ASPROMEC visits PERFINASA under the guidance of its manager, Javier Antunez, to learn about their commitment to industrial innovation.
Perfinasa has specialized in the development of complex metal profiles and customized solutions for clients from different industrial sectors.. With almost half a century of experience and 12 profiling lines spread across its three production centers in Navarra, The company has oriented its activity towards projects that require a high degree of precision and technical adaptation. “We manufacture profiles that often, at a first glance at a plan, “they would seem unapproachable”, explains Javier Antúnez, company manager, who also highlights the importance of collaborating closely with the technical departments of their clients. After the day of Observatory of the Metalworking Industry of Navarra, Attendees visited Perfinasa facilities to learn first-hand about its production capabilities., its technologies and the processes with which it transforms steel coils into profiles designed to respond to specific requirements.
Perfinasa was born in 1979 and has evolved from its early years to become a company with several production plants in Navarra.. How would you summarize the evolution of the company and what have been the main milestones that have marked its trajectory??
The growth of the company has been gradual. Customer confidence was leading to investment in new lines. The activity began in a warehouse that could accommodate two profiling lines, and in 1995 we had to go to the Olave factory, in which there is 8 lines and that also became small. The last jump occurred in 2021, with the opening of the Oricáin center, with the capacity to accommodate some more lines.
Currently Perfinasa has production centers in Olave, Berian y Oricáin. What role does each of these plants play and how do they complement each other within the company's industrial structure??
The function is the same in all three centers, make profiles. But it is true that each one has its peculiarity. At Oricáin we concentrate long-run products, At Beriáin we can provide the client with logistical management as well., and at Olave we program short runs.
Antúnez: “Our latest investments have focused on information management (comprehensive traceability, data capture systems directly from machines) and in technical debugging, with the incorporation of a finite element module in our design team”.
The company has been expanding its profiling capacity over the years. What productive means do you currently have and what capacity do the different profiling lines provide??
We currently have a park of 12 complete lines. This allows us to manufacture a wide range of references: let's go for more than 1.400 cataloged since the beginning of the activity. We always try to design rollers and tools so that they can be used interchangeably in several of them.; Otherwise it would be very difficult to respond to customer needs in a timely manner..
What type of profiles and jobs does Perfinasa currently develop and what level of complexity are the projects it receives from its clients?? The company has historically specialized in special profiles and jobs that require additional machining operations., like holes, colisos, sideburns or inlays.
That's how it is. Perfinasa has been evolving towards complex profiles, and has been left out of the market in profiles that have become commercial. Usually, Anyone who needs simple profiles will find it difficult to come to Perfinasa. The normal thing is to encounter figures that force us to give incessant twists of the screw to the technique.. We manufacture profiles that many times, at a first glance at a plan, would seem unapproachable. In recent times, what's more, The levels of demand that automation is bringing make the technical conditions that must be met increasingly restrictive..
Which sectors currently have the greatest weight in Perfinasa's activity and how has its client portfolio evolved in recent years??
In recent years we have tried to diversify our client portfolio by opening up to sectors in which we had not historically been.. It is true that metal profiles, almost always, they end up being part of a building in one way or another, but we no longer have the dependence that we had before on the construction sector. Logistics, the world of the elevator, photovoltaic energy, greenhouses, enclosures, or the industry itself that uses profiles as parts of larger sets… As you can see, there is variety.
The client portfolio has been reduced if we look back a decade. However, growth is consistent. We are increasingly working with larger and more solid clients accompanying their own growth..
What is the profile of your clients and what do you think they look for in Perfinasa when they turn to a company specialized in metal profiling?? To what extent do you work with customized projects versus more standardized references??
Precisely this is our differential fact. Perfinasa does not have its own product. We work at 100% references from our clients, so customization is absolute. More and more clients seek to differentiate themselves with the designs of their solutions, It doesn't matter what sector they are in. And with us they know that the profiles will adapt to their needs, and not the other way around.
Antúnez: “Today we already export the 40% of our production, and that is where our next milestones must come”.
The process starts with steel coils that pass through a roller train until the required geometry is obtained., previously incorporating the necessary mechanizations. What possibilities does Perfinasa currently offer to integrate different operations and deliver a practically finished product to the client??
It is a growing trend that clients want to reduce the number of processes involved. The machining operations that have historically been done on the profile before profiling are no longer enough., but increasingly it is necessary to integrate auxiliary processes once the part is obtained. Many of them related to traceability, MARKS, addition of other elements…
What technologies and means of production do you consider differential within Perfinasa?? In which areas are you currently making the main investments to increase capacity?, flexibility or precision?
Cold forming technology is very mature, It's pure mechanics. What we are investing heavily in is everything around profiling.. Our latest investments have focused on information management (comprehensive traceability, data capture systems directly from machines) and in technical debugging (We have incorporated a finite element module into our design equipment).
Beyond having machinery and productive capacity, Where is the true added value of Perfinasa?
We want to believe that closeness and direct collaboration with the technical departments of our clients, more than with shopping, They are key to being where we are. Clients who allow us to interact with their design teams typically end up much more satisfied with the results than those who stick to a predetermined blueprint..
In a market in which many manufacturers can have profiling technologies, What makes a client choose Perfinasa to develop a complex profile or a solution that cannot be easily found on the market??
The technical capacity that we have developed over time is a fact that is visible when a potential client visits our showroom.. And we have the support of a list of first-class clients., that sometimes surprises those who visit us.
Besides, There are cases of clients who, having profilers, They reserve the complicated references for us.
The company has participated in R&D projects together with other companies and AIN to improve materials, treatments and durability of elements subjected to wear. How important is innovation and technological collaboration to maintain this added value??
Absolute importance. Regardless of whether the projects crystallize into commercial successes or not, the generation of shared knowledge is today essential. Bringing together capabilities from multiple sources can only be a winner.. And if one of them is also a technological center of the level of AIN, everything is much more enriching.
Looking ahead to the next few years, Where does Perfinasa want to take its growth?? What new sectors, technologies, capabilities or markets can open opportunities for a company specialized in metal profiles?
What we plan to do is continue what we are specialists in., and expand the geographic radius of action. Today we already export the 40% of our production, and that is where our next milestones must come.
