“We manufacture doors for various industries operating in demanding environments. The door must be wear-resistant, impact-resistant, fire-resistant, hygienic, moisture and water-resistant, and resistant to chemicals and corrosion,” says Juha-Matti Aho, the company’s Vice President.

Muovilami’s product guarantees are not just empty words. This is proven by the fact that the first LAMI door, manufactured in 1966, is still in use. The products last for decades. Under normal use, LAMI door panels and frames are guaranteed for 25 years against water and moisture.

“It is very important in demanding environments that the product lasts,” adds Jaana Aho, Managing Director.

The door frames are manufactured at Mäkelä Alu’s Luoma-aho factory. There are dozens of different extrusion tools available at Muovilami.

“The profiles delivered to us are anodized and sometimes powder coated. We surface treat very small batches of less than eight pieces here in Ähtäri, in a smaller paint shop next door to our factory,” says Juha-Matti Aho.

A long partnership

Muovilami Oy is one of Mäkelä Alu’s longest standing customers. When Mäkelä Alu was about to order its first extrusion line from Germany in the late 1980s, it was breaking new ground. It was a big investment: the new machines cost around FIM 35 million. Of course, Mäkelä Alu had to find customers for its new production.

“Before the extrusion plant was even up and running, Mäkelä Alu contacted us and asked if we would buy their products if the company started manufacturing aluminium profiles. And of course we promised to buy, especially since the factory was planned so close,” says Jaana Aho.

The first aluminium profiles were extruded at Mäkelä Alu on 16 December 1990.

“Indeed, our cooperation started with the design of profiles in 1990, and the first extrusion tools were ordered in spring 1991. The cooperation has been quite smooth on both sides,” says Asko Perälampi from Mäkelä Alu.

High quality, timely deliveries and excellent service

One of Muovilami’s requirements for aluminium profiles is uniformity.

“Of course, the surface treatments must also be of high quality. The delivery times must be very accurate. We are very satisfied with Mäkelä Alu’s service in these areas,” Juha-Matti Aho says.

Muovilami uses Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® warehousing service, which helps them with fast deliveries.

“Certain profiles are always in stock at Mäkelä Alu. When we order these profiles, stock levels are replenished to the agreed level,” says Plant Manager Jussi Pöyhölä.

Untreated, anodized and powder-coated profiles are available from stock as required. The machining is done by Muovilami itself.

“Our batches are small, and each door can be a little different. This is why it makes more sense to carry out the machining in-house,” explains Jussi Pöyhölä.

The company also relies on Mäkelä Alu’s expertise in designing aluminium profiles and ensuring that they are just right.

“We need new tools from time to time. Mäkelä Alu helps us in our development projects or in the design of new products. We first sketch the profile shape ourselves, and then Mäkelä Alu’s designers draw it the way it should be,” Pöyhölä laughs.

“We work very closely with Mäkelä Alu. We have known the office staff for a long time. Doing business is easy and comfortable,” adds Juha-Matti Aho.

Doors around the world

LAMI doors are used in the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and nursing homes, food industry, supermarkets, industrial kitchens, spas and swimming pools, and various production facilities. All premises where hygiene, sanitation and durability are important. The main reason to choose LAMI doors is the long life cycle of the products.

“Around half of our production is exported. We have subsidiaries in the UK and Sweden, but all our products are manufactured in Ähtäri, Finland. The Nordic countries are an important region for us, as are England, Ireland, the Baltic States and Poland. There are also important export countries in Central Europe. As a rule, our products are sent to ten to twelve countries,” says Jaana Aho.

“But we have also delivered doors to more distant locations, such as a hospital laboratory in Australia and Myanmar. We delivered several hundred doors to a clinic in Nigeria; two sea containers in total,” Jussi Pöyhölä adds.

Recently, Muovilami was involved in a major project, the refurbishment of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in England.

“The site required water and moisture-resistant doors that are easy to clean. The project included the delivery of 106 doors for dog rehoming facilities and 16 doors for cat rehoming facilities, as well as doors for the utility rooms, staff rooms and lobby areas,” says Jussi Pöyhölä.

“We are not consciously looking for customers from the ends of the earth. Usually it’s because someone has seen our products, for example on a hospital visit in England, and finds us through that. We focus on our main export countries in Europe, where we are actively involved in sales and marketing,” says Jaana Aho.

In the main photo of the article there is plant manager Jussi Pöyhölä (left) with packer Eino Tuhkio.

