TRUMPF Express 3/07

16 Miele: Why sheet metal is vital to us
32 Report : What service has to be today
36 South Africa: Turning trash into flowers
Magazine for
3/07
Sheet Metal Processing
Special TruLaser
The 24 hours of TRUMPF
from page 19
What’s behind
Mr. Heinzig’s
generosity ?
Sponsorships are a strategy at Heinzig Metalltechnik
The battle
against piracy
on page 31
3 / 07 Contents
10
16
24
26
32
2
Express 3/07
23
28
Some day in the near future this keyboard case (graphically modified) made by HMT Rüffel GmbH in Halsenbach
will house inspiring sounds. But in the TRUMPF Express, instead of keys, knobs, and slide controls, it holds
TRUMPF customer stories.
Topics
CLIMATE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
10 Success with an airy breeze
Climate control was a side job, as were the bees. Today PROMONT
rings up millions in sales. But Andrzej Szczurek still keeps bees.
Interview
16 Qua | li | ty, noun
“Ever better” is in the company logo. Miele managing director
Dr. Eduard Sailer tells why the company is comfortable with that.
Knowledge
23 Scratches be gone!
Brushes or pads have long since fought scratches, and now,
AMPCO does too. In combination, they’re unbeatable.
PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
24 Putting set-up in the fast lane
Everyday production operations harbor many difficulties.
Thank goodness AMF always has a helpful idea in its catalog.
MANUFACTURING LOGISTICS
26 Great freedom
A quick look at a production building that can transform itself
almost in minutes.
PortrAIt
28 It’s in her blood
Young, female … and an engineer. Gemma Avenell lives out
passions that have never even occurred to others.
Report: Service
32 “It’s a bit like a good marriage”
Service is what’s needed for a long-term relationship. Experts
discuss how the relationship can be sustained.
TITLE
14
New paths
Sponsoring
to familiar goals
“Who’s supposed to pay for that ?” ask the athletic clubs.
“Sponsors”, say the consultants. “Why should we pay for
that ?” small companies ask. “Because regional familiarity
is like hard cash”, says Mario Heinzig. He devotes half his
marketing budget to sponsorships.
To the Point
05 Service? Service!
STANDARDS
06
31
36
38
38
40
Panorama
ONE QUESTION CHARACTERS
STORIES IN SHEET METAL
credits
CLOSING POINT
Special TruLaser
The 24 hours of TRUMPF
from page 19
Express 3/07
3
TO THE POINT
“SERVICE IS A WORTHWHILE BENEFIT
TO THE CUSTOMER — ONE BASED ON TRUST.”
Service is a far-flung field of endeavor. There’s service that just has to be,
which includes regular check-ups — such as for your automobile or a trip
to the dentist. TRUMPF offers various types of service agreements to suit
the machine’s use and its owner’s needs. And then there’s service to back
up a new purchase. This comes into play, for example, when clients need
an additional punching or bending tool to execute new orders, when they
want to upgrade machinery with automation equipment, or if they need
a tricky custom solution.
There are also financial services. In today’s world, leasing is not only for
cars. Leasing contracts can be signed for computer systems, machinery
and even complete buildings. We have set up our own TRUMPF leasing
company to serve customers who want to use this arrangement to preserve
their own equity capital.
In addition, training and consulting are also a kind of service. This
involves learning about everything the machine can do, finding out what
can be done with sheet metal, and achieving full mastery of the software.
The new TRUMPF Services Center in Ditzingen alone offers 29 classrooms
and 18 demonstration machines for use by a good 8,000 trainees every year.
The training centers installed in Austria, Switzerland, the USA and many
other countries illustrate the significance of this field at TRUMPF.
Finally, there are some services we would rather avoid. But whenever a
repair is needed, we’re delighted when the service is rendered as desired
and planned. If necessary, we can send parts from our logistics center to
locations all over the world, in less than an hour, even at night and on the
weekend via special delivery. More than 850 service technicians around
the world ensure that any impediments to your work are eliminated as
quickly as possible.
This has been just a very brief tour, showing you only a few rooms in a
very large house. The structure that keeps it together and puts the roof on
is known as TruServices — the concept under which TRUMPF consolidates
its entire spectrum of services. Our TruServices employees would be glad
to show you through the many other rooms in this house of service.
This issue of TRUMPF Express is also devoted to service. Beginning on
page 32, you will find a discussion on service and its contribution to corporate success. For me, service to the customer is the key assignment — in
the interest of maximum machine availability, maximum productivity and
unreserved confidence. We want to act as a contact for you, our customers, and as a sounding board for your many questions, ideas and needs.
Moreover, we want to serve you with the right concepts and proposals so
that, with our help, you can maximize earnings. That is the foundation
upon which our house of services is built.
Dr. Gerhard Rübling
Managing Director Services
Express 3/07
5
PANORAMA
Backing up the family
Panel discussion with the Federal Minister of Family Affairs
At TRUMPF, CEO Nicola
Leibinger-Kammüller has
already instituted …
How can young parents reconcile childrens’ needs and career demands? That was the question Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal
Minister of Family Affairs, discussed with TRUMPF CEO Nicola
Leibinger-Kammüller and two other female managers in Ditzingen, at
the invitation of TRUMPF and the American Chamber of Commerce
in Germany. The panelists agreed. There is still considerable room
for improvement in German business. According to Minister von der
Leyen, German companies have to adopt an attitude similar to the
ones in Scandinavia or the USA. Families do not hinder, but instead
support a career. Family-compatible personnel policies have already
been implemented at TRUMPF. For instance, the company offers parents a week’s child care during the long school vacation in the summer. Employees with children two to six years of age can entrust their
children — all day, if necessary — to a day care center in Ditzingen.
Cooperative efforts with other facilities are in the planning stage, as
is day care for infants and toddlers. “Alternating tele-commuting” —
working partly in the company offices, partly at home — is another
option. Depending on specific needs, flextime plans or flexible lunch
hours can help parents strike a balance between career and family.
… what Federal Minister of Family
Affairs Ursula von der Leyen
is asking companies to do.
Opened on October 12:
the new Services
Center at the company
headquarters.
Laser link
Jenoptic and TRUMPF
found joint venture
Jenoptic AG and TRUMPF pooled their resources
to found the JT Optical Engine GmbH & Co. KG in
June of 2007. This joint venture, headquartered in
the town of Jena, develops, produces and markets
optical modules for fiber-optic lasers — the so-called
“optical engines”. These important components in
fiber laser devices are intended to satisfy the call for
such beam sources with very high beam quality and
power outputs below one kilowatt. Demand in this
sector is very promising but still small relative to
the entire market. The two parent companies have
been collaborating in the field of laser technology
since 2001. They manufacture high-performance
diode lasers serving primarily as pump sources in
solid state lasers.
> Further information:
www.trumpf-laser.com
6
Express 3/07
All under a single roof
New Services Center at Ditzingen
On October 12 TRUMPF opened its new Services Center in Ditzingen. Now
brought together under a single roof are the training and the spare parts center.
In one section of the building, employees dispatch spare parts to customers —
quickly and reliably, around the clock, seven days a week. The second main
section in this completely revamped structure is devoted to training, where
specialists will continuously inform customers and employees about TRUMPF
products. New classrooms with the most modern equipment — augmented by a
machinery room with 2,430 square meters of floor space and 18 demonstration
machines — create the ideal conditions for successful knowledge transfer.
PANORAMA
Under construction since autumn of 2007:
the new structure (highlighted in blue in
the photo), behind the laser plant at the
TRUMPF headquarters in Ditzingen.
Company HQ
grows and grows
TRUMPF invests in the headquarters at Ditzingen
TRUMPF is investing about 70 million euros
in expanding its largest production site even
further. Since the autumn of 2007, the Ditzingen facility has grown by about one third of its
previous surface area, to some 30,000 square
meters of floor space. A new office building and
an application center for the laser technology
business field are being erected next door to the
existing laser factory. The machine tool business field is also profiting from the enlargement.
As of mid-2009, its employees will benefit from
a new development wing as well as a production
and development building. The Ditzingen headquarters have been laid out to provide space for
up to 3,000 employees after this expansion.
Currently, about 2,000 people work here. With
Don’t replace it,
clean it up instead
TSC 1 slat cleaner saves Lutz Abram
Photos: KD Busch, TRUMPF Group
time, effort and money
“We’re taking some of the load off our workers — and
saving money, too.” That’s what Lutz Abram, General Manager at PS Laser in Thedinghausen, says
about the TSC 1 slat cleaner made by TRUMPF. This
electric power tool quickly and easily clears slag
from the slats of laser cutting machines — without
physical effort and in just a half-hour’s time. PS Laser used to have to change out the slats every four to
six weeks. Now they are cleaned about three times
before replacement and that means significant cost
savings. “The TSC 1 does its work almost in parallel
to the main production times. That’s another reason
why the unit paid for itself within a month after its
purchase”, according to Abram.
> Please direct your questions to:
Werner Cloos, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 03 83,
e-mail: werner.cloos@de.trumpf.com
this addition, TRUMPF continues to emphasize its intention to strengthen Germany as a
production site. Barkow Leibinger Architects
in Berlin was entrusted with the planning and
construction of the new buildings.
