Doka invests in the future with new powder coating plant
The new Doka powder coating plant is one of the most modern plants of its kind in Europe and one of the largest production investments Doka has made in decades.
The plant also confirms Doka’s clear commitment to environmentally friendly industrial production based on state-of-the-art digital technologies and to meeting its customers’ needs: soon all frames from the Framax product range can be powder coated quickly and flexibly in a wide range of colours.
In early June, Doka, the Austrian company known for its innovative formwork solutions, commissioned the new powder coating plant in St. Martin, close to the company’s corporate headquarters in Amstetten. The highly-automated plant forms part of a multi-stage expansion of production facilities in St. Martin with a total investment volume of 40 million euros.
Flexible, digital and automatic
“The plant design was inspired by the notion of maximum flexibility,” explains Christian Mayr, Vice President of Doka Production. Thus, Doka is now able to meet the requirements and satisfy the wishes of its customers even better and faster. What is driving this high degree of flexibility and what does it mean for customers?
A major new feature is that even the larger components of the Doka Framax product range can be powder coated in the near future. This also means that small series, in addition to large-scale series, can now be produced quickly and economically. The new powder coating plant adds a real touch of colour, with frame elements able to be painted according to individual customers wishes, e.g. in their CI colours.
Due to the high level of automation and digitisation in the production process, the range can even be produced in Austria at competitive prices. The plant is currently being ramped up to run as a single-shift operation. The company also plans to make the plant available for contract manufacturing in the future. Initial discussions with potential partners are already underway.
Service life and robustness
Rain, sun, snow – on construction sites, formwork systems are exposed to a wide variety of weather conditions and enormous loads. To satisfy these requirements and ensure a long service life, high resistance and easy cleaning, the metal frames of Doka formwork systems are hot-dip galvanised and additionally subjected to the special process of powder coating. A particular powder is applied evenly to the frames of the formwork elements. Excess powder is then collected by smart components and recycled.
Made in Austria
Doka has strong roots in its home region, and the investment at the Amstetten location represents a clear commitment to formwork quality made in Austria. The plant enables Doka to offer its customers top-quality products that are made using state-of-the-art manufacturing technology.
Moreover, this development demonstrates Doka’s clear commitment to the location. The company has consciously opted to modernise its operations in the region because of the know-how of its experienced, highly-skilled and qualified employees at this location. With smart training and development programmes, the company ensures that its own, experienced employees are able to successfully make the transition to the new plant. Increasing digitisation and automation have changed the requirements for jobs and roles. The demand for highly skilled employees is growing, while work activities are becoming more diverse.
New levels of sustainability at the new plant
The new powder coating plant is also breaking new ground in terms of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. It consumes 80 per cent less water than the previous plant and uses environmentally friendly chemicals. The use of sophisticated technologies also permits the plant to save energy in the operation of the furnaces. “Doka has always put great emphasis on sustainability,” says Peter Pöchacker, Director of Doka Production. “This issue is now more topical than ever because customers are actively asking about it.”
This is also an opportunity for Doka to demonstrate its own high standards regarding environmental protection as well as its role as a market leader and role model.
