K>MOBIL 39 June 2012 - Faun Trackway

The Magazine for customers, staff and friends of the KIRCHHOFF Group

summer

sunshine

17th volume | Issue 39 | June 2012

sun

THE

www.kirchhoff-group.com

17th volume | Issue 39 | June 2012

GROUP MAGAZINE

z KIRCHHOFF Group

z KIRCHHOFF Automotive

z KIRCHHOFF Mobility

z WITTE Werkzeuge

z FAUN Group

The desire for individual mobility is our focus.

Continued dynamic growth in global automotive markets.

l Page 04

l Page 12

KIRCHHOFF Mobility becomes new umbrella brand of the companies REHA and Jelschen. l Page 58

WITTE Tools presents product innovations at the International Hardware Fair Cologne. l Page 62

Under the motto BEST3 FAUN presented powerful products, powerful service and a powerful company. l Page 66

FAUN Group GROUP



FAUN has been honored as “TOP 100 innovator” l Page 68

K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

Contents

K›MOBIL 39 r List of contents Automotive

K› MOBIL 39 // PAGE

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KIRCHHOFF Group

KIRCHHOFF Automotive

04 The desire for individual

12

mobility is our focus

06 At home in both cultures 08 Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff cel-

13

ebrates his 85th birthday

14

Continued dynamic growth in global automotive markets Automotive Centre South Westphalia: construction works have started A real success story

19 To China in the

chancellor’s entourage

20 WE.MOVE.FUTURE. 23 Investment in sustainable technology

24 State-of-the-art technology increases productivity

26 First laser-welded

assemblies in Attendorn

28 Entering a new dimension 29 First series order from MAN

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Mobility

K› MOBIL 39 // PAGE

30 New all-aluminum cross car beam

31

42 Pillars of success: apprenticeship, employee development, securing skilled personnel

Hot formed components

32 Transparent and effective:



The new product data management

34 KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Production System goes against the (development) stream

35 Continuous process improvements

36 The best of the best 38 Best practice for

medium-sized businesses

39 A model of cooperation with trade unions

40 KIRCHHOFF Automotive is Top employer

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44 Network: universities and industry

46 What do I do when I grow up?

48 Discovering young talents 49 Imparting the technology of the future

50 Discovering skills, developing skills

52

Individual and multisided

54 Transatlantic exchange 55 You can do more mathematics than you think

K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

Contents

SCREWDRIVING TOOLS

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KIRCHHOFF Mobility

FAUN Group

58 KIRCHHOFF Mobility

68 FAUN recognised as

becomes umbrella brand

WITTE Werkzeuge

62 Product innovation

by WITTE Werkzeuge

63 Perfection easy to handle 64 WITTE Werkzeuge is supplier of the year

think-tank

70 BEST3. Powerful products. Powerful service. Powerful company.

72 BEST3. Powerful new products

76 ROTOPRESS takes off in America

78 Make our city more beautiful

79 Thomas Hoffmann is new Sales Manager

80 How time flies 82 Tim Collet appointed Managing Director

84 A record-breaking start to the year

Disposal Engineering

85 FAUN TRACKWAY USA

honoured by first class visit

86 Scottish council makes

garden waste collection rounds greener

87 Service depot scoops two awards

88 Taking pressure off 90 FAMILY DAY 92 To be on the safe side 94 Improvements as a cultural change

K› MOBIL 39 // PAGE

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Imprint K›MOBIL the KIRCHHOFF Group magazine Publisher: KIRCHHOFF Group, Dr.-Ing. Jochen F. Kirchhoff Stefanstraße 2, D-58638 Iserlohn Postfach 26 26, D-58634 Iserlohn Tel. +49 2371  820 - 261 Fax +49 2371  820 - 264 Responsible for the content: Dr.-Ing. Jochen F. Kirchhoff Mitarbeiter: Sabine Boehle, Oliver Fries, Andreas Heine, Claudia Schaue Photos: Adam Opel AG, BMW AG, FAUN, Ford Motor Company, Cosima Hanebeck, IWF / IKB, KIRCHHOFF Gruppe, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, Privat, Shutterstock,Stahl-Informations Zentrum / Schuler SMG, VDA, Fotolia Translating: Lionbridge, Wuppertal thetranslationpeople, Glasgow Design, Typesetting: FETTE-BEUTE.com, Dortmund, Attendorn Printing: becker druck, Arnsberg

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

The desire for individual mobility is our focus rrCompany update from Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff

Dear customers, colleagues and friends of our group of companies, The first six months of 2012 have now passed and the term “debt crisis” continues to be a major discussion topic within the public and political arena. As a result of this crisis, the economy in Western and Southern Europe continues to develop slowly. Germany, however, has largely been unaffected mainly due to its high manufacturing value, taken in conjunction to overall performance and the associated export strength. It is vital that we maintain this strength and prevent our situation from being weakened e. g. by the currently unpredictable rises in electric-

ity costs. Acting single-handedly during the current energy transition is proving increasingly to be cost and price driven. A master plan outlining clear political directives must be urgently presented, so that industry service providers and investors are no longer hampered. This also includes an effective and, above all, prompt implementation of the simplified planning law, to ensure that missing power lines can be installed within a short period of time. KIRCHHOFF Ecotec is doing its own bit for its customers and the environment with the newly developed products, ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER and ROTOPRESS FUELCELL, as well as the electrically driven lifters E-DELTA and E-ROTARY, for an emission-free collection of waste streams, creating efficiency and resource protection in an economical and ecological way. These products were extremely well received at the world’s largest and leading trade fair in the field of environmental technologies, “IFAT Entsorga”, which was held in Munich in May 2012. Our international clients in municipal and private waste management industry were given the opportunity to see for themselves at first hand our range of products and services covering lifters, refuse collection vehicles and sweepers, as well as leasing, financial and support services.

K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

KIRCHHOFF Automotive enjoys an overall solid order book, despite restrained ordering activity in Western and Southern Europe, thanks to the activities in China and North America. We celebrated the inauguration of our new plant in Craiova/Romania in April 2012, established a second hot forming line in Iserlohn and are currently working towards the implementation of a new 2,500 tonne press in August also at our Iserlohn location. In order to promote our activities in China, we have sponsored a chair in the department of lightweight body design at the Tongji University in Shanghai. WITTE Tools can be proud of being awarded “Supplier of the Year” by our most important US customer Matco, and successfully presented its new product Ratchdrive at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne this spring. Under the brand label KIRCHHOFF Mobility we will be offering the product range, related to conversion of vehicles for the handicapped, from the companies Jelschen, Bad Zwischenahn and REHA, Hilden to our customers. Living up to the motto “We.Move.Future.” will demand our utmost creativity and efforts in the future. The success of any automobile is characterized

by the successful mobility of the individual. According to worldwide forecasts, the number of vehicles required will almost double to more than 100 million units within the next ten years. Certainly these vehicles will be different from the cars and utility vehicles that are built today. Material use and emissions will be drastically reduced and the means of propulsion revolutionized. However, it is also certain that the growth path will continue – a pleasant and exciting prospect. My family and our employees will continue to seize all opportunities with great pleasure. We thank you for your support in the past and hope that you will further assist us with your support and advice in the future. Best wishes for the upcoming holiday season and good luck for the rest of the year! Yours,

Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

At home in both cultures rrKIRCHHOFF Automotive takes up endowed chair at Tongji University

German and Chinese companies wishing to cooperate successfully in both the Chinese and global markets need employees with special skills. They need employees who feel comfortable in both cultures, understand the business processes and can bring professional expertise to the company.

J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Managing Partner and COO of KIRCHHOFF Automotive together with Prof. Dr. Wang of the Tongji University at Shanghai

It was this realisation that prompted KIRCHHOFF Automotive to set up an endowed chair of lightweight body design in collaboration with the Sino-German College for Graduate Study (CDHK) at Tongji University in Shanghai. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is taking up the chair in lightweight body design from Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG in the middle of this year. The establishment of this chair under the direction of Prof. Dr. Wang is in line with the consistent implementation of the strategic objectives for the development of KIRCHHOFF Automotive in China. In addition to supporting our product development activities, we hope that this initiative will enable us to attract highly qualified young engineers to our company. Taking up this endowment chair will also involve the deployment of Chinese students in our Chinese organisation and at the development centre in Attendorn. Already since May this year the first Chinese student has been doing a work placement at the development centre in Attendorn. Besides these internships, our company offers students the opportunity to realize project papers at our German sites, in cooperation with a dual master’s degree program at the Ruhr University Bochum.

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The chair in production systems at the Ruhr University Bochum headed by Prof. Dr. Horst Meier, who is also mechanical engineering course coordinator at CDHK, offers a dual master's degree program. Chinese students can spend three semesters in China and three in Germany in order to obtain their MSc. The approximately 100 students who start each year face a thorough, practical education. German language is a key element of the courses offered at the CDHK. Within a year students must be able to follow lectures held in German. Studying at the CDHK isn't just an attractive option for Chinese students. Increasing numbers of German students are also attending the college in order to meet some of their course requirements, write their thesis or take part in projects. There is also the possibility of a work placement with one of the many German companies based in Shanghai. “The KIRCHHOFF Automotive endowed chair in lightweight design and the curriculum of the CDHK provide an excellent foundation for the professional and socio-cultural qualification of the skilled personnel that we will need in the future to maintain and expand our presence in China. The close cooperation gives us the opportunity to contact students directly and to acquire future employees for our enterprises in China ,” explains Uwe Hartmann, Director Human Resources KIRCHHOFF Automotive and co-initiator of this collaboration. A first example is Wu Dan, called Annie, student at Tongji University. Since May Annie has been passing a 3-month internship in the area of product development focus-

ing on FEM-calculation and testing. “I am excited by the technical equipment of the development centre in Attendorn and I am in very good hands here. All colleagues are very friendly and cooperative,” Annie gladly expresses. Along with the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and Tongji University, German founding companies play a key role as partners of the CDHK. Around 20 well-known large companies currently finance 27 chairs, award scholarships or support the excellent study and research facilities at the CDHK by providing equipment for lecture halls and laboratories. This year, KIRCHHOFF Automotive became one of the corporate sponsors. The ceremony to mark the handover of the chair took place on 21 June in the presence of J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Managing Partner and COO of KIRCHHOFF Automotive, Simon Stephan, Managing Director of KIRCHHOFF Automotive China, eminent professors from Tongji University and senior representatives of our customers in China. In his speech at the handover ceremony, J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff described the motivation behind the endowed chair: “We hope for great impetus in the future development of car bodies in lightweight design by this close cooperation with the future holder of the institute’s chair, Ms. Prof. Dr. Wang. At the same time we like to present ourselves in China as a company which offers young engineers interesting and sustainable jobs.”

r Info The Sino-German College for Graduate Study (CDHK) was founded in 1998 as a shared facility between the DAAD and Tongji University and has served as a model for academic exchange between both countries for many years. The aim of this university institution is to train future Chinese management personnel in the areas of business and administration. Not only must they have excellent technical and management skills, but also be able to work with German partners using their knowledge of the German language and culture as well as German technical standards and regulations.

J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff describes the development activities in automotive lightweight design to Prof. Dr. Wang during her visit to KIRCHHOFF Automotive in Iserlohn-Sümmern, using a BMW front end as an example

The CDHK offers master's degree programs in electrical engineering, economics, commercial law, mechanical engineering and automotive engineering for Chinese students.

Uwe Hartmann

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Group

Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff celebrates his 85th birthday rr"Entrepreneurial activity is my passion"

Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff and his wife Lore accept first congratulations by

Standing ovations for Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff and his wife Lore

Jürgen Rüttgers, former Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Wolfgang Schöne, opera singer

9:00 a. m. Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff looks in his calendar and checks his appointments for the day. Two meetings are pending today. At 10:00 a. m. there is the first editorial meeting for the company magazine K>MOBIL. In the afternoon, he will welcome an Economic Council delegation, talk about the development of the KIRCHHOFF Group and then present the company's products during a factory tour. At 85 years of age, Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff still comes to the office every single day. To him, this is a perfectly normal thing to do: “Entrepreneurial activity is my passion. Despite some trouble and problems, particularly in the early years, I still enjoy coming to work every day.”

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aging director. At the time, the company already had three lines of business: In addition to night storage heaters and screwdrivers, stamped parts for carriages and vehicle frames were a key pillar of the product portfolio. Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff gradually transformed the company from a parts manufacturer to a module supplier, initially for commercial vehicles and coal excavators, and after the acquisition of Kutsch in Attendorn also for passenger cars. Through times of crisis, he continually reinvented the company – today it is one of the most successful automotive suppliers in Europe.

Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff is currently chairman of the advisory board and the shareholder circle of the He has experienced much, created and achieved KIRCHHOFF Group, which he heads together with very much in his life. His career began when he his sons Arndt G., J. Wolfgang and Dr. Johannes F. completed secondary education in Iserlohn in 1946 Kirchhoff. The success of the company is founded and went on to study mining and mechanical engi- primarily on its credibility and its values as a famneering at the Clausthal University of Technology. ily business: “Our actions are not dictated by shareholder value and absolute After graduating in 1950, rate of return, but by longhe went on to spend four r “Our actions are not dictated by shareterm goals, values and semesters studying busiholder value and absolute rate of return, strategies,” says Dr. Jochen ness administration at the but by long-term goals, values and strateF. Kirchhoff. “We want our University of Cologne. In gies.” Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff employees to enjoy work1953, the graduate engineer earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and ing and to be proud of what they have achieved.” business administration before going on to spend 15 years working at Deutsche Babcock AG in Ober- In addition to building up the KIRCHHOFF Group hausen, where he served as a member of the execu- into the globally-operating organisation that it is today, Dr. Jochen Kirchhoff has always demontive board from 1963 to 1968. strated his commitment to society and to his fellow In 1968, he joined the family-owned company Ste- men. “We traditionally believe that it's important to phan Witte & Comp. in Iserlohn as owner and man- come through for our community.” This is a philos-

Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff in his speech of thanks

ophy that has been practised by the Kirchhoff family for over 100 years.

Festive atmosphere in the Goldsaal in Iserlohn

Kirchhoff recalls: “That's often the way in the world of business. SMEs come up with great ideas and put them into practice, but are ultimately too small to take them any further.”

21 years as president and now honorary president of the North Rhine-Westphalia Employers' Association for the Metal and Electrical Industry (Verband So how does someone who still goes to work every der Metall- und Elektroindustrie NRW) and of the day with such motivation and enthusiasm relax? What kind of hobbies does North Rhine-Westphalia Fedr a man with so many profeseration of Employers' Associa “We want our employees to enjoy sional and voluntary comtions (Landesvereinigung der working and to be proud of what they mitments enjoy? The answer Arbeitgeberverbände NRW), have achieved.” is quite simple: “I have alhonorary consul of the Repub- Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff ways drawn great strength lic of Estonia, chairman of the board of trustees of the Fachhochschule Südwest- from my family with our four children, of whom I falen University of Applied Sciences… these are am extremely proud. I am also a keen sportsman just some of the honorary offices and presidencies and have a great love of classical music.” held by the entrepreneur over the years. “We have always seen this as our obligation towards the com- He celebrated his and his wife Lore’s birthday – munity and for political advice” he says, explaining what else could be imagined - together with his the reasons behind his outstanding and commend- family, friends, employees and companions from able commitment. He was awarded the Grand industry, politics and society with a church concert Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal of Bach cantatas. The Märkischer Motettenkreis Republic of Germany, the Grand Decoration of Hon- choir, led by conductor Dr. Wolfgang Besler, thrilled our in Silver of the Republic of Austria and the Dis- the audience with “Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet!” tinguished Service Cross of the Republic of Estonia. (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!), “Herz und Mund und “It's no use just looking after your own business if Tat und Leben” (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life) and “Erschallet, ihr Lieder” (Resound, Ye Songs). the political environment as a whole isn't right.” The concert was followed by an evening event at However, things haven't always run smoothly: The Schauburg in Iserlohn, where the Kirchhoff family former WITTE Heiztechnik, within 25 years risen to surprised the jubilarian and his guests with a spethe market leader, ceased the production of night cial program of entertainment. storage heaters due to price collapse and market saturation and sold to AEG. Despite a unique selling position, the production of microwave ovens was Andreas Heine given up 5 years after their development due to insufficient quantities, and sold to the Swiss Zeis AG.

