea. He explains that the idea did not go down all that well with the company’s in-house design department. “But it was the most enjoyable time I’ve had,” says Engman. TOGETHER WITH

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Five favourites in aluminium 1. 1006. Chair designed for the U.S Navy in 1944. Designed to withstand torpedo attacks. 2. Ikea’s Stolmen storage system by Ehlén Johansson, with profiles from Sapa. If the storage system had been made from steel tube, customers would have needed a crane to take it home. 3. Ikea’s Korrekt letter rack by Karl Malmvall. For clever use of materials. 4.Sting chair from Blå Station, by Stefan Borelius and Fredrik Mattsson, 1993, made from Sapa profiles. It is a little cold to sit on, but I think it’s also available with a cushion. 5. Toledo chair, Jorge Pensi, Spain,1986.

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Even though the ice sometimes did give way. “Niels Gammelgaard and I wanted to design the world’s best tv armchair, and spent some time with Volvo and Saab studying ergonomics. We chose cold foam for the upholstery. It was quite an expensive material at the time, and we sold 20 of them. That was all. Most of them went to Norway. In the end they sold them off cheap or gave them away,” he says. His portfolio of work does not include any aluminium products, however.

Lars Engman in brief

Born: 1945. Family: Partner and two grown-up children from a previous marriage. One step-child. Job: Design manager for Ikea, 1996–2006, rector of School of Design and Crafts at the University of Gothenburg 2006–2007, own company since 2007.

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Aluminium is largely associated with hightech equipment and the packaging industry, or with catering and camping, or even the us design duo Eames and their chairs. It is a material that has become closely linked with technology and modernism, and it is difficult to break that association. It has quite simply become pigeon-holed. Engman believes that the association with technology can be traced back to the sixties and electronic products from Braun. Their designer, Dieter Rahms, was a great devotee of aluminium. more contemporary example. “Just look at the iPod Nano. The shape is familiar. It was used for mini-calculators in the sixties. Then there’s the arrowed navigation wheel; the design language comes straight from the Bauhaus school. It’s part of our heritage in the western world; that’s why it’s so popular.” The café we are sitting in is right next to the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg. The design museum has an interior that is satisfyingly undesigned and nicotine-stained despite the fact that smoking was banned a couple of years ago. Engman fingers a tea candle holder made from aluminium and comments that it is hardly an example of good design. “Most of them probably end up in the bin. Nobody bothers to recycle them. But they’ve probably not found a better material. It obviAPPLE IS ANOTHER,

ously has to be non-flammable,” he says. One of his long-standing design dreams centres on a Swedish materials archive. There is an example in New York. Material Connection gives designers, engineers and others in the industry the opportunity to borrow samples of materials or simply satisfy their urge to touch and feel them. There are no plans to build a Swedish equivalent yet, however. “I believe more people would like to work with aluminium, but their imagination fails them.” He would like to see training initiatives for design students, who he feels are too scared of anything that cannot be manipulated from the keyboard. “At the big design companies you never hear anyone say ‘listen, how about we work with aluminium for a change’. It’s important to work with the engineers. Aluminium is a material that has an aesthetically pleasing surface. It feels special; it has the feel of quality when you touch it. You can feel that it is a metal.” is working on a Portuguese design initiative. He has no Swedish commissions on his desk. “No one has asked me, and I don’t go asking for work. I’ve probably been a little spoiled,” he says. From his own portfolio there is one piece that sells exceptionally well. The Klippan sofa and RIGHT NOW Engman

PROFILE 5

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accessories from ikea take an annual turnover of around eur 100 million. It was developed from the Fjällmon sofa designed by Noboru Nakamura in the seventies and made from pine and sewn leather patches. Engman asked Nakamura if it was ok and then adapted the design. Engman actually refers to him as Naka, rather than Nakamura. “My former wife and I had two expensive Italian sofas at home, one in white, and the other in white with broad yellow stripes. Together they cost as much as a car. Our children did as they pleased on them. They played and spilled juice, and within three months the sofas were ruined. I thought there has to be a way of making a decent sofa with removable covers that can be washed at home, so I designed Klippan,” says Lars Engman. a handwritten letter from ikea’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad. It was after the launch of the Poäng armchair. Mr ikea felt that the design was too sophisticated and too expensive. Engman wrote back. Clearly he made his point, and Poäng became a success. “After that I was given a relatively free hand,” laughs Engman. The first time someone asked him if he wanted to be design manager for ikea he said no thank you. He was enjoying himself too much at Studio Copenhagen. The next time he HE ONCE RECEIVED