Artikkeli Decades-lasting products and partnership julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

“Our head office and our warehouse in Southern Finland are located in Tuusula. Our logistics centre is located in Tampere. From there, we send our supplies all over Finland and also for export. Exports are growing, and Finnish suppliers are attracting interest. Currently, our products are mainly exported to the Nordic countries, and exports to Estonia are growing,” says Arto Kurtti, Business Director at Wisol Oy.

Smooth and efficient services

Mäkelä Alu manufactures panel fixings and mounting rails for Wisol for both rooftop power plants and solar farms. In total, five different aluminium profiles are in production. In addition, Wisol uses the AluCoating® surface treatment service, which means that the aluminium profiles ordered are finished as requested by the customer; in this case, with a black powder coating.

Wisol has its own storage space, but Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® warehousing service is a good addition for storing certain profiles.

“We keep the customer’s most popular rail in our warehouse in a ready-to-use package. This allows the customer to get the products quickly and efficiently. The idea is that by having a buffer in place, we can respond to Wisol’s unexpected needs. The concept is very flexible; this way we ensure that they can also serve their own customers as well as possible,” says Olli Korkia-aho from Mäkelä Alu’s sales team.

“The warehousing service is great for unexpected needs. Sometimes our products are ordered on short notice. For example, if a customer company has not made an order on time, they may suddenly need 3,000 rails in two weeks. On the solar farm side, we don’t keep much of the rails we need in our own stock, as the need for them is always project-specific. Occasionally, we may be offered the opportunity to install smaller power plants on short notice. In situations like these, Mäkelä Alu’s warehousing service has worked extremely well,” says Arto Kurtti.

More than a profile manufacturer

Although Wisol Oy was established only last year, the actual business of developing mounting products for photovoltaic systems started more than six years ago.

“We originally started developing these products at Sadex Oy, which has a long experience in various roofing and ladder products as well as rainwater systems. Mäkelä Alu has long been our partner also in Sadex’s operations, and the aluminium profiles used in the company’s products are still supplied from Mäkelä,” Arto Kurtti says.

It was therefore natural that Mäkelä Alu was also chosen as the profile supplier for Wisol Oy’s mounting products.

“The cooperation has always been constructive and smooth, which made it easy to continue. I didn’t feel the need to seek other suppliers,” he says.

“We received good help from Mäkelä Alu in designing the profiles. I had drawn a profile model on graph paper to see if it would be good, and that’s where it all started,” Arto says.

What the whole Wisol team appreciates about Mäkelä Alu is that they are not just a manufacturer.

“Mäkelä’s service concept is very similar to ours: Wisol is not just a supplier either, our service range is much broader. When we deal with Olli or Viljo Sivula, we see that they have a genuine desire to be our partner and, for example, to develop and make a product even better together,” Arto says.

Optimistic about the future

Effective and close cooperation is in the interest of both companies and ensures a successful and long-lasting partnership.

“Mäkelä Alu has an active team that is always happy to talk to us. There’s even a project going on right now where they’ve been involved in discussions and thinking about whether we could make a certain product out of aluminium. This gives a very positive signal to us that the whole Mäkelä Alu team wants to participate and go over these things together,” Arto says happily.

“We believe that the next step in the cooperation could be a profile made from recycled AluPure, which would create added value for both sides by achieving emission reductions. It is great to cooperate with a customer that shares the same values of environmental responsibility with us through its own operations,” says Viljo Sivula, Sales Manager at Mäkelä Alu.

The construction of solar farms is now growing strongly both in Finland and abroad. Wisol aims to target more export markets, once the domestic market is up and running.

“The whole market is still very much in its infancy in Finland. We want to strengthen our foothold in Finland first, before we really start to invest in exports. Of course, Europeans and Chinese are rushing into the same markets, but our strength is our specialised knowledge of northern conditions, which we have years of experience in. In Norway, for example, snow loads are slightly different from, say, the Netherlands. With our specialised expertise, we’ve been able to secure a fairly significant installation company in Norway,” he continues.

Artikkeli Wisol Oy: An aluminium profile supplier is an important partner in the photovoltaic sector julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

Riikku consists of three subsidiaries: Sakkes in Sweden, Glassy in Norway, and Riikku Koti Oy, which is responsible for consumer sales in Finland. The last two companies joined the group a year ago. 