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r KIRCHHOFF Automotive Innovations.Worldwide.

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Continued dynamic growth in global automotive markets rrClimate change and urbanisation mean even faster product cycles

We expect the global passenger vehicle market to grow by 4% this year. However, the high growth rates of 2011 cannot be upheld due to the difficult market conditions in Western Europe. Driven by the debt crises in some EU countries, the passenger vehicle market in Western Europe is likely to fall by 5% to 12 million units. Thankfully, the US market is growing and Russia, China and India as well as Japan in the year after the Fukushima

disaster have already more than made up for this decline. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is globally more broadly positioned than many of its competitors and is winning market share in the slipstream of Western European and American car manufacturers. Potential falls in demand in individual regions can thus be absorbed by other growth markets. Moreover, our innovative strength is the key to meeting future requirements and retaining and consolidating our international leading position. Factors such as climate change, limited resources, urbanization and increasing traffic volumes require new approaches to automotive design. For us, this means thinking “lighter” and more efficiently in automotive structure design. Along with our research centres in North America and Europe, we are committed to increasing the innovation efforts at the Automotive Center Südwestfalen (ACS, South Westphalia Automotive Centre), where much of our important employee training will take place in the future.

This is how the ACS should look like in one year (source: engineering office Hengstebeck)

Automotive Centre South Westphalia: construction works have started

Within the construction period of six to nine months, the factory building is the first to be completed. The completion of the office building and the subsequent opening of the ACS are scheduled for early 2013. The Automotive Centre is part of the regional project “Automotive Competency Region South Westphalia”. Along with the ACS in Attendorn (which will focus on economic lightweight construction for car body and chassis) a competence centre for vehicle electronics is planned to be opened in Lippstadt. Both centres will cooperate closely in order to consolidate and establish the automotive location South Westphalia for the future. Around 26 million euros are being invested in both centres by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the EU and local companies. The task of the Automotive Center Südwestfalen is to make development in the area of weight reduction in automotive design possible. This applies both to new vehicle concepts and to the use of new materials and material combinations. “Consistent lightweight design is the prerequisite for future electric cars,” explained Minister of Economic Affairs for North Rhine-Westphalia, Harry Kurt Voigts-

for North Rhine-Westphalia, Harry K. Voigtsberger, with ACS Managing Director Professor Helmut Schulte, at the

rr"A lighthouse project for the entire South Westphalia region" In the Hanseatic City of Attendorn, construction works on the Automotive Center Südwestfalen (ACS, South Westphalia Automotive Centre) have started.

Minister of Economic Affairs

handing over of the grant

berger, during the presentation of the 14.8 million euros grant in Attendorn in January 2012.

History

The future of the automotive industry lies in lightweight construction. The less a car weighs, the less energy it consumes. Customers want energy efficiency. To ensure that these requirements can be met, leading automotive experts in the South Westphalia region decided to join forces. On 17 January 2011, Automotive Center Südwestfalen (ACS) GmbH was founded in Attendorn.

The University of Siegen com-

Their objective is to initiate and implement research, development and related engineering work in the area of lightweight vehicle design. Thereby, car manufacturers, suppliers and universities are now working together more closely than ever to prepare for optimal positioning in global competition. The necessary space, technology, expertise and staff is jointly being established at the Automotive Center Südwestfalen. The ACS project represents an outstanding project for the local economy. Many jobs in the Olpe district and beyond in South Westphalia depend directly on the automotive industry. This industry has to be protected in a sustained manner. According to Managing Director Prof. Schulte, the ACS is a lighthouse project for our entire region.

2009 missions the future study on the “Competitiveness of the Automotive Industry in South Westphalia 2015” November 04th, 2010 Foundation of the supporting association Automotive Center Südwestfalen e. V. in Attendorn January 17th, 2011 Foundation of Automotive Center Südwestfalen (ACS) GmbH January 28th, 2012 Handover of the grant in the amount of € 14.8 million for the Automotive Center Südwestfalen by Minister of Economic Affairs for North Rhine-Westphalia, Harry Kurt Voigtsberger May 21st, 2012 Construction works at the

Arndt G. Kirchhoff

future Automotive Center Südwestfalen site in Attendorn begin

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A real success story rrCraiova. KIRCHHOFF Automotive opens new plant in România

The new plant in Romania: 12,000 m² of production and logistics area, 200 employees, most modern robot welding technology and JIT deliveries in a two-hour sequence are key data of the new production plant.

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The day started as a normal working day, but soon a sense of excitement could be recognized on the employees’ faces and a festive atmosphere filled the building. Everybody from management to shop floor personnel knew that something special would happen on this 25th of April. Then the doors opened, and employees mingled with vestrymen, politicians, bank representatives and Ford management, purchasing and engineering, and the ceremony of the opening of the new KIRCHHOFF Automotive plant in Craiova began.

On the shop floor new welding robots stood out from the unused white ground, where yellow lines indicate the future transport paths. Journalists and photographers walked through the building to take good pictures of Prime Minister Victor Ponta or Prof. Ovidiu Victor Gant from the Romanian Parliament. It is hard to imagine that only a few months ago in the same place there had been nothing but an old storage building that needed a lot of refurbishment. Now high ranking political and economic representatives marveled at the new machines that will finally assemble front and rear bumpers,

cross-car beams and very complex body-in-white components for the new Ford B-Max. Eleven months ago, Ford, one of our main customers, offered KIRCHHOFF Automotive the possibility to become a supplier of complex welding assemblies in România for Ford by building a new plant on the Ford premises. Soon things started to move: management was hired, the first employees appeared and together with the support by a team from other KIRCHHOFF Automotive plants

the so far largest plant project in the history of KIRCHHOFF Automotive was started. Specialists from Germany, Poland, Ireland, Portugal and Hungary came to the new plant, and together with Romanian colleagues from logistics, quality, production and CME (Central Manufacturing Engineering), HR and finance this project could be realized successfully.

A symbolic moment: owners, managers and high-ranking political and economic representatives cut the ribbon

Now, the old storage building has become a modern facility with the latest equipment, with KAPS print 15

f.l.t.r.: Arndt G. Kirchhoff, Don Gelinas - CFO Ford România are the first guests who preserve this moment with their signatures and greetings on the car body structure

ciples implemented during the welding cell design, and with 100% use of the milk run logistic concept on the shop floor. A 3D measurement machine to check and verify the parts differentiates this plant from other KIRCHHOFF Automotive plants. Authorities welcome our presence in the local market: “Welcome to Craiova! We appreciate your investment and especially creating new working places in Craiova,” emphasized Antonie Solomon, mayor of Craiova. Also our customer Ford expressed his acknowledgement of KIRCHHOFF Automotive’s new plant in România. Don Gelinas, CFO of Ford România SA stated: “We are looking forward to a great working relationship.”

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In his opening speech, CEO Arndt G. Kirchhoff emphasized: “Our company’s goal is to deliver the best service to the customer.” He encouraged the Romanian colleagues to run the new plant successfully and to achieve the set goals. The next step is the Q1 certificate which KIRCHHOFF Automotive România targets this year. The shareholder thanked the employees who had contributed to the successful setup of the plant and shown perfect team work. With every welding cell prepared, arranged and tagged, the guests could learn where the products are assembled into the body part. A car body model consisting of the first parts produced by the new cells found a special echo. Here, the guests had the opportunity to sign and leave some words of welcome, and in doing so preserved the special moment of this ceremony.

Complex body in white structure

New production hall

r Info Facts & Figures KIRCHHOFF Automotive România Customer/Carline: Ford B-Max Location: Romania, Craiova Type of plant: JIT plant on site of FORD factory Size of plant: 12,000 sqm

Technology: Spot / MAG welding Employees: 182 Total investment: 12 Mio EUR

Time schedule: Kick Off date – 15.04.2011 Trial Run – 16.01.2012 SOP – 14.05.2012

Modules for the new Ford B-Max The new Ford B-Max as it is produced in the Ford plant in România

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Employees of KIRCHHOFF Automotive România

“Finally seeing the outcome of the last months’ efforts gave me a mixture of feelings I will not forget. I was honored to be accepted into this big family called KIRCHHOFF Automotive”, Sabin Barbu, process engineer in the production department, describes his impressions. Also Alexandru Buzatu, technician at the maintenance department, thus expressed his pride: “I was impressed by the Kirchhoff family’s attitude towards the employees. For me this company is like a second family.”

Historical event location: The Sala Maura restaurant is located in the Minerva Building which was built in 1903 in the Arabic Moorish style. A huge entrance hall with Venetian windows shapes the famous building, in which in the 19th century historical pacts with country unions were signed. Folklore dance and singing caused good mood during the team evening on the opening ceremonie’s eve.

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The day had begun as a normal working day. By the end about 70 employees felt as new members of the large KIRCHHOFF Automotive family. That which represents the company, its culture and its values as well as regional social responsibility are now practiced also at the Romanian plant. The success story continues to unfold. Carmen Iacob

To China in the chancellor’s entourage rrArndt G. Kirchhoff travelled to Beijing with Chancellor Angela Merkel

As member of an economic delegation, Arndt G. Kirchhoff travelled to China already for the third time, thereof for the second time with the Chancellor. The three-day trip to Beijing and Canton focussed primarily on developing and strengthening the strategic partnership between the countries. Important issues for all German companies include expanding economic relations, intensifying cooperation among SMEs, as well as commodity-pricing and access policies. A further topic were the challenges that China and Germany can meet together. When it comes to sustainable development, the German economy is a technological leader in many fields including water resources management, renewable energies, mobility and waste management. Although important topics in Germany, they are even more pressing in China due to the sheer size of the country. During the negotiations, as spokesperson for the KIRCHHOFF Group, Arndt G. Kirchhoff championed the adoption of OECD-like global standards to promote the free market conditions required for fair competition in China, Europe and in third markets. The joint venture constraint in place for some technologies should also ideally be lifted so that companies can expand their R&D activities even further while also having their know-how protected. This is particularly applicable to our activities in the environmental sector, where we use licensed com-

r Info China is the world's largest vehicle market and represents the most important production location for German manufacturers and suppliers outside Germany.

mercial vehicles from Chinese manufacturers for our FAUN waste disposal vehicles. We could make a much greater contribution in the environmental sector in China in the absence of interference with regard to competition policy. Kerstin Rinscheid

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao greets Arndt G. Kirchhoff t 19

In 4 seconds from 0 to 100. Robert Postler from the Speeding Scientists Siegen is discussing the circuit with the formula pilot Fabian Willmes

WE.MOVE.FUTURE. rrInnovation day 2012: Tec Center demonstrates latest product developments

The term “innovation” comes from the Latin verb innovare and means “to make something new”. In general linguistic usage, the term is also used to describe the development and commercialization of new ideas and inventions. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is a development partner and supplier in the fields of car body and chassis to car manufacturers. One of the greatest challenges automotive developers have to face today is lightweight design. In this area, innovation is centered around the development of hybrid solutions, i. e. combining different materials in a design that makes intensive use of profiles. In this context, employees in the technical development departments at KIRCHHOFF Automotive are continuously working on new ideas. On 11 May 2012, we held our second Innovation Day at the Tec Center in Attendorn, presenting current results from research and development activities to colleagues from most different departments. t 20

In a series of brief presentations, the more than 180 participants were shown the latest findings in lightweight construction materials such as aluminium or fibre-reinforced plastics, in technologies and processes such as laser welding, but also in constructive product design, due to for example the use of alternative drive systems. Along with the purely technical issues, key questions in relation to the internationalisation of KIRCHHOFF Automotive were also discussed. This covered a broad range of issues such as the strategy for opening up new markets and the need for a worldwide implementation of a professional Product Lifecycle Management System. The practical demonstrations that followed were a welcome change for all participants. The demonstration of a specially developed procedure for partial tempering in the press hardening process helped to illustrate the findings that previously were conveyed theoretically. One of the main highlights of the Innovation Day was the presentation of the S3-11e electrically-

powered racing car developed by the student team Speeding Scientists Siegen in 2011. On an improvised “race track” in front of the Tec Center, the students demonstrated how the vehicle accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in less than four seconds. Robert Postler of the Speeding Scientists Siegen explained what makes the S3-11e so special: “The car has two motors, which independently control the two rear drives. This allows optimal adaptation of the wheel speed during cornering. The key advantages of this design are improved drivability, direct power transmission and reduced weight. In a normal car, the motor drive is distributed to the wheels via an axle differential.” On the Innovation Day, KIRCHHOFF Automotive employees were given the chance to sit behind the wheel of the Opel Ampera, an electric car suitable for “on-road” use. Andreas Heine tried it out: “The acceleration of this vehicle is extremely impressive.

1.

2.

3.

4.

And yet you can't hear a thing!” The Speeding Scientists Siegen team will develop and design an electrically-powered racing car again this year. KIRCHHOFF Automotive has a long history of cooperation with the University of Siegen in the area of research and development. It therefore made complete sense to use the technical expertise of the Tec Center in Attendorn for this sporting endeavour and to have KIRCHHOFF Automotive as one of the main sponsors. Christoph Wagener explains: “First and foremost, this is a fantastic project. It provides students with a unique opportunity to experience interdisciplinary cooperation involving automotive engineers, electrical engineers, as well as marketing and business economists. It enables us to keep in touch with the university and with these students in particular, and we hope that some of them may one day consider a career with KIRCHHOFF Automotive. The project is also part of the overall network that we have established between industry and university.”

1. Andreas Heine (left) interviews Robert Postler and Christoph Wagener (right) regarding lightweight construction and electromobility 2. A highlight of the innovation day was the presentation of the electrically-powered racing car of the Speeding Scientists Siegen. 3. The lectures during the innovation day are followed by the audience with high interest 4. Dr Thorsten Gaitzsch reports about latest innovations at KIRCHHOFF Automotive

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Demonstration of spot and laser welding

The team hopes that the knowledge it has gained, particularly in the area of lightweight design, will help steer its new electrically-powered racing car to victory in its first real test - the Formula Student Germany competition at the Hockenheim Ring.

Lightweight construction – integral approach

The Innovation Day once again proved to be a multifaceted experience for all participants. Many thanks to all those colleagues who contributed to the success of this event! Christoph Wagener

light weight construction

hybrid-material „material mix“

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spaceframe

shell structure

engineering / design

plastic material

light alloy

(aluminium, magnesium)

steel

material

hybrid design

„shape intensive design“

r Info The association “Speeding Scientists e. V.” was founded in 2008 by students of the University of Siegen with the aim of developing and producing a competitive racing car in the Formula SAE class – and that within one year. Students from the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering disciplines are involved in planning, designing and building the car. Students from business administration, commercial law and media sciences are responsible for managing the project costs and creating a professional business plan, controlling and marketing. The students receive assistance from sponsors including KIRCHHOFF Automotive.

View of the two hot forming lines in the Iserlohn plant

Investment in sustainable technology rrIserlohn. Second press hardening line attracts huge interest from customers The second press hardening line in Iserlohn began production in spring 2012. Four million additional parts can be produced annually with this process for customers like Ford, koda and Daimler. Measuring 60 metres in length, the new system is a full 15 metres longer than the existing one, the pressing force will be 1,200 tons.

process control is the biggest challenge in press hardening”, says Timo Müller, head of hot forming and trailer systems.

