Advanced Parts to Combat Vehicle

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RIVAL has collaborated with customers in the Danish, German and Norwegian defence industry for many years. They appreciate RIVAL’s strengths within development and deliverance of critical components to the customers, and they value quality, documentation, traceability and reliability of delivery higher than the lowest price.

In close collaboration with other sub-suppliers, RIVAL has been responsible for the total supply of advanced parts to a combat vehicle. “In these types of projects, we always take the full responsibility for the project management,” says Christian Aarup from RIVAL. “In this way, we secure the customers, that their orders live up to the agreed terms and that they only have one contact regarding the project.”

System supplies through networks
RIVAL’s collaboration with many customers in the defence industry shows the great importance of being able to work as the system supplier of the customers’ projects. “As system supplier we enjoy the strong network of sub-suppliers, whom we collaborate with, especially within surface finishes, certificated materials and research & development,” says Christian Aarup. “We constantly focus on expanding our network, for which reason our membership of CenSec is important.

Take on responsibility
Today, RIVAL has considerable competencies and experiences, which make it possible for the company to boost big projects with system supplies to the defence industry in collaboration with competent sub-suppliers. “We know that parameters such as reliability of delivery, quality, traceability and close collaboration regarding the projects are important factors to the customers in the defence industry,” says Christian. “Both our employees and sub-suppliers are ready to use their knowledge on new projects in the industry, in which we believe, we can make a productive difference to the customers.”

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Munck Cranes, Norway

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High Demands on Quality, Documentation and Delivery Ability

Many customers make high demands on RIVAL’s ability to manage critical and costly components. One of these customers is Munck Cranes, who started a working relationship with RIVAL last spring.

High demands
The manager from the Norwegian company Munck Cranes made high demands when they were in the market trying to find a sub-supplier, who could process wire drums to the company’s cranes. The demands were not only on quality, but also on delivery ability, documentation and price.

The wire drums are critical and costly components, for which reason no failures were allowed. Munck Cranes chose RIVAL’s, who obtained raw material in record time and processed 14 wire drums in different sizes to the Norwegian giant cranes. The collaboration went well. “We are very pleased with the effort and the result. There is no doubt that we will use RIVAL again,” says senior buyer Odd H. Olsen from Munck Cranes, who employs 185 men in Scandinavia.

A competitive price
Hiring a sub-supplier to produce the wire drums was a late decision. Munck Cranes’ own production was out of operation, for which reason the company put high demands on the sub-supplier’s ability to deliver on time.

“We chose RIVAL for the job, because we believed in the company’s ability to lift the job quality-wise and getting it delivered at the agreed time to a competitive price,” says Odd H. Olsen.

Despite the distance between Norway and Denmark, RIVAL was good at communicating and giving feedback on the job. “They were very accommodating and quick at reporting back to us. Also, they contacted us if they were in doubt about something,” Odd H. Olsen says.

Critical and costly components
Henrik Holvad remembers how the Norwegians emphasised the importance of RIVAL being able to manage critical and costly components. “Managing critical and costly components within short time spans is a parameter, which we will focus on even more in the future. Concerning this parameter, we can really make a difference in the market,” says Henrik Holvad.

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Wärtsilä supply boat, Norway

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RIVAL ind på det norske marked

The Norwegian engine supplier Wartsila increasingly demand RIVAL’s skills in machining operations. This is primarily due to the creativity, skills and efficiency of RIVAL’s staff. A supply ship runs into a pier and has to dock at the Polish port of Szczecin.

Norway is notified and Wartsila’s office has to locate a new spare part as quickly as possible. Shortly after, an e-mail arrives in Benny Soerensen’s inbox at RIVAL with an order for a piston rod. “It had to be done in no time. It costs a lot of money to have a supply ship lying idle. At the same time as they sent the e-mail with the drawings, they shipped the raw material from Norway.
We received that on Tuesday,” says Mr Soerensen, who is the sales manager at RIVAL with responsibility for “difficult” tasks. Staff at RIVAL completed the job in 72 hours. On Friday morning, a special transport service could ship the spare part to Poland, where it was fitted to allow the ship back at sea.