Mäkelä Alu played a key role in Riikku’s growth        

Cooperation between Riikku and Mäkelä Alu began six years ago, and Mäkelä Alu soon became the main supplier of Riikku’s aluminium profiles. According to Joni Mäkiranta, one of the owners of Riikku, the partnership marked something of a turning point for the company. Since the start of the cooperation, order and material flows have been closely monitored, and common operating methods have been developed in collaboration with Mäkelä Alu. Security of supply and transparency have constantly been improved, and at the same time, Riikku has experienced rapid growth. According to Mäkiranta, Mäkelä Alu’s warehousing services and flexible daily product deliveries have played a key role in this.   

“Our production has nearly doubled during our cooperation. Increasing our production to this extent would not have been possible without Mäkelä Alu,” says Mäkiranta.  

According to Mäkiranta, a steady, predetermined order flow is key when purchasing aluminium profiles. It has allowed the company to reduce its stocks and speed up its processes.  

“If we had to store aluminium profiles for many weeks, we would not be able to keep up with our current production volumes. We would be drowning in unfinished work.”  

No more organising orders by urgency       

Every profile order placed by Riikku is unique in terms of dimensions, colour, and type. The right kind of aluminium profiles must be available at the right time in order for the company’s production to run as planned.   

Mäkelä Alu delivers raw materials to Riikku on a daily basis. The companies have agreed on a certain framework with regard to delivery quantities, and the details of daily orders can be confirmed at short notice within that framework.  

“As a result, the number of open orders is small and there is no need to constantly rearrange orders according to the degree of urgency. Each order is completed in its turn,” says Mäkiranta.   

Fast deliveries to end customers     

At the same time, the waiting time for orders has been shortened, which has also enabled faster deliveries.

“This is a huge advantage for the end customer. We are able to serve our customers quickly when we receive the materials we need for their orders within days instead of months,” says Mäkiranta.   

“We can count on Mäkelä Alu’s delivery reliability”    

Now that Riikku can rely on Mäkelä Alu’s quick deliveries, the company only has to hold a few days’ stock of aluminium profiles in its own warehouse. The rest of the stock is stored at Mäkelä Alu through the AluStorage® warehousing service. Mäkelä Alu’s warehouse houses about a hundred aluminium profiles of different sizes that have been manufactured in accordance with Riikku’s specifications.

The profiles are only surface treated at Mäkelä Alu once an order is placed by Riikku.  

“Outsourcing our warehousing activities to Mäkelä Alu means that we have less unfinished work in our production hall and less things lying around in the yard. This arrangement would not work if we could not rely on the quality of the products and security of supply. However, this arrangement works well with Mäkelä Alu. We always get what we order,” says Mäkiranta.

This has also allowed Riikku to minimise waste.   

“When we talk about waste, we don’t just mean aluminium left over from machining. Waste can also refer to work carried out at the wrong time or products that are just lying around waiting to be delivered.”   

Continuous development based on customer needs      

Although the profile orders are handled electronically, Mäkelä Alu and Riikku interact very closely. Both companies are constantly striving to develop their operations and improve their productivity. When bottlenecks are identified, appropriate solutions are immediately sought.   

“Our goal is to further shorten our delivery times,” says Mäkiranta.   

Mäkiranta praises Mäkelä Alu’s development-oriented attitude.   

“The fact that Mäkelä Alu is easy to work with is also important to us. We feel they are happy to serve us and see us as a valuable partner, despite our occasional rivalry on the baseball field.”   

A steady order flow benefits both parties      

Sales Specialist Janne Kohonen from Mäkelä Alu is also happy with the cooperation.   

“Riikku has truly grasped the idea of ​​our service and understood the benefits of our strategy for the customer,” says Kohonen.   

He emphasises the importance of continuous monitoring and communication in this type of operating model. According to Kohonen, Riikku is easy to work with as a partner, which is important because, in the end, partnership is all about cooperation.   

Customers can outsource their warehousing activities to Mäkelä Alu    

This operating model is also beneficial to Mäkelä Alu as steady daily deliveries spread out the work. When a certain capacity can be reserved in advance for the customer’s orders, the customer has the opportunity to change the content of the order right up until the last moment.   

According to Kohonen, the main advantage of Mäkelä Alu’s warehousing service is that the customer does not have to tie up any capital in a warehouse.   

“Our customers in the window and terrace industry are already familiar with this concept, but some customers from other industries may still be surprised by the fact that warehousing can be outsourced to us and that they do not have to order the raw materials to their own warehouse,” says Kohonen.  

Circulating baskets facilitate transport and storage    

Riikku also uses Mäkelä Alu’s AluBasket® service. This means that the customer’s aluminium profiles are delivered in protective aluminium baskets that travel back and forth between the customer’s facilities and Mäkelä Alu. The baskets can be easily moved and stacked with a forklift.