The tools are designed in a way so that four different parts can be formed in one stroke. What parts that will be requires careful planning. The priorities and order quantities for the individual parts must be taken into consideration in Still in the trial operation phase production scheduling. Today, 20 we had the honour of welcom- r “The complex process control different items are produced using a group of high-ranking visiis the biggest challenge in ing 12 tools. tors from GM on 18 March 2012. press hardening” The delegation, headed up by Timo Müller, head of hot forThe demand for press hardened Randy Pappal, Executive Director ming and trailer systems. parts is now increasing in every Global Body & Exterior, and Greg Warden, Body Lead Director Body & Interior, from car line. In addition, the client specifications are beDetroit came together with the Purchasing and coming increasingly sophisticated. Engineering team from Rüsselsheim to find out more about the state of our hot forming activities To meet the requirements of our customers in the on-site. During the plant tour, the visitors seemed best possible way, KIRCHHOFF Automotive proimpressed by the new capacities in the hot forming cesses special blanks (tailor-welded and tailorrolled blanks) with different thicknesses. The comdepartment. ponents produced from these blanks then exhibit During the early days of press hardening, each improved crash performance. stroke produced two components - now it's four. “There is a growing trend towards producing more KIRCHHOFF Automotive will expand its press hardproduct variants and even different products at the ening capacities further in the future. same time in fewer production steps. This complex

F.l.t.r.: Silvia Rauterkus, Nils Winkelmeyer, Christian Mengel (GM), Dr Heiko Engels, Greg Walden (GM), Dr Leder (GM), Markus Löcker, Randy Pappal (GM), Michael Küpper (GM), Tomasz Zwyrtek (GM), KlausPeter Eckhardt (GM), Florian Wiethaup (GM), Marek Zroski (GM), Arndt G. Kirchhoff

Timo Müller, Silvia Rauterkus

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The first servo press was installed in Mielec at the end of 2011. It has a pressing force of 16,000 kN, a bed size of 6,000 x 2,200 cm and a maximum output of 50 strokes per minute. The maximum die weight is 60 tons.

State-of-the-art technology increases productivity rrMielec. Commissioning of the new 1,600 ton Arisa servo press

After 13 years of metal forming using conventional presses, the stamping plant in Poland now employs state-of-the-art technology for the forming of metal parts, with a 1,600 ton servo press. No clutch, no flywheel: Servo motor-driven presses offer many advantages, including increased productivity and speed, greater flexibility, higher accuracy and lower maintenance. Unlike mechanical presses, servo presses have no main motor, flywheel or clutch. These elements are replaced by the use of servo motors, which act directly on the drive shaft, permitting variable speed and force progression to be programmed via the press stroke. Productivity can be increased as a result. The major advantage is that different speeds can be programmed within a slide stroke. The optimum speed for forming a part can therefore be set: slow slide speed during pressing and fast slide speed during the press return stroke. This allows the number of parts produced per minute to be increased. A reduced speed can be individually adapted in the area where pressing takes place. The objective is to increase the number of parts produced per minute. An increased pressing speed means less time for feeding the raw material and transporting the components. The performance of automation elements such as feed and transfer

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components must therefore also be increased. Despite the increased speed, the need for accuracy and low vibration remains the same or increases for the transport of strips and components to the next processing stage. The ARISA servo press is equipped with a new generation of roll feed and transfer systems, which allow the time interval for feeding and component transfer to be reduced. Both systems – with a total of 14 controllable axes – include the latest and most powerful CNC control technology available on the market. In this particular case, the latest version of “Simotion”, developed by Siemens, is used, which holistically controls and synchronises all axle drives, including the slide drive. The programmable movement profiles include 5th order curve functions. Only these allow optimum transfer acceleration without extreme force peaks affecting the components in the grippers – with the previously feasible 3rd order curve functions this was unavoidable. Only by the large installed processing power of this control system these movement profiles are made possible. A standard mechanical press features a press stroke of 360° (continuous operation), which cannot be changed. With servo technology, the press stroke can be defined within a specific range. The

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Cycle time

Drop slug

Blanking

Progressive

Slide

Form Slow forming

Synchronize with feeder

Slow touch and draw

Enough stroke

Short cycle time

Form

Slow blank

Minimum stroke

Short cycle time

Drawing

Feed time Multi Process Stop at BDC

Sheet forging

Feed

Multi Process

Examples of programming different processes New 1600 T servo press from Arisa in Mielec press shop

stroke length and stroke profile (different speeds and pressing forces via the press stroke) can be programmed. Thanks to its non-continuous operation, referred to as the “pendulum stroke” function, here of min. 120°, a minimum stroke length of only 200 mm can be achieved. The Siemens “Simotion” controls, regulates and synchronises the six servo motors. The intelligent program structure behind calculates the freely programmable parameters to achieve maximum productivity (output) for the specific application. Siemens “Simotion” is also responsible for energy management (energy storage and extraction from compensators) of the machine. This means that servo presses equipped in that manner have almost identically equal power requirements to conventional presses of similar size. The physical basis of

this system is the storage of the electrical energy released during the slide deceleration in the compensators. These compensators are 3 three-phase asynchronous motors, whose rotors have a very high mass moment of inertia. The electrical energy can thus be stored as rotary, kinetic energy in the motors or exploited again in the working stroke. Motors are switched and function as generators. The result is even lower total energy consumption per pressed component in comparison with a conventional flywheel press. The vital advantage of a servo press is the fact that different pressing processes and programmed and different slide speeds can be set during the stroke. To increase our competitiveness, we plan to roll out further servo presses in our plants. Janusz Sobo

Mechanical press

Servo press with direct

›› Clutch and brake combination

drive and gearbox

›› Gearbox

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

First laser-welded assemblies in Attendorn rrLaser welding at new products

2012 will once again see KIRCHHOFF Automotive realising new product startups with different levels of complexity at its German plants. In particular, a number of new parts for the new Ford Mondeo will be going into standard production at Iserlohn and Attendorn.

Over 50 individual parts are welded together to form the cross car beam for the Ford Mondeo

t 26

The cross car beam for this vehicle model will be produced in Attendorn as a fully laser-welded product. The complex assembly is made up of more than 50 individual parts joined with more than 160 laser welded seams.

Over 50 individual parts are welded together to form the cross car beam for the Ford Mondeo The plant concept for this project was developed by an interdisciplinary team made up of Project Management, Process Development, CME*, KAPS** staff and Production. The teamwork was greatly boosted by the intensive cooperation between the European and North American colleagues. While KIRCHHOFF Automotive in Attendorn will supply the needs of the European market, the VanRob plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, will cover the requirements in North America. The Mondeo will al-

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

ready be launched in North America in 2012 under the model name Fusion. The intensive cooperation with the North American colleagues made it possible to achieve many synergy effects with respect to tooling methods, fixture clamping concept and laser technology. The front and rear bumpers of the new Ford Mondeo will be produced in Iserlohn. Both carriers consist of a roll-formed profile joined to the add-on parts during the metal inert gas arc welding process. KIRCHHOFF Automotive will invest in further robot-guided welding systems for this.

r Info *CME (Central Manufacturing Engineering): a network comprising Development, Capital Goods Purchasing, Production and suppliers for introducing uniform production standards, production sequences and logistical concepts

Ford Fusion (North American version of the Ford Mondeo)

**KAPS (KIRCHHOFF Automotive Production System): specific KIRCHHOFF Automotive Production System for lean processes and production

Frank Buchholzki

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Fuel tank bracket

Cab suspension

Battery carrier

Entering a new dimension rrThe next generation of the Actros

Under this heading, our long-standing partner in the commercial vehicle sector, Daimler AG, recently launched the next generation of the Actros. Daimler invested around 2 billion euros in the development of this completely new vehicle. As a strategic supplier of chassis components, KIRCHHOFF Automotive has been involved in the development of this vehicle since 2006. Our experts had to some extent significant input in the component design process through weekly reviews with various development departments of our customer. Furthermore, the provision of more than 150 different components during the prototype phase was crucial in the subsequent securing of a number of large orders. Our current scope of delivery includes components for: ›› Cab suspension ›› Fuel tank bracket (diesel and AdBlue) ›› Bearing structure (cross members) ›› Battery carrier ›› Wing bracket t 28

This project clearly demonstrates the benefits of early and consistent co-operation between the supplier and the customer for both parties. The project was made possible through significant investment by KIRCHHOFF Automotive. A 1,250 ton transfer press as well as various welding systems have already been put into operation. In the late summer of this year, an additional 2,500 ton transfer press designed specifically for the processing of high-strength medium and heavy sheets up to a thickness of 11 mm will be put into operation. Also for KIRCHHOFF Automotive, this represents a new dimension in the production of chassis components. We firmly believe that we are now in a position to increase our competitiveness even further. Knut Stinn

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

First series order from MAN rrIserlohn. Involved in All Phases of the Product Life Cycle

KIRCHHOFF Automotive has succeeded in securing its first series order from MAN with the front underrun protection for the MAN TGS/TGX EURO 6. The front underrun protection (FUP for short) is installed beneath the bumper and prevents vehicles going underneath trucks in the event of a head-on collision. The complex welded assembly consists of a rolled profile tube as the centrepiece, onto which half-shell structures with reinforcing plates and steps are welded on the left and right. All in all, the front underrun protection is made up of more than 30 individual parts joined with more than 70 welded seams. Added to this are different support variants. All the components are sandblasted, e-coated and powder coated after assembly. A two-part plastic spoiler is fitted to the front underrun protection for miscellaneous variants.

The R&D team at KIRCHHOFF Automotive is responsible for the complete design and development the safety-related assemblies. The front underrun protection is another outstanding example of a product that KIRCHHOFF Automotive is in charge of during all phases of the product life cycle, from design and development through prototyping to series production.

FUP (front underrun protection)

The start of series production for the front underrun protection is planned for early 2013. A new complex production line for the welded assembly will be put into operation in October 2012 following extensive restructuring at the Iserlohn plant. Frank Buchholzki

MAN TGX (left) and MAN TGS (right)

t 29

New all-aluminum cross car beam rrVan-Rob USA, Tecumseh. Design and development phase successfully completed Final Cell All Aluminum Cross Car Beam

With the launch of an all-aluminum cross car beam for a 2013 vehicle model, Van-Rob Tecumseh will expand its product range this summer. For the past 23 years, this production site has been producing stamped and welded steel assemblies for the automotive and heavy truck industries. More than two years of development between the OEM and Van-Rob were necessary to realize this project. For the Product Engineering team, this meant unique challenges in crash performance, air bag deployment, NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) characteristics characteristics and overall design packaging. Many of these were faced through the use of different manufacturing processes. The assembly consists of a combination of stampings and extrusions to optimize cost and performance. Secondary processes such as machining, CNC bending, and piercing are used to control critical dimensional concerns. Specific aluminum alloys

should provide improved structural performance of critical components during testing. On the processing side, one of the major concerns from prior programs was the effect of heat distortion during welding. For this reason, our corporate R&D facility in Aurora, which has already weld expertise with aluminum, managed the prototype program. They were able to develop a process strategy for production. Processing parameters such as weld sequencing, fixture design and weld settings were optimized during prototype and transferred to the production equipment. Our component and material suppliers also played a major role in the design and development stages. They evaluated dimensional and processing concerns in the prototype program using production representative processes and equipment. This program is truly an example of teamwork where each member contributed their expertise to optimize the finished product. We look forward to a successful launch. John Hamel

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K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Hot formed assemblies for the new Škoda model

Hot formed components rrEsztergom / Gliwice. KIRCHHOFF Automotive delivers important chassis parts Since 2011 the Czech carmaker koda belongs to the elite group of brands with 1 million-in-year sold cars. Well-known models as Fabia, Octavia, Superb, Roomster and Yeti will get a brother soon. A new model will be introduced to the European market in July 2012, and one year later it will have its premiere in Russia. The initial sedan version will be followed by a spaceback version in August 2013.

New Škoda model

KIRCHHOFF Automotive has been nominated for important assemblies of the body structure: B-pillar and A-pillar as well as front and rear bumper for both sedan and spaceback versions. The main parts will be produced at the new hot forming line at KIRCHHOFF Hungária in Esztergom. The assembly of the final parts is realized in Esztergom (pillars) and in Gliwice (bumpers). Being nominated for these products is a big success for our international customer team koda. By this occasion we would like to officially welcome Jan krob to KIRCHHOFF Automotive. In 2004 he successfully completed his studies in the department of material science and engineering at the Technical University of Prague. From 2004 to 2011 he gained experience as project manager at ESSA CZECH, an automotive supplier, in project management and in the optimisation of production processes. He joined the team last year and is now working as resident engineer in Mladá Boleslav where koda Auto has its headquarters. We wish Mr krob a lot of success in managing his future tasks.

Jan Škrob – KIRCHHOFF Automotive resident engineer in Mladá Boleslav

Janusz Sobo

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Transparent and effective: The new product data management rrWorldwide Product Lifecycle Management system successfully launched

data administration. The Businesses have to adapt r “If we look at the international project preparations for the worldto increasingly rapid environments in our company and towide implementation and shifts in market demand wards our customers, it quickly becomes deployment of the system and customer requireclear that we need a consistent, standarinvolved the training of 300 ments. Projects are bedised approach to all projects and that employees, the processing of coming more global and we must create the necessary conditions 4.5 terabytes of data and the complex in nature. For a in order to achieve this,” Andreas Nebemigration of 2.2 million files. company like KIRCHHOFF ling, Director Project Management. Automotive, this means that processes and the corresponding systems On 10 April 2012, the new Product Lifecycle Man– particularly the product development process agement (PLM) system went live simultaneously and associated product data management – must in China, Germany, France, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Hungary. The successful implebe continuously revised and optimised. mentation of the system is owed to the intensive Product data management is a key element of preparation and hard work of the international proglobal project management. A project team of 45 ject team. employees from over 16 departments across more than 7 international locations dealt with creat- The new Product Data Management system (PDM ing the conditions for a new, future-proof product system) is part of a Product Lifecycle Management t 32

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

PLM HEADQUARTER DE / Attendorn

Letterkenny DE / Iserlohn

Chongqing Gliwice PL / Mielec (2 Mbit)

FR / Ymeray

Suzhou (1 Mbit)

Esztergom

Craiova Figueruelas PT / Ovar (2 Mbit)

Globally-standardised data pool and reliable infrastructure

Sites with own server

with fast PLM servers at six international locations

Sites that are already connected to the PLM system Sites that are not yet connected to the PLM system Sales Offices Tec Centres

concept (PLM concept), which incorporates the development, use and maintenance of product data from the initial product idea, through to series maturity and, finally, product recycling. This innovative, holistic approach offers numerous advantages: ›› Central inter-divisional PLM system ›› Standardised storage structure ›› Fast access to data and documents ›› High level of data quality and reliability – in future there will be only one valid document for a transaction ›› Process reliability ›› Direct interfaces to SAP, e-mail, Office and CAD programs Following the successful launch of the PLM system, Andreas Bender, Senior Project Engineer and member of the PLM project team, is convinced, “that the

new system will lead to greater transparency and efficiency in the way we manage our project work.” The PLM system is undergoing continuous expansion - following the successful go-live, preparations are already underway for the second phase, including the integration of standardised workflows. Productivity and ability to innovate are the cornerstones of our success. The overriding objective of the PLM project was and is to ensure that this continues to be the case. With the introduction of the new system, we are ready to meet current and future requirements as well as customer demands for high productivity.

Benjamin Müller

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From left to right: Frank Meier, Michael Bauer, Marcus Bruse, Volker Tölle, Holger Fischer, Winfried Willeke; Centre: Masamitsu Suzuki

KIRCHHOFF Automotive Production System goes against the (development) stream rrKAPS Principles improve the Product Development Process (PDP) Since the beginning of the year, the central Engineering departments involved in the production process have been progressively introduced to the KAPS philosophy. In future, all new products will be developed according to the KAPS principles, from method planning through to production start. Already before the start of production, consistent application of these principles will ensure the ongoing continuation of lean transformation in the production locations each time a new project starts. The central Engineering departments, the Controlling department and KAPS experts at the Polish plants all contributed to the KAPS workshops, which identified a need to adapt a number of process-planning and cost estimating methods. The total potential savings by means of new production sequences can be calculated with the help of a lean factory simulation based on a real production plant.

r Info One-piece flow, zero-defect production, reduction of non-value adding activities, standardisation – these KAPS principles have a decisive influence on the development of new products and processes from the very early stages of the product development process (PDP).