couldn’t refuse, even though it meant that the studio had to close. “Creative companies should have a limited lifespan,” he says. Two years ago he was made rector of the School of Design and Crafts at the University of Gothenburg. After a year he had had enough. He says himself that he has spent too long in industry. “The academic world is too hidebound; there’s too much paperwork.” Now he works for himself, lecturing in design strategy and brand building – at least until someone asks him to do something else. He is now based outside Gothenburg. Engman has served his time with the furniture industry. Text Emma Olsson PhOTOs STEFAN IDEBERG

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On the road

An affordable, fuel-sipping “people’s car” from India could revolutionise the automotive world as global carmakers take a closer look at the lower priced end of the market.

A second with Nano HUMVEE, ANYONE? Not likely. This gas-guzzling

military crossover, along with a fleet of oncepopular suv models, is likely to see its 20th century market appeal vanish, consigned to the dustbin of history by skyrocketing oil prices, a u-turn in the world economy and a growing realisation that “good things come in small packages.” If so, Detroit and the world automotive industry will be downshifting not only their companies but also their cars. A report published at the start of the year in Time magazine projected a 65-percent increase in worldwide sales of minicars between 2002 and 2012, to 38 million vehicles. The Nano, a low-priced car planned by India’s

Tata Motors, not only sent Motor City executives racing back to the drawing board, it also brought the idea of emerging markets from the rearview mirror into the fast lane. Dubbed the “people’s car,” the Nano is really more a hybrid motorcycle married to the current minicar – a bridge for three-wheeling Indian families. Priced at 100,000 rupees (2,500 usd), the Nano might not make a dent in the u.s. market or scratch the surface of the newly rich urban Chinese, who see a big car as a sign of a big bank account, but it has caused well-established automotive companies to reevaluate the lower-priced end of the market.

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While automotive executives around the world vent their frustration over the loss of big profit margins built into big cars, Sapa Heat Transfer has moved into position to provide Tata Toyo Radiator Ltd, the largest cooling system supplier in India, with clad strips for the Nano’s heat exchangers and broad cooperation on multiple projects. “Sapa is in line with the other suppliers we buy from, but the rise of the Chinese yuan against the u.s. dollar (It was pegged to the usd until 2005) has been causing some problems,” says Rajendra Shete, Tata Toyo’s purchasing manager. “Also, Sapa Heat Transfer is facing stiff competition from Japanese suppliers in regard to quality.” Sapa Heat Transfer has been a supplier to Tata Toyo since the late 1990s and has gradually increased its supply role since 2006. Today it supplies more than 2,500 tonnes of clad strips for heat exchangers annually and is under contract until 2011. Sapa Heat Transfer Shanghai has already geared

up to provide logistics solutions and technical competence in Mumbai, India. It has had a technical engineer on site since October 2007 and plans to have a warehouse in the near future. Tata Toyo is an important long-term Sapa

customer in the subcontinent. Thomas Ren, export sales manager at Sapa Heat Transfer, says, “This cooperation is of special interest for us not only to see that we can participate in a lower-priced car project for Tata but also to see that we can maintain satisfactory business targets.” The right price and consistent quality are benchmarks for any purchasing manager as Chinese suppliers grapple with inflation, raw material shortfalls and a rising currency. Partnering with factories, introducing international practices in factory layout to increase efficiencies, reducing waste and maintaining viable profit margins are the keys to success. Text Kurt Braybrook

A car for the minimalist The Nano is equipped with a 624cc two-cylinder petrol engine that gets 100 kilometres on five litres of petrol. A four-speed manual transmission provides a top speed of 105 km/h and accelerates the car from 0 to 70 km/h in 14 seconds. The standard four-door model has wind-up windows and comes without a radio.

The more than five metre long profiles above the Art Institute were a challenge to produce.