The baskets protect the aluminium profiles from dents and also serve as convenient, short-term intermediate storage for the profiles.   

Riikku in a nutshell:

• Implements projects from planning to installation  
• Specialises in custom-made balcony glazing and railings   
• Main customers: construction companies (new buildings and renovation projects) 
• Head office and factory in Alavus, regional offices in Jyväskylä, Tampere, Oulu, Helsinki, and Raisio
• Subsidiaries in Sweden and Norway
• Consumer sales under the name Riikku Koti Oy  
• Turnover of 34 million euros, employs more than 200 balcony industry professionals     

Artikkeli Partnership with Mäkelä Alu enabled Riikku’s rapid growth         julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

Alavus Ikkunat Oy is one of largest window and door manufacturers in Finland. The company delivers approximately 60,000 windows and 10,000 doors a year. The company’s customers are mainly construction companies, housing companies, and nationwide retailers. The company delivers windows and doors for apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, and other public buildings.

Every week in production is different, but one thing never changes: construction sites need their products on time, so it’s important for raw materials to be in production on time.

“Otherwise, we have 60–70 people twiddling their thumbs, and at the same time our customers’ construction site stands idle,” says Plant Manager Juha Äijänaho.

“However, we have not yet experienced such a situation, thanks to our reliable partners. Mäkelä Alu is one of our longest-serving partners. They have supplied us with aluminium profiles for almost 20 years.”

Reliable delivery and guaranteed quality

Mäkelä Alu delivers aluminium profiles to the Alavus Ikkunat factory once or twice a week: always according to the customer’s needs.

“In addition to reliable delivery, we can rely on the quality of the profiles. That is important to us, because we want to provide the highest level of quality to our customers as well,” says Äijänaho.

Alavus Ikkunat needs aluminium profiles for its window frames and the cladding of balcony doors, among other things.

The company delivers a variety of special windows for its customers’ construction projects.

The AluStorage® service frees up capital from warehousing

With Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® service, which has been developed based on customer needs, production can be planned on a weekly basis without having to invest money or space in a warehouse.

Mäkelä Alu supplies approximately 20 different profile models to Alavus Ikkunat. All of them are always ready in Mäkelä Alu’s warehouse. New aluminium profiles are made as the stock levels start to dwindle.

“The aluminium profiles are delivered to us according to order. We do not have our own warehouse. We place the orders electronically,” says Äijänaho.

Alavus Ikkunat utilises Mäkelä Alu’s additional services when designing new aluminium profile models. Mäkelä Alu can create 3D models of the profiles, if necessary.

“A profile printed from plastic makes it easy to test the functionality of the model before the extrusion of the new profiles.”

Mäkelä Alu’s warehouse guarantees fast deliveries

When the customer places an order, Mäkelä Alu takes care of coating the agreed aluminium profiles. Special paints are purchased to order.

“If necessary, the aluminium profiles can be delivered as soon as the following week,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Sales Manager Asko Perälampi.

Although the aluminium profiles are made according to the customer’s drawings, the customer only pays for the profiles when they use them.

“Some aluminium profiles have a faster storage cycle. Others are needed less frequently and may sit in our warehouse for several months,” says Perälampi.

The profiles are generally delivered to the customer in a length of six metres. The customer cuts the profiles to their final length and performs the necessary machining.

Mäkelä Alu caters for all colour needs

The design and colour needs of Alavus Ikkunat change every week. Today, windows and doors can be coated in a wide range of colours.

“Of course, the majority of the profiles we order are made in standard colours, such as white or dark grey. However, our customers use a variety of colours in their construction projects. Especially in public spaces, architects use colours boldly: red, yellow, blue…even the brightest shades. Even I am amazed at times,” says Äijänaho.

Fortunately, the world has plenty of room for colours, and so does Mäkelä Alu’s powder-coating paint shop.

AluBasket® delivers aluminium profiles neatly and conveniently

The profiles are delivered to Alavus in Mäkelä Alu’s light aluminium baskets, which make the profiles easy to handle both during transport and at the factory. The AluBasket® service is designed to facilitate the transport, handling and temporary storage of long aluminium profiles.

“The baskets protect the profiles from dents and scratches. This is particularly important when the profiles are intended for windows and doors, i.e., visible elements. The baskets keep the profiles straight, which is also important, because we have to be able to get the panes and seals into the profile gaps,” says Äijänaho.

The profiles can also be sorted in different baskets.

“The baskets make the profiles easy to handle with a forklift in our factory.

The baskets are light, so they can be moved single-handedly.”