A one-week trip to Japan, the birthplace of lean transformation, helped the teams from the central Engineering departments to get to grips with this adaptation process. This was already the second trip to Japan in connection with KAPS, following visits to various factories in Japan by a group of production experts almost one year before. Once again, Masamitsu Suzuki from the KIRCHHOFF Automotive Sales Office in Japan succeeded in opening the otherwise closed doors of Japanese suppliers to KAPS.

KAPS Integration in the product development process

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Method Planning

Cost Estimating

Manufacturing

Production

Stefan Leitzgen

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Continuous process improvements rrVan-Rob Canada, Aurora. Lean management shows first successes To improve quality, cost and delivery to our customers, the Aurora plant in recent years embarked on a continuous learning journey to Lean Manufacturing. The aim: to deliver a perfect result. The methodology: defining the culture, using TQM principles of being process driven and system thinking. Using this methodology should lead to an improved use of cross-functional teams that undergo a Lean training at the process start. The training includes modules like “current state mapping”, “future state mapping” and identifying “value added vs. non-value added”. Also the seven types of waste in current processes are to be identified, as well as the advantages of a pull system. First successes can already be detected: 42 improvement ideas in the production of a cross car beam were implemented. Cycle time on the robotic MIG welders could be reduced by 14%. Overall productivity improved by 17%, overall equipment effectiveness by 38% and labour per assembly reduced by 25%.

Aurora & North York Kaizen Team Members

Another positive effect is that the leadership group now uses a “fresh eyes approach”. A team consisting of employees from Aurora and North York was assembled to exchange experiences and knowledge. The North York plant has been building cross car beams since 1997 and successfully works with Honda’s Kaizen format “Quick Hit”. By now, experience and knowledge as well as best practices are regularly exchanged within the plants. With this successful inter-plant collaboration we can reduce and optimize procedures and thus improve productivity. In this context, also the cost structure of the model change in the next year was reviewed. Van-Rob / KIRCHHOFF Automotive has a vast area of talent, experience and knowledge from different types of processes. Besides following the “7-waste” principle, we will ensure we do not underutilize the 8th element of “waste”: our (human) resources from everywhere within the company. Wayne Eadie, Long Nguyen, Gaurav Palival

Total steps saved per year 460,800

J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff (COO, KIRCHHOFF Automotive), Klaus Lawory (Group Purchasing Director, KIRCHHOFF Automotive) and other KIRCHHOFF Automotive employees with the award-winning Suppliers of the Year 2011: Hans-Georg Göbel (Jörg Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG), Klaus Klein (VIA Oberflächentechnik GmbH), Hans-Jürgen Grohs (Jörg Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG), Werner Schmidt (VIA Oberflächentechnik GmbH), Werner Lollert, Ralf Graß (both Becker Stahl-Service GmbH), Kai Lechner (VIA Oberflächentechnik GmbH)

The best of the best rrSupplier of the Year 2011 Award The first round of “Supplier of the Year 2011” awards took place at KIRCHHOFF Polska in Mielec (Poland) in March this year. This was followed within just a few weeks by honours for the best suppliers to KIRCHHOFF Automotive in China, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Hungary, awarded by local management and purchasing directors. Nominations for “Supplier of the Year” is based on the annual average of a supplier's monthly ratings in the product categories ›› raw materials ›› bought-in parts and ›› contract processing The annual average is calculated from suppliers' quality, logistics and service ratings as well as the status of their quality and environmental management systems. This score then serves as a basis t 36

for Purchasing, QM and Logistics to determine the best suppliers for the locations. The activities are coordinated by the Group Purchasing department to ensure that the suppliers are rated, selected and honoured according to uniform standards. Selecting and honouring the “Supplier of the Year” is an important tool for Procurement Marketing. “The award is very popular among our suppliers and as such offers them an incentive to deliver their best performance”, explains Klaus Lawory, Group Purchasing Director. “Reporting about our “Supplier of the Year” award in newspapers, specialist and customer magazines and online raises our public attention, which benefits both us and our suppliers.” Klaus Lawory, Patrick Tautz

Mariana Lima (Managing Director KIRCHHOFF Portugal), Paul van Rooij (Managing Director KIRCHHOFF Portugal), Carlos Silva (Purchasing Manager, KIRCHHOFF Portugal) and other KIRCHHOFF Portugal employees with the award-winning Suppliers of the Year 2011: Artur Sousa (Sales Manager, ELECTROFER), Antonio Cruz (Managing Director, PECOL), Miguel Silva (Sales Engineer, PECOL), Alex Gancedo (Chief Financial Officer, THYSSEN KRUPP MATERIALS IBERICA), Steffen Schmid (Automotive Department Manager, THYSSEN KRUPP MATERIALS IBERICA)

Maurice Huang (Purchasing Manager, KIRCHHOFF Automotive Suzhou) and other KIRCHHOFF Automotive Suzhou employees with the award-winning Suppliers of the Year 2011: Yun Young Jip (General Manager and Sales Manager, POSCO (Suzhou) Automotive Processing Center Co., Ltd.), Xing Qingxi (Sales Engineer, Posco (Suzhou)) and Angela Weng (Project Manager, NES Ltd.)

product category

company

China

raw material

POSCO (Suzhou) Automotive Processing Center Co., Ltd

Germany

raw material

Becker Stahl-Service GmbH & Co. KG

España

raw material

contract processing

VIA Oberflächentechnik GmbH

Hungária

Ireland

Polska

Portugal

bought-in parts

bought-in parts

bought-in parts

contract processing

raw material

bought-in parts

contract processing

NES Limited

Jörg Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG no nomination no nomination

KATA Aragon S.A.

ArcelorMittal Gonvarri Senica Pata Kft.

BGS TRANS-IMEX KFT.

raw material

Becker Stahl-Service GmbH & Co. KG

contract processing

no nomination

bought-in parts raw material

bought-in parts

contract processing

Hermann Rahmer GmbH & Co. KG SSAB Tunnplat AB

Schmittenberg-Pol Sp. zo.o. ZM Plast-Met

raw material

ThyssenKrupp Materials Iberica

contract processing

Electrofer

bought-in parts

PECOL

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Markus Schäfer, (right) sales manager at proRZ and project manager for the modification of the computer centre explains the server room

Best practice for medium-sized businesses rrIserlohn. Regional IT managers exchange experiences

the requirements catalogue right up to supplier selection and implementation. The meeting was followed by a tour of the server room, and all of the participants were clearly very impressed with the implementation. They were particularly interested in the layout of the server and technology room, in other words the separation of the servers including cooling systems from the supplies of fire extinguishing agent and UPS installation (battery backup for uninterruptible power supply).

The IT working group that met at the KIRCHHOFF Group information centre in IserlohnSümmern (f.l.t.r.): Riko Puspas (Heinrichs), Carsten Kunde (VIA Consult), Guido Solbach (VIA Consult), Ralf Lebeda (HMT), Peter Patt (Struthütten Stamping Plant), Markus Schäfer (proRZ), Manfred Leukel (Struthütten Stamping Plant), Peter Winter (KIRCHHOFF Automotive), Holger Kroll (KIRCHHOFF Automotive), Bernd Pospischil (Kemmerich)

VIA Consult regularly organises working groups for its partner companies, providing specialists with a forum where they can share their knowledge and exchange experiences. Specific issues affecting the companies are discussed and examples of Best Practice are presented, with external guest speakers often invited to give talks on specific topics. In February, the regular meeting of the VIA IT manager working group was held at KIRCHHOFF Automotive in Iserlohn-Sümmern. The main topic up for discussion was the planning and installation of an IT security room. The setting up of the IT server room in Iserlohn-Sümmern was presented as a Best Practice example. Peter Winter, head of Computer Engineering, and Holger Kroll, IT Infrastructure team leader, explained the key project phases, starting with the analysis of critical points, through preparation of

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Finally, all of the participants argued to focus more on experiences acquired in specific group projects at future working group meetings. Peter Winter

r Info VIA (network of innovative automotive suppliers) is a group of companies whose motto is “by SMEs for SMEs”. VIA Consult, VIA Lasertec and VIA Oberflächentechnik support their partner SMEs by providing advice on efficiency and cooperation and act as experts on behalf of their shareholders in ensuring the availability of state-of-the-art technology. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is one of the 15 partner companies in the group, 14 of which form the IT working group with a total of 20 people.

r “Our highly motivated staff is the foundation for the sustainability and further development of KIRCHHOFF Ireland.” Sean McDermott, Managing Director

Sean McDermott, Managing Director KIRCHHOFF Ireland presents the partnership model to a national audience

A model of cooperation with trade unions rrLetterkenny. National Recognition for KIRCHHOFF Ireland's Partnership Model In recent years, a relationship of partnership and constructive cooperation has developed between KIRCHHOFF Ireland and the Irish trade unions. This exemplary cooperation has gone on to win recognition throughout the country. KIRCHHOFF Ireland is a perfect case study in how to successfully deal with the current economic crisis in Ireland through restructuring and change. Sean McDermott, Managing Director of the KIRCHHOFF Automotive plant in Ireland, recently presented the model to an audience including EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, as well as the presidents of the federation of employers and the national trade unions.

For Sean McDermott, good communication and promoting the development of employees' skills are the key components in achieving a highly motivated staff. And this represents the foundation for the sustainability and further development of KIRCHHOFF Ireland.

KIRCHHOFF Ireland employees proudly show their training certificates

John Roulstone, Sean McDermott

During his presentation, Mr McDermott stressed the importance of establishing a strong relationship between management and trade unions. “Here, the KIRCHHOFF Ireland Steering Committee (KISC) acted as a driver of the implementation of reforms and changes within the plant”, he emphasized. Open dialogue and a high degree of cooperation have led to a new agreement between company and trade union. Among the successes achieved were a medium-term wage agreement, as well as further training programmes for staff aimed at facilitating a smooth roll-out of the Hydra and SAP IT systems. A training course on teamwork held onsite by the trade union provides a strong foundation for the introduction and sustainability of our global KIRCHHOFF Automotive Production System (KAPS). t 39

K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

KIRCHHOFF Automotive is Top employer rrTOP JOB Award 2012 / TOP JOB seal of approval for women

For more than 10 years, “TOP JOB” has been recognizing and rewarding outstanding work in human resources by German SMEs. This year, KIRCHHOFF Automotive was chosen as one of the award-winning employers, taking third place overall among companies with more than 500 employees. KIRCHHOFF Automotive successfully participated in the “TOP JOB” benchmark study conducted by the Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management at the University of St. Gallen. The study

TOP JOB Award

was based on an online survey of all employees, in which the following issues were addressed: ›› Leadership & Vision ›› Motivation & Dynamics ›› Culture & Communication ›› Human Resources Development & Perspectives ›› Family and Social Orientation ›› Internal Entrepreneurship KIRCHHOFF Automotive scored above average in all areas, performing particularly well in the “Human Resources Development & Perspectives” category. This was due to fact that human resource development at the family-owned company is both strategic and skills-based. The status and development opportunities of every employee are continuously monitored and analysed right from the very outset. Development and training measures for the 1,400 employees can thus be tailored to individual requirements and discussed in detail in staff appraisals. “We don't commoditise our employees. Our measures are tailored to the specific needs of each employee,” explains Jürgen Dröge, Director Human Resources. KIRCHHOFF Automotive understands how a company can operate globally yet still preserve the atmosphere of a family-owned company. We have strategies for ensuring that team spirit remains strong and motivation remains high among the 1,400 employees working in our company. Train-

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Jürgen Dröge, Director Human Resources and the former German Federal Minister of Economics Wolfgang Clement, mentor of the project, at the ceremony to present the award to KIRCHHOFF Automotive

ees who have just joined the company get to take part in various team-building activities. “This helps them to lose their inhibitions and builds trust,” says Jürgen Dröge, Director Human Resources. Trust also comes from transparency. Consequently, information flows freely within the organisation. Regular department meetings and two major annual meetings provide employees with a forum where they can ask questions in relation to financial and operational performance and strategic planning. Team spirit among employees is also enhanced through sports. At the international soccer tournament, every year real European Championship atmosphere comes up: 15 teams from 9 European locations meet to battle it out for the KIRCHHOFF Cup. As Jürgen Dröge explains, these are not the only joint initiatives that encourage employee motivation. KIRCHHOFF Automotive also offers financial incentives as a means of showing appreciation for dedicated employees. In March 2012, the University of St. Gallen put the TOP JOB companies to the test once again, this time in search of the businesses with the best working atmosphere and special structures in place for women. KIRCHHOFF Automotive met all of the necessary requirements and was awarded the TOP JOB seal of approval for women. We offer excellent opportunities for career-minded women looking for a job with opportunities for ad-

vancement that allows them to combine a career with raising a family. Jürgen Dröge states: “The work we are doing in Human Resources at present will help to break down traditional gender roles and increase the number of women in predominantly ‘male’ professions.” The focus is on creating a family-friendly HR policy. Childcare facilities provided by the company and greater flexibility with regard to working hours and structures are just a few examples of this. Jürgen Dröge

r Info Almost a third of the “TOP JOB” companies for 2012 are family-owned. The fact that they include 14 world market leaders and 21 domestic market leaders in Germany is proof that good employers can also be successful in business.

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Pillars of success: apprenticeship, employee development, securing skilled personnel rrAt KIRCHHOFF Automotive, State Secretary Dr Wilhelm Schäffer acquaints himself with projects and measures

Securing skilled personnel and investment in basic and further training are becoming increasingly important as a competitive factor for companies.

Robin Brinkschulte (left) explains to Dr Wilhelm Schäffer (centre) and Reinhard Völzke (Further Vocational Training and Employee Transfer department) why he is so proud of his training place at KIRCHHOFF Automotive

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KIRCHHOFF Automotive. Together with Michael Stechele, general manager of the Agentur für Arbeit Iserlohn, and Christoph Willemsen from the Märkischer Arbeitgeberverband (Märkischer employers' association), they discussed future activities aimed at attracting skilled personnel and trainees.

KIRCHHOFF Automotive is involved in numerous projects and activities aimed at attracting welltrained personnel and trainees for the future and Dr Schäffer expressed particular interest in a new retaining existing staff. In fact, the development career orientation portal offered by the Agentur partner of the international für Arbeit in cooperation automotive industry has r “Some things can be managed betwith companies from the rebeen working on this for ter with the help of the Agentur für gion. This portal is primarily years in close cooperation aimed at German pupils from Arbeit”, Kuno Jakob, Head of Human with the Agentur für Arbeit grades 8 to 10 (typically 13 to Resources at KIRCHHOFF Automotive Iserlohn (the Agentur für Ar15 year olds) who are looking Iserlohn. for help in choosing a career beit is the state-run employpath. A central feature of this portal is a database ment agency network). where companies can post information about upDr Wilhelm Schäffer, State Secretary in the Min- coming work placements, taster days or guided istry for Labour, Integration and Social Affairs of tours. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is just one of the North-Rhine Westphalia, found out more about companies to offer work placements via this portal. this cooperation during his visit to Sümmern on 4 April 2012. Arndt G. and J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff were Once the introductions were over, a factory joined in welcoming the State Secretary by the hu- walkabout allowed the visitors to form their own man resource management and works council of impression of the training on offer at KIRCHHOFF

Automotive: Robin Brinkschulte, a first-year trainee, gave an insight into the training workshop for toolmakers: “I'm really happy to have this training place at KIRCHHOFF Automotive. Today I'm going to be learning about the basics of lathing from Philipp Albert, who's in his second year of training - I'm really looking forward to that.” KIRCHHOFF Automotive has been partnering with the Agentur für Arbeit for years, for example in the areas of personnel leasing, vocational training and acquisition of skilled personnel. The Agentur für Arbeit provides assistance if, for example, workers have to move for a new job.