Chicago’s flying carpet A world-class art museum in America turns to Germany, Italy and Belgium for expertise in fitting out its new, modern wing. It was Sapa RC Profiles in Belgium that produced the unusual aluminium arch profiles.

Germany’s Josef Gartner GmbH had plenty of expe-

rience when it came to building a project for the Art Institute of Chicago. The company has been producing and installing curtain walls for 140 years, mainly for large buildings. “Sealing the new, modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago was a complex task,” says Klaus Lother, ceo of Josef Gartner. “But that’s the kind of job for us. We specialise in tailor-made work, using materials such as aluminium, steel and glass, as well as copper and bronze.” “When it comes to production and construction of curtain walls, we don’t go for standard solutions,” Lother says. The company’s designers and engineers take the requirements of the customer and the architect and come up with an appropriate technical solution. “The modern wing of the Art Institute was a challenge because of the different types of curtain walls, the combination of designs and the different materials,” Lother says. “But it was a challenge that suited our expertise perfectly.” Josef Gartner GmbH teamed up with Renzo Piano, the well known Italian architect whose projects include the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Josef Gartner had worked with Piano for a library in New York and the California Academy of Sciences. “Piano comes up with the design and

makes the drawings, which we then take as a basis for developing our technical solution,” Lother says. Sometimes the design poses unusual challenges, as in the case of the “flying carpet” above the Art Institute of Chicago. Its construction required aluminium arch profiles half a metre across and more than five metres long. Extreme precision was crucial for keeping the flying carpet perfectly smooth and streamlined. Any imperfection would be immediately apparent and would affect the light-regulating effect of the upper roof. “We have done extrusion work in the past, and I know how difficult it is to produce arch profiles with these dimensions,” Lother says. “The profiles must not deform after extrusion or during the painting process and further treatment.” After the requirements for the arch profiles were

known, Josef Gartner consulted possible partners and settled on Sapa rc Profiles in Belgium. “We have worked with them before, and know them to be exceptionally reliable and professional. Sapa rc Profiles produced the aluminium sections and also carried out the fabrication and surface treatment,” Lother says. “There was no deformation when they were painted after extrusion, so the flying carpet appears perfectly smooth and homogeneous.” # 1 2008 SHAPE • 15

The tourism business in Toledo, Spain, has now become an attraction in its own right. The outline of a new tourist information centre that combines bold lines with large expanses of glass has added another landmark to the city.

HISTORY WITH A FUTURISTIC SHEEN 16 SHAPE • # 1 2008

a touch misleading to call Toledo a medieval city. Located 70 kilometres south of Madrid and with a population of 80,000, the city’s occupation by the Romans and Visigoths give it great historical interest. Its closeness to the capital has also given Toledo a boost and an influx of new residents. But although the cultural legacy of Toledo makes it a world heritage city this is largely due IT WOULD BE

Marketing director Félix Matey is more than pleased with Toletum: “The view of the city from here and the way the lightfloods in are truly impressive. It takes your breath away when you see it.”

to the well-preserved medieval city behind the impressive city walls. Mass tourism and narrow medieval streets just don’t go well together. Because of this the authorities wanted to create a solution that would relieve the pressure on the city’s overloaded street network, without turning tourists away at the same time. The idea was simple: to attract visitors to a modern and convenient centre outside the city by providing generous space for parking. At the same time they would offer transport into the city in the form of shuttle buses, combined with guided tours. Toletum’s virtual tours of the city allow visitors to get an idea of what they can expect when they visit the historic heart of the city. will help to make the new centre a natural meeting place. Restaurants and souvenir shops will round off the experience in a complex that covers a total EXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCES

area of 8,000 square metres. Toletum, which opened in December last year, is intended to be the new gateway to the city and is therefore sited so that it offers breathtaking views over the city. “We’re naturally very proud to be involved in Toletum, a project that has become symbolic for the city,” says Leopoldo Jerez Bautista, ceo of the company with the same name. His company erected the glass facade and the aluminium structure, including 1,100 square metres of Sapa’s mc60 facade system, which gives the building its distinctive look. “Its futuristic architecture stands out and shows off our contribution to superb effect,” he says. Glass facades have become a familiar element

of contemporary Spanish urban development, but in the case of Toledo it stands in bold contrast to the city walls and the medieval buildings in the background. Businessman Jerez Bautista has found a secure niche erecting glass facades at a time when the rest of the private building sector in Spain is experiencing a slowdown. used a lot, mainly on public buildings, and that market hasn’t suffered. We have another big project here in Toledo on the main campus for the university of Juan Carlos i, where we are using glass facades in a very sophisticated way. When we start a project we generally get a lot of valuable technical assistance from Sapa and their distributor, Disistal. It’s a proven product and the technology is well established, but we go through the entire project together before we start working,” says Jerez Bautista. “GLASS FACADES are

