Annual Report 2022

Innovation and Technology

ByCut Star: the new star among cutting machines – with a modular core

One platform for different machines: We have developed a machine concept that allows us to derive the two formats 3015 and 4020 in both gold and silver configurations to service the premium and mid-range segment.

We are simplifying the concept of our production creation process from development, procurement, and production, right through to training and maintenance of the machines. This is enabling us to reduce costs and enhance the reliability of our systems.

The ByCut Star 4020 is the first machine developed based on this new machine concept. We unveiled this laser cutter to our customers at EuroBLECH, and production will commence in the spring of 2023.

The ByCut Star 4020 is the first machine to be created using the OnePlatform.

Market demands high laser power

The advantage of the modular platform lies in the fact that it provides a standardized basic concept and allows us to significantly accelerate the development of specific features for each additional segment and format. For example, compared with the ByCut Star 4020, we only needed half the time to create the complete production documentation for the ByCut Smart 3015, because we can derive the 3015 format directly from the 4020.

Thanks to the large number of identical parts in the various machine versions, we greatly reduce the work involved in of subsequent product updates. Simultaneously, the fact that parts are identical increases the quantities purchased, which in turn has a positive effect on procurement costs. This enables us to more effectively meet the market demand for high laser performance while ensuring low production costs.

Sustainable engineering at the core of our research and development

“Sustainable Engineering” is one of the four initiatives of our sustainability strategy. The objective: To develop products that have a long service life and we help our customers to produce in a more resource- and energy-efficient manner.

Our solution is the circular economy

The demand for resources is constantly growing, while fossil raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce. We are convinced that the problem of resource scarcity can only be solved if we manage to make our economy circular. In Europe, the sharp rise in energy prices is also posing new challenges for both us and our customers, and increasingly putting energy efficiency high on the agenda.

Although many customers do not yet attach the level of importance to sustainability that can be found in other industries, we are experiencing growing interest in solutions that save energy and costs. Solutions that reduce scrap and waste are also in high demand, since minimizing the consumption of sheet metal naturally also has a positive impact on procurement costs.

Resource and energy efficiency are therefore key topics for us and our customers. With the “Sustainable Engineering” initiative, we have integrated these sustainability topics into our research and development. This enables us to optimize the life cycle of our products and use resources more efficiently. At the same time, our customers also benefit from enhanced resource and energy efficiency.

We are recognized as an innovation leader in our industry – also in terms of sustainability. Our priorities are:

Smart features offer our customers simple ways to reduce energy consumption and waste. As example with MixGas - a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen - we combine the advantages of the respective cutting processes.
Digitalization Our Markets