J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff (right)

r Info KIRCHHOFF Automotive has been partnering with the Agentur für Arbeit for many years, including on the new portal for young people entering the job market. This online portal is primarily aimed at pupils from grades 8 to 10 (typically 13 to 15 year olds) who are looking for help in choosing a career path. Companies can post information about work placements, taster days or guided tours in the database.

and Arndt G. Kirchhoff (2nd from right) show Dr. Wilhelm Schäffer (2nd from left) and Reinhard Völzke (left) the bumper for a Ford Fiesta

KIRCHHOFF Automotive traditionally has a strong commitment to promoting and shaping vocational training: group “getting-to-know-you” tours during the introduction days as well as workshops and training courses specifically tailored to trainees are an integral part of the training programme. KIRCHHOFF Automotive is particularly committed to measures aimed at attracting trainees and skilled personnel. That's why the company is looking to the future with optimism. Eva Rademacher

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Network: universities and industry rrPromotion of talents using the example of Jasmin Brühmann The career of Jasmin Brühmann is a perfect example of networking and good cooperation between a university of applied sciences and a traditional university on the one hand and the world of business on the other.

Thanks to a groundbreaking co-operation between a university of applied sciences and a traditional university, it has been possible to implement this type of advanced study program combining a master's degree at the University of Applied Sciences in Iserlohn and a doctorate at the University of Siegen for the very first time.

Jasmin Brühmann successfully completed her bachelor and subsequent master's degree programmes The student is being supat the University of Applied ported by KIRCHHOFF Sciences in Iserlohn last year. r “We need a network to support our Automotive. The company She is now commencing her trainees that covers the entire qualificaset up a foundation to supdoctoral thesis “Development tion spectrum from toolmaker to doctor port talented and highly of a methodology for the of engineering.” Christoph Wagener, forming simulation of fibreHead of Research & Development at qualified graduate trainees and to encourage cooperareinforced thermoplastics KIRCHHOFF Automotive. tion between the two uniand hybrid structures” with the Chair for Forming Technologies at the Univer- versities. “We need a network to support our trainsity of Siegen. “When developing new products, ees that covers the entire qualification spectrum it's necessary to simulate the deformation of steel from toolmaker to doctor of engineering," says on a computer using a dynamic analysis. For my Christoph Wagener, Head of Research & Developdoctoral thesis, I'm examining ways in which this ment at KIRCHHOFF Automotive, who is himself a simulation could be applied to plastics and plastic lecturer. In a similar positive way professor Dr.-Ing. composites. This hasn't been possible until now,” Bernd Engel evaluates the cooperation: “For the university the model is interesting in a double-sense. explains Jasmin Brühmann.

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K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Jasmin Brühmann tests materials on the universal testing machine in the laboratory for forming technology for her doctoral studies

On the one hand the future alumni brings knowledge to the industry and on the other hand the cooperation generates research topics for the future.” The Chair of Forming Technologies headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Engel deals with forming technology for hybrid lightweight design by with the bending, hydroforming and pressing of fibre-reinforced plastics and composites. The issue of lightweight design is becoming increasingly important in the development of new vehicle bodies. This is also the subject for Jasmin Brühmann, who is studying the use of fibre-reinforced plastics and their theoretical simulation in an analysis for her doctoral studies. The combination of steel with other materials to create so called hybrid structures will play an increasingly important role in the future. The doctoral thesis of Jasmin Brühmann will certainly stimulate future research and development work for innovative products from KIRCHHOFF Automotive. In the end a win-win situation for everyone involved.

r Info Content and tasks of the doctoral thesis “Development of a methodology for the forming simulation of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics and hybrid structures”: › Investigation of the material behaviour of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (FRT) and FRT-metal hybrids during the pressing process › Examination of the joints in FRT-metal hybrids and of the possibilities for form-fit and firmly bonded connections between materials › Investigation and evaluation of various methods for the forming simulation of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics › Validation of FE models in basic trials and the forming of complex demonstrator components › Expansion of simulation models for application with FRT-metal hybrids › Supervision of seminar papers and theses on the described topic

Sabine Boehle

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What do I do when I grow up? rrKIRCHHOFF Automotive provides information and orientation for pupils and students

Factory tours are always in demand and provide an insight into the world of employment.

Both schools and companies are facing the reality of increasing demands and challenges. While the focus for schools is a streamlined curriculum, the focus for companies is ensuring that schoolleavers apply for the appropriate job. In human resource development/marketing, we make a virtue out of this challenge by maintaining close contact with local schools and supporting schools with a variety of programmes from a kind of “product catalogue”. The question that every young person asks at least once during their schooldays hasn't changed in 50 years: “What do I want to be when I grow up?”. Although the question is the same, the prevailing circumstances have changed enormously. There is a desperate shortage of skilled personnel, trainee numbers are falling and Pisa and G8 A-levels (Alevel exam after 8 years instead of 9). Teachers also face the significant challenge of trying to juggle their teaching commitments with preparing pupils well for the transition into their professional lives.

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KIRCHHOFF Automotive offers schools various forms of assistance to help pupils critically assess the issues surrounding their school leaving qualifications and career orientation. We have developed a series of posters as a concise way of presenting these programmes in the schools. The programmes range from workshops on career orientation through job application training, communication training and visits to companies to taster work placements and mini projects in the training workshop. These programmes are usually met with curiosity and interest and demand is high on the part of both teachers and pupils. One particular not every-day initiative that is always very well received is when our colleagues from the Research & Development department provide direct assistance in the classroom by teaching the basics of maths and physics as part of a technical lesson. Special “touch and try” events are extremely popular, eliciting a great response from the pupils. Questions such as “Who'd like to help?” are always answered at lightning speed with a chorus of “Me!

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Job fairs: the Soest Career Day give pupils and job see-

During the workshop for job orientation interaction is the cue:

kers an opportunity to find out about career prospects

at least it is a question of the own future!

at KIRCHHOFF Automotive. (top) Taster work placements offer pupils an ideal opportunity to touch and try. (bottom)

Me!”. After all, it's the perfect opportunity for the teenagers to not only find out more about their prospective career, but also to gain some initial practical experience. Once the pupils have overcome their initial inhibitions and made initial contact, their interest grows steadily. All of a sudden, work placements go from being an imposition to a source of excitement, and a good opportunity to gain some insights - all of a sudden office jobs mean something more tangible than just sitting at a desk. Girls' Day also takes on a different meaning in this context. The schools discover the significance and value of the cooperation and use Girls' Day to consolidate previous joint workshops and training courses. The interest in factory tours, taster days and taster work placements is also increasing as a way of gaining “real” insights into the world of work. At the end of the day, we're all in the same boat: pupils, parents, teachers and companies. The fast pace of day-to-day business, new challenges and con-

stantly high performance expectations mean the same thing for everyone: identifying and working out requirements, bundling know-how and working together to support young people during their first steps into working life. Miriam Graetz

r Info KIRCHHOFF Automotive offers schools various forms of assistance: workshops on career orientation, job application training, communication training, visits to companies, taster work placements, mini projects in the training workshop, support in technical classes from specialists from the Research & Development department.

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The Human Resource development experiences perfect support at the KIRCHHOFF Automotive booth by Nadia Rodrigues. She is junior logistics planner, and as a former student of Aveiro University well known among the students.

Discovering young talents rrOvar. KIRCHHOFF Automotive intensifies cooperation with Aveiro University

The participation of KIRCHHOFF Automotive in the student employment fair FORUM 3e is further evidence for the close cooperation with the Aveiro University in Ovar. The event took place on the university campus, close to our production plant in Ovar, from 17th to 20th April.

f.l.t.r.: Sónia Baptista (Human Resource Development), Adi Saputra, Indonesian student and applicant for a work experience as well as António Rosas (Head of Human Resource Management KIRCHHOFF Portugal)

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Aveiro University was founded in 1973 and is one of the most dynamic and innovative universities of Portugal. Today more than 15,000 students attend this institution that is widely known for its educational competence in the fields of mechanical engineering, economics, management and production engineering.

The fair appearance was very successful for KIRCHHOFF Automotive: Students submitted more than 100 applications, most of them directly at the booth, others via the company’s web portal. For KIRCHHOFF Automotive, the participation in this job fair was important in two respects: On the one hand, the FORUM 3e is an important platform to win young qualified employees, on the other hand, being present on such fairs increases the publicity of KIRCHHOFF Automotive as employer in Portugal. For the future, the company plans the participation in the EEC Erasmus Program that promotes the international mobility of highly developed students. António Rosas

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Imparting the technology of the future rrAurora. In-house training centre for laser welding technology

Since 2005, Van-Rob successfully implements and continuously improves the technologies laser welding and laser cutting. Today, these core competences are applied in the manufacture of many new products. Currently, Van-Rob is equipped with lasers in its plants in Aurora, Manchester, Puebla and Hermosillo. For the next two years, the installation of another ten systems is planned. In order to train the employees in dealing with this technology, a laser training center at the corporate center in Aurora, Canada, has been set up. Not only employees are equipped with the required knowledge, but also our key suppliers. They deliver the material that afterwards is used in our laser welding and cutting systems. Employees from various fields like designers, process engineers, quality technicians, electricians, mechanics, operators and robot and PLC programmers will be trained in the new laser training center over the next two years. Designers and process engineers in Aurora already have some experience

with laser welding and cutting: In a training on the respective type of systems they received best practice guidelines for developing a laser welded assembly. In an hands-on training from the corporate lab quality, technicians will learn how to separate and etch weld seam samples. In addition, they have the opportunity to measure the key weld characteristics such as penetration depth, under cut, length and weld cross sections with an optical microscope. All participants take greatest advantage out of this: Hands-on experience on a complete production ready laser cell with the corresponding tools are gained. Already months before production starts machine operators can simulate close-to-production manufacturing. Special maintenance groups will learn how to repair and clean the laser and arc system. Thus practical knowledge that can later be used in the respective production sites can be obtained far in advance. The new training center opens up further development opportunities in the laser welding technology. Barry Kavanaugh

Corporate Process Engineering Team Members with Min Xiao, Laser Welding Engineer

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Discovering skills, developing skills rrSystematic Employee Development at KIRCHHOFF Automotive

One year after introduction in the context of a pilot project at the Attendorn plant, the KIRCHHOFF>Employee-Development-Process (K>MEP) has now started at all plants throughout Germany. The target is a systematic and competency-based analysis of potential by means of annual staff appraisals. Looking at the challenges facing the automotive sector has to face, it is evident that as much emphasis needs to be placed on personal competencies as on technical ones. Consequently, targeted further training measures geared towards the requirements of the respective job roles are becoming ever more crucial for the progression of individual employees and, accordingly, the competitiveness of the company. The whole process includes the creation of profiles for bundles of jobs, an obligatory preparation training for executives that trains them in handling the new instruments of employee development, as well as an annual comparison of “target / actual profile” in the context of annual staff appraisals. This does not only lead to supply and demand of further training, but also to the basis for further human resource development aspects, e. g. the internal training catalogue, talent management, succession planning and requirements-based selection of personnel. An in-house training catalogue, accessible via the intranet, offers seminars on all key issues from employees' individual understanding of leadership through to personal self-management. t 50

r Info To prepare our staff for future developments in good time, we need to do the following: 1. Identify requirements and potential 2. Identify the need for further individual development based on the challenges facing the job 3. Derive “appropriate” measures

Because it is our executives who are responsible for employee development, we have integrated training courses such as “From colleague to boss” or “Basics of employees’ leadership” into a modular development series. All this can be identified and further developed with K>MEP. Arndt G. Kirchhoff, CEO of KIRCHHOFF Automotive, emphasises: “Germany's greatest strength lies in our ability to grasp complex processes and to practice parallel and interdisciplinary thinking. We need to keep building on this strength if we want to keep a step ahead of the global competition.” Tatjana Schutte

Individual and multisided rrTrainee programs at KIRCHHOFF Automotive – the successful start into professional life From left to right: Anja Hawellek (trainee), Antonia Otte (dual student), Alexander von Arnim (trainee)

The decision to enter a trainee program in a company that has operations worldwide opens up a huge range of opportunities for professional qualification and orientation. At the same time, a trainee program can serve as a basis for a professional entry into the company.

›› Management culture with an international focus ›› Development opportunities in the areas of sales and technology ›› Trainee programme providing opportunities for getting to know different departments and business arease

Domestic and international projects, working in different departments and group projects in the company are just some of the options available with this type of program. However, the duties that a trainee can expect to perform do not only depend on the current situation within the company, but also on the trainee’s education and personal experience. A trainee program is both individual and various, as Alexander von Arnim discovered:

In previous work placements I had gained experience in many different areas from finance to consulting. Following interviews with a number of companies, I decide that with KIRCHHOFF Automotive I have found an SME that fulfills many of my expectations. The good impression in the interview, the positive development of the company and the current situation with regard to strategic expansion in North America and China convince me that I have made the right choice. I am offered a place in an international trainee program that offers exciting opportunities for a period of 18 months.

September 2010 – the end of my studies is in sight. It's time to start applying for jobs and I'm still not sure where I want to work or what I want to do. After completing my business administration studies in Maastricht and Barcelona, I consider the prospect of a job in an industrial enterprise that has operations worldwide and can offer exciting opportunities. In what proves to be an exhausting search for the right job, I focus on several key criteria:

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I quickly decide to leave the city and take up a trainee position with KIRCHHOFF Automotive in Attendorn. I should point out here that Attendorn is not very well known, but I am pleasantly surprised by how interesting it turns out to be.

K› MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF Automotive

My trainee position focuses on working in the Key Account Team for one of the biggest customers of KIRCHHOFF Automotive, the Ford Motor Company. I spend a total of n9 months in Attendorn getting to know the general corporate structure as well as the specific systems, documents and guidelines that apply to Ford. At the end of this successful orientation phase, I am given the opportunity to go to North America to work with the local sales team providing support to the same customer. With the company's continued expansion in the Asian market, I end my time as a trainee with an opportunity to work at the plant in Suzhou, China, which is located 80 km from Shanghai. My summary: After 15 months I'm about to board my flight to China, having spent 9 months working at the German headquarters in Attendorn followed by 6 months supporting the sales team in Detroit. The experience has been both multisided and educational, and the possibilities for personal development have been enormous. Thanks to the friendly and helpful team in Attendorn, who helped me learn the systems and structures used for dealing with Ford, my time there was both useful and enjoyable. Flat hierarchies allowed regular and good communication with superiors at any time. During my time in the USA, I was primarily involved in the coordination of global projects and in the exchange of best practices. I also enjoyed my time outside of work. Particularly the fiercely contested ice hockey games featuring the Red Wings and NBA basketball games with the Detroit Pistons will be a lasting memory.

the biggest market in the automotive industry, which is really exciting. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to meeting and getting to know my new colleagues there. I am looking forward to challenging assignments here, such as the provision of support for upcoming projects in the Chinese market involving not only the customer Ford, but also BMW, Daimler and VW. In my time as a trainee with KIRCHHOFF Automotive, I've developed a lot more on both a personal and professional level than I had initially envisaged. After 18 months it is my hope and aim that KIRCHHOFF Automotive’s expectations as well as my own ones can be combined one more time. Alexander von Arnim

r Info Conclusion My gut feeling and first impression were right. For me KIRCHHOFF Automotive was the right decision, and one that I would recommend to anyone else in my situation.

My expectations with regard to my time in China for the last three months of the trainee program are two-minded. On the one hand, this is my first time visiting the country that is about to become

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Alberto Balderas during his training at KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Transatlantic exchange rrAn experience report by Alberto Balderas

Hello, my name is Alberto Balderas and I recently completed my training as a tool engineering technician at Van-Rob in Querétaro, Mexico. Van-Rob and KIRCHHOFF Automotive have given me a fantastic opportunity for further training, and I'd like to say thank you for that.

nice to me, which I really appreciate. The work I'm doing here is completely different to what I’d been doing before. At the moment I'm working in method planning. One of the things I'm learning is how to create a strip layout for progressive and transfer dies – a completely new task that is fun. I understand a lot of things better now and can assist with a lot of processes where before I didn't have the necessary knowledge or I thought they were too complicated.