One thousand machines
Hettingen manufactures one thousandth TruPunch 5000
TRUMPF had good reason
to celebrate in October. The
1000th TruPunch 5000 left
the assembly line at Hettingen.
In preparation for quantity
production of the new generation of machines in March
of 2001, TRUMPF procured,
especially for this purpose,
equipment able to machine
Werner Haug has been working at TRUMPF Hettingen
extremley long components.
for 25 years now. On October 26 he and his colleagues
Climate-controlled
rooms
celebrated the 1000th TruPunch 5000.
were used for assembly. Since
that time, the 450 employees in Hettingen have turned out 185 TruPunch 5000 machines each year. Building a punch takes 14 days and the largest model weighs in at
15,960 kilograms. All in all, the “jubilee” TruPunch and its 999 predecessors have
consumed 240,000 liters of hydraulic fluid and 150,000 meters of pneumatic hose.
Not only are these high-productivity machines in great demand in Germany, they
are at work in almost every corner of the world.
> Please direct your questions to: Hanns Menzel, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 04 63,
e-mail: hanns.menzel@de.trumpf.com
Express 3/07
7
PANORAMA
1,24
billion
tons
47,3
Germany’s share
Well equipped
Set-up and positioning aid speeds up bending operations
It makes bending fast and boosts productivity. The optical set-up and positioning aid made by TRUMPF is a shining example of the user-friendliness
built into the TruBend Series 5000. This red LED array, integrated into
the cover of the upper tool holder, shows where the bending tool has to
be placed, with accuracy down to the millimeter. Thus, the user no longer
needs to refer to the set-up plan, he can simply watch the illuminated aid
and insert the tool for an exact match. The same is true for off-center bending. Here, too, the part being bent can easily be positioned using the illuminated display, without having to look at the controls at all. This shortens
unproductive time. And not just that, since the operator’s work is less
complicated, output will be boosted during production.
> Please direct your questions to: Alexander Kunz, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 30 33,
e-mail: alexander.kunz@de.trumpf.com
New phone numbers
Extension numbers reorganized
On November 5, 2007, new five-digit extension numbers were assigned to all
the phones, fax machines and modems at the TRUMPF operations in Ditzingen and Gerlingen. To do this, extension numbers formerly with three digits
are now prefixed with the digits “30”, while a “3” precedes the previous fourdigit extensions. Two examples will clarify this. The old number +49 (0) 7156
303 - 123 has now become +49 (0) 7156 303 - 30123. And 303-1234 has become
303 - 31234. The only exception is the main switchboard in Ditzingen. It continues to be +49 (0) 7156 303 - 0. In the interim TRUMPF will, of course, ensure
that callers reach the desired extension even if they dial the “old” numbers.
> For further information, or if you should have questions,
please get in touch with your representative at TRUMPF.
8
Express 3/07
32,3
million
tons
Projected worldwide
growth in 2007
The LED array in the set-up and positioning aid shows
exactly where the bending tool is to be placed.
Global crude
steel production
in 2006
million
tons
3,4 %
China’s export
surplus in 2006
In pursuit of
new records
Steel industry growing faster
than total global product
The Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (German Steel Business Association) is forecasting further growth in the
world’s steel market. Following a record year in 2006 —
world crude steel production came to 1.24 billion tons
— the Association is predicting a 3.4 percent increase,
to 1.29 billion tons this year. Russia, China, Brazil and
India, in particular, are profiting from the business upturn, but growth is in the works in other regions, too.
Crude steel production in Germany rose in 2006 by 6.3
per cent to 47.3 million tons — the highest mark since the
German reunification. Over and above that, in January
of 2007, the German market posted the highest monthly value — at 4.3 million tons — in over 30 years. The
experts see one risk to the steel market. The distortion
of the competitive situation resulting from the Chinese
export surplus, which came to 32.3 million tons in
2006. Rising prices for feedstock materials represent
another hazard.
PANORAMA
Sharp as a tack!
Leuco uses TRUMPF machinery to shape sawblades
Quality is a matter of primary concern at Leuco, a manufacturer of premium
tools for the furniture and woodworking industries. The company puts its faith in
superb precision at its French operations at Beinheim. 2-D flatbed laser machines
made by TRUMPF cut blanks of up to 730 millimeters in diameter, which are
then finished at the same location in the Alsace region. These disks are the blanks
for circular saw blades tipped with tungsten carbide or diamond. “The laser machines’ exact cutting performance and simple operation persuaded us from the
first moment forward”, explains the production manager at Leuco. “What’s more,
the nearby support bases of TRUMPF in Roissy and Ditzingen and their fast and
reliable technical services represent a major advantage for us.” Leuco processes
about 2,200 tons of steel each year in Beinheim. In operations as diverse as sawmills, the parquet flooring industry and even plastics processing, circular saws
have many uses — wherever the highest cut quality is of the essence.
The blanks that Leuco cuts on TRUMPF machines
may be up to 730 millimeters in diameter.
> Please direct your questions to: Eric Gallou, Phone: +33 (0) 1 48 17 80 71,
e-mail: eric.gallou@fr.trumpf.com
In metropolitan Seoul
New company headquarters in South Korea
Neighboring buildings are reflected, kaleidoscope-like, in the façade of the TruTec
Building. The interior delights the eye with its almost delicate stairway design.
Since June of 2007 TRUMPF Korea has occupied the TruTec
Building in Seoul, in the heart of an up-and-coming business quarter — “Digital Media City”. The company uses four of the twelve
floors for itself and its customers. In addition to office space, there
is a demonstration and training center where machines can be
displayed and their operation explained. Working with a real estate
developer, TRUMPF constructed the building, rising 50 meters
above grade level, with the mirrored façade designed by Barkow
Leibinger Architects in Berlin. TRUMPF has been present in South
Korea since 1997 and markets almost all of its product range there.
Machinery made to measure
Photos: Leuco, Christian Richters, TRUMPF Group
TRUMPF and EHT work out custom solutions together
Collective expertise: TRUMPF and EHT cessful collaboration was a wide-mouth press
Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH, located in delivered to Gretsch-Unitas GmbH (G-U).
Teningen, have collaborated in marketing The new product line being introduced by
special-purpose machines since 2003. While this all around vendor of door and window
this enables TRUMPF to offer its clientele the products called for a special solution. “With
customized press brakes and guillotine shears the new press, we can punch far more premade by its cooperating partner, EHT profits cisely — and that is decisive when embossing
from the worldwide TRUMPF sales and serv- our products”, explains Rolf Linse, producice network. The most recent example of suc- tion manager at G-U. “Moreover, the set-
up times for our tools have been shortened
dramatically.” In addition to the individual
machinery solutions, the company was also
sold on the reliable service provided by the
supply partners — TRUMPF and EHT.
> Please direct your questions to:
Jörg Ellerkmann, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 13 21,
e-mail: joerg.ellerkmann@de.trumpf.com
Express 3/07
9
Air is the core business that junior executive Anna Szczurek-Surma wants to use to “propel” the company’s growth. The fan, by contrast, is just for office use.
10 Express 3/07
CLIMATE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
Success
with an
airy breeze
Mushroom growers in Iran, opera lovers in Wrocław. What they have in common is a hunger for
fresh air. Climate control equipment from Świebodzice in Poland delivers that in both venues.
Andrzej Szczurek sits at his desk and stirs honey into his tea. “The honey comes
from my own hives”, he says. Even under socialist rule, he started keeping bees as an
adjunct to his work as an engineer in a state-owned heating technology enterprise.
The purpose was to earn a few additional zlotys for his family. “We always held down
several jobs at once. That was necessary for survival.” Then in 1988, Szczurek asked
himself why he didn’t start his own company — since by that time it had become
possible in Poland. Together with Leonard Plawecki, also an engineer by trade, and
Edward Przydrozny, professor at the Polytechnic College in Wrocław, he gave birth
to a planning office for climate control. From that moment forward they engineered
new ventilation technologies — and turned them into reality with vast expertise and
great attention to detail. “We were able to try out a lot of things, and by doing that,
we gained deep insights into the market.”
