Case study Arco

From Brilliant Idea to Realization: Innovative Energy Distribution in the New Leather Goods Factory of Arco France.

“Is it a good idea to apply data center PDUs in our new factory?” With this question, Jérôme Quintard, who played a key role in the realization of Arco’s new production facility, approached Schleifenbauer.

About ARCO

Arco (Ateliers réunis du centre-ouest) specializes in the production of high-quality leather goods on behalf of the world’s largest conglomerate of luxury products such as Louis Vuitton. The French company is located in Châtellerault, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The company is experiencing strong growth, facilitated by various factors. There is a positive economic climate, growth in the luxury sector, and increasing popularity of French products abroad. Over the past three years, Arco has grown from 350 to 700 employees.

New Factory with Specific Wishes and Requirements
In 2019, investment was made in a completely new and modern factory covering an area of 12,500 m2, which provides sufficient space for further growth and is equipped with modernized workshops. The factory was already a reference in the world of leather goods but is now also ready for the next 10 to 20 years.

In the design of the new factory and workshops, there were several important wishes and requirements. One specific requirement was that the connection of power and compressed air to the workstations had to be flexible, in order to minimize the changeover time to a different product line. Additionally, there was a desire to eliminate the “cable jungle”: in the existing production facility, individual workstations were connected from a central point via the ceiling, which did not contribute to an organized appearance.

Intensive Collaboration with Schleifenbauer
Due to his IT and data center background, Jérôme Quintard was familiar with rack PDUs. However, he was unable to fulfill his specific requirements for the new Arco factory with standard products. The moment he approached Schleifenbauer with a concept of his idea marked the beginning of an intensive collaboration. After several visits to the factory in France, numerous discussions, and various demo setups, the result was achieved: a unique configuration for the workstations with all the functionalities desired by Arco. The developed solution ensures that only one central power cable from the ceiling is required per zone. This prevents all workstations from needing a separate power supply via a traditional busbar on the ceiling.

This prevents a mass and tangle of cables and results in a much more orderly and neater environment within the factory. An additional advantage of this solution with PDUs is that the total power consumption is clearly and easily measurable and reportable, both for internal oversight and for regulators. In total, approximately 1000 custom-made PDUs were delivered and installed in the new factory.

Proud of Successful Project in Industrial Setting At Schleifenbauer, we look back with pride on this project and collaboration, where we provided a great application in an industrial setting. Contributing to the translation of a brilliant idea into realization that exceeds expectations, and giving even better meaning to our motto, “Living for the power to deliver,” is nearly impossible.

Schleifenbauer Products BV Het Sterrenbeeld 52 5215 ML ‘s-Hertogenbosch Netherlands Telephone: +31 73 52 30 256 Email: info@schleifenbauer.eu