TUBE 2002 Trade FairDüsseldorf, April 8-12, 2002Stand #B40Tetra Pak, a leading liquid food packaging machinery manufacturer, has selected Stalatube Oy's stainless steel hollow sections for the frame structures of its packaging machines. Economical feasibility and flexibility of installation are cited as major attributes of the Stalatube sections.

Stainless steel hollow sections cut to length directly on the production line allow a wide variety of structural solutions. This method, developed by the Finnish company Stalatube Oy, particularly suits the structures of liquid food packaging machinery.

"We switched to using stainless steel tubing more than ten years ago. Hygiene aspects alone set it apart from black steel," says Lars Johannesson, who is responsible for production at Tetra Pak's plant in Lund, Sweden. "We looked at the different options available for our application and opted finally for stainless steel hollow sections made in Finland. Stalatube simply meets our quality and tolerance requirements."

Tetra Pak subcontract their frame manufacture. "We assemble the machines from five different modules which we obtain in ready-made form," Johannesson explains.

Thanks to Stalatube's cut-to-length service for stainless steel sections, Tetra Pak avoid cutting waste. The method also allows cutting to required angles. By means of precision cutting, tolerances of ±1 mm can be obtained. The frame assembly can begin as soon as the steel section delivery arrives at the customer.

"Cutting stainless steel square sections to the required length on the production line represents a smart and economically feasible solution. The cost of cutting tubes to the specified length on-line is only a fraction of the cost of cutting standard-length sections in-house," says Jussi Aro, Marketing Manager of Stalatube Oy.

Tetra Pak particularly appreciates the cut-to-length service offered by Stalatube Oy. "If our suppliers bought their stainless steel sections in standard six-metre tubes they would have to invest in high-end cutting machinery, which would inevitably affect the overall costs. Using the cut-to-length service of a specialised company is the best solution for us," Lars Johannesson stresses.


Information on the company:
Stalatube Oy is part of the Finnish Stala Group, founded in 1972, with its headquarters and production facilities located in Lahti, Finland. The company exports its products to 35 countries and has sales offices in the Netherlands and the USA. Its current annual production volume is 25,000 tonnes.

For further information, please contact:

Stalatube Oy
Jan Christiansen, Managing Director
Jussi Aro, Marketing Director
Taivalkatu 7
FIN-15170 Lahti
FINLAND
Tel: +358 3 882 190
Fax: +358 3 882 1914
E-mail: jan.christiansen@stalatube.com / jussi.aro@stalatube.com
www.stalatube.com

Stalatube B.V.
Touwslagerij 13
NL-4762 AT Zevenbergen
THE NETHERLANDS
Tel: +31 168 325 777
Fax: +31 168 325 778

Stalatube Inc.
P.O. Box 210
Bryn Mawr, PA
19010-0210
U.S.A.
Tel: +1 610 525 7706
Fax: +1 610 525 5717

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