häwa produced individual solutions for Foppa with varying degrees of individualization

The challenge

FOPPA AG is an independent family company with more than 80 employees and is one of the highest-performing providers of smoke extraction systems, SHEVS, smoke protection pressure systems, mechanical smoke and heat extraction systems, natural smoke and heat extraction systems, gas detection systems, fire fighting equipment, mobile extinguishers and fire protection items. Individual solutions and manufacturing are a specialty, and the products and services distinguish themselves by their quality and sustainability. In its industry, FOPPA AG is known as an innovative and qualitatively leading companies in Switzerland. For its high-quality products and solutions, FOPPA AG needs numerous different cabinets and housings. These used to be procured as standard solutions and modified in-house with great effort. That‘s why a flexible partner was sought that maintains both a range of standard housings and cabinets, but also offers the flexibility to create special solutions based on them.

Key features

• Customer-specific, individualized standard series based on in-stock goods (cabinets, housings, junction boxes)
• Each standard product contains a basic configuration
• The customizable standard products are available in four expansion levels
• The customer selects the basic product as well as the required expansion level when ordering
• Short delivery times

The häwa solution

Together with FOPPA AG, häwa (Switzerland) AG began working on creating a comprehensive solution. This constituted an individual, customer-specific standard range created by häwa for FOPPA. In doing so, häwa has worked entirely with its standard stock of cabinets and housings, improving on the stock. Each control cabinet automatically contains a socket and pocket for wiring diagrams. The socket is also always mounted in the same way as the side walls of the modular cabinet. After this installation, the customer has additional expansion options for this cabinet. They can request installed LED lighting with a connection cable and alteration to the roof for a special cable entry panel from  häwa (Switzerland) AG‘s range. FOPPA can choose between a total of four expansion levels and act flexibly, depending on the project. In choosing the cable entries, häwa creates the break-throughs for the cable entry in the roof in its own Service and Installation department before the cable plates are installed.

For the housings, each solution begins with a standard housing from häwa and a set of wall mounting brackets, as well as a pocket for wiring diagrams. The second expansion level involves the cable entry, as in the cabinets. The advantage of housings in that the cable entries are already available in the housing and only have to be replaced. The housing is always turned 180 degrees “on its head” so that the cable entry plates are up “in the roof”. The third expansion level offers installed LED lighting with corresponding connections in addition to the cable entry plates.

For the housings, as in the standing and modular cabinets, FOPPA can opt for additional alterations. In individual cases, the cabinets and housings have to be delivered in a special color of varnish. For this, häwa offers the customer wet coating of the housing. The advantage is that the rough structure of the powder is retained and the wet coating is of a high quality. Furthermore, it is often the case that small openings are needed in the doors of the housings or cabinets for a small screen. Here, two size options for the break-through are per-defined with the customer.

For junction boxes as well, häwa has kept with its own standard series. Together with the customer, additional types of these junction boxes were developed with varying drill holes in them. That way, häwa can find the optimal solution for the customer and in the vast majority of cases provide an in-stock guarantee that its cabinets, housings or junction boxes will be available within a few weeks – with the alternations required for the various projects.

FOPPA AG therefore always knows that it can receive qualitatively top-notch cabinet and housing systems at attractive prices and with significantly shorter delivery times. The successful collaboration has place FOPPA in the position of being able to implement highly successful products across Switzerland over the past two years to the absolute satisfaction of its customers. Examples include steel cabinets for a large, town-house style high-rise in the Canton Aargau, specially varnished standing cabinets for the Triemli Hospital in Zurich and Zurich Airport, as well as the production of various housing sizes for the new Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.

Individual solutions for your needs