I've been in Germany for two months now to make progress and I'm really enjoying my stay. I had some concerns initially because this is my first big trip and I am to expect so many new things, like the language, the culture, the food and the weather. But at r “My further training at KIRCHHOFF My job before a new project the same time, from the bestarts is to completely anaAutomotive has changed many things ginning on I was really excitlyse a component: What's in my life and will be a big help in my ed about the idea of coming the best way to press this working life.” Alberto Balderas, tool here. I knew it was going to part while at the same time engineering technician be a great experience for me keeping the die costs as low and so far this has proved true! as possible? This can be hard for me at times because I'm still learning and do not yet have a lot of I can still clearly remember my first day at experience in doing this. If there's ever anything I'm KIRCHHOFF Automotive: I can't say it was hard, but unsure about, my colleagues are there to help me there were a lot of things that were different. I had with their eclectic knowledge and experience. I've to adapt and get used to the processes here. I got to already learned a lot from them and would like to know lots of new colleagues and they were all very learn even more. Alberto Balderas

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Maths lessons in small teams makes learning easier

You can do more mathematics than you think rrAdditional offers during apprenticeship

As a forward-looking company, we take operational training very seriously. We therefore offer a wide range of additional training opportunities. We consider vocational training in the context of flexible and individual human resource development and offer additional opportunities to ensure that young people receive proper training. In-house maths lessons are a permanent fixture in the area of technical/industrial training. The lessons are given by our own dual (combined vocational training and degree program) students. They get to pass on their knowledge and learn a lot themselves in the process. One of these training pioneers is Karsten Thoene, who helped to develop the concept and regularly gives lessons himself. “I basically focus on the current school curriculum, but I also take into account the requirements of companies in relation to train-

ees. This helps to identify common thread ground,” explains Karsten Thoene. A textbook is currently being produced in collaboration with the other students, which will serve as a subject guideline for future tutors. The maths lessons are just one of our additional training opportunities. We also offer interdisciplinary projects, business etiquette and communication training as well as manual training. By taking on these additional duties, our students can enhance their own skills and abilities – and have fun in the process, as Karsten Thoene assures us with a smile.

Karsten Thoene, dual student at KIRCHHOFF Automotive and internal

Heiko Aland

mathematics coach

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r Kirchhoff Mobility “Custom-made cars for handicapped people.”

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K›MOBIL 39 // KIRCHHOFF MOBILITY

KIRCHHOFF Mobility becomes umbrella brand rrThe companies REHA and Jelschen under new leadership

To date, vehicles for mobility-impaired persons have been assembled and distributed by the REHA Group Automotive division within the KIRCHHOFF Group. Following the acquisition of the Helmut Jelschen Behindertenfahrzeuge in Bad Zwischenahn last year, significant synergy effects have been achieved in product development and the value-added structure. Both of these companies will in future be placed under the KIRCHHOFF Mobility umbrella brand. From the beginning of this year, the management of this division has been taken over by Dr. Axel Panne. Dr. Panne looks back on long successful experiences in the automotive supply industry (ThyssenKrupp KIRCHHOFF Mobility Sales Conference

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Automotive) and in special vehicle construction (Haller Umweltsysteme). Currently, KIRCHHOFF Mobility is focusing on the continued development of products and distribution channels. The REHA and JELSCHEN brands will be continued and will accordingly both be present at Rehacare trade fair in Düsseldorf from 10 to 13 October 2012. KIRCHHOFF Group acquires Jelschen Behindertenfahrzeuge GmbH After having been in the ownership of the Jelschen family for 34 years, Jelschen Behindertenfahrzeuge GmbH in Bad Zwischenahn has now become the property of the KIRCHHOFF Group. The company, which specialises in vehicle conversions to meet the needs of disabled persons, particularly focuses on the “passive” transport in wheel chairs. The company has more than 40 vehicles of various brands on stock at all times and also converts appropriate customer vehicles for wheelchair access. The special vehicles from Bad Zwischenahn are in great demand throughout Germany as well as abroad.

Helmut Jelschen (left) together with new Managing Director Dirk Poweleit

The company’s founder, Helmut Jelschen, is retiring due to his advanced age and says that he has selected the new owner with great care during a period of over half a year. It is to be ensured that “the company will be preserved and all 30 employees will retain a secure workplace”. Dirk Poweleit has been appointed as the future Managing Director. From his previous activity as Managing Director of Petri and Lehr (Dietzenbach) he has gained extensive knowledge of this industry and of the construction of vehicles for disabled people, particularly of those for self drivers. Until his accession to office, Helmut Jelschen will still continue to manage the business. New Managing Director at REHA Group Automotive Effective April 1st, 2012 Uwe Hausdorf was appointed as the new Managing Director of REHA Group Automotive GmbH. Thus he replaces Ralf Philipps as Managing Director. Following his apprenticeship as a wholesale and foreign trade merchant, Hausdorf decided to pursue business studies, specialising in controlling/ accounting at the Academy of Administration and Economics in Bochum. In 1988, after graduat-

ing with a degree in business administration, he held management positions in a number of companies. In 2000, he moved from the VEW Group to the KIRCHHOFF Group, where he was appointed as Managing Director of FAUN Novatec GmbH. In 2006, he took on a position as authorized representative in the Financial Controlling department of KIRCHHOFF Beteiligungen GmbH. Mr Hausdorf has extensive experience in all areas of finance and accounting. His communicative and friendly manner combined with a goal-oriented working style allows him to analyze new areas quickly and extensively, as well as to identify and implement solutions jointly with the company’s management and employees. This will ensure that the further development of the REHA Group Automotive into the leading supplier of mobility systems will be achieved swiftly and successfully.

Uwe Hausdorf – the new Managing Director at REHA Group Automotive

J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff

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WITTE WERKZEUGE

WITTE

r WITTE Werkzeuge “When function and effect are in line.”

K› MOBIL 39 // PAGE

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K›MOBIL 39 // WITTE Werkzeuge

Powerful ratchet mechanism integrated in a compact bit box. A bit holder with keyless chuck and 6 high quality bits in various assortments offer the right tool for each application

Product innovation by WITTE Werkzeuge rrPremiere at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne: the new Ratchdrive

In March, it celebrated its premiere at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne: the innovative Ratchdrive by screw driving tool specialist WITTE Tools. The latest high-quality offering from WITTE Tools was an instant hit among the trade professionals at the Cologne fair. The Ratchdrive is a compact bit box featuring a powerful integrated ratchet mechanism. A quick-change bracket and six high-quality

bits in different combinations offer the right tool for every screw driving task. The bits and quickchange bracket can be easily removed by opening up the Ratchdrive. The screwing direction is changed by moving the bracket to the opposite side of the Ratchdrive. The compact size of the Ratchdrive makes it ready to hand for every use. The innovative product comes in six different bit combinations. Oliver Fries

From left to right: Lisa Galliani, Renate Obst, Nadine Blume, Nina Packwitz, Martin Milewski, Sabine Grams, Mark Liebholdt, Margot Buchholz, Oliver Fries

Perfection easy to handle rrWITTE Werkzeuge at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne

WITTE Tools showcased its precision hand tools at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne from March 4 - 7, 2012 on a booth of 143 m2. The trade fair for tools, fasteners and fixings, building and home improvement products has built a reputation among manufacturers, retailers and consumers from around the world as a hub and international platform for the sector. WITTE Tools has been exhibiting there since 1952.

KIRCHHOFF Group. As a qualified and recognised partner in development, WITTE Tools today produces premium screw driving tools and supplies high-end own brands to major brand-name manufacturers in the tool market. The support offered to industrial customers with construction and product and packaging design as well as sales promotion plays an important role.

WITTE Tools does business with trading partners The innovations showcased by WITTE Tools once all over the world. While Germany, Europe and the again proved a huge draw for visitors this year. The USA have always been important markets, the Middle Eastern and Asian marcentrepiece of the product kets are also growing. “Even innovations was the “Ratch- r “We have acquired our first customthough we are still facing drive” - a powerful ratchet ers from the Middle East – a region problems in our key marmechanism integrated in a where we continue to see great potencompact bit box - and the tial for 2012 and beyond.” J. Wolfgang kets in Southern Europe, the shortfall in business there worldwide patented microfiKirchhoff, Managing Partner has been offset by increased bre-coated screw drivers from orders from the domestic the MAXXPRO series. market as well as from Eastern and Western EuAs the interface between the user and the tool, the rope”, reports J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Managing Parthandle is at the heart of the product design: re- ner of WITTE Tools and Chairman of the Advisory search activities at WITTE Tools do not just concen- Committee of the International Hardware Fair. trate on shape, but also new material combinations are always in the focus of development – a more All of which means that 50 years after its first appearance at the International Hardware Fair, WITTE than 225 year old tradition. Tools can still count on a positive reception. In 1785, with the production of sewing needles the enterprise from Hagen laid the foundation for the Sabine Boehle

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K›MOBIL 39 // WITTE Werkzeuge

WITTE Werkzeuge is supplier of the year rrAward from Matco Tools, USA

Mike Smith, Vice President of Materials, Matco Tools, together with J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Managing Partner of WITTE Tools, at the Supplier of the Year awards ceremony

Matco Tools, WITTE Tools’ most important in- proof of the quality of our products and service and ternational customer, named the Hagen-based a signpost to the future,” says J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, manufacturer of high-quality screw driving tools Managing Partner of WITTE Tools. as its Supplier of the Year on 26 February 2012 in Las Vegas. Tom Willis, Chairman of r “We will continue to impress with the quality the Board of Matco Tools, Matco Tools is a subsidiemphasised the good relaof our products and service in the future.” ary of the North Ameritions with WITTE Tools durJ. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Managing Partner can Danaher Corporaing the awards ceremony: tion, the world market “This award underscores leader for innovative products and technologies the long-standing successful and close relationship in the science and engineering sector. The North between Matco and WITTE Tools. This year's trade American company produces and sells quality fair was the most successful yet for Matco, with hand tools and equipment for industrial automo- over 1,000 distributors converging on Caesar's Paltive workshops. Its product line encompasses over ace in Las Vegas.” 13,000 products. For WITTE Tools, this special award is an incentive Matco currently works with approx. 1,425 distribu- to keep maintaining and intensifying our strong tors in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. On a huge relationship with Matco. trade show for mobile distributors hosted by Matco every year, the latest developments on the market Sabine Boehle are showcased. It also provides an opportunity to cultivate existing contacts and make new ones with suppliers. “This award means a lot to us because it’s t 64

r FAUN Group “Technical innovations and individual solutions for modern street cleaning and waste disposal.” K› MOBIL 39 // PAGE

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

FAUN recognised as think-tank rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. Ranga Yogeshwar honours the most innovative medium-sized companies on 22nd June 2012. FAUN Group is in the “TOP 100 innovator”. Extract from the press release.

They have an excellent inventive spirit, exemplary innovation processes and they manage to bridge the gap between idea and market success: Germany's most innovative medium-sized companies. FAUN are to be presented with a “TOP 100 innovator” seal of quality on 22nd June in Friedrichshafen by Mr Ranga Yogeshwar.

Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff

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FAUN places great value on the judgement of its customers in the production of its refuse collection vehicles and road sweepers. “In summary, the functionality, technology and equipment should also give satisfaction to those who use our refuse collection and road sweeping vehicles: the drivers and loaders who keep our streets clean on a daily basis” explains Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff, FAUN's CEO. The

body manufacturer therefore tests its products directly in situ under real conditions. This means that in tests, around 1,000 to 1,200 waste bins are emptied per day over several months. The first point of contact for the analysis of this test drive is the driver/ operator. These are the people who can directly influence whether an innovative development should actually go into production. Patrick Hermanspann, Managing Director and CTO of the international family-run company always aims to supply his customers with the appropriate solutions. The customer's prior judgement is therefore key. The company also maintains close cooperation with universities and research facilities and involves the suppliers of its vehicle components in

1000 FAUN employees work alongside them for the success of the company. Peter Höning, Georg Sandkühler and Patrick Hermanspann.

the development process. The result is tailored solutions for recyclable materials and waste. Internal staff are also involved: “Research and development at FAUN offers the opportunity to work on the overall “refuse collection vehicle”, not just on partial aspects. From the drive train and the functional lightweight construction to the ergonomic considerations, the entire spectrum of engineering knowledge is utilised. I believe this scope of work is unique in the commercial vehicles industry” says Research and Development Manager, Georg Sandkühler. Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team from the Vienna Commercial University have examined innovation management in 281 medium-sized com-

panies. The best of these are awarded the “TOP 100” seal of quality. Peter Höning, Managing Director and CEO at FAUN, is delighted with the honour and emphasises the value of teamwork: “I consider the quality seal as an award for our employees. Their enthusiasm and efforts are our number-one motivating factor. We have also established the correct processes to enable this creativity to unfold productively. Together these are what make FAUN so successful.” The mentor The project mentor is the German journalist and TV moderator Ranga Yogeshwar.

Ranga Yogeshwar

Claudia Schaue

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

1.

2.

3.

5.

4.

6.

7. 1. It’s showtime: here’s the SIDEPRESS with C1100 lifter 2. The company Kampwerth took its new VIAJET 7 off straight away to Harsewinkel 3. The second ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER for Nehlsen – on 4-axis chassis with 14.5 t payload 4. Nehlsen Managing Director Peter Hoffmeyer (right) got the keys of his brand new ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER from Dr. Jochen F. Kirchhoff and Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff (left). The Minister of Lower Saxony, Dr. Stefan Birkner, acted as godfather. 5. und 6. Strong products on show over 1,100 m² 7. FAUN showed powerful products, powerful service and a powerful company every day at the VAK “trucks in action” show t 70

BEST3. Powerful products. Powerful service. Powerful company. rrMunich. With 77 confirmed new orders, the FAUN Group has its most successful trade fair ever.

The dedicated trade fair IFAT Entsorga came to an end with top marks. 125,000 visitors from 180 countries, 2,939 exhibitors from 54 nations and more international visitors than ever before. These are the figures from the world‘s leading trade fair which was held from 7th to 11th May 2012 in Munich.

r Info FAUN exhibited under the motto BEST3 › Powerful products › Powerful service › Powerful company

Giving the best performance is our claim and our promise to our customers. What makes FAUN unmatchable is innovative vehicles, comprehensive services and motivated employees. Put them together and you get BEST3. At IFAT Entsorga FAUN showed 20 vehicles, 5 of which were brand new. A design study of the classic ROTOPRESS, a new container concept for the VARIOPRESS and POWERPRESS rear loaders, hybrid refuse collection vehicles VARIOPRESS DUALPOWER and ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER, a new generation of VIAJET road sweepers and technical innovations on the FRONTPRESS. (Read all about them on the following pages) The motivation of the hard working and dedicated trade fair team were rewarded with 40 export orders and 37 German orders. Claudia Schaue

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Design study of ROTOPRESS with new shape

BEST3. Powerful new products rrMunich. Vehicle innovations for yet more customer benefits r ROTOPRESS

r VARIOPRESS and POWERPRESS

FAUN‘s ROTOPRESS design study shows that even a waste disposal classic can switch to a new direction. The concept combines optimum form and function.

The striking new body concept for the rear loader with added payload and design body.

NEW: ›› Modern, high quality trim ›› The modular design permits trim concepts (semi or full body trim) ›› Perfect eye-catching advertising space for customer marketing ›› Non-slip steps made of signal-coloured, glass fibre-reinforced material ›› FCS control system with ergonomic oper ating concept and the same hardware for all FAUN bodies

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ROTOPRESS

NEW: ›› Body container with stable frame con ›› struction thanks to profile connections optionally available with or without ribs ›› 300 kg lighter than the ribbed-design predecessor model ›› Body available in volumes from 7 m3 to 30 m3 ›› Best-ever flexibility for all waste and recyclable materials ›› Fraction-optimised compaction ›› All-round ejection plate seal

POWERPRESS with new body concept

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER

FRONTPRESS

r ROTOPRESS and VARIOPRESS DUALPOWER

r FRONTPRESS

In the meantime FAUN has fitted 20 refuse collection vehicles with the DUALPOWER drive train. As well as the ROTOPRESS DUALPOWER, FAUN also showed the VARIOPRESS DUALPOWER in Munich.