Both self-employed and on the payroll
And in spite of that, all three kept their “daytime” jobs for a while. The planning
office in Świebodzice, a town of 23,000 in Lower Silesia, was initially a secondary occupation. It was not until years later that they decided to devote
Express 3/07
11
their undivided attention to their company — and to set up their own 13 units made by TRUMPF, supports them in their efforts. “Good maproduction facilities for climate control technology. “On April 1, 1994, chines are what ultimately earn customer confidence”, Szczurek notes,
we started fabricating our designs ourselves. And for us it was certainly “because they signal our ability to produce high-quality products that
no April Fool’s joke”, Szczurek laughs. “That date was a lucky talisman deliver excellence.”
for us.” It all started with a punching machine dating back to 1946,
on loan from the town administration. Extraction hoods and exhaust The Wrocław Opera as a customer
technology were part of the product line from the very outset. “Not eve- Consequently, you will find a saying by the Greek philosopher Demrybody was building those products and because of that alone, we were osthenes prominently displayed — in Polish, English and German — in
something unusual in Poland.” That was a unique selling proposition one of the manufacturing buildings: “A lot doesn’t mean well, well means
that bore fruit. PWPO-T PROMONT grew quickly. “Our sales at the a lot”. Her father attached great importance to having this quotation
start came to about 100,000 zlotys per year”, Andrzej Szczurek recalls, hung up where everyone could see it, explains Anna Szczurek-Surma,
which corresponds to about 25,000 euros. Today the company’s sales junior executive and Andrzej’s daughter. Twenty-eight years old, with a
generate about six million zlotys (approx. 1.5 million euros) per month, bachelor’s degree in business administration and the mother of a young
and revenues are showing an unwavering upward trend.
daughter, she has worked in the company for three years now. She
The three founders have reconsidered the company’s strategy and attended the university in Wrocław and visited the USA and UK during
product line again and again over the years, adjusting it to meet market her studies. That international experience is a genuine advantage, since
requirements. Thus, the production of heat exchangers was launched PWPO-T PROMONT is active in many countries and supplies more
several years ago. Moreover, PWPO-T PROMONT was developed to foreign buyers than customers in Poland. The clientele is situated in the
become a service provider for paper companies and since that time, has UK, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the Baltic countries,
manufactured paper drying systems. Ecological concerns play an im- Russia and even in Iran. “We recently shipped heating equipment to
portant role here as well. “Our products express our intentions to recov- Iran for use in mushroom cultivation”, Anna Szczurek-Surma explains.
er heat and use it regeneratively”, explains Edward Przydrozny. That is That equipment is necessary because mushrooms need variable humida strategy with a future. High-performance machinery, now including ity and temperature to thrive. The company even includes in its line a
The most important sector is climate control
equipment for buildings, but the company has also
built a machine that helps ripen bananas.
Photos: Simon Koy
Kamila Mazurczak (left
photo), at work in the
modern manufacturing
buildings at PWPO-T
PROMONT (right), makes
just as significant a
contribution to the
company’s success as do
her 129 colleagues.
12 Express 3/07
CLIMATE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
> From planning office
to climate control manufacturing company
Company name:
PWPO-T PROMONT
Spółka z o.o.,
Świebodzice, Lower Silesia,
Poland
Founded:
1988
Staff:
130
Product line: Ventilation technology, air condi-
tioning systems, heating fans,
heat exchangers
TRUMPF machinery:
Two TRUMATIC L 3050
(TruLaser 5030 classic) with TLF
5000 (TruFlow 5000), one each
TRUMATIC L 3030 (TruLaser
3030) with TLF 4000 (TruFlow
4000), TLF 3800 and TLF 1800,
one TRUMATIC L 4000 with TLF
3800, one TRUMATIC 2000 R,
one TRUMATIC 1000 R
(TruPunch 1000), one
TrumaBend V 230,
one TrumaBend V 170,
two TrumaBend V 130,
one TrumaBend V 50
Contact:
It was with this venerable
punching machine, dating
back to 1946, that Edward
Przydrozny (left) and Andrzej
Szczurek (right) started
manufacturing operations.
www.pwpot-promont.com.pl
machine that helps ripen bananas. But such unusual products account
for only a small part of the product range, while climate control for
building complexes is a mainstay in the line. PWPO-T PROMONT has
installed climate control equipment not only in a multiplex cinema, but
also at the Lower Silesian Opera House in Wrocław.
From 2,000 to 12,000 square meters
At some point, space became scarce in the factory buildings at
Świebodzice. PWPO-T PROMONT had, in fact, continuously expanded
within the company’s premises — and to do that had kept two masons
on the payroll for several years. But thanks to vigorous growth, the
2,000 square meters of floor space had become inadequate by the year
2005. In January of 2006, the climate control specialists opened a new
production building some distance out of town, after only a half year
of construction time. The company now has more than 12,000 square
meters of space available. Andrzej Szczurek reaches into a drawer and
extracts photos of the individual building phases. One of them shows
him with his wife on the construction site, as yet an untouched meadow. In another, daughter Anna is seen inserting the first bolt in the
building’s frame. “We did most of the contract work ourselves”, he
explains. In closing, he passes around snapshots of the celebration held
to mark the building’s completion, to which he invited customers from
France, England and Germany. “We partied until late at night, at Książ
Castle, a landmark in Poland, and it’s just around the corner.”
When asked whether they were proud of what the company has become in those 20 years, Edward Przydrozny and Andrzej Szczurek shake
their heads modestly. “The opportunity was there, and we grasped it.”
But they are indeed quite glad to be able to offer jobs to many people
in a town with a high unemployment rate. And they still have plenty
of plans for the future. “We are following the times, but remain true to
ourselves, to our own expectations and our traditions”, says Andrzej
Szczurek. At the end of the day, he’s still harvesting his own honey.
> Please direct your questions to:
Andrzej Janiszewski, Phone: +48 (0) 00 575 39 – 50,
e-mail: andrzej.janiszewski@pl.trumpf.com
Express 3/07
13
When Iceland‘s Thorir
Olafsson plays for the
Nettelstedt-Lübbecke
team, the fans‘ enthusiasm
includes accolades for the
sponsor, too.
New paths to familiar goals
What do handball, taekwondo and art have to do with corporate success ?
Quite a bit, in the opinion of Mario Heinzig. His successes prove him right.
“We have been at work here for 55 years our familiarity tremendously in the past
now. And in spite of that, hardly anybody in two years. It is reflected, for instance, in the
Rahden had ever heard of the Heinzig Com- number of job applications we receive. Word
pany.” Mario Heinzig was astonished and has gotten around that at Heinzig you can
dismayed at this when, two years ago, he took find a good job or apprenticeship position.
over management of the Heinzig Metall- And particularly among our younger staff,
technik GmbH, a company his grandfather identification with the company is growing.
had founded. He acted accordingly, and to- That’s an invaluable effect.” To boost awareday Heinzig earmarks about half his market- ness of his company, Mario Heinzig decided
ing budget for sponsorships. “That boosted to pursue two of his passions: athletics and the
14 Express 3/07
SPONSORING
The sculpture crafted
by Thomas Schütte
was a contribution to
the “sculpture projects
muenster 07”.
arts. Today his company supports a number
of regional athletic clubs and events. Heinzig
Metalltechnik GmbH sponsors both the
Espelkamp-Mittwald Tennis Club and the
premier-league handball team fielded by the
TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke Sports Association.
The local reference in his sponsoring activities
is particularly important to Mario Heinzig.
“We earn most of our money right here in the
region and our employees live near Rahden.
That’s why we want our money to advance the
region’s interests”, is how Heinzig explained
his sponsoring philosophy.
Photos: Oliver Krato, Claus Langer, Andreas Lechtape
A passion for sports
Heinzig has a special attachment to the third
sports club his company supports. In the
“normal workday world” Heinz Scheidereiter
operates a combination machine at Heinzig.
But in his free time, he is a grand master in
taekwondo and wears the eighth-degree dan.
For more than 25 years now, he has done volunteer work as a trainer for young athletes in
Mario Heinzig contributed
this martial art and combat sport — with note2.5 tons of steel for this
worthy success. In just the past two years, the
purpose – and invested
Rahden team has captured a number of Eurotwo weeks of work time
pean and world championship titles. “When
in erecting the structure.
Heinz Scheidereiter asked me if I would be
interested in sponsoring his club, there was
no question about my answer”, Mario Heinzig
recalls.
The combination machine that Scheidereiter
operates was used to fabricate the sheet metal pand the collection over time.” But even today
needed by artist Thomas Schütte for his contri- it includes works by photographers Thomas
bution to the “sculpture projects muenster 07”. Struth and Matthias Hoch, video artist Heike
Not only did Heinzig Metalltechnik GmbH Baranowsky and sculptor Roman Signer. At
donate the 2.5 tons of steel that went into the present, Heinzig is also planning to get the
sculpture entitled “Model for a Museum”, but company involved in amassing a collection.
it invested more than two weeks of labor as “In one or two years I would like to set up a
well. That’s a considerable sacrifice for a com- foundation in honor of my grandparents. The
pany whose order books are overflowing.
foundation would manage the collection and
But then again, art is another of Mario create a forum for artists here in Rahden.”
Heinzig’s passions. “I have always been inter- His declared goal: the foundation is to form a
ested in art. What’s more, I studied economic bridge between industry and art — in part by
engineering in Berlin. And there you are awarding annual scholarships in photography
virtually overwhelmed by art.” It was during to young artists.
this period that Heinzig not only met many
artists, but also began to assemble his own > Please direct your questions to:
collection. That accumulation is still modest Wolfgang Römer, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 09 91,
e-mail: wolfgang.roemer@de.trumpf.com
in scope. “I’m now 32 and I’m hoping to ex-
> Involvement for the company and the region
Company name:
Heinzig Metalltechnik GmbH,
Rahden, Germany
Founded: 1952
Staff:
90
Sales:
8 million euros
Product line:
Engineering and fabricating assemblies
made of metal and sheet metal. Jobshop manufacturing: sheet metal processing, tube processing, connector
technology, chipping technologies, surface finishes. Tool and equipment
construction.
