Ten Ham Plaatwerk has been working with metal since 1983 and has built a broad production operation around sheet metal processing. At its facility in Ede, the company works with steel, stainless steel, aluminium and copper, using processes such as welding, plasma cutting, waterjet cutting, bending, rolling and punching.
With several metalworking processes taking place within the same production environment, maintaining good air quality is a regular part of the working conditions at the facility. Welding and thermal cutting generate fumes and fine airborne particles, including particles that are too small to be seen easily and can remain suspended in the air.
Ten Ham wanted to improve the air conditions throughout the production area and create a cleaner working environment for the people working there every day.
The production processes at Ten Ham generate different types of airborne particles. Welding produces welding fumes, while plasma cutting produces fine particles during the cutting process. These particles do not remain limited to the exact point where they are generated and can spread through the surrounding production area.
For Ten Ham, this made the air quality of the wider workshop a key part of its evaluation. The company wanted a solution that fitted the way its production facility operates and supported better working conditions for its employees.
Employee health was another part of the evaluation. Regular exposure to welding fumes and fine metal particles is closely linked with respiratory health, making cleaner air relevant to the people spending their working day inside the workshop.
Ten Ham also looked at the practical side of running an air purification system in an active production facility. Installation, day-to-day operation, maintenance and energy consumption were considered alongside the ability of the system to deal with fine particles across the production area.
Before making a decision, Ten Ham carried out detailed research and held several meetings with StaticAir. These discussions gave the company an opportunity to understand the PMR-Tube technology, its application in a metalworking environment and how the system would fit into its production facility.
After this evaluation, Ten Ham decided to install two PMR-Tubes.
StaticAir installed two PMR-Tubes at Ten Ham's production facility in Ede. The two units were placed to treat the air within the wider production environment, where welding, plasma cutting and other metalworking processes take place.
The installation became part of the existing production environment without requiring changes to the company's normal manufacturing activities. Ten Ham continued its regular production while the two PMR-Tubes operated in the facility.
The decision followed the company's research and several discussions with StaticAir, giving Ten Ham a solution that matched the requirements it had identified during its evaluation.
Since installation, both PMR-Tubes have been operating well and Ten Ham reports positive results from the installation.
Ten Ham approached the project after carefully looking at the air quality within its production environment and the conditions faced by its employees. The company researched available options, discussed the technology with StaticAir and evaluated how the solution would fit into its daily operation.
Two PMR-Tubes were then installed at the Ede facility. They have been operating well alongside the company's normal production processes, giving Ten Ham cleaner air and better working conditions across its metalworking environment.