The robust front loader has been further optimised:

The most important characteristics at a glance: ›› 33 % less fuel ›› 33 % less CO2 ›› 91 dB(A) instead of 106 dB(A) noise emissions (compare for example, normal conversation versus chainsaw) ›› Considerable fine dust and NOX reductions in collection operation

VARIOPRESS DUALPOWER

NEW: ›› Integrated 1.1 trunnion device ›› FAUN Control System (FCS) with ergonomic operating concept and the same hardware for all FAUN bodies ›› New ergonomic remote control with CANBus control, robust infrared receivers and weatherproof housing

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

r VIAJET 4 COMPACT Body solution with standard chassis up to 7.5t for inner-city cleansing, highly flexible in use and maximum transport speed: NEW: ›› New, revised road sweeper concept ›› Now also with body motor which is independent of the chassis VIAJET 4

r SELECTAPRESS DUO

r VIAJET 5 ALLROUND

This rear loader is available in body sizes 15 m3 to 21 m3. It is based on the VARIOPRESS concept and works according to the two-in-one principle.

The flexible road sweeper solution on standard 9–12 t-class chassis for applications with high power requirements:

The most important characteristics at a glance: ›› Split body for independent loading and emptying of two fractions in one round ›› Two independent tailgates ensure guaranteed clean separation of fractions when loading and emptying ›› Separate electronics also enable individual adjustment of the seal for each fraction ›› CIN-ENERGY option: Opportunity for more environmentally-friendly, more economical refuse collection by the installation of a hydraulic accumulator which stores recovered braking energy for no-cost use of the compactor

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The most important characteristics at a glance: ›› Service-friendly and economical overall concept ›› Air-recirculation system for low-emission urban use ›› Standard high-dump for local application fields

SELECTAPRESS

NEW: ›› With FAUN air-recirculation system for dusty inner cities The most important characteristics at a glance: ›› Flexible, high-performance and economical ›› Now with guaranteed hydraulic concept and new, load-dependent turbine control ›› Unmatched performance and robust vacuum sweeper concept ›› Simple guided operation

VIAJET 5

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

VIAJET 6 with oil-spill removal attachment

r VIAJET 6 PROFESSIONAL The most variable series with extensive spectrum of special applications on standard 13-18 t-class chassis. NEW VW engine: ›› The latest exhaust technology from VW (“Tier 4 final”-compatible) ›› Efficient, consumption-optimised drive solution with no loss of performance ›› Short wheelbase with maximum water volume of up to 2,550 l without reduction of dirt compartment size ›› Noise reduction thanks to noise-insulated module arrangement NEW oil-spill removal attachment: Quick-change attachment for removal of oil spills, dual use as normal road sweeper and oil-spill cleansing device. NEW key characteristics at a glance: ›› Short setup times mean the front unit can be attached whenever required ›› Short wheelbase from 3,260 mm ›› Wide range of uses thanks to new crushing technique with minimum water consumption, e.g. for market days and events ›› Can heat water up to 30 l/min (Δt = approx. 80 °C) ›› Side attachment makes cleaning oil spills easier

VIAJET 6 with VW-Motor

r VIAJET 7 EXPERT The 18–19 t-class road sweeper concept for demanding uses with high performance and loading requirements . NEW: ›› Blower concept with more vacuum power The most important characteristics at a glance: ›› Extensive range of attachments for special applications ›› Flexible high pressure washer system ›› Water tank up to 3,000 l with no reduction of collecting capacity ›› And without increasing wheelbase ›› Modern rear vacuum system concept with no seal weaknesses

VIAJET 7

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ROTOPRESS takes off in America rrLas Vegas. Successful start for USA market launch With a lavish trade fair stand in the USA, FAUN was able to continue the success story of ROTOPRESS 2012. At this year‘s WASTE EXPO (1st - 3rd May 2012) in Las Vegas, FAUN together with the US waste disposal group, Waste Management and Daimler AG exhibited a ROTOPRESS on a ECONIC chassis.

combination and its compact, well-matched design. Compared to the US standard our disposal vehicles are considerably more effective.

Not just the large Econic cab, previously unknown on the US market, but also the ROTOPRESS with its unique function principle and the Zöller lifter attracted a lot of attention at this major trade fair.

ROTOPRESS on a trailer In January, after a year of preparation and construction, FAUN handed over six trailer-based ROTOPRESS bodies to the world‘s biggest disposal group, Waste Management in Houston. In relation to the road licensing provisions and the resulting weight regulations the trailer-mounted ROTOPRESS offers both payload benefits and flexibility in use. The tractor unit and the body can be uncoupled with a few manual actions.

The collection of organic wastes, as well as light, payload effective RCVs with gas engine are becoming increasingly an issue in the USA and many disposal agencies are looking for the ideal vehicle for these tasks. The ROTOPRESS with its simple, proven principle offers the corresponding tightness along with the payload benefits. In addition, visitors to the trade fair were impressed by the chassis/body

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The trade fair model will remain in America and will be put into action in Houston, Texas and tested under US conditions.

Two of these ROTOPRESS bodies are ROTOPRESS XL vehicles which are operated both while stationary

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

FAUN & WASTE MANAGEMENT trade fair stand at the WASTE EXPO in Las Vegas.

Presentation of the ROTOPRESS concept in Houston, Texas: Eric Woods (Vice President Fleet & Performance Waste Management), Dr. Armin Vogel (Managing Director and CSO FAUN Group) and John Lemmons (Director Fleet Performance Waste Management) (f.l.t.r.)

via an electrical connection and conventionally via a power take-off. These bodies can for example be used to collect waste from supermarkets and distribution centres because the electro-hydraulic drives are not only extremely quiet, they are also emission-free. The bodies are currently used both on the east coast of the USA and in California. Christian Bremer

ROTOPRESS as trailer based solution.

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These ROTOPRESS are awaiting collection by road for the Crimean Peninsula

Make our city more beautiful rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. Unified disposal concept with FAUN vehicles for Crimean Peninsula The Crimean Peninsula is getting ready for action. New holiday villages, attractive tourist offers and an improved infrastructure are designed to attract tourists from all over the world. Realising this ambitious project also requires a modern, unified disposal system. FAUN, together with its local FAUN partner VARZ, responded to the state requirements for new waste disposal vehicles and road sweepers and won the order for 26 new vehicles.

VARZ-Director Alexander Khitoschko (left) visited FAUN booth and FAUN Sales Manager Ewgenij Schönberg at IFAT Entsorga in Munich.

Mounted on a Mercedes Benz chassis, FAUN is supplying 17 ROTOPRESS (12, 16 and 20 m3 bodies), two ROTOPRESS XL (41 m3 body), another POWERPRESS and six VIAJET road sweepers to Ukraine. The two ROTOPRESS XL are driven by a body motor. This means that body-loading is independent of the tractor unit allowing the tractor unit to be used for other purposes during the loading operation. The first vehicles, in fact the first ever new disposal technology vehicles for the Crimea, were delivered at the end of May 2012 and the remaining vehicles are to follow by summer. The destination is the centrally located spa town of Simferopol, the capital of the peninsula. The rear loaders will handle domestic and bio-waste in the city of 400,000 residents. FAUN Sales Manager Ewgenij Schönberg and Sales Assistant Eugenia Klossek succeeded in winning the order with the support of the Mercedes Benz dealer Konkord. Ewgenij Schönberg is delighted with the successful order: “The project required a lot from all of us but the result is very good. A lot is happening in the Crimea, the people there want to develop and achieve a lot and we are right there with them. It’s a great feeling.” Claudia Schaue

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K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Thomas Hoffmann is new Sales Manager rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. As the new export Sales Manager, Thomas Hoffmann takes over the sales responsibilities of Tim Collet. With effect from 1st June 2012 Thomas Hoffmann, former internal Sales Manager at the OsterholzScharmbeck site, becomes Export Manager for the FAUN Group. The 34 year-old takes over the responsibilities and support for the Benelux countries, Scandinavia and Iceland and Ireland and will be in charge of the whole product range of FAUN refuse collection vehicles and road sweepers. Thomas Hoffmann is one of a total of four Sales Managers who report to the managing director and CSO of the Group Dr. Armin Vogel.

r Info Successor Thomas Hoffmann hands over the baton of internal Sales Manager to Malte Sonnenburg. Malte Sonnenburg joined 2006 in FAUN and started working in FAUN Services, switching to internal sales in 2011. In both positions he has worked with great commitment and has introduced targeted improvements so he is ideally placed to take on his new role.

Thomas Hoffmann joined the FAUN Group in 1998. He has been the internal Sales Manager since 2004 after completing his training and obtaining a diploma in business IT. He is looking forward to his new role with excitement and is keen to put his experiences into practice in export sales. Every disposal company in every country has specific requirements which it is worth finding out and taking on board. Claudia Schaue

K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Then and today: Great road sweepers leave the company in Saxony.

Powerful people - the team of FAUN Viatec GmbH

In front sweeper AK 3 and VIAJET FILTAIR in background.

rr How time flies Grimma. FAUN Viatec GmbH celebrates its 20th birthday this year. Time to look back.

Helmut Schmeh, Managing Director of FAUN Viatec GmbH, is very proud of the development of his factory in Grimma. Having been with the road sweeper builders for twelve years, he himself can look back over a large part of two decades. Successful years in which the company came from nowhere to become the market leader for HGV road sweepers in Germany. 1992 FAUN Müller Umwelttechnik GmbH is founded. Shuttle vehicles are manufactured in the two factory halls. As the eastern service centre, repairs FAUN vehicles of all types.

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Grimma in Saxony. A specialist in-house development department is established. In the same year the now-familiar hydraulic concept of powering the sweeper units via the HGV drive engine is launched. The road sweeper specialists establish a milestone with this concept and herald a new era of drive technology in road sweeper bodies. New concept ... New name ... FAUN Müller Umwelttechnik GmbH becomes FAUN Viatec GmbH. 1999 Together with UNIMOG, FAUN successfully builds the first VIAJET 5U road sweeper body on the UNIMOG U400 carrier system. FAUN and UNIMOG become system partners.

1996 The company starts to build SKD (SemiKnocked-Down) road sweepers from France on chassis for the German market.

2000 Introduction of the first 5 m3 road sweeper with hydrostatic drive.

1998 The decision is made to relocate road sweeper production lock, stock and barrel from France to

2005 The cleanest road sweeper in the world is developed in Grimma. A road sweeper with new

filter technology for particulate suppression. The product is christened VIAJET FILTAIR and achieves a particulate suppression rate according to PM10 of 99.98 %. To date this has never been beaten. 2007 Premises by now are too small and the team moves a short distance away into larger halls with greater capacity. 2008 The product portfolio is enhanced by the 4 m3 HGV road sweeper. 2009 The arrival of the VIAJET 9, a vehicle for heavyduty sweeping operations.

r Info About FAUN Viatec GmbH Market leaders FAUN Viatec currently employ 100 people. Of the 30 who were with the company at its birth, many are still with us now. The product range comprises eight different models in body sizes 4 m3 to 12 m3 volume and with three different drive concepts. Every day approximately 1,5 road sweeper leaves the factory in Grimma - destination? Anywhere in the world.

2012 20 years after its foundation, Saxony launches a new generation of road sweepers onto the market. Claudia Schaue

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Tim Collet appointed Managing Director rrUrdorf. On 1st April 2012 Tim Collet became Managing Director of the Swiss subsidiary J. Ochsner AG. K>MOBIL spoke to the 46-year old.

K>MOBIL: Mr Collet, you were appointed Managing Director of J. Ochsner AG on 1st April. Many congratulations. We would like to find out more about the direction in which you want to take the team. Tim Collet: Switzerland still occupies a special position regarding the equipment of RCVs in Europe today. With all due respect to Swiss specialisms, opportunities and strengths we can make better use of the FAUN Group there and at the same time we can raise the profile of J. Ochsner AG within the FAUN Group outside Switzerland K>MOBIL: Where do you see J. Ochsner AG right now? What are your focal points? Tim Collet: The name Ochsner Kübel is still a synonym for waste bins in Switzerland. In the Swiss home market, J. Ochsner AG is both a traditional

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manufacturer and an innovation leader. Within the FAUN Group, Ochsner is the competence centre for weighing, identification and telematics in connection with disposal. We intend to make these products successful outside Switzerland. On the other hand, there are FAUN Group products such as the ROTOPRESS and the FAUN road sweepers which should have a higher profile in Switzerland than now. K>MOBIL: What are the challenges and what are you looking forward to? Tim Collet: The cultural diversity of Switzerland! Schwyzerdütsch is a new language for me. The French in the west of Switzerland is actually easier to understand initially. Then there is Italian, the third national language and an important cultural influence.

K>MOBIL: Mr Collet, can you outline your career for us briefly? Tim Collet: After obtaining a Dipl. Ing. in commercial vehicle technology at the Technical University of Hamburg and working in two engineering offices, I joined FAUN‘s construction department in Grimma in 1995. For the next 17 years I worked for the company in Iserlohn, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Toulouse and Valencia and I have spent the last four years travelling the world as Sales Manager in exports. I have worked with people from all different cultures, in engineering, marketing, sales, service, production, purchasing, general management and dealer liaison – I‘ve seen it all, never a dull moment!

r Info Thanks to Rainer Janssen We would like to thank former Managing Director of J. Ochsner AG, Rainer Janssen for his hard work and commitment After five years in the post, he has given up the directorship to pursue new leadership tasks in municipal waste management. We wish him all the best for his personal and professional life and continued success.

