All-rounder: Roto NX for every system
“Retailers and end customers think highly of the versatility of our designs and our installation variants in PVC and timber. This is why we want to increase efficiency without limiting our product range,” explains Andreas Kohl, Managing Director of PaX AG since 2017. The decision to choose Roto and the Roto NX Tilt&Turn hardware was “extremely conducive” to meeting this corporate objective.
As the Managing Director states, PaX AG is the German market leader for burglar inhibiting windows and the provider with the largest number of approved installation variants. Andreas Kohl sums up the benefits: “Switching over to Roto NX allowed us to further improve the comfort, security and efficiency of the ‘PaXsecura’ system”. The number of identical parts has increased considerably without having to discontinue a single version from the range.
Within just a few weeks, the company’s four plants switched over from Tilt&Turn window production almost simultaneously in early 2022. The Technical Director, Konrad Schurer, sums up the outcome of the collaboration after one year: “And now we have standardised tests, an excellent standard of safety and the option to produce elements in RC 2 or RC 3 with little extra effort, across the entire range and beyond.” Roto prepared them for the switchover and supported them throughout the process in a committed and professional manner. “After eight or, at most, ten weeks, the most important tasks were completed at all sites and we had almost forgotten how challenging that period had been,” recalls Konrad Schurer.
Operating convenience even in RC 3
The hardware system has brought with it many functional improvements. Schurer gives a few examples: “With Roto NX, we have found a mushroom locking cam that fully meets our requirementsand is also height adjustable. Thismeans that it is now easy for our customers to respond to construction tolerances.” The cam also protects the window system against deformation while offering greater comfort. The adjustable NX lifting mishandling device improves the operating convenience of Tilt&Turn windows, even in RC 3. The concealed NX hinge side is perfectly tailored to the Roto Eifel TB aluminium threshold and can be used for all profile systems, regardless of the burglary inhibition. The technical director underlines:
“ Roto NX is clearly superior to other Tilt&Turn hardware in many areas.”
Managing Director Andreas Kohl started working at PaX AG in 1995 in the Product Management department. This is why he, just like Konrad Schurer, knows virtually every single screw in a piece of hardware “almost by name”, he explains. They “immersed” themselves in Roto hardware technology before the switchover and, while doing so, they discovered some things to make security windows in particular even better. These are an important product segment for PaX AG. For example, now every window from the PaXsecura series, even really small ones, can be equipped with opening and locking monitoring in accordance with VdS class B or C on request, as the contact elements don’t need any additional space in the profile rebate. “We found what we needed in the Roto product range – products that meet even the most stringent of security requirements for windows yet with a very understated or historic design,” states Andreas Kohl.
Roto NX includes all hardware components required for a Tilt&Turn window, whether it has a modern design or a historical one. And all this in any security class. Engineer Konrad Schurer admits to being impressed: “Regardless of whether the hinge side is concealed or surface-mounted, all of the profile systems thatwe use have passed the tests for RC 2 with Roto hardware, while many have even passed the tests for RC 3.
Seizing the moment
PaX AG reorganised its entire materials managementsystem while switching over to Roto NX in early 2022, continues Schurer. Experts from the Roto Lean team and, of course, from the Roto data service provided support to the best of their abilities during the collaboration. Managing Director Kohl recalls: “After being in contact with employees at Roto just a few times and making the trip to Leinfelden, one thing was clear to us: Roto has the exact people and way of thinking that we’re looking for.” Just like Konrad Schurer, he feels like it is his responsibility to put PaX AG in the best possible position for handing it over to the next generation of dedicated employees and managers. With this in mind, it’s also important to choose the right partners.
“Over the next few years, companies like PaX will have to make rapid progress in areas including digitalisation. The only way to achieve this is with forward-looking customers and strong suppliers.” After signing the agreement with Roto and switching over to the Roto NX Tilt&Turn hardware, he feels good that he has taken a significant step towards achieving this aim. “Efficient production and high product quality remain important. But in my opinion, the viability of a company is also linked to whether our industry as a whole manages to convince architects, investors and builders of the benefits of premium building elements,” believes Mr Kohl. “We think that, with Roto together we can make excellent progress in all key areas for the future.”
Based on trust
This assertion is shared by Karsten Zeuner, the responsible Roto Sales Representative who supported PaX AG while the company switched over to NX, and Branko Beclin, Sales Manager at Roto Frank FTT Vertriebs-GmbH. “When you’re getting a window manufacturer ready to switch over to a different hardware product range, you naturally work very closely with them over a number of months,” underlines Karsten Zeuner. “You have to build up trust as you are both giving each other a very deep insight into your respective companies. But if you find really experienced and forward- looking experts, like in the case of PaX AG, then a special ‘spirit’ develops during this period.” Beclin is also certain that “the next few years will be very demanding for German companies, in particular due to the general economic conditions. This is why, especially at this precise moment, it is very important for window manufacturers to increase their efficiency, exploit their potential for digitalization together with their suppliers, and improve their market position together with their dealers. At Roto, we are always honoured to be given the opportunity to support companies throughout this process.”
This article was published in Roto Inside 52.