A craftsman, his back pain
and a workshop that produces 5–6 times faster.
Jan Paul Elhor has done artisan wrought iron for almost his whole life in Limanu, Constanța. A fall from a roof had left him with chronic back pain, and his machines were mostly hand-built or bought second-hand. The question wasn't "how do I sell more", but "how do I keep being able to work". The solution: a €68,000 semi-automatic workshop funded through Start-Up Nation, with file consultancy included at no cost. The result: ×5-6 speed per cycle and a craftsman who can protect his health.
Video interview in the workshop · equipment presentation
A workshop rests on the founder's arm. If the arm gives out, the workshop gives out with it.
Jan fell off a roof years ago. The accident left him with chronic back pain that flared up with every day of intense physical work. At a manual wrought-iron workshop, that means every day.
Before UZINEX, his machines were almost all built by himself or bought second-hand: only the welding machines were new. The rest — the saw, the guillotine, the bending machines and the hammer — all required direct, manual, repetitive physical effort.
The question wasn't how the business scales, but how he keeps being able to work. The Facebook ad about Start-Up Nation came at the right moment. The call followed the same day, the video conference the next.
„The most anticipated piece in the workshop is this 40 kgf hammer. It will definitely help us stop breaking our bones."
Jan Paul Elhor · founder of Fier-Forjat Limanu
Manual workshop: ≈800 kgf handled / hour, ≈7h of continuous physical effort / 8h shift. Semi-automatic workshop: under 120 kgf / hour, ≈2h of physical effort. The difference isn't visible on the balance sheet — it's visible in the operator's spine.
A complete workshop of around €68,000, chosen not for tonnage but for ergonomics and flow.
- Large metal band saw
- cutting large sections
- Combined guillotine
- cuts thick sheet + drilling on a pedal · multifunctional
- Cold bending machine
- A150A · Spain · CNC · flat bar up to 2.20m · S-shapes, C-shapes, circles, twists
- Drilling machine
- auto feed · gearbox · threading tables · automatic threading
- Mill + CNC
- precise machining on metal components
- Welding machines
- MIG / MAG / TIG · cover the entire range of applications
- Pneumatic hammer
- 40 kgf · replaces the manual blow
- Forge
- iron heating for classic forging
- Design software
- metal elements · custom shapes in memory
The major-machine manufacturers are industrial makers from Europe and Asia, integrated and calibrated by the UZINEX team. The contractual responsibility for operation is entirely ours, not the upstream manufacturer's.
Five stations, a single operator, custom orders from end to end.
The Limanu workshop isn't a series production line. It's an artisan flow with 5 technological stations where the same order — whether a custom gate, a railing for a villa or a historic replica for a church — goes from raw steel to finished product without changing the workshop.
The automatic feed on the drilling machine, the numerical control on the bending machine and the pedal guillotine let a single person oversee 3-4 machines simultaneously. What was manual and consumed three people is now a flow that Jan manages himself with his team of 2.
Five technological stations with modern machines. A single operator coordinates the flow — the production unit goes from raw steel to a finished custom product without changing premises.
A Facebook ad · a direct call and video conference
Jan saw a Facebook ad about Start-Up Nation funds. He called immediately, and the next day we had a video conference. The conversation started technical, with no commercial filters, under the real pressure of a craftsman with chronic back pain who wanted to keep his trade.
Free funding consultancy
We prepared the Start-Up Nation file together without taking consultancy money. Our policy is standard: on projects where we supply the equipment, the funding assistance is included. For clients who couldn't afford a separate consultant, that means real access to the non-refundable funds.
Technical support at 2 in the morning or 9 in the morning
A quote from Jan's testimonial: "Whether I called at 2 in the morning or at 9 in the morning, the problems got solved." At a workshop with a single founder-technician, a machine breaking down on a day with orders in the air means immediate losses. A direct response, no call-center, is part of the standard package.
The same orders, ×5–6 speed per execution cycle.
For a typical order that a manual workshop finishes in an 8-hour day through cutting, drilling, bending, welding and finishing, the semi-automatic workshop delivers 5-6 orders in the same interval. The multiplier doesn't come from a change in the team's skill, but from eliminating adjustments, rework and repetitive manual steps.
„Sorin, we have just as much work as before. Only now we also sit idle a lot of the time, because we produce 5-6 times faster."
Jan Paul Elhor · phone call to Sorin Baciu, first month of production
The extra capacity doesn't automatically translate into new orders, but it opens space to accept more ambitious projects, to ask for better prices on jobs, and to send home a whole week of stress the old flow didn't allow.