TRUMPF machinery:
TRUMATIC 600, TruLaser 5030, TruBend
5085, TrumaBend V 1700 (TruBend 5170)
Contact: www.heinzig.com
Express 3/07
15
Any firm that writes “Immer besser” (Ever better)
in its company logo has to know what it’s doing.
16 Express 3/07
Interview
Qua | li | ty, noun
Miele has been synonymous with quality for more than 100 years now.
Managing Director Dr. Eduard Sailer explains why.
Dr. Sailer, what exactly is quality ?
You have achieved quality when customers are satisfied — because they
are actually getting what they need and expect.
How do you know what customers need and expect ?
Seen historically, Miele set very high standards right at the beginning
of its more than 100 years of corporate history. Thus, over the course
of the years, the firm, to a certain degree, influenced the expectations
held by customers. Naturally, we make use of the entire spectrum
of modern methods — scenario techniques, market research, etc. —
to discover more about current and future customer requirements
and wishes. Anyone who buys a Miele appliance expects to receive
a combination of certain values. Knowing what this “value bundle”
is — and translating it into products and performance — that’s what
quality really is.
Photos: Miele & Cie. KG
Which values do customers associate with Miele ?
In countries where we have a long and well-established presence, these
are most certainly enhanced reliability and a long service life. All our
products are engineered to operate for 20 years without trouble. Once
they’ve made a purchase, customers don’t want effort or annoyance.
That’s what we call “peace of mind”. In new markets without this historical background, the exclusiveness or the aesthetics of our brands will
be in the foreground. In this context, sheet metal plays a major role.
Side or front panels made of plastic are inconceivable for us. There is
no substitute for the feel of metal.
Dr. Eduard Sailer,
who earned his
doctorate in physics,
has been Managing
Director at Miele &
Cie. KG since 1998
remove more moisture from the laundry. Over the course of 20 years
that will save a great deal of drying time and energy. A somewhat
more spectacular innovation is “Allergotec”, our hygiene sensor for
vacuum sweepers. During vacuuming, the debris drawn in strikes a
sensor plate and creates electric charges. A chip determines — on the
basis of bounce frequency and velocity — the type of particle and uses a
“traffic light” display to show whether the floor is free of pollen, mite
feces, mold fungi and bacteria. This is an extremely useful product for
allergy sufferers or families with toddlers crawling about on the floor —
and I think it’s also a good example of quality as it is understood in
the Miele organization.
Do your customers really expect to have all the many major and
minor functions incorporated in modern household appliances ?
Innovative functions are, in fact, a very central value and a driver for And this product is actually based on your customers’ wishes and needs ?
quality. But let me first explain how we define innovation here at Miele . The basic idea came from a space researcher who had developed
Innovations are solutions and functions that are new and useful, us- a sensor used to detect and identify cosmic dust. We picked up
able and affordable. Innovations have to give customers discernable on this space technology and brought it down to earth, you might
additional usability and not just be marketing glitter. These might say. It is, in fact, seldom that customers — during usability testing,
be either spectacular new developments or smaller, more or less con- for instance — express concrete wishes for entirely new functions
cealed items — like the counterweights we build into our washing ma- or solutions to problems. You have to look very closely, listen carechines. We are the only manufacturer in the world to use cast iron fully and analyze thoroughly to track down improvement potential
instead of concrete for these weights. It’s true that nobody sees them, and latent customer wishes. That is very important for us. We want
but thanks to the material’s greater density, we can counteract bigger to recognize new solution possibilities in a proactive fashion and
imbalances during the spin cycle and thus use higher spin speeds to then be the first to translate them into market-ready products. →
Express 3/07
17
Interview
“There is no substitute
for the feel of metal.”
Sheet metal as a mark of quality: Side or front panels made of plastic are simply inconceivable at Miele.
Let’s move from customer wishes to their implementation. How can
or, for example, the electric motors in our washing machines have to
the deeply rooted quality understanding at Miele be impressed on
survive 10,000 hours of operation — these are things we simply don’t
farm out. On the other hand, we naturally want to capitalize on the
each of the more than 15,000 employees ?
A standard answer today would be , “By offering employees a vision”. specialized expertise held by competent suppliers. We alone cannot
In our case, we have to look at the firm’s history; this understanding be a prime mover for progress on every front. Take, for instance, laser
of quality is a cultural thing that has come to be synonymous with the or adhesive technologies, both highly advanced in the automotive incompany. For us, the question is rather how to translate the abstract dustry. Here, it can be quite reasonable to develop an assembly in close
phrase “Miele offers quality” into operative assignments. In the tech- cooperation with a system partner. Quite another facet of our supplier
nical sector, a large number of goals have been defined in the form relationships is expressed in a truism in the industry, “If Miele buys
of appropriate testing standards. Now that’s certainly no great secret, from them, then we can also buy there, sight unseen”. That isn’t enaside from the fact that we are particularly demanding when we for- tirely in our own best interest, since in this way a bit of our own quality
mulate these goals. In those areas where they cannot be so readily “leaks” to the competition, which by no means narrows our lead.
quantified, the employees have a clear idea of what Miele is, and what
it isn’t. This is a value that is passed along from one employee to the According to your motto, you have to be “ever better” than the compenext and from generation to generation. You cannot instill this quality tition. Is this pledge sometimes also a burden ?
consciousness by preaching a particular vision during any given year. No, absolutely not. This is, in just two words, the embodiment of the
In my estimation, it takes ten or fifteen years.
vision that Miele has actively and successfully pursued for 108 years
now. We want to be better than the competition at all times and above
That is a comfortable lead over your competitors.
all, we want to continually improve ourselves.
How do you defend it ?
With innovation! We continuously fill our innovation pipeline and > Please direct your questions to:
draw from a wide variety of sources when doing so. We have installed Harald Schaaf, Phone: +49 (0) 531 2 85 05 19, e-mail: harald.schaaf@de.trumpf.com
an idea management process to evaluate the many suggestions made
> Quality as a success principle
by our employees. It goes without saying that we have a very energetic
development department, and we also take a look at the work done
Company name:Miele & Cie. KG, Gütersloh, Germany
by institutions and research facilities outside our own industry to deFounded:
1899
termine what technologies we might be able to employ in our own
Staff:
Almost 16,000 in the Miele Group
products. I already mentioned the dust sensor that originated in space
Sales:
2.74 billion euros (2006 / 2007 business year)
research, which is a very good illustration of our approach.
TRUMPF machinery:
What role do suppliers play in your manufacturing and
quality concept ?
Our manufacturing depth is great, at more than 50 percent on average
for all product groups. Core competencies such as electronics, software
18 Express 3/07
Contact:
Two automated TRUMATIC 5000 R (TruPunch 5000), TLF 3801 T
(Lehrte Plant), TLF 3000 (TruFlow 3000, Gütersloh Plant)
www.miele.com
SpecialTruLaser
Photo: corbis
The 24 hours
of TRUMPF
Greater efficiency and quicker to the finish line — TruLaser Series 5000
24 h without a pit stop
The new TruLaser Series 5000 leaves the competition in the dust
It runs and runs and runs. Using the approved strategy of Le Mans, the TruLaser Series 5000
would win a 24-hour race by making the fewest number of pit stops and thus shaving its running
times. The modern flatbed laser cutting machine simply adapts to the differing “road conditions” — in this case, sheet metal types and gauges. Even working at night presents no problems.
The single cutting head strategy, the automatic nozzle exchanger, the intelligent cutting head
interface and the integrated collision protection all ensure — in combination with extensive automation — that the TruLaser Series 5000 can get along with just
a single set-up cycle. It can largely do without “pit stops” during
the entire sheet metal processing run, and that means
extremely high productivity levels.
Single cutting head strategy
With the single cutting head strategy incorporated in the TruLaser
Series 5000, sheet metal of any thickness can be processed with
just one cutting head. The newly engineered beam guide automatically adapts to the material and adjusts the laser beam.
→ Automated operation, no production interruptions
→ No contamination of the beam guide system
→ Continuous processing, considerably less downtime
Automation
From semi-automatic loading to a fully automatic manufacturing cell
with warehouse interface – the TruLaser Series 5000 can be
individually equipped with all the desired automation components.
→ Well thought out material flow patterns
→ Reduced downtime
→ Individualized automation options
20 Express 3/ 07
Special TruLaser
Automatic nozzle exchanger
The automatic nozzle exchanger replaces the nozzles at
the cutting head automatically, quickly and safely.
This makes it possible to process a variety of parts and
materials, even during unmanned shifts.
→ Automated system operation is supported, since manual nozzle exchanging is not required
→ The operator can program when worn nozzles are to be automatically replaced
Intelligent cutting head interface
The deflection mechanism at the intelligent cutting head interface ensures
that the operator can return the cutting head exactly to its former position
after a collision, with just a single motion.
→ Greater safety through continuous monitoring: deflection mechanism with sensor-based cutting head monitoring
→ In the case of minor collisions, the cutting head will move automatically to the original position
→ Supply tubing and cables can be ideally integrated into the interface
Integrated collision protection
Thanks to the integrated collision protection
concept, the cutting head simply swings away in the
event of a collision with the workpiece.