Competitive Denmark
RIVAL is well on the way to conquer the Norwegian offshore market, which is short of companies offering machining operations. Danish companies are known for being flexible and innovative. The relocation of many manufacturing operations to countries with lower costs has forced Danish companies to do things differently.

“Our employees are very conscious of looking for the easiest way to solve a task. This allows us to compete on both time and price.
We have been forced to hange the way we operate because demand has changed. We tell our staff that it is all about the end – not the means – and that we count on our people to achieve the optimum result,” says Mr Soerensen, who has often experienced that Norwegian companies send the special material required for the manufacture of specific items to Denmark, whereupon RIVAL manufactures the item and returns it.

The shipping costs are high, but it shows how great the eed is. “In future, we will probably consider stocking the special stainless steel materials for the offshore industry so we can become even more competitive.”

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Dan-Web Machinery

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Shared understanding behind the valuable exchange and sounding out of ideas

Machinery manufacturer Dan-Web Machinery A/S has collaborated with RIVAL for over ten years. The valuable collaboration is built on good chemistry, shared understanding and the profitable exchange and sounding out of ideas.

It is a Tuesday morning, and RIVAL employees have driven to Galten, to visit machinery manufacturer Dan-Web at its 10,000 m2 industrial facility. Dan-Web Machinery A/S develops and manufactures machinery and equipment for the manufacture of airlaid products, which are soft and absorbing nonwoven materials, which are included in products like diapers and sanitary towels. The company has over 39 years of experience and throughout its existence, it has focused extensively on innovative, quality solutions.

Excellent collaboration
I meet with two engineers, Kenn Brown Petersen and Morten Pouli-Rich from Dan-Web and project manager Benny Sørensen from RIVAL’s production engineering department. It is immediately apparent that there is good chemistry between the three men. RIVAL has now been an established partner for Dan-Web for over ten years, and there is room for small talk. However, the
talk is primarily about the actual joint project, where RIVAL is manufacturing parts for Dan-Web’s forming head, which shall be supplied on a new Forming Line to the USA.

Shared understanding
We take a walk around the production area together and the discussion becomes animated, while Kenn and Morten explain in an engaged manner about the machines and components we pass along the way. It is clearly apparent that RIVAL’s many years of collaboration with Dan-Web has meant they have built up a very good knowledge of their products, and the parties have a shared understanding of what Dan-Web wants the end result to be for their customers. “At RIVAL, it’s an important factor for us that when we provide proposals for the optimisation of the technical production of their products, that we have precisely this
thorough knowledge, and thus can bring input which is precisely spot on at Dan-Web and supports their line,” says Benny.

Valuable exchange and sounding out of ideas
The two Dan-Web designers also believe that it is a great advantage that RIVAL is very familiar with their products and company. “If we have a design or technical production challenge, and we assess that getting RIVAL’s input would be beneficial, they love to meet up, and meet up quickly to exchange and sound out ideas. We have often had visits by Glenn, Ole and Benny from RIVAL and received valuable ideas about how we can optimise a design,” says Kenn, while we look closer at several of the hammer mills being worked on in the production area. We halt next to several large rollers with a paper-like material, which is currently being beaten to single fibres in the hammer mill before being blown into the forming head and further processed for the final airlaid products.

Improvement proposal
“At the same time,” Morten adds. “We also find that without even being asked, RIVAL will come to us with proposals for improvements, if they for example in their production process, come across a design or tolerance that can be changed beneficially. We’re very open to their proposals, since we constantly work with the optimisation and improvement of our products. And because they know us so well, they know what direction we want to take the development process in.”

Thank you for today
The tour of production is about to finish, and Kenn, Morten and Benny agree, right at the end before Benny returns to RIVAL, to brief production on the details, which have been agreed on at Dan-Web Machinery A/S.

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