8 hours manually produce 1 unit with rework and 3-4 people. 8 semi-automated hours produce 5 units with 1 operator. A ×5-6 multiplier per execution cycle, +50% quality on cutting and welding.
- 01Initial call · 2020
A Facebook ad and a direct call
Jan saw a Facebook ad about Start-Up Nation funds. He called immediately, and the next day we had a video conference. We checked the CAEN codes and discussed which equipment would solve his concrete pains in the workshop — not just ergonomically, but on speed and quality too. The conversation started technical, with no commercial filters.
- 02Funding consultancy · 2020-2021
The Start-Up Nation file prepared with no consultancy cost
We prepared the technical file for the Start-Up Nation application together: equipment justification, implementation plan, itemized budget. We didn't take consultancy money, because our funding policy is that if we work together on the file and on supplying the equipment, the assistance is included. For a craftsman who hadn't yet received the money, that mattered enormously.
- 03Approval and waiting
The money was delayed, so we delayed the order too
The Start-Up Nation process took longer than we hoped — the money only arrived in 2023. Meanwhile we kept in touch, adjusted the technical offer to the real specifications of the Limanu workshop and prepared the delivery for the exact moment of disbursement.
- 04Delivery · global disruptions
International conflicts, blocked transport, lost dies
The order coincided with a tense period for international transport. Unplanned delivery delays appeared. What's more, some of the dies for the guillotine and the pneumatic hammer went missing in transit. We recovered them later, and for the waiting period we delivered Jan a few accessories received as gifts from manufacturers. We compensated for the lost contractual time with real value in the workshop.
- 05Commissioning · 2023
Cosmin Florea in the workshop, equipment training, the first day of production
Cosmin Florea did the commissioning at the Limanu workshop, with training for Jan and his team. Three UZINEX people were directly involved: Sorin Baciu on funding consultancy, Cristian Munthiu on the technology flow, Cosmin Florea on commissioning. The workshop entered production in 2023 as soon as the last machine was calibrated.
- 06First month of production
Sorin, we produce 5–6 times faster
After a few weeks of stable production, Jan called me. "Sorin, we have just as much work as before. Only now we also sit idle a lot of the time, because we produce 5–6 times faster." That was the moment I understood the project had exceeded expectations for both sides.
Transparent note. The speed and quality figures are confirmed by Jan in the video testimonial filmed at the workshop. Additional financial details are not published without explicit consent.
A single warranty intervention · an oil seal on the pneumatic hammer.
After commissioning, the workshop operated with no major technical problems. The only intervention along the way was an oil seal on the pneumatic hammer, resolved quickly on site. All the other equipment — the A150A, the guillotine, the saw and the drilling machine — works with no warranty calls.
Details on the service included at delivery→- Warranty calls
- An oil seal on the pneumatic hammer, resolved quickly.
- Major hardware defects
- No mechanical or electrical defect reported on the other 8 machines.
- Service subscription
- The workshop operates in-house, maintenance done by Jan and his team.
- UZINEX team involved
- Sorin Baciu on funding consultancy, Cristian Munthiu on the technology flow, Cosmin Florea on commissioning.
- Support availability
- Direct phone support, no call-center, at any hour.
From client · to subcontractor for UZINEX.
After the workshop entered stable production and the quality was confirmed at a real level on real work, we understood that Jan can make parts for us with a strict quality requirement. Today, the Limanu workshop makes the metal structures of the mobile photovoltaic plants we deliver to ARS Industrial.
For us it's a direct validation of the investment we made together: the client becomes a trusted supplier for another large client. For Jan, it's revenue diversification with a partner who already knows his technical and ergonomic capabilities.
„We use a single person who can operate 3-4 machines. Before, we needed 3-4 people to do the same thing."
„Production quality improved by over 50%, and the timings got easier. If we cut once, we know it's cut right."
„Whether I called at 2 in the morning or at 9 in the morning, the problems got solved. We're satisfied and we'll work together again."
Quotes edited for clarity, preserving the exact meaning of Jan Paul Elhor's statements. The full video interview is available in the hero section of the page.
What we learned from
delivering a craftsman's workshop.
Three observations that changed the way we propose small workshops with a single founder-technician.
The founder's health is the hidden KPI of any small workshop
Jan suffered from chronic back pain after a fall from a roof. Manual work with old machines endangered not just his time but his ability to continue the trade. We learned from the Limanu project that at craftsman workshops, automation isn't an operational luxury — it's an investment in the health of the sole operator. The 40 kgf pneumatic hammer isn't just a speed upgrade, it's the difference between continuing or abandoning the trade.