→ Reduced downtime
→ Cutting head interface and the machine suffer no damage
→ Operations can be resumed after a collision without any additional adjustment work
Express 3/ 07
21
Special TruLaser
The long-distance runner
among Flatbed Laser Machines
The TruLaser Series 5000 kicks out more pieces in less
time, because it hardly ever takes a break.
ten millimeters thick
→Processed in 58 seconds
Bracket
→Stainless steel,
20 millimeters thick
→Processed in 1:50 minutes
Face plate
→Aluminum,
two millimeters thick
→Processed in 28 seconds
Star
→Mild steel,
eight millimeters thick
→Processed in 1:52 minutes
Carrier plate
→Mild steel,
25 millimeters thick
→Processed in 1:26 minutes
Connector
→Stainless steel,
six millimeters thick
→Processed in 1:04 minutes
Would you like to run production with a minimum number of “pit stops”? Do you have questions about the
TruLaser Series 5000? Or about the individual components? Then get in touch now!
We’d be glad to be of service. You can reach the expert, Dominic Schuster, by phone at +49 (0) 7156 3 03 - 3 58 98
or by e-mail at dominic.schuster@de.trumpf.com
22 Express 3/ 07
Photos: TRUMPF Group
Toothed drive
→Stainless steel,
Knowledge
Scratches
be gone!
Unsightly scratches on high-gloss sheet metal?
That’s a thing of the past now — thanks to AMPCO.
Scratches are more than annoying in sheet metal processing,
but they can be avoided. “Whether self-adhesive pads, brush
tables and matrices, or spacer rings with brush inserts
— each option has its own application”, explains
Markus Hees, head of the forming tools department at TRUMPF in Gerlingen. The
brush tables, for example, prevent marks
on the underside of the sheet metal often found when balls are used on tables
instead of brushes. They also reduce the noise
generated when the sheet metal is moved on the
machine. Pads keep microscopic burrs from leaving
traces, while brush inserts create a natural damper.
The ideal solution is to combine options — matched to
customer requirements. “And when scrap retainer matrices are used, stray material cannot damage the surface”,
Hees continues. The use of the bronze-like AMPCO alloy
is particularly innovative and efficient. Where forming
dies incorporate raised ejectors — for cups, rim holes
or countersinking or where intermediate rings are
employed, AMPCO designs are highly effective in reducing scratches. “That’s one of the main reasons why
AMPCO is so very popular at the TRUMPF showroom
in Ditzingen.”
This high-gloss beauty by
Alessi is highly allergic to
scratches. Starting right now,
AMPCO spacer rings made
by TRUMPF will help prevent
scratching during punching
operations.
Photo: Alessi Spa
A metal as a “lubricant”
AMPCO is a relatively soft alloy made from copper, aluminum
and tin. Chemically, it is assigned to the family of aluminum and
bronze alloys. Its malleability and its quasi-lubricating properties help
avoid scratches on the underside of sheet metal, made by the ejector.
Particularly in intermediate rings, the AMPCO version achieves excellent results in regards to freedom from scratching.
Copper and tin — doesn’t that sound a bit like a throwback to the
Bronze Age? “No, it’s more reminiscent of the Colossus of Rhodes”,
Hees laughs. Because that wonder of the ancient world was made of
copper. “But quite seriously, the chemical properties of copper and
tin, known colloquially as bronze, make them ideal partners for the
creation of alloys such as AMPCO.”
> Please direct your questions to :
Markus Hees, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 72 80,
e-mail: markus.hees@de.trumpf.com
Express 3/07
23
Putting set-up
in the fast lane
Clamping, bolting, closing — whenever it’s a matter of positioning materials
or workpieces, that’s where AMF offers the appropriate aides.
The fascination of the laser
Bubbling over with ideas:
Machine operator Sven Maier
Since Volker Göbel and his engineering manager Rainer Zimmermann
were fascinated by the laser as a cutting tool from the very outset, they
have sought out and opened additional market niches for this tech- Maier couldn’t accept the fact that almost half of all small, laser-cut
nology. Working in cooperation with the TTec company, they offer components with micro-joints wound up on the floor when they were
precisely fitting clamping and set-up systems for laser welding opera- broken out. He got the upper hand on this problem with a simple trick.
tions, either with or without a robot. “We first made our sales advisors Funnel-shaped side walls on the break-out carriage pilot the cut parts
and engineers familiar with laser welding through training sessions”, into the metal receivers located underneath. This was a good idea that
Rainer Zimmermann explains, “and then we consistently put into other laser users could benefit from, too. For a modest licensing fee,
practice what we learned”. Together with experts from TRUMPF, the AMF will make available engineering drawings and manufacturing
initial ideas were evaluated and then prepared for market using the data on a CD-ROM (see the information box for the Internet address).
company’s own expertise. The result is a clamping and set-up system Volker Göbel, “Anyone who cuts using micro-joints can hardly do so
for laser welding that perfectly combines the advantages of T-shaped without the break-out carriage”.
groove profiles with the advantages found in systems with an array of
Clean and tidy
mounting holes.
Internally, too, AMF is always on the lookout for optimization pos- And Maier was no less clever when he, together with his colleague Horst
sibilities. Employee Sven Maier, who is not related to the owners, is par- Mathias, improved the function of the scrap drawers on his TRUMATIC
ticularly inventive. Long set-up periods and unnecessary downtimes L 2530 Plus (TruLaser 2525). To eliminate the need for anyone having
are a disgrace to him. The industrial and technical mechanic came up to tediously extract the waste from below the pallet changer, Maier
with two bright ideas; one of them being the break-out carriage. Sven constructed a special-design drawer and coupled it with the lift equip24 Express 3/07
Photos: Conny Tüch
From D6 to D10 and from H3 to H5. That sounds something like a series
of chess moves but, in reality, it’s an instruction for positioning within a
coordinate matrix. With its positioning system for laser marking units,
the Andreas Maier Schloss- und Werkzeugfabrik (AMF — Lock and
Tool Factory) in Fellbach slashes set-up times. “To name one example,
when used with a lettering machine from the TruMark series, our solution pays for itself within just a few months”, notes AMF General
Manager Volker Göbel. The engineering design for this new positioning
system is as simple as could be. A stainless steel positioning plate with
an array of holes at 25 x 25 millimeters centers runs on two guide rails.
Thus, the operator can withdraw the positioning plate to populate it,
referring to the parts list to find the exact positioning data for the workpiece within the coordinate matrix — and can then get started right
away. With positioning and repetition accuracy of 0.1 millimeters, it is
the proven solution for short production runs and repeat orders. AMF
can deliver the appropriate accessories — such as support blocks or contour templates — with the unit on request. The company’s operations
are entirely customer-oriented and they can even make up individual
support forms made of plastic for complex workpiece geometries.
PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
1 Optimized slag drawer
2 Part separation at the break-out carriage
3 Clamping system for laser welding
4 Positioning system in laser marking unit
Encourages an inventive spirit:
AMF General Manager
Volker Göbel
1
2
3
ment. When the support stage is raised, the drawer rises automatically.
A gentle kick will start the slag sliding.
Maier, according to General Manager Volker Göbel, is typical of the
inventive genius at AMF. “We convince our clients through custom
developments — fabricated with the appropriate quality. Our customers also appreciate our service guarantee.” That guarantee has been
valid, all across Europe, for a long time now. For years the AMF catalogs, containing more than 5,000 products, have been published in 16
languages, allowing every user to profit from fast set-up and minimal
downtime.
The first question at AMF is always,
“What exactly are they making
there?” The second, “Why don’t
we build something that … ?”
4
> Please direct your questions to:
Eberhard Wahl, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 60 88, e-mail: eberhard.wahl@de.trumpf.com
> Clamping with a service guarantee
Company name: AMF Andreas Maier GmbH & Co. KG, Fellbach, Germany
Founded: 1890
Staff: 230
Sales: 30 Mio. Euro
TRUMPF machinery:
Well-trained employees make full use of
machinery potentials, engineering manager
Rainer Zimmermann
TRUMATIC L 2530 Plus (TruLaser 2525), Vectormark VMc 1
and VMc 5 laser marking workstations, TSC1 slat cleaner
Contact: www.amf.de
Webshop: Engineering CD-ROM: “Break-out carriage” in the AMF
online shop at www.amf.de/Ausbrechwagen
Express 3/07
25
Manufacturing LOGISTICS
1
2
5
Great freedom
During his apprenticeship, Josef Böhmer encountered something that fascinated him: continuous-flow
production. It was from his father that he learned a skill he considers priceless — a traditional trade.
His new production building lets him combine the two.
Building 4 at Böhmer Systemtechnik GmbH in
Langenenslingen, with its 2,000 square meters
of production floor space, is the most recent
addition to the facility. The self-supporting
steel frame structure was completed in 2006.
As was true for the previous construction
project to expand job-shop operations, the
firm once again directed most of the work itself. This time, however, there was one very
central requirement: unrestricted flexibility.