The AluBasket® service reduces the amount of packaging material

The baskets help keep the profiles in good order. They can also be used to move extra profiles off the production line.

“It’s a clear advantage over cable-tying the profiles together and delivering them on a pallet. Moving a pile like that is not quite as easy,” says Perälampi.

The empty baskets can be stacked, so they require little storage space. The AluBasket® service also includes the possibility of storing the profiles at the customer’s premises for a slightly longer period of time.

“The aluminium profiles we order are always used so quickly that the circulation time of the baskets is only a few weeks,” says Äijänaho.

One advantage of the service is that the baskets can be circulated, which significantly reduces the amount of packaging material. The use of the AluBasket® service is separately agreed upon ordering.

Sometimes it’s good to meet face to face

According to Äijänaho, cooperation with Mäkelä Alu has always been smooth. There have been very few complaints.

“Even in such cases, everything is handled very well,” says Äijänaho in praise of Mäkelä Alu.

Carefully planned services make operations run smoothly. However, with highly automated services, face-to-face contact with people remains fairly limited. This has also been taken into account.

“We tend to visit Mäkelä Alu every few years, and their representatives visit us every year. That is important. Sometimes it’s good to meet face to face and talk about something other than aluminium,” says Äijänaho.

AluBasket® baskets facilitate the transport, storage and transfer of aluminium profiles.

Artikkeli The AluStorage® service meets the changing weekly needs julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.

Terrassenwandel GmbH uses Mäkelä Alu’s powder-coated profiles in their products and stores them using Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® service. This means that Mäkelä Alu’s stock always has an agreed amount of aluminium profiles ready, which are powder-coated and delivered to the customer exactly when they need them.

AluStorage® is a practical solution regardless of whether the customer is located in a neighbouring city or on the other side of Europe.

The profiles travel from Alajärvi to Vechta in approximately four days.

Makelä Alu offers high-quality aluminium solutions for terrace and carport roofing

Terrassenwandel GmbH manufactures high-quality terrace roofs and carports in Vechta, Lower Saxony, on a modern and fully automated production line. The company’s products are only delivered to specialist retailers. Terrassenwandel GmbH currently operates exclusively in Germany, but is looking for partners in neighbouring countries.

The market has developed favourably, so the demand for aluminium profiles is likely to increase in the future.

– Flexible purchase volumes, fast communication in German, short delivery times and quick response to problem situations have reinforced our confidence in Mäkelä Alu, says Sales Manager Hotan Haghiran.

The automated monitoring system of Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® service helps maintain the agreed stock levels

Terrassenwandel GmbH’s aluminium profiles are stored in Mäkelä Alu’s warehouse with Mäkelä Alu’s AluStorage® service. Profile storage and replenishment is carried out automatically. The quantities of stored profiles are agreed together with the customer.

Mäkelä Alu ensures that customers always have the right number of profiles in stock. Mäkelä Alu uses an automated monitoring system, which ensures that stock levels are always up-to-date. The customer’s only task is to place the order, and the profiles will be delivered within the agreed time.

Terrassenwandel GmbH’s delivery times are shortened by the fact that the profiles are ready and already in stock. The profiles are powder-coated on a relatively fast schedule as the customer places the order. In this way, purchase volumes can be adjusted to market demand at short notice.

Thanks to the AluStorage® service, the customer does not need to invest in a large warehouse

– The advantage of the AluStorage® service is that the customer does not have to invest money in a large warehouse, says Mäkelä Alu’s Export Sales Specialist Leena Kalliokoski.

Leena is keen to remind customers how important it is that the agreed stock levels meet the market demand. Stock levels are easy to change, but the delivery of additional profiles may not be possible on a fast schedule. Of course, depending on capacity, this is sometimes possible.

Mäkelä Alu’s communication and attitude receive praise

– We have been very pleased with Mäkelä Alu’s clear communication and approach from the beginning. We already know each other so well that the cooperation is now even better and runs smoothly without additional checks, says Hotan Haghiran.

– No manufacturer can guarantee 100% quality. But whenever a problem has come up, we have received help quickly and flexibly.

There is always room for improvement.

– We believe that Mäkelä Alu will continue to develop, deliveries and products will improve, and possible complaints will be handled fairly, so we can recommend Mäkelä Alu with a clear conscience, he says.

Please note that our service is also available in English.

Watch the video to see how the AluStorage® service works
 

Artikkeli Terrassenwandel GmbH appreciates the AluStorage® service julkaistiin ensimmäisen kerran Mäkelä Alu Oy.