PASSION FOR WINE AND PRECISION.

ERO GmbH | ACURA 65 EL
Field of application: Agricultural machinery technology, contract manufacturing | Company headquarters: Simmern im Hunsrück, Germany | Employees: 270

ERO GmbH from Simmern in Hunsrück is a prime example of a family business that has grown healthily. And it is deeply rooted in the region in the truest sense of the word. Founded in 1965 by farmer Heinz Erbach, the company initially builds modern stables. A few years later, the founder's brother-in-law, the trained winegrower Herbert Roth, joins the company. The name ERO is created from the initials of the two innovative-minded relatives.

A success story that began 50 years ago.

 Innovative is a word that is often used to describe companies. But here it really fits the point several times over.

A success story began 50 years ago with the first machine for viticulture, the ERO roundabout harvester. The introduction of the first grape harvester in 1981 was another milestone in the company's history and was largely responsible for its continuous growth. In recognition of its continuous development, the company has been honoured several times, e.g. with the German SME Innovation Award and the Enovitis Award from Italian winegrowers.

Today, around 270 employees work for the company, most of them at the factory in Simmern/Hunsrück, which was only newly built in 2018.

ACURA 65 EL: also able to produce unmanned parts.

"In the modern halls with more than 15,000 square metres of production space, we naturally want to produce using the latest and best methods," says Jan Inboden, who is responsible for the smooth running of operations at ERO. He is constantly in dialogue with the employees and is always on the front line. "We have a particularly wide range of components here with batch sizes from 1-1000 units," explains Inboden. He stands in front of the ACURA 65 EL from HEDELIUS and looks very satisfied. "This is exactly what we were looking for. A 5-axis machining centre that can also produce parts in a ghost shift - i.e. unmanned. And that works smoothly here with HEDELIUS in conjunction with the robot automation from BMO."

Inboden pulls out a workpiece and explains how a fit was milled. Even after many dozens of pieces, it always looks the same and has "above all, perfect quality in terms of dimensional accuracy and surface quality."

Minimise the time and cost factor of tool set-up.

Of course, smaller batch sizes are also produced on the ACURA 65 EL. To ensure that the changeover from one job to the next runs quickly and smoothly, it is important to have quick access to the required tools. Searching for and swapping tools only causes unnecessary downtime and reduces productivity.

But the HEDELIUS has also convinced the chipping experts at ERO. The standby magazine has space for 180 tools. "We can therefore minimise the time and cost factor of retooling to an open minimum!"

A well-oiled team: HEDELIUS + BMO.

At the end of the day, the automation system is tooling with new, different raw parts so that the ERO specialists can also enjoy their evening off. The 6-axis robot from BMO Automation then changes the required clamping device in the machining centre and automatically inserts the workpieces at the connection.

This leaves time for a good drop of wine, harvested with ERO harvesters, of course. That's the deeper meaning - if everyone benefits in the end. "Even those who have never heard of the ACURA 65 EL before," smiles Inboden. It looks like he already has the next ideas in mind. As I said, innovation is not just a buzzword here ...