Consequently, this modern hall is subdivided
only by an imaginary grid. The support pillars ( 1 ), set five meters apart, also serve as
all-purpose utility supply points. Each pillar is
fitted with a power point, universal gas outlet,
and compressed air port. “That”, reports proprietor Josef Böhmer with apparent pride, “is
the only constant in the entire hall”.
Everything else moves on wheels or castors,
either as a cart with carrying capacity of up to
600 kilograms, as a mobile workbench or as a
traveling protective curtain ( 2 ) for welding
26 Express 3/07
stations. Even the heavy assembly platforms
( 3 ) can easily be moved on a system of rails
( 4 ) set flush and level in the floor. That opens
up the space required to manufacture, in a
single piece, parts ( 5 ) of up to 30 meters in
length, weighing up to 10 tons.
company’s founder — still fit as a fiddle at 80
years old — and on hand daily in the company, is still a much-sought-after advisor.
“As a trained construction fitter and master
craftsman, my father is the guardian of the
tradition of the trade at Böhmer, and it is this
connection that accounts for a good share of
Sufficient space for prototypes
our success”, summarizes young Böhmer, now
Particularly when dealing with large struc- 41, who took over of operations in 1998.
tures for the crane industry and in prototype
One legacy of the trade heritage is the cenconstruction, this flexibility represents a price- tral concept of responsibility. This means on
less advantage. “Admittedly, continuous-flow one hand that lean processes are not to be
production, which has been introduced as the equated with job elimination, but rather with
SYNCHRO concept at all the TRUMPF plants company growth. On the other hand, this also
around the world, was the model behind the means assuming responsibility constructively
idea of flexible manufacturing”, acknowledges when dealing with the customer. “We are in a
Josef Böhmer, who completed his apprentice- position to serve our customers in steel, metal,
ship as an industrial fitter at the TRUMPF mechanical and system engineering from the
hand-sketched drawing of an idea through
facility in Hettingen.
Now a graduate welding engineer, he was to the finished component. And we can do
also the person who introduced industrial that at optimized manufacturing costs.” It’s
thinking into the company. His father, the no accident that prototypes are often the first
1
3
4
Building 4 at Böhmer Systemtechnik
on September 5, 2007. It might look
entirely different on any given day.
The only constant is the grid of
utility connections and rails for the
assembly platforms.
3
step towards many years of customer loyalty.
Böhmer adds , “Our prototypes are ready for
a pilot production run”.
Photos: KD Busch
Sheet metal up to 25 millimeters
What distinguishes Böhmer Systemtechnik in
this context is their dual competence in steel
and sheet metal. The result is a diversified
manufacturing range — from cutting to shape
and size, subsequent processing with press
brakes, assembly, final mechanical and machining work and the application of surface
coatings. Here, laser cutting is also established in processing heavy-gauge sheet metal.
Böhmer, “Sheets 15 to 25 millimeters thick are
more the rule than the exception. That is why
we are among those TRUMPF customers who
anticipate — on pins and needles, so to speak —
every kilowatt of additional laser output.”
Assembly is impacted by a variety of welding techniques, and certified welders can select
the most appropriate process, depending on
the design requirements and the material’s
thickness and quality. “We can even weld
high-strength steels with a yield strength of
960 N/mm², and we do it with certified safety.”
The reason why laser welding has not yet made
its debut in the company is found in the mix
of materials and thicknesses. It is a given that
automation components will soon be arriving, to make warehousing more efficient. Josef
Böhmer, “Each expansion step is the precursor
to the next one, and that is why we will have
to expand the warehouse upwards and implement automation to retain our flexibility.”
> Please direct your questions to:
Bernd Zürn, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 08 31, e-mail: bernd.zuern@de.trumpf.com
> Flexible building for heavyweights
Company name:Böhmer Systemtechnik GmbH, Langenenslingen, Germany
Founded:
1949
Staff:
80 employees, including 12 apprentices
Product line:
Laser-cut blanks and bent components, assemblies and systemized solutions, steel
engineering components and welded structures with manufacturer qualification
Class E as per DIN 18800-7, DIN 15018, DIN 4132 and DIN 4133, quality management system as per DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN EN ISO 3834-2
TRUMPF machinery:
Contact:
One TRUMATIC L 4030 (TruLaser 3040) with 4 kW of laser output power, in the
4000 x 2000 mm max-format, one TRUMATIC L3050 (TruLaser 5030 classic) with
5 kW of laser output power, in the 3000 x 1500 mm large format, one TruLaser
5040 with TruFlow 6000 and single cutting head strategy, one TrumaBend V 320
and one TrumaBend V 85 S as well as ToPs 100 (TruTops Laser) and ToPs 600 (TruTops Bend) programming systems
www.boehmer-systemtechnik.de
Express 3/07
27
Gemma Avenell learned her vocation in
her parents’ shop – from the ground up –
and bought herself a Porsche Cayman
instead of moving out of the family home.
28 Express 3/07
Portrait
It’s in her blood
Buying a Porsche instead of moving into her own apartment — and getting a plasma cutting
machine for her birthday: Gemma Avenell has everything she’s ever dreamed about.
ing and profiling machine. Last year bending chine operators to take her place, including her
was added to her growing list of accomplish- younger brother Paul Avenell junior — ‘Pookie’
ments as a result of the company’s purchase — on the press brake. She is currently focused
of a TRUMPF press brake. Although working on design and production control, but still
in the family business earned Gemma Avenell loves working on the shop floor whenever she
pocket money during her student years, it gets the chance. CAD is an important ability
wasn’t a foregone conclusion that she would for Avenell Engineering as many customers
follow in her father’s footsteps career-wise. Her now call upon Gemma Avenell’s expertise in
mother, the company’s financial controller, designing the required part. “I didn’t take to
Lorraine Avenell, had her sights set on her using computers at school but in the producTaught from the ground up
daughter entering the legal profession. Until tion environment it just clicked,” she adds. “I
Whilst Gemma Avenell was fortunate enough the completion of her GCSEs, that was Gemma can operate all the machines. I know their cato secure a job in her father’s established busi- Avenell’s goal too.
pability inside out and that really helps on the
When she had to make a decision on her design side.”
ness that’s where the family favours ended.
When she joined Avenell Engineering 7 years future however, Gemma Avenell couldn’t
ago, MD Paul Avenell was determined that ignore how happy she had been in the pro- Making her mark in a man’s world
his daughter should learn the business from duction environment. “Deep down inside, I This proven combination of skills has helped
the ground up, not just step into management. knew I wanted to work in engineering,” she Gemma Avenell overcome the credibility gap
He wanted her to learn everything about de- explained. “I felt very comfortable with the of being a young woman in a male dominated
signing and producing sheet metal parts and work, but I wasn’t sure if dad wanted me to industry. “Dad has always encouraged me to
structures and to put that knowledge into join the company.”
fight my own battles. Of course I get the ocpractice.
A heart to heart discussion resulted in Paul casional comment, but it’s not a problem. I
That policy has certainly paid dividends. Avenell welcoming his daughter into the fam- love my job, it may not be glamorous, but it’s
Gemma Avenell knows her stuff and she has ily firm and buying her a plasma cutting ma- certainly fulfilling.” Sadly, Gemma Avenell
now taken over production control on the chine! Not the most traditional of gifts, but it only knows one other woman who is set to
strength of her skill and capability, not because was a smart move on his part. Neither Gemma pursue a career in engineering, in fact this
she is the boss’s daughter. She is an experienced Avenell nor Avenell Engineering has looked 16-year old recently completed her internship
programmer and operator of a plasma cutting back since. Two more machines and three at Avenell Engineering. “Charlotte’s father is
machine and a TRUMATIC 2000 R punch- CAD systems later, she has now trained ma- a plumber, so she has first hand experience
Talking with Gemma Avenell is like a breath
of fresh air. Unlike many of her generation, her
passion for engineering is palpable. At the tender age of 22 years, she is the production manager of a growing and ambitious subcontract
fabrication company in Buckinghamshire.
With her enthusiasm behind the venture, it is
easy to see why plans for expansion are currently being hatched.
Express 3/07
29
Portrait
Samples from the Avenell product range.
Keeping everything in the family – Leon, Paul, Lorraine, Paul Jr. and
Gemma Avenell together with the family dogs, Alfie and Charlie.
Expansion? No doubt about it!
But one step at a time.
of a skilled trade so like me, it was parental to huge prefabricated structures for super- subject of evening discussions as the entire
influence, rather than the education system stores. The addition of high-tech bending has Avenell family still lives together. Gemma
that guided her,” she continues. “Most of my been particularly significant as it is has taken Avenell was thinking of moving out earlier
friends have chosen a typically female career. Avenell Engineering into new markets. It has this year, but this came to an abrupt halt when
I think it‘s a shame they would never ever have just won a substantial order for security doors she spotted a Porsche! “So Mom and Dad are
considered engineering. They don’t know what on the strength of this new acquisition.
stuck with me for quite a while!” she smiles.
they’re missing!”
