Customized workstations in control cabinet building Hellebrekers optimizes its control cabinet building with customized workstation solutions. Customer-specific solutions for more efficient production were developed and implemented together with Phoenix Contact.

Customized workstations in control cabinet building
Hellebrekers in Nunspeet

Customer profile Hellebrekers (Nunspeet, Netherlands)

Hellebrekers develops and implements technical solutions for (public) swimming pools, the leisure industry, and industrial automation. Through its Water and Leisure Technology division, the company offers installations for swimming pools, wellness facilities, and water treatment systems. The Industrial Automation division focuses on the production and manufacturing industry. Hellebrekers acts as a system integrator and supplies automation solutions that support and improve production processes. The company supports its customers with consulting, design, implementation and maintenance. With this approach, Hellebrekers enables organizations in the food, concrete, and manufacturing industries to digitalize processes in a future-oriented way.

Phoenix Contact employee explaining the cardboard engineering next to a flipchart

The challenge

Hellebrekers recognized the optimization potential in control cabinet building in order to optimally position production for ambitious growth targets and future requirements. They were not looking for a mere supplier, but rather a partner who would work with the team to improve processes and actively involve employees. The aim was to increase the efficiency of production processes and create ergonomic workstations. With customized modern workstations and suitable tools, both the working conditions and the basis for further growth should be improved in the long term. The focus was on actively involving employees and working together to lay the foundations for a successful future.

For us at Hellebrekers, it was crucial to find a partner who not only offered innovative solutions, but also involved our employees from the workshop in the change process from the very beginning.

Maurice Ditewig, Director of Industrial Automation
Maurice Ditewig, Hellebrekers, Director of Industrial Automation
Four workstations made from tubular frames for different tasks, arranged side by side in a control cabinet building production facility

The solution

Step by step to achieve the goal:

  • Visit to Phoenix Contact headquarters with practical workshops
  • Cardboard engineering for the joint development of ergonomic and efficient workstations
  • Testing the customized workstation solutions in real production processes
  • Implementation of mobile trolleys for material provision, wiring, cutting, and testing
  • Integration of the TOPMARK NEO laser marker for industrial identification
  • Use of the CUTFOX 10 and CF 3000 automatic tools in conjunction with wire brakes for time-saving and organized wiring work

Successful collaboration for customized workstations

The customized workstations in detail

Employee with a mobile material trolley in front of an open control cabinet
Employee at a mobile cutting trolley for cable duct covers in front of an open control cabinet
Employee at a mobile wiring trolley in front of an open control cabinet
Employee at a mobile test workstation in front of an open control cabinet
Two men in a marking cell with a laser marker
Employee with a mobile material trolley in front of an open control cabinet

The customized material trolley was specifically designed to meet the requirements of employees. It ensures the structured provision of materials in a single location, thereby significantly reducing walking distances and search times. The design allows for flexible assembly and takes various packaging dimensions and loading bins into account.

Employee at a mobile cutting trolley for cable duct covers in front of an open control cabinet

The cutting trolley ensures optimized processes after wiring the control cabinet. Due to its mobility, the trolley can be used flexibly at any point in production and thus directly at the control cabinet. This reduces walking distances. Using the PPS CD M cable duct cutter, employees cut the covers quickly and cleanly. The design provides space for all standard material widths.

Employee at a mobile wiring trolley in front of an open control cabinet

The wiring trolley combines the CUTFOX 10 automatic cutting device with the CF 3000 automatic stripping and crimping device, ensuring consistently high quality cable assembly. At the same time, it noticeably reduces the physical strain on the worker. Integrated wire brakes keep the workstation tidy at all times and minimize search times. Due to its mobility, the trolley can be used flexibly at any point in production.

Employee at a mobile test workstation in front of an open control cabinet

The customized test trolley meets all employee requirements for a workstation used for testing and inspection. The required tools are neatly stowed away and the necessary documents or labels are quickly to hand. Due to its mobility, the trolley can be used flexibly at any point in production.

Two men in a marking cell with a laser marker

Combining the TOPMARK NEO laser marker and the MARKING system marking software enables the simple and precise creation of markings for all areas of application. Due to the direct interface, all relevant data is transferred from engineering. This simplifies work, especially when dealing with large volumes of data and projects with many variants.

Summary Results of the workstation design

The new workstations and tools have made production at Hellebrekers much more efficient. More importantly, the employees were involved right from the start and were able to contribute their ideas. The project was about more than just introducing new workstations. It was a joint step towards the future.

Group photo of the Hellebrekers employees with a Phoenix Contact employee in production
High level of acceptance by being involved in the change process
Four customized workstations made from tubular frames in front of a control cabinet
Four customized, mobile workstation solutions for efficient processes
Material trolley with castors in front of an open control cabinet
Material trolley for material provision
Wiring trolley with castors in front of an open control cabinet
Mobile workstation for efficient wiring
Test trolley with castors in front of an open control cabinet
Mobile test trolley for efficient testing and inspection work
Cutting trolley for cable duct covers in front of a control cabinet
Mobile trolley for cutting cable duct covers at the control cabinet
Marking cell with the TOPMARK NEO laser marking system
Efficient duo: TOPMARK NEO laser marker and MARKING system marking software
Man at a cardboard workstation with cable duct covers
Cardboard engineering for developing prototypes of the workstations
Shaping processes together
Process optimization along the value chain

From engineering to production – our partnership approach provides you with custom consulting services to optimize your process chain in control cabinet building, based on practical lean production methods. The consulting services are based on years of experience with the methods and include a comprehensive range of consulting activities and training programs for employees.

Find out more
Process consulting in control cabinet building