S&S Steinhuber automates bending operations

In the February 2026 issue of ISMR, we outline how automated sheet metal bending operations at S&S Steinhuber GmbH have created more efficient processes and increased production quality for the Austrian manufacturer.

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Brothers Ferdinand and Gerhard Steinhuber never put anything off…. Since founding their Austrian sheet metal production company, S&S Steinhuber GmbH in 1997, they have embraced innovation and invested boldly, but always carefully, in the latest technologies.

“We have now positioned ourselves as a full-service provider in sheet metal manufacturing and always focus on the current requirements of our customers,” explained Ferdinand Steinhuber, who is responsible for commercial operations at the company. His brother, Gerhard, is responsible for production and machinery, which he has continuously expanded in recent years.

“We manufacture batch sizes from one to 100,000 pieces on our six modern laser cutting systems and two punch laser machines from TRUMPF,” he continued. “As lasers are getting faster, we have been considering automated bending for some time. This allows us to create more efficient processes and increase productivity and production quality. This makes our customers happy and, of course, our skilled workers are enthusiastic about modern automated bending systems, which also reduces their workload.”

The move to automated bending

When the entrepreneurs first heard about TRUMPF’s flexible, retrofittable Flex Cell bending automation system, they hesitated until it was announced that it would also be available with the ACB angle sensor in 2024.

“The issue of processing quality caused us some headaches when it came to automated bending,” admitted Ferdinand Steinhuber. “We didn’t want to make any compromises. Almost all our bending machines are equipped with the ACB angle sensor. We are real fans, because ACB guarantees consistently precise angles and offers high process reliability. Of course, we don’t want to do without that in automated processing either.”

In September 2024, the time had come. An existing TRUMPF TruBend 7050 press brake at the company was equipped with a Flex Cell.

“After just two weeks, the machine was firmly integrated into our production and has really stepped up the pace,” confirmed Gerhard Steinhuber, adding: “It quickly became clear that the Flex Cell was the ideal solution for us in terms of cost-benefit ratio.”

This gave the brothers reason enough to follow this up immediately with further purchases. Ferdinand and Gerhard Steinhuber decided to order another TruBend 7050 (including the Flex Cell) and TRUMPF delivered the system in January 2025.

“We have automated our bending processes considerably in less than six months,” outlined Ferdinand Steinhuber. “This gave us maximum flexibility.”

The cost-benefit ratio

“A fully automated bending cell is a big investment, especially if you are not sure whether you will be able to utilise it to full capacity,” added Gerhard Steinhuber.

However, this is not an issue for S&S Steinhuber. Over 50 different parts are now bent there automatically, and the number is constantly increasing.

To read the rest of this article in the February 2026 issue of ISMR, see https://joom.ag/yFEd/p24