There is a hidden champion in the heart of Garmisch-Partenkirchen: Langmatz GmbH. The fact that you don't immediately know what products the company manufactures is probably because they are buried underground.
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Langmatz's history, spanning more than 60 years, is characterised by technological foresight and innovative spirit. Founded in 1963 in the field of plastics processing, the company launched its first product just one year later: a cover for terminal blocks. However, the breakthrough came in the 1990s with plastic cable ducts – a completely new development at the time. Today, they are standard in telecommunications infrastructure and have made Langmatz the European market leader.
Challenge: shorter delivery times
For several years now, fibre optic expansion has been progressing rapidly in Germany – roads are being dug up and cables laid everywhere. However, these cables are not simply buried metres deep in the ground – they regularly run through cable ducts, which protect the infrastructure, provide access and enable maintenance. Demand is growing accordingly in Garmisch-Partenkirchen – ‘and the top issue for our customers is delivery time,’ says Haser.
Even though products ‘Made in Germany’ are somewhat more expensive, ‘no one else offers our quality and versatility,’ says Franz Haser. The 43-year-old has been head of metal production at Langmatz since 2016. A fitting slogan for the Bavarian hidden champion: ‘Probably the best cable duct in the world.’
Bysort system reduces workload and impresses
In order to become more flexible and increase capacity, Langmatz decided two years ago to expand its production. Or, as Haser puts it: ‘We wanted to upgrade our technology.’ He was looking for a highly networked line that could store, cut, sort and bend sheet metal – without any manual intermediate steps.
The system should enable shorter processing times and less warehousing, and reduce the workload for our employees.
Even though the shafts are mainly made of plastic, they require robust metal elements for reinforcement. Langmatz now manufactures these in a highly automated process using a ByCut Smart 3015 F6000 laser cutting system combined with a ByTrans Modular loading system and the BySort system for automatic part sorting.
The material comes from a 6-tower warehouse with 93 storage locations. Bending is performed by an Xpert Pro Bending Cell 100/3100 with a 120 kg KUKA robot on a seven-metre-long linear track.
Haser was particularly impressed by the BySort system's ability to automatically clear sheet metal parts. Previously, Langmatz employees had to bend over the tables after cutting and separate good parts from the remaining sheet metal – individual pieces sometimes weighed as much as 20 kilograms, which required considerable effort even with the aid of a crane.
First step towards a smart factory
The production line is controlled by Bystronic's modular software world: BySoft CAM CUT, SORT, BEND, ROBOT+, and the BySoft ShopFloor Package. All production data is directly linked to the component – ideal for series production and repeat orders. In addition to efficiency and ergonomics, one thing was particularly important to Haser: future viability.
Commissioning took place in two stages: laser and storage technology was launched in September 2024, followed by the bending cell in November. It is already clear that this was the right decision. Not all potential has been exploited yet – ‘we can still optimise the cycle times in particular so that we only cut what we use in the short term,’ says Haser. However, this will certainly be resolved as production continues. In addition to efficiency and ergonomics, one thing was particularly important to Haser: future viability.
The fact that Bystronic is open to any interface was an important criterion for us.
Haser can well imagine that soon a driverless transport system will collect the finished parts and automatically bring them to the production line – another step towards the smart factory.
Cooperation on equal terms
However, it was not only the technology that impressed, but also the cooperation. Project manager Gianluca Sutter from Bystronic describes it as ‘picture-perfect.’ All agreements were clear and direct.
For Sutter, the on-site visit in February 2024 was symbolic of this. On that day, all the trades came together in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The idea was to get an overview together so that no unforeseen problems would arise during delivery or installation of the system. Just as important: on that day, everyone got to know each other personally. And it became clear: ‘Everyone had held a spanner in their hand before and spoke the same language,’ says 36-year-old Sutter. ‘For me as project manager, it was like winning the lottery. The customers knew exactly what they wanted and were very attentive to detail.’