Text Erico Oller Westerberg

# 1 2008 SHAPE • 17

BRIEF NOTICES

Durable fencing withstands weather

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Mobile walls for flexible offices

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Dirtt (Do it right this time) is a company that produces flexible wall modules. The modules can be built from floor to ceiling, and combined precisely as the customer wishes. The modules are designed to work like Lego and can be freely combined with each other. Components can also be dismantled and reassembled as often as required. “Because we’re working with parts for interiors, where all the profiles are on show, it’s important that we supply high-quality products. The modules must have a first-class surface finish and be in perfect condition when delivered. We have a good quality system that ensures the aluminium profiles are handled carefully throughout the manufacturing process and right through to delivery to the customer’s factory, around 1700 kilometres from our plant in Portland, ” says Randy Johnson, marketing manager at Sapa Profiles in Portland, Oregon. “Dirtt’s sales have grown from zero to more than EUR 1.5 million in just over eight months, confirming that we are meeting their high quality demands,” says Johnson.

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When Southern Fence in Arkansas recently began looking for fencing material they turned their back on wood, steel and PVC, and chose aluminium instead. “Because these fences are destined for Louisiana it was important to choose a material that would withstand harsh weather conditions. The region is also very humid, and that makes aluminium unbeatable, since you can forget about rust,” explains Bobby Thompson, marketing manager for Sapa Fabricated Products in Magnolia. Almost every component of the fencing is made from aluminium profiles, which offers many benefits. “Yes, it’s a material that is light and very durable at the same time. Thanks to the low weight the company saves a lot of expense on freight. The fencing is also finished in coal black, which matches well with traditional forged steel. We’ve been able to offer a good, environmentally friendly product,” says Thompson. The collection includes fencing with glass panels instead of railings, railings for stairways, balcony railings and ranch-style fencing.

63

percent of aluminium cans around the world are recycled. Source: International Aluminium Institute

New on the shelf >

Finnish company Profile Vehicle, which builds ambulances and small buses, recently needed to find a new way to build baggage shelves. “The shelves were originally made from a hazardous fibre glass material that was banned by the EU. The customer was forced to redesign the shelves,” reports Taavi Saksen, sales engineer for Sapa Profiilid in Estonia. Two versions of shelf were produced, one a basic design, and the other designed to house loudspeakers and air conditioning. A partner company also fits the shelves with conduits for LED lighting.

dESIGN The Eve aluminium bracelet was awarded the swedish Design s Award 2008 for “sensual and feminine high-tech”.

Eve The Eve aluminium bracelet is the first piece of jewellery created by the architectural trio of claesson Koivisto Rune. Without Sapa, it would not have been possible. The aluminium company has now become a fashion supplier and Eve is ready for the world. PASCALE COTTARd OLSSON runs a design gallery in

Stockholm. She is a small-scale design producer and friend of the architecture and design trio that consists of Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune. When they decided to work together she had been talking about it for several years. “It’s only now that we have sufficient customers that pay well. We’ve mostly worked with artists and been short-handed,” says Koivisto. In preparation for Stockholm Furniture Fair 2008 Cottard Olsson set aside space in her gallery and gave the trio a free hand. They decided to create a piece of jewellery. “We wanted to do something that wasn’t practical,” says Koivisto. The decision to use aluminium was not a foregone conclusion. But the three architects have worked with the material before, particularly on the Pergola series of tables for Iren Uffici in Italy.

