We interviewed Danie Botha from Bepicon Steel Construction, who has been successfully using his MicroStep machine to grow his business from strength to strength
Have you ever wished that you would be able to cut parts with a weld preparation without having to manually grind them?
Our customer Bepicon, situated in Pretoria is able to do so with his MicroStep Plasma Cutting Machine that is mounted with a Rotator Bevel Head.
The endlessly rotating micro-step R5 Rotator offers brand new dimensions with fully automatic bevelling capabilities:
- Fully automatic and high precision bevel cuts up to 50 ° (plasma & oxyfuel)
- Bevel cutting of flat sheet metal, pipes and profiles and dished ends
- Cutting of Chamfers and Weld-preps on already cut components
- Intuitive and simple programming of bevels with the MicroStep® CAM software
At MicroStep we understand the frustration that you have with producing these parts cost effectively. In many instances these intricate parts cost you more to manufacture than what you can charge your customer. With our state of the art cutting machines and integrated software we have come up with a solution that is one of its kind and is unravelled in our industry. We have been successfully implementing this technology for the past 18 years and have many satisfied customers that are able to offer solutions and services that their opposition is not able to do.
MicroStep is a leader in Bevel Cutting Technology and this is one of the reasons why Danie Botha from Bepicon has been able to expand his offerings, whilst saving on material usage and time.
Based in the remote area of Kameeldrift near Pretoria, Bepicon is a leading, mid-sized steel manufacturing company.
They supply manufacturing solutions to mainly the telecoms industry, construction, industrial and domestic markets, including but not limited to steel brackets, fences and masts. Danie Botha started Bepicon in his garage and has grown with such a manufacturing edge which has made them well geared and very capable to take on any steel fabrication assignment.
Why did you decide to buy the MicroStep machine?
Danie Botha:
“It was by pure luck that I came across the brand. I had initially bought another Plasma Cutting Machine on auction, which then turned out not to be for sale. I then needed a new plasma cutting machine and I was put in touch with Ludwig from MicroStep SA.
Ludwig demonstrated the capabilities of the machine as well as long term possible savings. We did our research and received a quote from another global competitor, but MicroStep came up stronger in my view. My gut feel was to go with MicroStep and it has definitely been the right choice.”
What do you use our MicroStep machine for?
Danie Botha:
“We mainly fabricate poles and brackets for the telecommunications industry, construction and industrial markets and we used to outsource a lot. This cost us substantially monetary every month, as well as the added stress of relying on another company for on time delivery to our customers.
Now we are able to take on work from outside engineering, construction companies and supply them plasma cutting and the other 70-80% of the time we use the plasma cutting machine for our own business.”
How has the MicroStep machine impacted your business?
Danie Botha:
The machine has made a massive positive contribution to overall success. Since the acquisition of the MicroStep machine we have grown substantially and have been able to buy more machines and expanded our overall portfolio. This has allowed us to grow more and in 2020 we have been able to grow our turnover by 30%. This has been a massive achievement during all the turmoil. “
How have you found your experience with MicroStep South Africa?
Danie Botha:
“I am very happy with the MicroStep brand. The service has always been excellent and feedback received from Ludwig and the service team has always been very good and reliable. We are very happy with our decision and compared to other brands we have in the shop, we have had very little downtime with our Plasma Cutting Machine.”
Have you won any projects lately?
“We have not had any major projects this year, but have been very fortunate to have many small jobs and this has allowed us to grow our business turnover by 30% in 2020”
About the Company:
Bepicon, Kameeldrift
About the Machine:
MG 6000 x 2500, Kjellberg Plasma Source
- 3D Plasma cutting head
R-type tool station Y,Z, A, B axis, ITH, Infinitive
AsperWin – Bevel cutting module
Features of a MG Plasma Cutting Machine
MG represents a high-precision and reliable cutting machine with a gantry manufactured and designed for: 3D Plasma-, 3D oxyfuel cutting; Marking with Ink-jet or Micro-punching; Tapping and Drilling; Camera for scanning of parts and Tube- and Profile cutting. The concept of the system is modular, thus enabling optimization and further expansion of the system. The machine is equipped with an efficient and user-friendly CNC control system iMSNC500. The TFT colour monitor with touch screen and an industrial waterproof keyboard is very user friendly and one can operate the machine after only a few hours of training.
Standard Features
- Very good cutting quality as a result of a double – sided synchronized drive system in longitudinal axis
- Sharp angles and corners, as well as high contour precision resulting from rack and pinion drives and the application of fast CNC-Controls under Windows® 2000™
- High safety and environmental standards, and less pollution through a sectional under-table extraction system
