From 30 Minutes to 1: Sawa Kensho Automates ACM Edge Hemming with Alu Bender

Based in Yokohama, Japan, Sawa Kensho Co., Ltd. operates through two main business divisions: construction and manufacturing. The company specialises in architectural metal finishing and is involved in construction projects from the design stage through to production.

This position gives Sawa Kensho the opportunity to identify technical requirements early and propose the most suitable processing solutions before they are defined in the final project.

One of those requirements has long been edge hemming for ACM panels.

The challenge: a valuable process limited by time and cost

Demand for ACM panel processing, including edge hemming, has always been significant for Sawa Kensho.

The challenge was the process itself.

Traditionally performed manually, edge hemming required considerable time and labour. As a result, costs were high and the solution was often eliminated during the design stage, even when it could have provided a valuable technical or aesthetic result.

For Sawa Kensho, this represented more than a production issue. It meant that a market need existed, but the available process made it difficult to respond competitively.

The company therefore needed a way to make edge hemming faster, more efficient and economically sustainable.

Alu Bender: from manual processing to automation

The introduction of Alu Bender changed the production equation.

By automating a process that had previously been highly labour-intensive, Sawa Kensho significantly reduced processing time and improved its cost competitiveness.

The difference is particularly clear in one of the examples shared by the company: processing approximately one metre of edge hemming used to take more than 30 minutes.

With Alu Bender, the same operation can now be completed in just 1 minute.

For Sawa Kensho, this represents a major improvement in productivity and opens the way to a more efficient production workflow as volumes increase.

A production advantage that starts at the design stage

The impact of Alu Bender goes beyond manufacturing.

Sawa Kensho is involved in construction projects from the upstream design stage. Before the machine was introduced, edge hemming could be removed from a project precisely because of the time and cost associated with manual processing.

Automation allows the company to approach the conversation differently.

Sawa Kensho can now propose edge hemming to customers directly during the design stage, when technical solutions are still being evaluated.

This means responding to a genuine customer requirement while taking a more proactive role in the project.

The result is a competitive advantage that begins before production itself: the technology does not simply allow Sawa Kensho to manufacture more efficiently; it also expands what the company can propose and helps create new opportunities for securing orders.

From internal production to new business opportunities

When Sawa Kensho initially invested in Alu Bender, the expectation was to use the machine primarily for its own projects.

The market response created an additional opportunity.

As other companies learned that Sawa Kensho had the capability to automate ACM edge hemming, the company began receiving processing requests beyond its own construction projects.

At the same time, Sawa Kensho is working with a manufacturing partner on the development of new products that incorporate this processing method.

According to the company, introducing edge hemming into these new solutions has also contributed to strengthening customer trust.

Alu Bender has therefore evolved from a production technology into a capability that can support new services, new products and new business relationships.

The ambition: making edge hemming a standard option

Sawa Kensho sees further potential ahead.

A processing method that was traditionally expensive and labour-intensive can now be approached as an automated industrial process. This changes the conditions under which architects, contractors and manufacturers can evaluate its use.

The company’s ambition is clear: to help make edge hemming a standard option within the industry.

For Sawa Kensho, achieving this means combining its ability to participate in projects from the design stage with an efficient and competitive production technology.

Technology and collaboration as drivers of innovation

When Sawa Kensho first saw Alu Bender at an exhibition, the company immediately recognised its potential as a strategic asset.

Today, that potential is reflected not only in the reduction of processing times, but also in the ability to approach customers earlier, accept external processing work and explore new product development opportunities.

The collaboration with Muratori Machines is therefore part of a broader objective: using technology to solve an existing industrial challenge and create opportunities for future innovation.