“When something is squeezed out like toothpaste in this way it creates intriguing internal spaces,” says Koivisto. ThE RESULT WAS the Eve bracelet, made from

Swedish design was the chosen means of rebranding the nation as young and cool. The trio have worked with many of the big names, producing furniture and product designs for companies such as Boffi, Iittala, David Design and Cappellini. They designed the Sfera Building, a cultural centre in Kyoto, and the interior of the Swedish ambassador’s residence in Berlin. “Being able to exhibit their work in my gallery was a dream that I’ve realised at last. I knew they would be big and this is something I’ve wanted to do for ten years,” says Cottard Olsson.

aluminium profiles. The interior shape of Eve fits the shape of the wrist. To get a standard size that fits most women the architects went out and measured the wrists of passers-by and female staff. The shape of the bracelet was determined by the measurements they took from around twenty women. The design was governed more by this data than by styling decisions. When the profile for the bracelet leaves the extruder there is still a lot of work to do. The aluminium profile is sliced at an angle to create an end product in thirty different versions and different thicknesses. It is then tumbled and coloured by anodising. “I think it’s wonderful that it Creation of Eve can be recycled. It’s handy The Eve bracelet was if you get dumped by the exhibited in Stockholm in spring. person who gave you the The title of the exhibition, bracelet,” says “creation of Eve” Koivisto. was borrowed from Michelangelo’s Claesson “creation of Adam”, Koivisto a painting with iconic status. Rune The bracelet can be bought made from Pascale cottard Olsson their and from museums around the world name in that sell her collection. the 1990s The CKR design trio when

TExT EMMA OLSSON PHOTO MAGNUS GLANS

# 1 2008 SHAPE • 1

TRAINS DRESS TO KILL NOISE

Effective noise deadening is appealing for several reasons. For example, it opens up the possibility of using more land alongside the railway line, according to Klaus Knudsen, project manager for Caran. 20 SHAPE • # 1 2008

TOdaY’S TECHNOLOGY

The Stockholm intercity (SL) trains on the Roslagsbanan line make too much noise, according to a ruling by the Environmental court following complaints from residents who live nearby. Trials are now being carried out on a train that has been modified to reduce the noise at source – by means of sound-deadening aluminium skirts fitted to the sides of the carriages. tried to solve the noise problem by erecting screens along the rail embankment and installing triple glazing on those properties that get most exposure. However this solution is expensive and not sufficiently effective at rail crossings and bridges. In response, sL is attempting to reduce noise from the trains themselves. The task went to engineering company Caran, which has extensive experience of product development in the automotive industry. Their suggestion was to install sound-deadening panels, or skirts, on locomotives and carriages. In combination with bellows between the carriages, the skirts muffle the sound from every side of the train. “We had to come up with a design that was rigid but able to deform, so that if a panel fell off and was run over it would not derail the train,” says Klaus Knudsen, project manager for Caran. SL hAS PREvIOUSLY

the choice of material for the skirts to a selection of composites, steel and aluminium. The need for low weight and recyclability swayed them in favour of aluminium. This was also a less costly solution than composites. “Each carriage is also slightly different, so the panels require skilled fitting. That’s easier to do with aluminium,” says Knudsen. Caran contacted Sapa, who provided technical guidance on the detailed construction of the panels. “The partnership with Sapa worked very well. My team and I had never done any design work with extruded aluminium before,” says Knudsen. He reckons that this method is very well suited to series production and points out that with profiles the same tool can be used to produce panels of any required length. On the trial train each panel is just over a metre long and is mounted on the lower part of the body. The inside is lined with a micro-perforated plate that is specially designed to dampen noise at particular frequencies. This is a proven solution and is used for sound deadening on CARAN NARROWEd dOWN

contracting machinery, for example. This is the first time it has been used on a train, however. “If it turns out well there will be a big market for this type of solution. It will appeal to a lot of train operators,” believes Knudsen. 11 kilograms and is designed so that it can be raised and lowered by service staff, which made the design a little more difficult. The panels also have to be lockable. “Since getting the original request to develop a panel profile we’ve now produced twenty different items for this project. The external appearance is exactly what Caran wanted and we’ve also met the sound-deadening requirements,” says Crister Roswall, from Sapa’s Region North sales team. As part of the design process Sapa also developed an aluminium frame profile to support the bellows between the carriages. Caran’s solution includes a new front section with impactabsorbing beams, with aluminium profiles used to transfer the energy of impact. EACh PANEL WEIGhS