The scope of the company is huge and it is “Dad has always been keen on cars and so has
Gemma Avenell’s interest in engineering is already looking to the next stage of develop- my Grandad, come to think of it. In so many
clearly in her blood. She is the fourth gener- ment. “I really want to see us grow,” she con- ways, I’m a chip off the old block”
ation of Avenells to choose this as a career. tinues. “Dad says slow down, but I know our
Paul Avenell worked for his father’s business, capability. We have a great team with great > Please direct your questions to:
the original Avenell Engineering. Based in skills so we can turn our hands to almost any David Foulks, Phone: +44 (0) 1582 72 53 35,
e-mail: david.foulks@uk.trumpf.com
Oxford, it served the automotive industry and quality fabrication.” These plans are often the
was finally sold in 1997. Avenell Engineering
was founded in 1987, the Long Crendon site
near Aylesbury was established 16 years ago.
Currently the company employs nine in one
unit — including Gemma Avenell’s two broth> Womanpower in the family firm
ers Leon and ‘Pookie’ Avenell — and four in
the second unit.
A Porsche instead of an apartment
As we walk around both production facilities Gemma Avenell’s eyes positively sparkle
with enthusiasm as she explains the work in
progress and the quality of the finished product. These range widely from in-house designed brackets used in the building industry
30 Express 3/07
Company name: Avenell Engineering Limited, Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, UK
Founded:
1987
Staff:
14
Product line:
From small components to large assembly elements
TRUMPF machinery:
TRUMATIC 2000 R, TruBend 3120
Contact:
gemma@avenell-engineering.co.uk
One QUESTION
What’s the best defense against
counterfeiting, Mr. Busse?
“Public awareness is the most
effective protection.”
Photos: Aktion Plagiarius e.V.
Admittedly, there’s no 100 percent safeguard. The options available to prevent and combat plagiarism and product piracy are nonetheless many and
varied. Essential, however, is that companies deal with product and brand
piracy assertively and act accordingly. And that is often what’s missing,
particularly among enterprises of modest size. It is often due to a shortage of
time or simple unawareness of the situation. The topic has become ever more
relevant and complex in the wake of globalization and technical progress.
Every company has to become as active as it can. I heartily recommend the
following course of action for anyone in any creative field.
The most important factor in protecting intellectual property is registering for legal protection of industrial property rights — and doing so in all
the (sales) markets of importance to the company, regardless of whether
it is a trademark or design registration or a patent to protect a technical
invention. Only in this way will the originator have grounds for taking
legal action against imitators, ultimately bringing them to justice. Registered
industrial property rights are also the prerequisite for cooperation with the
customs authorities. Customs, operating on behalf of the company, can
confiscate contraband arriving at the border from other countries and forward the goods to the legitimate manufacturer for further disposition (for
use as evidence in litigation or for destruction). The customs authorities do
excellent work in this regard. Constant observation of the market is also
indispensable. This includes both a tour of the booths on the first day of a
trade fair and scrutinizing websites and Internet platforms.
Close contacts with dealers, suppliers and customers can also be helpful. These are often the people who draw a manufacturer’s attention to
pirated products. Using security technologies (holograms, barcodes, color
codes, RFID etc.) attached to the product can, for example, be used to defend
against unfounded product liability suits. One thing absolutely essential
here is to raise public consciousness and particularly consumer awareness
in regard to the hazards and damages that can result from plagiarism and
counterfeiting. Simple greed and the lack of quality control can often turn
a supposed bargain into an item that’s not only “hot” but a fire hazard, as
well. The Museum Plagiarius in Solingen has more than 250 product pairs
on display, from a wide variety of industries, putting the original and the
copy in direct juxtaposition. The extent of the problem and the audacity of
the product pirates are made clear with these examples drawn from realworld practice.
Professor Rido Busse is the Chairman of the Executive Board of Aktion Plagiarius e.V. and the initiator of the Plagiarius Negative Prize. For almost 30 years
this campaign has fought against the theft of ideas. Each year it awards prizes
to product forgers. More information can be found at www.plagiarius.com.
There you will also find photos of the prizewinners from the past few years.
31
“It’s a bit like a good marriage”
Service is synonymous with technical service.
Isn’t it? Or maybe not? Or maybe it’s something more?
And what do customers actually expect?
A customer talked with two suppliers and a professor of marketing.
The Express editorial staff took notes.
32 Express 3/07
report: Service
The panel:
Reinhold Groß, Director
Services at TRUMPF, Frieder
Staier, Technical Manager at
the Autz & Herrmann company,
Michael Keilbach, Sales
Manager Services at TRUMPF,
Professor Ralf Schellhase,
Ph.D., who holds a professorship
in marketing at the University
of Darmstadt, Adrian Stalder,
General Manager at Schleifring
Service AG.
More and more companies are offering addi- training and financing - in the pre-sale, sale
tional services associated with machinery – not and after-sale phases.
only repairs or spare parts deliveries. Is this reWhat does that mean for a company in everyally necessary?
Frieder Staier : Sure it is! We, as customers, expect
day practice?
to have access to services that go far beyond Adrian Stalder: We have to get away from retechnical service — and in fact, we are demand- active service and move more to proactive,
ing them. Only if clients are satisfied and feel preventive services. At Schleifring, we have
properly treated in every respect can you be undertaken a thorough analysis of our comconfident that the services being rendered are pany and ultimately spun off our service acgood from the customers’ viewpoint.
tivities completely. We established our own
Professor Dr. Ralf Schellhase : When those of us
subsidiary devoted primarily to services.
in the sciences talk about services, we mean Reinhold Groß : We did not go quite that far
“every activity or performance, essentially im- with TRUMPF TruServices, but did nonethematerial in nature, that is offered to another less pool our services in a single division. The
person”. Services are thus more comprehen- goal at TRUMPF TruServices is to develop
sive, more than just maintaining and repair- long-term partnerships with customers who,
ing machines. Service includes consulting, thanks to reliable machines, are both satisfied
and successful. Hopefully, they will come back
to us when it’s time to buy the next machine.
In addition, we hope to provide them with
supplementary expertise offering them added
value and, consequently, advantages in competitive situations.
Entirely gratuitously and free of any selfinterest?
Groß : Of course we do have our own ulterior
motives, but the focus is on a fair arrangement
in which both parties learn from each other
and profit from that knowledge. The fact that
we cannot offer valuable services gratis is, I
think, clear to everybody.
Staier : As a customer I don’t expect that at all.
We have close and ongoing contacts to the
people at TRUMPF. That is one kind of good
Express 3/07
33
report: Service
”The personal touch is a very
decisive factor in services marketing. It’s the people, the process
and the physical environment
that count.“ Professor Dr. Ralf Schellhase
The editors of
TRUMPF Express in
discussion with the
service experts.
in this respect because they put their focus on
the products and are less skilled in the fundamentals of services marketing.
But it is the manufacturers’ responsibility to
take the initiative there.
What about new customers? Do they take
Michael Keilbach : Yes, there’s no doubt about
into account service capabilities when
that. At TRUMPF, too, telling customers making their buying decision?
about our services is still in its infancy. Often Keilbach : Not generally, but they are starting
our customers have no idea that we tailor our to do so. They are generally interested in the
services range individually for each customer — technical solution the machine offers, but ever
matched precisely to specific needs in each more often they do ask about services, want to
case — and that our personal support naturally see the spare parts warehouse and our training
does not end when the sale is closed.
center. We have realized that our customers
Schellhase : Personal contact is a very decisive
want to buy safety, security and reassurance
factor in services marketing. The four “P”s in as “included accessories”, so to speak.
marketing — price, product, place and pro- Stalder: Service might not be the soloist, playing
motion — are joined in services marketing by a leading role in a purchase decision; it’s more
three additional “P”s : people, processes and like an instrument in the background. All the
physical environment — the place or setting in musicians have to work together smoothly to
which the services are rendered. The “people” achieve a harmonious performance. Service
factor is certainly the most important. Many might not be the decisive reason for “attending
companies still have some catching up to do a concert” but it makes a major contribution
34 Express 3/07
to the overall impression. And at TRUMPF
it’s something like an orchestra. TRUMPF is a
very good brand that cannot afford any errors.
Not in its technology, not in its service.
Staier : For my own part, service already plays
a crucial role in the decision-making process.
Whenever I make a purchase, I examine not
only the product, but the follow-up support as
well — sort of like in a good marriage. For me,
service is synonymous with the predictable
availability of our machines.
Why do so many companies treat service like
a stepchild?
Stalder : Because service became an autonomous function in companies in the 1970s and
1980s. Moreover, it differs strongly from many
other areas in the company and adheres to its
own processes and sequences, and often these
first have to be developed. Service has to be
very customer-oriented and able to respond
quickly. The employees have to be quick as a
Photos: KD Busch
service for me – just like fast deliveries of
spares, reliable pre-sale information, competent assistance during installation and expert
support after the sale. I want to have those
services exactly when and where I need them.
I expect that as a customer — but I’m also prepared to pay for it.
Schellhase : That demonstrates your ability to
appreciate services in material terms, too. That
is often not the case. In a variety of studies
we have determined that German mechanical
engineering companies are actually quite well
positioned in regard to services. Often, however, the clientele is not aware of the range
of services available or is unwilling to pay
for services. This is also due to the fact that
companies do not properly communicate their
services or the cost picture.
