Attentive readers know how much we enjoy telling how one can go far with technology. Of course, the heart of the writer beats and will always beat, for age-related and family reasons, for that “good know-how”, that craftsmanship which is increasingly difficult to find. But that is another story and here we are pleased to tell you about a company that has been a genuine surprise and a testament to how one can do things well, very well, thanks to machines.
Vladimir Kubeš
It is not a novelty in absolute terms and it is not even so for the wood and furniture world, which fortunately can rely on a heritage of technologies of absolute excellence, solutions that allow production with consistent quality. Therefore, producing better, if necessary even more, and in most cases with accessible costs.
We know: the surprise is certainly not in talking about the values inherent in technology, something we have been doing every day for a long time, but in the fact that it has now projected us into truly new scenarios, and listen to this, not only in Italy or Germany or Poland, in China or the United States, but in the bucolic setting of an idyllic Bohemian landscape, in Krucemburk, a couple of hours by car from Prague. The destination of our trip: Intermont, a truly astonishing factory, which has given shape to a very precise vision: in a territory where finding skilled labor is increasingly difficult, robots and intelligent machines are welcome, all thanks to the vision of an entrepreneur with certainly uncommon characteristics and with the support of SCM.
From left: Federico Bonazelli (area manager Scm Group), Marco Battilani (process&sales manager Scm Group), Vladimir Kubeš junior, Jan Mimra (Panas, dealer Scm Group in Czech Republic) and Vladimir Kubeš, founder of Intermont.
“Our story begins in 1997, when I decided that it was time to change my life”, tells us Vladimir Kubeš, the brilliant owner of Intermont. “I was 27 years old and had been working for some time in a furniture store: I knew the product and the sector very well, to the point of imagining that I could move to the other side of the counter and start producing, instead of just selling. It was then that I decided to invest in Interlignum and a couple of years later I also acquired Intermont, two companies that produced office furniture and children’s room furniture.
Within a few years, fate, but above all the precise requests of a client, led us to focus on the production of solid wood beds, especially oak and birch that we import from Poland and Slovakia. A successful choice and steady growth, thanks to the heavens, that has brought us to today’s situation: in Interlignum we produce components and semi-finished products for other companies and large-scale distribution, while Intermont has become a leading company in the design and production of wooden beds, about 600 every week, produced entirely in our factory, from the selection of raw materials to finishing and packaging, and marketed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
To achieve these volumes, to which wardrobes and furniture accessories are also added, although they are not our core business, precise production choices must be made. Here is a first data point to consider: thirty years ago the two companies employed more than 200 people; today we are about seventy and produce much, much more”.
How was this possible?
“By first deciding to focus on a specific product and invest in technology: we manage the entire process, from design to engineering of each single model, available in a wide range of sizes and colors. Everything is managed by a system that allows us to describe Intermont as a highly automated factory, crossed by a continuous flow of information that goes from the design of each single bed to shipping, responding to any customization request that the client may have”.
It is surprising to find a reality like yours in this splendid corner of Bohemia…
“I studied, attended university, ventured into the world of marketing and all this, combined with my experience, in 2018 made me understand that to be successful it was necessary to cut ties with the past: until that moment our work had been carried out using more or less traditional machines, each of which was managed by one or more people. A method that would not have allowed us to go very far. I felt I had to act differently, that it was necessary to make significant investments in order to produce in a simpler way, in line with what would soon become the principles of Industry 4.0. As I mentioned, in seven years we changed our skin, a change that did not find everyone in agreement, but we carried it forward with commitment, creating an industry populated by state-of-the-art machines operated by robots.
And it did not take long to convince the people who are still with us that this was the right path, that we were not depriving them of their professionalism, something many had thought. But it was not only about automating and robotizing the production cycle, it was about rethinking every stage of our work as a step inserted into an orderly flow of information, where each workstation is connected to the central management systems from which it receives instructions and information on what needs to be done, and what the required times are, as well as weekly reporting that allows not only transparent management of the company but directly and concretely involves every person working with us, each of whom is responsible for their own work”.
Revolutionary…
“I would rather say ‘well organized’. Today Intermont occupies an area of over 40,000 square meters where 45 people work: only about fifteen are involved in the actual production process. And we are talking about production articulated in about 450 models, a catalog to which about thirty more are added every year, because demand must be stimulated. I like to take care of everything, including design, and think that every collection of ours has a story that accompanies it.