K>MOBIL: Many thanks for a truly fascinating conversation. Claudia Schaue

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

A record-breaking start to the year rrRedditch. A marathon start to the Olympic year The year began in style for the FAUN Zoeller UK team as we have had a record-breaking number of orders placed in the first quarter of 2012. We secured sales of more than £4.5 million pounds between January and March meaning it is the most successful start to a year we have ever had. Orders have been pouring in from local authorities across the UK as well as several major private waste management companies. The manufacturing team has been busy assembling FAUN refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) along with Zoeller & OTTO lifts. We have also received orders for our new product, the Eco Drive Assistant (EDA). Our EDA technology is an electronic device designed to help operators reduce their fuel consumption and carbon emissions. It is fitted to the chassis of an RCV to help optimise engine revs and gear changes to cut fuel wastage, saving carbon and money as a result. Several local authorities have trialled the device including a council in Scotland that found it could save over £1,000 in fuel and 2,500kg of CO2 per RCV

Sales Team FAUN Zoeller UK (from left to right) Simon Hyde, Martin Holland, Marshall Fleming, Ben Lord, Mike Spooner, Ashley Webster, Duncan Angus

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every year. Our Managing Director, Simon Hyde, said: “It’s been an Olympian effort from everyone in the business this year to achieve such a great start to our sales. ” The merger of FAUN and Zoeller in 2011 means we are in really strong position in the UK waste sector and our wide and innovative product range means an increasing number of local authorities are turning to our vehicles to solve their waste management problems. As more and more councils look to address the dual challenges of fuel management and carbon consumption our established credentials in efficient technology makes us an ideal choice for many. Hannah Brewster

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

FAUN TRACKWAY USA honoured by first class visit rrWashington. Welsh First Minister visits FAUN in the USA In March the FAUN TRACKWAY US team was treated to a visit from the Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones. He was touring round New York and Washington DC to promote the Welsh aerospace and defence sector and to demonstrate how successful it is across the pond. Carwyn paid a visit to our stateside team to hear about how well the Welsh-American partnership has been working since we first expanded into the States in July 2011 to strengthen our relationship with the US military. TRACKWAY Director Chris Kendall, Dr. Armin Vogel (CSO of FAUN Group and therefore responsible for this business), Mike Holdcraft, TRACKWAY US-Sales Manager, were there to welcome him. The team gave an update on the company’s current operations including the development of a new temporary aircraft landing mat (ALM) for the US military. We first started to develop a new ALM in 2010 when our existing product was tested by the Engineer Research and Development Centre in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Our own research and development team is currently

working alongside the engineers in Vicksburg to create a new version of the ALM suitable for use by the US Air Force’s latest aircraft. We also have a key partnership with Penn State University (PSU). We originally joined forces with them in June 2011 to develop a potential new landing mat for the US Navy to safely land F35 vertical take-off and landing aircraft on USA Navy aircraft carriers. The University used our PSA and S36 aluminium TRACKWAY as the basis of a new panel to meet the heat induction requirements set by the Navy. The redeveloped panel has been submitted to the Navy for review and if successful FAUN TRACKWAY will manufacture the product. Mike Holdcraft, said: “Since July last year we have been working hard to establish the US division of FAUN TRACKWAY and the visit from the First Minister cements our position within the US defence manufacturing community. We are very proud to have been held up as an example of a successful Welsh manufacturing company and hope that it demonstrates to our American partners how committed we are to the region.” Rachael Hobbs

Picture left to right: Tobias Rodhill of Defense Products Marketing, Tim Eden of Penn State University, First Minister Carwyn Jones, Dr. Armin Vogel, Mike Holdcraft and Chris Kendall

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Scottish council makes garden waste collection rounds greener rrPerth und Kinross. Council collects over three million bins a year and currently recycles around 48 per cent of all waste collected through kerbside and bring facilities. To cope with an increase in demand for its organic recycling service, earlier this year the council took delivery of five new ROTOPRESS refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) from waste management systems manufacturer FAUN Zoeller (UK) Ltd. Here David Goodenough, assistant operations manager at Perth & Kinross Council, explains how the new RCVs have made its collections service more environmentally friendly. “Two years ago we changed our organic recycling service to allow 55,000 households to include food in their garden waste kerbside collection round in an effort to increase the amount of refuse sent for composting and cut the amount sent to landfill. We weren’t sure how residents would react so the scheme began on a trial basis but take-up rocketed as an increasing number of households took advantage of it. People not only recycled their food waste but also became more diligent in putting their garden waste out. Our initial trial of a few thousand residents quickly rose to 55,000. Kerbside rounds now gather over 30 tonnes of food/ garden waste – 10 tonnes more than we had previously been collecting. To deal with the increase

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our drivers were making multiple return trips to the In-vessel Composter which slowed down the collection service, increasing our carbon emissions and fuel expenditure. We soon realised that investing in RCVs with greater payloads would solve our problems and the FAUN Zoeller (UK) ROTOPRESS vehicles were a perfect fit as they can take up to 15 tonnes whereas standard RCVs can only take 10.5.” The vehicles are ideally designed to collect organic material as the rotating cone within the storage unit begins to break up the organic materials while still in transit, kick-starting the composting process and allowing more material to be collected. “Since we’ve had the vehicles our fuel usage and carbon emissions have decreased as our drivers no longer have to go back and forth from the recycling centre. It was our aim to be recycling 50 per cent of all waste by 2013 and thanks to our new scheme and vehicles we are well on the way to meeting this target.” Hannah Brewster

Service depot scoops two awards rrDoncaster. Depot sweeps the board with outstanding MOT results FAUN Zoeller (UK) has recently named our service and maintenance depot in Doncaster as the winner of our annual MOT (Ministry of Transport Annual Test Inspection’s) Pass Rate Award following another outstanding year at the centre. We carry out regular performance reviews of all our depots and during 2011, thanks to the centre’s top quality maintenance service, all vehicles that were processed by the team passed their MOTs first time round. It is the third consecutive year the site has achieved a 100 per cent MOT pass rate. We currently have a UK-wide network of over 10 depots that work to maintain fleets of refuse collection vehicles (RCV), road sweepers and tractor trailer units on behalf of local authorities and their contractors. Over 550 vehicles are serviced by our depots every year and across our depots the com-

pany currently has a 97.5 per cent first time MOT pass rate. This is the second win for the Doncaster team as they have also been named as the winner of the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) Roadworthiness award for the second year in a row. The FTA award was given following independent inspections carried out over 12 months which demonstrated that Doncaster depot’s local fleets are maintained as efficiently as possible. Mick Dowson, FAUN Zoeller depot manager at Doncaster, said: “Our vehicles are used day in, day out in tough working conditions making regular maintenance key to ensuring collection services aren’t disrupted. “Winning both awards is a great honour and it is a testament to the team’s commitment to ensure the highest quality is consistently met.” Hannah Brewster

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Taking pressure off rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. FAUN‘s vehicle transportation service Osterholz-Scharmbeck. Got better things to do? We‘ll collect your vehicle and bring it back to you. As far as feasible, if work on your vehicle is carried out in one of our eight service centres we will offer you the option of our vehicle transport service. If available, your local customer service centre will happily make a tailor made solution to transport your vehicle at a time to suit you. Get in touch! This economical variant is just one service from the extensive range of services of the FAUN After Sales Service. Claudia Schaue

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r Info The advantages to you: › No assignment of valuable personnel › Full cost control › No driver time problems › Overnight delivery

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Bad Oldesloe OsterholzScharmbeck

r Service centres FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Bad Oldesloe Wilfried Wittenberg Rögen 50a 23843 Bad Oldesloe Tel.: +49 4531 8962-17 Fax.: +49 4531 89 62 18 [email protected] FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Osterholz-Scharmbeck Bert Mennenga Feldhorst 4 27711 Osterholz-Scharmbeck Tel.: +49 4795 955-218 Fax.: +49 4795 955-213 [email protected]

Grimma

Herne

Mainz

Ebelsbach

Stuttgart

Augsburg

FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Herne Christian Jung Castroper Straße 71 44628 Herne Tel.: +49 2323 9307-21 Fax.: +49 2323 9307-22 [email protected]

FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Ebelsbach Michael Kumpfe An der Lohwiese 24 97500 Ebelsbach Tel.: +49 9522 37682-49 Fax.: +49 95522 37682-48 [email protected]

FAUN Viatec GmbH Service centre Grimma Frank Müller Bahnhofstraße 5 04668 Grimma Tel.: +49 3437 9204-13 Fax.: +49 3437 9204-43 [email protected]

FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Stuttgart Philipp Maile Mauserstraße 20 70469 Stuttgart Tel.: +49 711 38977-600 Fax.: +49 711 38977-839 [email protected]

FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Mainz Wilhelm Balzer Hans-Zöller-Straße 50-68 55130 Mainz-Laubenheim Tel.: +49 6131 49739-12 Fax.: +49 6131 49739-18 [email protected]

FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG Service centre Augsburg Paul Kalmbach Am Mittleren Moos 59 86167 Augsburg Tel.: +49 821 26162-92 Fax.: +49 821 26162-22 [email protected] t 89

FAMILY DAY rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. 1200 guests celebrate the tenth birthday of the FAUN factory in Osterholz-Scharmbeck and donate 1010,00 Euro to the Youth Red Cross.

As appropriate for birthday parties, the sun shone game, painting and crafts and rides on the refuse on 24 March 2012, the guests looked happy and collection vehicles. Food and drink lined the promenade, tempting guests to linger. In the 30,000 m2 the birthday boy looked his best. production hall, the employees not only explained Ten years after opening, FAUN celebrated the birth- to their families how refuse collection vehicles are day of its Osterholz-Scharmbeck factory in the made, they also used the opportunity to show off commercial district Heilshorn. 1200 well-wishers, their own workplaces. Colleagues and friends constaff togehter with their families and friends found versed and for many it was a special day on which themselves at a lively party. On 1st March 2002 the they felt a little closer to FAUN as an employer. The group relocated from Bremer Straße to the new Youth Red Cross organisation in Osterolz-Scharm100,000 m2 site. A lot has happened in the last ten beck received a donation of 1010,00 Euro for a new years with the addition, for instance, of new plants treatment tent. such as the robot welding centre and the blasting Passing on the enthusiasm system. As a birthday is also an occasion to look forward, the The younger guests thoroughly enjoyed the bouncy family day also saw the fifth generation of the Kirchcastle, the mini go-carts, the interactive football hoff dynasty joining in the group‘s annual family t 90

meeting. Dr. Johannes Kirchhoff: “We want to pass on our enthusiasm for business to the younger generation.” Ten young people aged six to 27 therefore took part in mini-workshops on different themes and from practical examples got to know the now five KIRCHHOFF companies or addressed the theme “The family company-benefits and values”. Claudia Schaue

r Info We would also like to thank: ASO, Autocenter Schmolke, Blumen Art, Bremer Bühnenhaus, Dallmayr, Des Wahnsinns Fette Beute, Kaufhaus Fleischer, Kötter, sjs catering & Management, Söffge, Oleg Rosenthal and of course many thanks to all those who helped on the day: Andreas, Arthur, Behnam, Bert, Björn, Daniel, Dominik, Eckhard, Heinz, Ina, Jean-Paul, Jens, Jermaine, Jürgen, Jürgen W., Linda, Maria, Matthias, Michael, Reinhard, René, Ronny, Rüdiger, Simone, Swantje, Thorsten, Uwe, Werner, Werner K. t 91

K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

To be on the safe side rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. Company pensions can provide security for more than just old age. The FAUN Group provides for occupational incapacity. What happens if an employee can no longer meet the daily challenges of his or her job due to ill health? The FAUN Group has addressed this problem. Background: The 2001 pension reform act abolished state occupational incapacity benefit for anyone born after 1961. Since then, every employee over the age of 27 receives from the German pensions insurer a summary of entitlements from the reduced earning capacity pension. This only relates however to whether a person is able to work for fewer than 3 hours a day. It does not take into account qualifications, experience or income to date. Since statistically every fourth employee will apply for a pension in his or her lifetime due to reduced earnings capacity but every third application will be refused, the FAUN Group realised that additional financial security in the event of occupational incapacity was extremely important for its employees. Improved acceptance conditions lower the average industry refusal rate for applications from over 30 percent to less than 3 percent. Wolfgang Hahn, Personnel Manager at FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG, outlines the additional criteria which the FAUN Group has set as conditions. “For us it was also important that in the event of an illness which might last longer than six months, the employee is insured and that the insurt 92

ance company would pay. It‘s bad enough that after sick pay the employee only receives 70-80 % of his or her normal wage for six months. The company wanted to provide help for this situation. The interaction with the works council was the deciding factor.” Advice is not only important when concluding the contract however. Help is also needed when applying for benefits from the occupational incapacity insurance. Since this is neither the job of the employee nor of the insurers, it seems sensible to involve an independent insurance broker at this point. We also asked for information from other companies and made a discovery. In the case of the FAUN Group the independent insurance broker specialising in occupation old age pensions – KPFM FinanzManagement – was able to implement an occupational incapacity concept specially tailored for the FAUN employees. In close cooperation with personnel and business managers, the works council and the insurance brokers, the various requirements of the workforce within the operation were considered and a solution sought from a bundle of providers which met with the approval of the employees. Uwe Naumann, Senior Partner at KPFM: “One service we offer is the analysis of existing occupational incapacity contracts. In the case of the FAUN

K› MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Group we found that health issues had been underestimated in one in three contracts. The insurers often do not check the accuracy of the information until a claim is made. They then refuse payment and cite a breach of the pre-contractual notification duty.” The aim is to prevent health-related incidents from making today‘s colleagues tomorrow‘s welfare cases. Thanks to social insurance- and tax-free contributions the premiums have been reduced by 45-55 %. In the event of a change of employer the contract is passed to the employee unchanged. The model has been well-received: Around 30 percent of employees in question within the FAUN Group are now protected against the worst case scenario. Uwe Naumanm

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K›MOBIL 39 // FAUN

Improvements as a cultural change rrOsterholz-Scharmbeck. In the last issue of K>MOBIL we introduced the FAUN Process System (FAPS). In the meantime FAPS has become a standard fixture within the company.

25 employees of the Osterholz-Scharmbeck site are now involved in the FAPS team. Further colleagues are joining as required in order to streamline processes and procedures and to reduce waste of all kinds. The programme, developed by the FAPS core team, is demanding but it is the challenges that make us develop. The programme which has been established by the FAPS core team is tough but these are the challenges we face. Employees from all areas are working together with departmental managers on the necessary improvements. As well as weekly meetings, the staff meet every four to eight weeks in small groups for a two-day intensive workshop and implement various tasks for improving procedures: Work is being carried out on the following issues, for example: Project levelling ›› Levelling the integration of various cost centre types (simple to hard) within production. Order picking zones ›› Adjusting material provision in assembly. In future, employees in production will no longer need to carry out searches/order pick. Employees in assembly will have everything delivered direct to the workstation by a process provider.

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Quality Dojo ›› Areas will be created within production and in steel construction in which employees can be actively trained and processes improved. (Dojo comes from the Japanese and describes an exercise hall for martial arts or a meditation hall). 3S in outdoor storage area ›› Creation of order and cleanliness and reallocation of outdoor area. The main aim is also to optimise visualisation and minimise transport routes and/ or to ensure provision of major assemblies near to production. 5S-day - 12th May 2012 ›› Departmental managers and employees of the VARIOPRESS UND POWERPRESS line met on Saturday 12th May 2012 for the joint 5S-day and within the context of the “5S” they optimised tool and material provision on the line. For employees the provision of working materials is now logical, ergonomic and time-saving. There is a place for everything. The result of the 5S-day is clear to see and the response of all those involved was very positive.

Result of 5S-day in assembly. Ergonomic and logical tidying

Short transport routes and provision close to production are

for a transparent workstation.

important criteria in the outdoor storage area.

r Info The 5S method ›› Seiri: Sort out. Anything not needed for the work at this workstation is sorted out. ›› Seiton: Straighten out. Whatever is actually used is given a permanent place which is selected from ergonomic perspectives, defined and labelled. ›› Seiso: Spick and span. The workstation is thoroughly cleaned. ›› Seiketsu: Sustaining practice. This means constant tidying and preventing any new items gaining unplanned access to the workstation. ›› Shitsuke: Self-discipline. Discipline is required in order to maintain order and cleanliness. Once a place has been defined for a tool, that is where it belongs, always. This discipline must be insisted upon frequently at the outset by the line manager and repeated afterwards at intervals.

On track to more efficient processes! We have been supported in our process improvements by Hitoshi Takeda, SPS Consulting Japan. We have had five visits from experts for Lean Management and Synchronous Production who have worked for noted firms such as Porsche, Schmitz Cargobull or Renz. “I can show you what you must do to become even faster and more efficient.” says Hitoshi Takeda. I have a suggestion! The company suggestions system is currently enjoying a renaissance at FAUN. The area has now been integrated into FAPS and one of our colleagues is working hard on the good ideas of the staff. In short: ›› Improvement of department interfaces ›› Simplification and acceleration of processes ›› In the months from January to April 2012 our employees have already achieved savings of 43,000 Euros. Congratulations! ›› The aim is, according to the industry average: to save 500,00 Euros/employee/year ›› Bonus: employees receive 15% of the annual amount saved. FAPS manager Behnam Balooty sums up: “What is work? Constant improvement.” Claudia Schaue

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The Magazine for customers, staff and friends of the KIRCHHOFF Group

summer

sunshine

17th volume | Issue 39 | June 2012

sun

THE

www.kirchhoff-group.com

17th volume | Issue 39 | June 2012

GROUP MAGAZINE

z KIRCHHOFF Group

z KIRCHHOFF Automotive

z KIRCHHOFF Mobility

z WITTE Werkzeuge

z FAUN Group

The desire for individual mobility is our focus.

Continued dynamic growth in global automotive markets.

l Page 04

l Page 12

KIRCHHOFF Mobility becomes new umbrella brand of the companies REHA and Jelschen. l Page 58

WITTE Tools presents product innovations at the International Hardware Fair Cologne. l Page 62

Under the motto BEST3 FAUN presented powerful products, powerful service and a powerful company. l Page 66

FAUN Group GROUP



FAUN has been honored as “TOP 100 innovator” l Page 68