Free funding assistance changes who ends up applying
Many craftsmen and small entrepreneurs don't apply for funds because the process seems impossible to navigate. We decided that on projects where we also deliver the equipment, the funding consultancy is included at no cost. Jan confirmed that without this support he wouldn't have managed on his own. The policy has stayed standard: if we work together on the machines, we help you with the file too.
International transport disruptions are ours, not the client's
When the dies got lost in transit, the correct first reaction was to deliver Jan accessories received as gifts from manufacturers, not to wait. Losing a day for a client who waited three years after approval is a betrayal. The lesson: we take on the logistical risk in full, and we make up for it with real added value, not with excuses.
How does the free funding assistance you offer work?
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For projects where we deliver the equipment, the funding-file consultancy is included at no additional cost. We help identify the right program — such as Start-Up Nation, Femeia Antreprenor, Micro-enterprises or Manufacturing Industry — prepare the technical part of the file with specifications, justifications, an implementation plan and an itemized budget, then hand it to the accredited consultant who submits the application. The policy is standard for clients who order the equipment from us.
Why did it take so long from the funding application to the equipment delivery?
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The Start-Up Nation process was slower than planned: application in 2020, the money actually received in 2023. During that period we kept in touch with Jan, adjusted the technical offer and delayed the order for exactly the moment of disbursement. For non-refundable funding programs, this waiting stage is normal. What matters is that the supplier stays alongside the client, rather than disappearing between approval and payment.
What is the exact list of equipment that makes up a complete wrought-iron workshop of around €68,000?
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A large metal band saw, a multifunctional combined guillotine with a pedal (cuts thick sheet plus drilling), a cold iron-bending machine A150A made in Spain with numerical control (programs for S-shapes, C-shapes, circles, flat-bar twists, width up to 2.20m), an auto-feed drilling machine with a gearbox (with threading tables and automatic threading), a mill, a CNC, MIG/MAG/TIG welding machines, a 40 kgf pneumatic hammer, a forge plus accessories. The configuration is replicable on other similar workshops.
How did a UZINEX client become a subcontractor for our projects?
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After the workshop entered stable production and the quality was confirmed at a real level, we understood that Jan can make the metal part for our mobile photovoltaic plant projects that we deliver to ARS Industrial. The Limanu workshop produces the metal structures of these plants, and UZINEX integrates them into the final solution. For us it's a direct validation of the quality of the investment: the client becomes a trusted supplier for another large client of ours.
What is the concrete advantage of a CNC cold iron-bending machine versus a manual one?
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In a custom wrought-iron workshop, shapes repeat in small batches (a set of 6 posts for a gate, 12 decorative elements for a railing, etc.). With manual bending, each element differs by a few millimetres, and assembly requires adjustments. The A150A machine saves the bending program in memory and executes all the elements of a batch identically. That means a shorter time per batch, but above all assembly with no adjustments, because the elements are geometrically identical.
What does a 40 kgf pneumatic hammer mean in the day-to-day practice of a wrought-iron workshop?
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In traditional forging, heated iron is shaped through repeated blows with a hammer. At a small workshop, that means the founder's arm raising and lowering a heavy hammer for hours on end. A 40 kgf pneumatic hammer eliminates the physical effort, but also standardizes the blow — each impact has the same pressure and angle, so the forging comes out uniform. For a craftsman with back problems, it's the difference between continuing the trade or abandoning it.
How critical was the post-delivery technical support to the workshop's success?
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A direct quote from the testimonial: "Whether I called at 2 in the morning or at 9 in the morning, the problems got solved." For a workshop with a single founder-technician, a machine breaking down on a day with orders in the air means immediate losses. A fast response on a direct channel, not through a call-center, is part of our standard package for clients with UZINEX equipment.
How fast does a semi-automatic workshop pay for itself for your business profile?
Move the sliders to estimate the real own contribution after non-refundable funding, the salaries avoided with modern machines, and the payback in months. The figures are based on the real model of the Fier-Forjat Limanu workshop.
Indicative estimates at a rate of €1 = 5 RON. The speed multiplier and the number of people replaced reflect the pattern observed at the Fier-Forjat Limanu workshop (×5–6 speed, 1 person / 3–4 machines). The exact figures for your project are confirmed through a free technical consultation with the UZINEX team. The funding assistance is included at no cost for clients who order the equipment from us.
Equipment, funding and
technical support at 2 in the morning.
We size your workshop together, guide you through the non-refundable funding file without taking consultancy money, deliver the equipment and stay alongside you on a direct call. That's how we delivered at Limanu, and that's how we deliver for you.
For craftsmen and small entrepreneurs who haven't yet applied for funds, the file assistance is included at no cost for clients who order the equipment from us.