Access to housing is, according to the latest barometer from the Sociological Research Center (CIS), the main problem for Spaniards. Industrialized construction is emerging as one of the most effective ways to alleviate it, and the Valencian company CMA Machine Tools has developed a machine that addresses the capacity of workshops to manufacture metal structures at the pace this model demands.
Spain has a housing deficit that estimates place at several hundred thousand units, and at the current construction rate, the market would take decades to balance supply and demand.
Faced with this scenario, the sector anticipates that industrialized construction is one of the few ways capable of scaling up housing production without relying on more land or more labor—a model that countries like Sweden or Germany have already consolidated with results—.
Industrialized construction is thus advancing from experimentation towards technical consolidation. In fact, it already accounts for 2.30 percent of developments in Spain, and a significant portion of the sector believes this share could multiply in the coming years. But this growth depends on the auxiliary industry being able to manufacture metal structures with the precision and at the pace that industrialization requires.
Spain has a housing deficit that estimates place at several hundred thousand units, and at the current construction rate, the market would take decades to balance supply and demand.
Faced with this scenario, the sector anticipates that industrialized construction is one of the few ways capable of scaling up housing production without relying on more land or more labor—a model that countries like Sweden or Germany have already consolidated with results—.
Industrialized construction is thus advancing from experimentation towards technical consolidation. In fact, it already accounts for 2.30 percent of developments in Spain, and a significant portion of the sector believes this share could multiply in the coming years. But this growth depends on the auxiliary industry being able to manufacture metal structures with the precision and at the pace that industrialization requires.
A key piece in the manufacturing chain
The Valencian company CMA Machine Tools, specializing in the design and manufacture of machinery for the metallurgical sector since 1989, has created the BRX machining center, designed for metal structure workshops to manufacture at the pace required by industrialized housing construction.
"Access to housing represents one of the biggest problems in today's society. Without metal structure workshops capable of manufacturing at this pace, industrialization remains just another statistic: we solve that part of the chain. Growth in industrialized single-family projects is advancing at a rate of over 12 percent in Spain, and the modular construction market already holds a 45 percent global share," says Sergi Peris, manager of CMA Machine Tools.
Construction companies, and specifically metal structure workshops, are looking for suppliers capable of manufacturing with the precision and at the pace that industrialization demands. The BRX model integrates machining and cutting into a single line, with three heads that machine the three faces of the beam, without the operator having to re-measure, mark, or reposition the piece.
"The beam enters raw and comes out finished, with the same precision in the first piece as in the five hundredth. And all managed with proprietary software, a simple interface, and integrated material stock control designed for daily production," adds the head of the company, based in Alzira (Valencia) since 1989.
In practical terms, clients already using this tool are capable of manufacturing today the metal structure for five-story buildings that are erected on-site in 16 weeks. This is possible thanks to a machining process that does not require moving the piece between machines or depend on an operator's manual judgment. "It's an automatic and repeatable flow, batch after batch," comments Sergi Peris.
With this development, CMA Machine Tools positions itself as a key supplier in the housing industrialization chain at a time when the sector identifies manufacturing capacity as one of the main obstacles for this construction model to scale at the speed the market needs.
"Access to housing represents one of the biggest problems in today's society. Without metal structure workshops capable of manufacturing at this pace, industrialization remains just another statistic: we solve that part of the chain. Growth in industrialized single-family projects is advancing at a rate of over 12 percent in Spain, and the modular construction market already holds a 45 percent global share," says Sergi Peris, manager of CMA Machine Tools.
Construction companies, and specifically metal structure workshops, are looking for suppliers capable of manufacturing with the precision and at the pace that industrialization demands. The BRX model integrates machining and cutting into a single line, with three heads that machine the three faces of the beam, without the operator having to re-measure, mark, or reposition the piece.
"The beam enters raw and comes out finished, with the same precision in the first piece as in the five hundredth. And all managed with proprietary software, a simple interface, and integrated material stock control designed for daily production," adds the head of the company, based in Alzira (Valencia) since 1989.
In practical terms, clients already using this tool are capable of manufacturing today the metal structure for five-story buildings that are erected on-site in 16 weeks. This is possible thanks to a machining process that does not require moving the piece between machines or depend on an operator's manual judgment. "It's an automatic and repeatable flow, batch after batch," comments Sergi Peris.
With this development, CMA Machine Tools positions itself as a key supplier in the housing industrialization chain at a time when the sector identifies manufacturing capacity as one of the main obstacles for this construction model to scale at the speed the market needs.
