LiemarX in an atypical steel construction company: Stracon Metalworks

With an expertise in bodywork, machine and bridge building, Stracon Metaalwerken is an extraordinary company in metal engineering. Complex products are made (in series) in the spacious factory in Oss. Think of mini shovels, sand cement container trucks and liquid tanks. Over sixty employees share some 6,000 m² production space to realize light or heavy, but always special constructions.

Flexibility of line layout and process optimization have been key concerns since its inception. And it shows. Calculation, work preparation, purchasing, planning and engineering: the daily work is managed from the business office with care, precision and innovation. Optimal production processes are the result, from which customers - with whom a partnership develops - benefit.

Roland van Oers, owner and director of Stracon Metaalwerken: 'If you want to keep up with the future, you have to automate, robotize and make software work for you. When I founded Stracon Metaalwerken in 2010, few steps had been taken in this area in the company. Then you are at a loss for words. In consultation with Jan van Hapert of Liemar Software, we decided to use Liemar's ERP software. That turned out to be a good choice.

'Of course the transition to an ERP package is quite a big job, but the implementation went smoothly. We started with an older version of the software at the time, so we had already taken a big step in the right direction. The arrival of LiemarX accelerated everything. Now the entire company - with all disciplines - is running on LiemarX.

'Good ERP software supports your business operations using processes and structures. LiemarX can do that, I have never doubted that. This is not only a merit of the software: it is also in the cooperation. Over the years, together with the people at Liemar, we have implemented various innovations. If we see an opportunity for improvement or want to add functionality, all we have to do is pick up the phone. And then when we mention something that makes sense, they quickly get to work on it. So we grow together, making it seem like custom software.'

Jan Savelkouls, Business Manager: 'We make complex products. For example, the small excavators and the large liquid tanks. That makes us almost a car factory: sheet metal comes in and an RDW-approved car drives out. Moreover, we work with a Kanban system.'

'So then you expect to be a 'difficult' customer. Our needs in using ERP software are probably different from those of other metal construction companies. But Liemar managed to create software that enables us to do what we want to do with it. We get the flexibility and functionality we need from Liemar.

Roland van Oers: 'Order management, calculation, purchasing, work preparation, planning, production data, post calculation, invoicing and personnel management: it's all in one package now. That has an important additional advantage. Thanks to the dashboard and the ability to 'zoom in' on data, we always have an up-to-date overview of all the information about the disciplines and the influence they have on each other. And then you can steer. 

Jan Savelkouls: 'Liemar came in here at the right time and has supported us in the right way at the right times over all these years. Several times a year we sit down together to discuss developments and working methods. A great approach. Partly because of this, we are future-proof. We trust that we can move forward together for years to come.