A machine that metal construction has had to wait a long time for

Radius straighteners for steel bars look like relics from times gone by. In many metalworking shops, they are still used to straighten flat steel. The picture is changing more and more since the Bern-based company CREAMETAL launched the CREA-WHEEL straightening machine on the market around two years ago - with resounding success. The company's initial assessment is very positive: «Customer satisfaction is very positive across the board», says the owner of CREAMETAL, Mario Weber. The question of why the machine has taken so long to arrive has often been asked by the machine's creator over the past few months. Perhaps the need for metalworking shops was simply not taken seriously. In any case, large straightening machines have been around for many years», says Weber.

From the prototypes to the finished machine

The Bernese entrepreneur needed four years to develop the machine. Such a process begins with an idea aimed at the ideal final state of the machine. This is followed by feasibility studies, initial requirement profiles for the prototype and a gradual reduction to maximum simplicity. This is followed by the pilot series, the patent application and finally series production. And even today - during series production - the machine is still being further developed. The cost of a CREA-WHEEL is around CHF 20'000. Many customers amortise this investment in just one year. One argument in favour of the CREAMETAL straightening machine compared to the straightening wheel is not only the time saved, but also the better quality. Stakes cannot be consistently produced in the same quality on the levelling wheel. Stakes for residential construction in particular require more effort to ensure consistent quality.

More machines will follow

The goals we set ourselves with the WHEEL have been achieved, says Weber.

The company would also have liked to straighten round bars. «With the expansion of this functionality, we would not have achieved the other goals», says Weber. But who knows what is yet to come. The ten employees at CREAMETAL are still thinking about helpers for metalworkers. "We would be missing out on the future if we didn't have any ideas about what new tools and machines we can bring to the market for our industry in a few years' time.

Translated by deepl.com. They apologise for linguistic impurities