The trial train has been in service on the Roslagsbanan line since April, and noise level metering has now started. The sound-deadening skirts will be tested over the summer and winter period, before the final evaluation is completed, hopefully in spring 2009. One of the factors to evaluate is performance during heavy snow. “If everything works as intended this could be part of a refurbishment project for all the rolling stock on the Roslagsbanan line, which includes around thirty train sets,” says Mats Knutsson, noise specialist at sL. The skirts on the trains will also be supplemented by other noise-reduction methods. The same noise-deadening technique that is used on the panels has been used to design low platform screens. These will be installed on stretches where the rail embankment has a camber and where higher noise levels are produced through wheel contact with the rails. TExT NiLS SUNDSTRÖM PHOTOS MAURO RONGiONE

Sound-deadening skirts fitted to every carriage and locomotive should make trains on the Roslagsbanan line quieter. The aluminium panels reach as close to the rails as possible in order to trap noise. Perforated sheets inside the panels absorb sound.

# 1 2008 SHAPE • 21

BRIEF NOTICES

Paint-friendly aluminium wins fans in automotive industry

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Bestop, a U.S. company that makes soft tops for cars, and Carefree of Colorado, which fits out caravans, have both turned to Sapa to supply aluminium profiles. On behalf of Bestop, Sapa Extrusions in Yankton, South Dakota, has produced the frame for a canvas cabriolet roof. Carefree of Colorado has been supplied with a storage box that also serves as a mounting for its folding awnings. Since the vehicles that both companies work with have large painted surfaces, aluminium was a natural choice. “Our profiles are suitable for painting and it’s a great choice of material since it doesn’t corrode. We offer the companies solutions that fill several needs regarding strength and appearance. The ability to choose colours is important to the market and we will continue to develop aluminium profiles with the two companies,” reports Russ Pearson, sales manager for Sapa Extrusions.

Unique sun screen in Spain

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When the new University of Lleida was to be built between Barcelona and Zaragoza, a contemporary means of providing protection from the sun was a big priority. The Spanish company Silverlex got in touch with Sapa. “We began working on the project with Silverlex in December 2006, and in May 2007 they supplied the new sun screens to the client,” relates Bruno d’Hondt, commercial director at Sapa RC Profiles in Belgium. The sun screens consist of three aluminium profiles that are clipped together. What makes them special is that they are the broadest sun screens that Sapa has made from aluminium profiles. “We were able to offer the customer a good total package. Because we had supplied other profiles for the same building project we were able to arrange for the different profiles to be coated by the same supplier. This meant we could eliminate colour differences in the different aluminium profiles used on the building,” says d’Hondt.

Sapa in climate partnership

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Sapa Pole Products has cut emissions of carbon dioxide from aluminium lighting column production in Drunen, Netherlands. The remaining emissions are offset financially through the Climate Neutral Group. “We were set the challenge by HIER, a Dutch governmental initiative group in the Netherlands. Hier runs a programme that aims to increase consumer awareness of the climate issue. They asked us to investigate whether we could offer our customers a zero carbon product,” explains Tanja Buijks, marketing & communications at Sapa Pole Products in the Netherlands. Sapa Pole Products contacted Ecofys, an independent engineering institute, who carried out a life cycle analysis. They evaluated the products from cradle to grave, i.e. from bauxite to 30-year-old lighting column. The analysis showed that a recycled Sapa column, according to the latest EN-40 specifications, was almost carbon neutral. By reducing its carbon dioxide emission during production, Sapa was able to offer the new lighting columns in the first

22 SHAPE • # 1 2008

quarter of 2007. They are made from at least 95 percent recycled aluminium and are fully recyclable. The properties of the material do not change, which means that the lighting columns meet the same quality standards whether the metal has been recycled or produced from primary aluminium. Sapa has also developed a new, patented reinforcement design for the aluminium profiles that makes them up to 20 percent lighter and reduces material requirements. Because the products are recyclable the emissions per lighting column are low. Sapa also compensates the remaining emissions financially. “We contribute to an environmental project in Egypt, which makes compost from organic agricultural waste,” says Buijks. Egypt has had problems with illegal burning of agricultural waste, which has led to high methane emissions. The new composting system reduces emissions and hence improves the environment for people and crops. Brief notices Madeleine Nyberg

On the right track in Duisburg

Rail length: around 1,000 metres. Profile length: 12 metres. Camera speed: 30 kilometres/hour. Camera weight: 250 kilograms. Radius of curvature: 80–90 metres.