I will tell you one detail: I also enjoy writing fairy tales in which I tell the essence of each Intermont bed, little books that are given to each customer at the time of purchase”.
One might ask where you find the time to do everything… tell us about the collaboration with SCM.
“As I said, at a certain point in our history I realized that we had to change pace. SCM was my point of reference: I have always been very satisfied with the experiences I shared with them and I am convinced that Italians are more reliable than others, so when I decided to make a significant investment it was natural for me to think of them.
Being able to confront a reality like Panas, their dealers in my country, was an additional guarantee: I found extremely competent people with whom to give shape to my idea of a factory totally different from the past. I was able to count on their proximity even geographically, an element that is certainly not secondary when talking about technology and decidedly complex solutions.
It was not simple, but today I can tell you that the quality of the finished product, over these seven years, has certainly improved thanks to technology and excellent software that manage the work carried out by robots that handle all the pieces in process. It is up to people to manage this huge mass of information and to intervene manually in those phases, especially assembly and finishing, where human work is still able to make a difference.
You see, for me, for us at Intermont, “robotization” does not mean mass production, but absolute freedom to manage times and methods of work, achieving even the highest customization with ease: the robot adapts to market needs, which change constantly, and consequently it is perfect for producing a single “ad hoc” bed. Every client likes to know that that specific product, that bed, was built just for them.
In this perspective, the partnership with Panas and SCM has been and is very important, because it allows us to share our ideas, to discuss, to reach solutions that perhaps no one had thought of and that, together, we have turned into reality.
Think of our production line, a series of eight “accord 500” work centers operated by robots: it is unique in the world, specific for what we have to do every day. Our habits and our “know-how”, combined with the technological skills of SCM and Panas professionals, and above all their experience on how to integrate them into a production process, allowed us to create what Intermont is today.
Day after day we have changed the way of thinking, stopping thinking in eight-hour days and focusing instead on the opportunity to build buildings more suitable for the work of robots: I am also involved in real estate and I am proud to tell you that in these years we have designed and built the spaces in which Intermont has grown.
A challenge without end. We are working to further automate and improve finishing processes: we are building more spaces and in a part of these will be housed the Superfici system that we have already designed with our Panas and SCM partners”.
TOURING THE COMPANY…
It was enough to enter the production spaces to realize that Intermont is truly a “technologically special” reality: every stage of the process has been carefully studied so that the integration between man and machine leads to the best possible result and the anthropomorphic robots scattered throughout the departments are countless.
Starting from the entry of the raw material (but it would be better to say “second”), solid wood panels are sent to a “dmc eurosystem” sanding-calibrating machine by a system that ensures constant pressure, thus achieving the best possible precision. A robot then stacks each panel before sending it – always thanks to robotic systems – to the two cutting lines, one of which represents the most recent investment entrusted to SCM’s engineering function: an integrated cell capable of working completely autonomously for two shifts, whose heart is a “gabbiani g2”, served by an intelligent “flexstore elr” warehouse and a vertical stacker at the output, as well as loading and unloading robots and automatic “agv” conveyors.
The next stage of the process is truly impressive: the “work centers department” is a large warehouse where eight “accord 500”, equipped with diamond tools, perform all necessary operations, served by robots that load and unload the pieces without stopping, based on the instructions contained in the “qr code” applied to each element, not before cleaning the loading area thanks to blowers they are equipped with. A “factory within the factory” organized to operate without supervision for 14 hours.
The profiles are processed on a high-performance line composed of a “superset nt” four-shaft and electronic axis edger for the piece section and a “morbidelli ux100” drilling machine, as well as three, indispensable, anthropomorphic robots.
At this point there remains only a final sanding step, because finishing quality is an aspect that in Intermont receives maximum attention: a compact upper and lower “dmc system bt” line performs calibration, sanding and brushing of all pieces on both faces in a single pass, before they move on to painting.
All processed elements are managed thanks to a truly impressive automatic warehouse, equipped with two robots that make the best possible use of over 5,000 available spaces.
And at this point everything is ready to move on to the “painting department”, where each piece is first inspected and, if necessary, restored, then hand-painted and polished with linseed oil mixed with wax, awaiting the new Superfici line which will be installed soon.
