Demand for profiles, i.e., electrical conductors with a cross-section other than circular, has increased significantly in recent years. In 2022–23, Elcowire increased production from 15 to 33 Mkg, but capacity needed to be increased further to meet market demand. Therefore, the “40 in 24” project was initiated with the goal of producing 40 Mkg of profiles in 2024.
However, increasing pressure on production inevitably leads to smaller margins when it comes to operational disruptions. The project therefore also included increasing both efficiency and safety, as well as increasing margins for service and maintenance by switching from five shifts to three shifts.
New conform machines
The rolling mill in Helsingborg produces 130 Mkg of wire rod per year. Much of this is sold on to wire rod customers, but an increasing proportion is further processed in the profile department. The production of profiles manufactured in the seven conform machines – conform stands for continuous forming/extruding – increased, for example, from 15 Mkg in 2022 to 33 Mkg in 2023 but needed to be increased to 40 Mkg in 2024.
It became clear early on that three new conform machines would need to be built, with commissioning planned for fall 2024. It was also clear that the entire organization and its working methods needed to be reviewed in connection with the capacity increase.
Three sub-projects emerge
From the outset, seven sub-projects were identified: the construction of three new machines, an increase in equipment efficiency (OEE) in the profile department, quality assurance of the supply chain, ensuring the right staffing and skills, improving infrastructure and layout, financing, and ensuring the right system support. However, it soon became clear that so many large projects in the short time available would be an overwhelming task, so it was decided to prioritize:
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three new machines with associated production lines,
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higher OEE for existing machinery,
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a new factory layout.
The capacity increase that the “40 in 24” project would lead to also meant that Elcowire would be able to switch its production from five shifts to three . This would give the company greater margins in terms of safety, service & maintenance, and handling any additional orders. Not working overtime would also create a more cohesive workforce that works when management is on site, reducing the risk of different work teams developing their own suboptimal work routines.
CANEA is brought in
Elcowire initially needed help with value stream mapping (VSM), a layout proposal for the factory, creating a framework for continuous improvement, and training in lean. CANEA's management consultant Dardan Berisha was appointed project manager and launched a combined lean training and change management campaign in workshop format.
"A total of 70–80 people participated, and the result was increased awareness of lean, efficiency, waste, and safety. In addition, the seeds were sown for a project structure,” says Dardan.
When a key person left Elcowire at the turn of 2023/24, CANEA's consultant became the main project manager for “40 in 24.”
Three new production lines
Elcowire had been manufacturing one to two conform machines per year, but in 2024, it planned to produce seven, four of which would be exported. The increased production, which included the development of several new machines, increased the need for internal feedback and coordination.
“We had not worked in a project-oriented manner at this level before and realized early on that we needed to have daily pulse meetings to check how the work was progressing. This gave us better control over the project,” says Christian Thurnäs, Technology & Maintenance Manager, and continues:
"The ‘40 in 24’ project got off to a bit of a shaky start, but the team we put together, led by CANEA's consultant, got to grips with the most important aspects and managed to deliver.”
"We have now established a new, more project-oriented way of working, where projects start with thorough preliminary studies and are then allocated the time and resources they need.
All machines were put into operation in the fall of 2025 and will be ready for production at the turn of the year. Elcowire has also established a collaboration with JL Safety to gain even better control of machine safety and is in the process of implementing full CE marking of its machinery.
“We have increased our knowledge in project management and preliminary studies as well as teamwork and resource allocation. We have also learned a lot about safety and the working environment and developed our expertise in machine safety,” concludes Christian.
The OEE project
The issues surrounding equipment efficiency concerned both the ability to run the new conform machines optimally and to streamline the entire machine park. Among other things, it concerned the way in which efficiency was measured and the fact that work on efficiency-enhancing measures must be ongoing.
“We discussed whether we should carry out OEE tests on one of the new conform machines or on an existing machine that we saw potential in. We decided to test an existing machine that ran mixed products but still had a well-established production routine,” says Mauritz Linderoth, then process manager but now process developer in the profile department, and continues:
"The big advantage of choosing an existing machine was that we had an efficiency value to work from. So, we chose the Conform C87 machine, which had an efficiency value of 63 %, after compensating for downtime due to problems with the packaging supply. We assessed that it would be a good model for the rest of the machine park."
Practical work and data mining
The work was highly experimental, and there was discussion about whether to use kanban-scrum or hold workshops, but it was ultimately decided to conduct a large-scale data analysis because the causes of downtime were well understood. The exact number of minutes that various stoppages had lasted and their respective causes were logged in a database.
"We divided the data into four different problem areas: operator, speed, maintenance, and planning. I then held ongoing workshops with the departments concerned. We managed to increase OEE to 75 % simply by focusing on maintaining the right speed and ensuring that operators worked in a standardized and correct manner.
“During the course of the work, we also discussed long-term efficiency measures that could be applied to the entire machine park, such as the advantages of continuous service and better adjustment of machine parameters,” recalls Mauritz.
Key lessons learned and benefits achieved
In the profile department, the machines are shut down once a month for servicing, and this is when other maintenance tasks are carried out, such as ensuring that all machines are well lubricated.
It was an idea that came from the project and directly affected all production lines.
"We also developed a new way of working to change the product in the machine so that we could start production of the next product. The way of working could vary, but now we have developed a template for how to do it according to best practice. We have simply gained a new framework for product changes," says Mauritz.
The lean reviews that were conducted at the beginning of the project have yielded results. Now, everything is done with a lean perspective in mind. We always work according to best practice, learn from experience, troubleshoot correctly, and prevent errors in advance.
"The most important benefit, if you look at it from a helicopter perspective, is the realization that if you really investigate why errors and downtime occur, you can go a long way without major investments. We managed to increase OEE from 63 % to 83 % on a limited budget. In addition, we were able to push the machines a little harder without experiencing any machine problems or speed losses.
“That's probably the most important insight – that you can achieve a lot by being thorough,” concludes Mauritz.
About Elcowire AB
Elcowire is one of Europe's leading suppliers of products and services based on copper and aluminum wire for electricity transmission. Its customers are found in industries such as energy transmission, railway infrastructure, and electrical engineering. Manufacturing takes place in Sweden and Germany, and the head office is located in Helsingborg. The company has 400 employees and had a turnover of EUR 1.4 billion in 2023.
Elcowire develops and builds its own conform lines. A conform machine is 15 meters from coil to coil. The coil that feeds in round wire weighs 5 tons. The wire is heated and pulled through fixtures to obtain a new geometry with a smaller cross-sectional area.
“CANEA’s project manager drove the projects forward, and it has been reassuring to have an expert from outside the company who could look at our operations with fresh eyes.”
“The collaboration with CANEA has worked really well! The consultant was a rock.”
Paul Gustavsson, CEO
Elcowire Group AB