Debut for travelling camera at World Rowing Championships in Germany.

CAMERA RAILS boost sports events Live images from sports events are essential today to attract audiences – and sponsors. A camera that follows the competitors on aluminium rails makes this possible. were tested for the first time during the World Rowing Championships that took place in Duisburg, Germany, last summer. The new technology was a great success, according to Rainer Wagener from Peter Holzrichter, the company that supplied Sapa’s aluminium profiles to the rail manufacturer, Lastro Technische Systeme in Wuppertal. “Everything went as planned, and the camera was considered well worth the investment,” he says. For the rowers in particular the camera images provide a better chance to analyse their own performances – to see exactly what they did well THE KILOMETRE-LONG RAILS

and where they could improve. This addition to the course means that Duisburg will now be able to attract top athletes to more events. In winter the camera rails are also rented out to the city’s bobsleigh course. “This analysis equipment means that Duisburg regatta course is very well equipped for the future,” says Reinhold Spaniel, sports manager for the city. THE ABILITY TO DISPLAY images from the cham-

pionships on giant screens next to the course offers even more benefits. Now the spectators are not just confined to the riverside – more of

them can follow the events live on screen. The organisers can also supply the high-resolution video footage to tv stations, which makes the championships more appealing to sponsors. “There was a great deal of interest in the rail-mounted camera and it’s brought a lot of enquiries from abroad. Now the engineers are working hard to bring this technology to Formula 1 racing as well,” says Wagener. TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE the camera must be able to

travel at speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour. During the rowing events it reaches 30 kilometres per hour. Longer rails will also be required. For the installation in Duisburg, 12-metre-long profiles were joined to create two parallel rails along the riverside. Rainer Wagener emphasises that the profiles are designed to carry the weight of the 250kilogram camera. Friction has to be minimised in order to reach high speeds. Similar rails have been used before, but those used in Duisburg are the first of their type, primarily because of their size and ease of use. “This is the first time long aluminium profiles have been used in this way and this installation is the first successful pilot project.”

Text Ulrika Hotopp

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A CLASSIC IN NEW GUISE Danish designer Poul Kjærholm never got to see his PK8 chair in production. When his old drawings were brought back to life, furniture experts chose aluminium for the elegant three-legged base of his chair.

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hese are busy times for Danish furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen. Classic Scandinavian design is more popular than ever. Arne Jacobsen, Bruno Mattsson, Hans J Wegner and Poul Kjærholm have all produced designs for them. For many people their names are synonymous with elegant, timeless minimalism and functional design. Choice of materials is another factor that sets apart classic furniture. Even 50 years ago these designers went to great lengths to find metals, timbers and fabrics that added character and made their furniture easy to move around. Unlike today, aluminium was not an option for designers born in the early 1900s, however. “Designers like to work with aluminium today. It’s a metal that is used in many different ways in our modern design series,” says Jan Helleskov, pr manager for Fritz Hansen.

Last autumn the company decided to celebrate the work of modernist designer Poul Kjærholm, who died 25 years ago. One of the reasons was that just a few years ago previously undiscovered jewels of his work were found among old sketches. Working from these, Fritz Hansen’s designers were asked to create a new piece of contemporary furniture from Kjærholm’s pk series. The pk9 chair is one of his best known designs and has been around for several decades, but others in the series are less well known. Only a couple of examples of this chair were ever made, and it never went into production. “Kjærholm took great pride in perfect detailing, even making the joints invisible,” relates Helleskov. As a result it was felt that aluminium would have appealed to the old master. He is said to have had the craftsman’s conservative view of the world, but at the same time experimented with new industrial materials. His design language takes on a new dimension in the new millennium now that totally new materials can be used. pk8 has a seat of hard plastic and a frame made from aluminium profiles supplied by Sapa. The profiles are shaped and then polished and anodised in special colours. The frame consists of two sections that are joined using a special bonding technique. The result is an exclusive three-legged chair that is now sold all over the world. Text ulrika hotopp