De Rooy Expands Tilling Capacity with a Second PAMA Vertiram
De Rooy was founded in 1939 and has approximately 125 employees. The company started as a grinding shop for industrial knives and grew into a specialist in large-scale and precision grinding, milling, and measurement. “Our slogan is ‘BIG on precision,’” says Adam (on the left in the photo). Within the family business, Adam De Rooy represents the third generation, while Frans (on the right in the photo) and Floortje de Rooy represent the fourth generation. Together, they ensure the continuity of De Rooy. After decades in Eindhoven, the company moved to Nuenen in 2006. Since then, the complex has been expanded several times, including the addition of a large measuring room (2012), a hall extension for a grinding machine (2015), and a new production hall in 2020 for large-scale milling work. “When we built that facility, we already factored in the need for multiple large gantry milling machines,” says Adam. “The plan was to install a new one every few years.” With the second PAMA, the third milling machine in the hall, the space is now largely filled.
Solid foundation
The new PAMA Vertiram is one of the largest portal milling machines in the Netherlands. Its foundation is exceptionally heavy-duty. “There are 36 nine-meter piles underneath and about 500 cubic meters of concrete,” Adam explains. “The manufacturer tests the foundation by placing a 50-metric-ton weight on it. Afterward, it’s allowed to move by a maximum of four micrometers. If it moves more than that, they reject it, but ours passed.” The machine was ordered in 2023 from PAMA in Rovereto, Italy. Installation has since been completed, and the first machining job is done: a nearly 44-metric-ton cylinder made of tool steel for high-tech machine building. The Vertiram is equipped with four spindle heads: one high-speed head and three low-speed heads. The tool magazine can hold 384 tools, more than double the capacity of the first PAMA (180). The chip conveyors have also been expanded to better handle the large volumes of aluminum chips. “The first machine has a chain changer, while this one has a robotic system,” says Frans de Rooy. “That works faster and more reliably. We keep the machines as versatile as possible so that we can machine both aluminum and steel.”
Large and precise
De Rooy specializes in large and precision workpieces. Its largest grinding machine can process parts up to 8 x 3 x 1.5 meters. The largest milling machine, the PAMA, can handle workpieces measuring 14 x 4.6 x 2.8 meters with a maximum weight of 50 metric tons. Some products arrive as semi-finished goods and are sent on to De Rooy for further machining. “The best part is when we can combine milling, grinding, and measuring,” says Adam. “A workpiece that needs to be milled, ground, and measured is a perfect fit for us. That’s when we make the most of our strengths.” They complement each other nicely. Milling is faster, but grinding allows you to achieve tolerances that aren’t possible with milling. The ratio of milling to grinding at De Rooy is about fifty-fifty. All the production halls are fully climate-controlled at 20 degrees Celsius. “That’s crucial,” Adam explains. “We have machine beds measuring four to five meters that must be flat to within five micrometers. That’s not possible without a stable temperature. Large workpieces also need to acclimate first before we start machining them.” ’The company serves clients in the semiconductor industry, mechanical engineering, the food industry, offshore, and mining, among others. About twenty percent of its customers are located abroad. ‘We deliver to Germany, Belgium, France, and even Switzerland,’ says Adam. ‘When it comes to large-scale grinding work, they know exactly where to find us.’
Automation in Practice
De Rooy operates on a two-shift system and produces over 100 hours per week. Many workpieces have long cycle times, ranging from a few hours to eighty hours. That calls for smart scheduling. Frans: “We schedule the longer cycles in the evening and at night, so the machines can continue working autonomously. The PAMAs have two pallets. Machining takes place on one, while the other is loaded outside. This allows us to reduce setup time.” Programming is done entirely offline using Hypermill. Six programmers handle all the milling programs. “All machines run on Heidenhain controls,” says Adam. “That makes the milling machines highly versatile.”
Digitization
Digitization is a key priority. The milling and cylindrical grinding departments are now paperless, and the grinding department will follow in 2026. The administrative processes have also been largely automated. “Orders and work orders are automatically generated and verified,” says Frans. “The employee’s role is increasingly shifting toward monitoring what the software does.” He is cautiously optimistic about AI programming. “It’s coming quickly for small jobs, but not yet for large ones. There are too many variables involved there. We do create macros to automate repetitive tasks.”
Sustainable Production
In addition to precision, De Rooy invests in energy efficiency and sustainability. There are 4,200 solar panels on the roof, which account for approximately 40 percent of the company’s own energy consumption. “Since we operate 100 hours a week, we use that electricity off the grid,” says Adam. The company is ISO 14001-certified and has replaced older machines with more energy-efficient models in recent years. The six Unisign machines are being equipped with an eco-mode designed to further reduce energy consumption. A striking example of a sustainable investment is the purchase of the briquetting system for aluminum shavings. “When we started milling a lot of aluminum, the bins would fill up in ten minutes,” Adam explains. “With the briquetting machine, we compress the shavings, reducing their volume by a factor of eight, and extract the coolant, which we reuse. Plus, the briquettes yield a higher return during recycling.”
Training Skilled Workers
Finding skilled workers remains a challenge. “There’s no proper training program for grinding,” says Adam. “We train people in-house. Often, they’re young men who’ve worked in other fields but still want to learn a technical trade. We turn handy people into grinders or millers.” De Rooy has three HR staff members, one of whom focuses entirely on recruitment. New employees sometimes start through a staffing agency but are later hired on a permanent basis. “We want everyone to be on a permanent contract,” says Adam. The workforce is relatively young. “We’ve grown rapidly in a short period of time, so the average age is low,” he says.
Ready for the Future
With the second PAMA Vertiram and a new Unisign machine currently under construction, De Rooy will have sufficient capacity for the coming years. “We invested in 2023 when the market was booming,” says Adam. “Things are a bit slower now, but when the market picks up again, we’ll be ready to move forward.” In the coming period, the company plans to modernize its machining fleet, complete its digital transformation, and possibly expand.
“The machines we’re installing now will still be milling here in 25 years,” says Frans. “We buy for the long term. Machines often get bigger as they need to handle more capacity. Machines won’t become less precise or simpler in the coming years. Everything is getting more complex. And as it gets more complex, it automatically becomes more precise,” he concludes.
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Text: Kasper Weigrand
