Roto Inside 24 (EN)

Roto Inside | 6.2013 8 | Armen Industrie Expertise for passive (low-E) houses ■■ PVC The French window manufacturer Armen Industrie has only been on the market for seven years. However, the company’s founder, the now 48-year-old Pascal Beyou, knew from the start what was important. He used twenty years of professional experience in the industry to plan and establish a high-performance PVC and aluminium window production plant in Guiclan.Today his company supplies approximately 25,000 windows and sliding doors. “I initially had training in the industrial business-to-business sector and, of course, I benefited from my family’s experience. My father, my grandfather and my uncle were joiners. That made me interesting to one of the first and – to this day – leading PVC and aluminium window manufacturers in France. I worked as a technician in the development office, as a production manager, as technical director and finally as a joint managing director,” said Pascal Beyou in summary of his professional career. There’s no question about it – this was a true professional who decided to take the leap into self-employment. A “resounding” company name Pascal Beyou was already looking for a place in the front row when he chose a name for his company. “I wanted the name of the company to start with an ‘A’ so that it would appear near the top in the Internet search engines. In addition, I also wanted a name that reminds people of Brittany. The syllable ‘AR’ is typical for the Breton language, and therefore gives the name the desired regional touch to match our geographical location. Of course, the syllable ‘MEN’ is both an abbreviation for ‘Menuiserie’ (= window manufacturing) and results from the combination of the two names of the lighthouse ‘AR MEN’, which is very well known in Brittany and means ‘the rock’ in Breton.” This lighthouse stands at the western tip of the Finistère region, and as a result also at the most western end of the sales region of Pascal Beyou. “We are active in the western third of France, mainly in Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Île-de-France, Centre region and Lower Normandy.” Searching for the optimum A task quite to the liking of Pascal Beyou provided him with contact to the largest French manufacturer of passive (low-E) houses just two years after the company was founded. “We share a passion for research and technology,” reported the win- dow professional, “the search for the optimum and a desire to keep pushing the boundaries of what is technically feasible.” Both windows for passive houses and all other PVC and aluminium windows and doors are produced by just 26 employees. The degree of automation in production at Armen Industries is high. All automated systems and machines in PVC window produc- tion were last replaced again in 2011. “Four machines were pilot systems which were built for us for the first time.” Reaching the goal with technical expertise Pascal Beyou also chose Roto with a view towards the require- ments of fully automated production. “Roto was the manufacturer that made the automation of certain production steps easiest for us. We can, for example, combine all kinds of extensions while always keeping the espagnolette handle in the same position. The lever-operated espagnolettes can be fastened automatically with the same machine as the espagnolettes of the Turn-Only sashes ...” The technically experienced entrepreneur always gets carried away when new opportunities for automation are concerned. The cooperation with the specialists from the Roto Lean service team is established practice for Pascal Beyou. “The employees at Roto carried out the programming of the production software for one of the new machines from Soenen & Hendrik quickly and professionally. We are currently talking about a product applica- tion that allows us to automatically set pivot rests.” Pascal Beyou makes no secret of the fact that he will continue to look for new opportunities for improving productivity with Roto in future. “The French market for PVC windows declined in 2012 and will continue to shrink in 2013. At the same time, suppliers with aggressive pricing from abroad are crowding into the market, and we want to confront them with high-quality windows at a price that is still attractive. And, of course, with our entire range of expertise. Without a doubt, we can help produce individual residential architecture to a higher quality than most of our com- petitors with secure, highly insulated windows and doors with an attractive design. Once learnt, never forgotten.” “We want to continue to grow in a shrinking market. Without a doubt, we can help produce individual residential architecture to a higher quality than most of our competitors with secure, highly insulated windows and doors with an attractive design. Once learnt, never forgotten,” explained the company’s founder Pascal Beyou. The French company Armen has only been on the market for seven years. Its founder, the now 48-year-old Pascal Beyou, opened his own PVC window production plant in July 2006, followed in 2007 by the production of aluminium windows. Solid as a rock For the customers of Armen Industrie in the west of France, the company’s name sounds like strong ties to its Breton homeland. Among other things, they associate it with a landmark of Brittany known throughout Europe – the Ar Men lighthouse. Its name means “the rock” in Breton. The lighthouse, built between 1867 and 1881 in the Atlantic Ocean near the western coast of Brittany, marks the entrance to the Sein passage (Chaussée de Sein). It is 33.5 m high; its elevation is 37 m. Since 10 April 1990, its signal has consisted of three white flashes every 20 seconds, accompanied by three tones every 60 seconds. The degree of automation on Armen’s production line is high. In 2011, just five years after the company was founded, all the automated systems and machines in the PVC production facility were replaced. && Visit our website to learn more about Roto Lean: www.roto-frank.com/en/roto-lean

Roto Inside 24 (EN)

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