“As a customer I expect service —
but I’m also prepared to pay for it.”
Frieder Staier
fox when need be, and wrap up a job within a ditional services to survive in the market. In cannot afford to have any “service dead spots”
matter of hours. The situation is worlds apart sheet metal processing this can be done only on the map, but have to offer the same standwhen delivering a new machine, for instance. through enhancing productivity or building ard, everywhere, at the same time.
The work is in entirely different time dimen- in expertise, and this is where the machinery manufacturers come into play. We have Will or should companies tackle services?
sions — namely in weeks and months.
Groß: That is absolutely inconceivable for spare
even had customers who, thanks to our ap- What will customers want in the future ?
parts deliveries! The rule at TRUMPF is that plications support services, were able to get an Schellhase : The product developers will become
problem-solvers to an ever greater extent. Prodall orders received by 5: 30 p.m. have to be dis- order back from the Far East.
ucts and services form a unit and in ten years
patched on the same day. And that happens
the customer will no longer purchase a prodeven if the logistics manager himself has to That might be true for Germany and Europe,
but can you offer the same level of service to
uct, but rather a solution to a problem. Services
pack and label cartons.
will have to become a core competence. And I
customers in Nigeria or Israel?
Groß : If a Nigerian sheet metal company de- see that the manufacturers at this table, at least,
It’s clear that companies have to be quick in
cides to purchase our world-class technology, are well on the way to achieving that goal.
regards to things like spare parts deliveries,
then we naturally have to be sure that service
but why do they exert such great effort for
is available locally. We have more than 850
services that customers don’t explicitly ask
service technicians on call around the world.
for?
Keilbach : One reason is certainly interna- Stalder : Yes, that’s the difference between
tional competition. With its low prices, Asia product marketing and services marketing .
definitely presents a challenge to the clients of Products can be shipped, but services have to > Please direct your questions to:
TRUMPF in central and western Europe. They be rendered on the site, wherever that might Reinhold Groß, Phone: +49 (0) 7156 303 – 3 02 70,
e-mail: reinhold.gross@de.trumpf.com
can’t match the prices and have to offer ad- be. Companies like TRUMPF or Schleifring
Express 3/07
35
CHARACTERS: PEOPLE AND SHEET METAL
“God showed me how to
find flowers in trash —
and he taught me my trade”
36 Express 3/07
The man with the
scissorhands
Sonwabo Nongawuza had a dream. He saw flowers growing in a waste
dump, and since then, he has cut blossoms out of old beverage cans.
Tell us,
Mr. Nongawuza …
… what do you see as your greatest
strength. And your greatest weakness?
My energy! I have a great deal of strength
and enjoy my work day in and day out, but
I have to learn to concentrate because my
weakness is that I quickly become impatient
if I feel as though I’ve been disturbed.
… how would you characterize yourself
in a few words?
Photos: Hans-Christoph Neumann
The last stop on the township tour is at a rough
fence painted red and white. A group of tourists is just replacing another. The number of
people arriving in any bus is not large, but there
are several buses each day. As a rule, the
groups are from six to ten people and more
could not squeeze into the 14 square meters of
Sonwabo Nongawuza’s shop, the place where
his unique sheet metal flowers are created. The
tourists have arrived at the outermost edge of
Khayelitsha, which translates to “Our New
Home”. The largest township on the outskirts
of Cape Town offers a million residents more
shelter than any real residential quality.
day his visitors are witnesses to the precision,
manual dexterity and almost unbelievable
speed at which he turns cast-off beverage tins
into colorful works of art.
Education for the children
In the meantime, most of the tourists who visit Cape Town are
from Germany and Sonwabo’s
German vocabulary grows
daily, from “Dose” for tin
can, “Guten Tag” when he
greets visitors, and naturally
the German equivalents for
the flowers — margarita, rose,
Flowers from refuse
lily and sunflower. The floral
“We came to Kayelitsha in 1990 because, at adornments for the garden, this
33, I was already too old to work in the gold time in thin sheet metal, are standmines”, recalls Sonwabo, who originally hails ing in one corner of his shop. Some are
from Mpumalanga (until 2002 the Eastern painted, some are left as they are, since the
Transvaal) in northern South Africa. His fa- blue and red tin of a successful energy drink
ther had given him the English name “Golden”. manufacturer require no further finishing.
“I didn’t have any proper work here, only “At the beginning, it was very difficult and I
odd jobs that really provided no real satis- had to experiment a lot until I learned how
faction. But then I had a dream: a dream of I could give my flowers the correct shape. At
flowers that grow out of trash.” And there’s that time I traveled 35 kilometers every evencertainly enough of that lying about, among ing to Cape Town to sell my flowers on the
all the shacks in Kayelitsha. “I went out, but I street. Then the township tours started bringcouldn’t find any flowers, just dirt and trash. ing more and more visitors to my doorstep —
But the same dream came to me, again and and that’s something I’m very happy about.”
again until I noticed the different colors in Sonwabo is also happy that his wife Pumla
the beverage cans — and I saw in them the works as an educator for infants at a school in the
flowers I had seen in my dreams. God had township and that his five children can attend
given me that and he also showed me my school. “I cannot count on government help. In
trade.” Looking at Sonwabo’s hands wouldn’t the meantime, I sell my flowers to visitors to
raise doubts. Within just two or three minutes, my workshop and to some shops in town. It is a
using shears and tongs, he fashions a bright joy for me to know that they are making people
red blossom — that sparkling red of an Ameri- happy far away, in homes in Europe, and that
can soft drink known around the world. Every they are a reminder of a trip to South Africa.”
I seek harmony and love my family. Moreover, I enjoy talking with all the people who
come to visit me. I also need the positive
influence of my community.
… where do you draw
your energy from?
From God and from
attending church on
Sundays. There I
sing for hours on
end and that gives
me strength for the
entire week. During
the week I draw my
energy from meeting
people from all around
the world.
… what would you take with you on the
proverbial desert island?
This is a question that simply doesn’t exist
in our culture. I’ve never heard it before. But
in any case I would take along my entire
family and my tools. But when I think about
it, without any tin cans, I wouldn’t have
anything to do.
… what dream would you like to make
come true in your lifetime ?
I would love to have a wonderful home in
Mpumalanga, the town where I was born.
I’d like to be buried there, too. But there’s
more than enough time for that!
37
credits
TRUMPF Express 3/07
Magazine for Sheet Metal Processing
Medieval “bling-bling”
Published by
TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
Johann-Maus-Straße 2, 71254 Ditzingen, Germany
www.trumpf.com
Oddly enough, German has countless idioms originating with
Responsible for content
sheet metal — some not very flattering for this useful material.
Mathias Kammüller, Dr.-Eng.
To foreign ears, the German word for sheet metal — “Blech” — will most certainly sound grating. Proper pronunciation is a challenge, too.
The first three letters are easy enough but the
“ch” is a problem. The best way to practice making that sound is to first run up four flights of
stairs. The “ch” then comes quite naturally as a
breathy, aspirated sound — though still hardly
melodious. Having overcome that hurdle, we
might look at all the things the word is used
to describe — everything from brass musical
instruments to simple scrap to luxury cars.
When we think about “sounding brass”, then
perhaps we’ve found the reason why someone
talking unsullied nonsense is said — in German — to be “speaking in brazen tones”.
Where did the word originate? Scholars tell
us it descended from the Old High German
word “bleh”, meaning “glossy”, “shiny” or
“dazzling”. Might that have been the medieval
equivalent of today’s “bling-bling”
among hip-hoppers?
Anke Roser, +49(0) 7156 303 - 3 04 28
anke.roser@de.trumpf.com
Editor-in-chief
38 Express 3/07
Helmut Ortner
Edited by
pr+co. gmbh, Stuttgart, Germany
Norbert Hiller
Nadine Leimbrink
Layout and production
pr+co. gmbh, Stuttgart, Germany
Gernot Walter
Markus Weißenhorn
Jessika Drenger
Martin Reinhardt
Reproduction
Reprotechnik Herzog GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany
Printed by
frechdruck GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany
Contributors
Julia Bechtler
Lydia Bentsche
Professor Rido Busse
Trudi Cullum
Karin Herczog
Silke Köhler
Nadine Leimbrink
Olaf Meier
Hans-Christoph Neumann
Martin Reinhardt
Stefan Schanz
Translation
Stewart Lindemann, Wuppertal, Germany
Photography
r
KD Busch
Simon Koy
Claus Langer
John Larkin
Udo Loster
Miele & Cie. KG
Hans-Christoph Neumann
Conny Tüch
rnot Walte
Sheet metal played a dual role
in the earlier soup kitchens the
church set up for the poor. Soup
would be served, from a sheet
metal pot, in return for a sheet
metal token issued by charitable
organizations.
Consulting
Illustrations
Gernot Walter
: Ge
Illustration
Given the word’s bright beginnings, however,
its reputation has clearly dimmed over the
centuries. Music that’s a bit grating might be
called “brassy”. On the Autobahns in Germany we are confronted with “an avalanche
of sheet metal”. Settling a tax bill, a traffic
ticket or the like has come to be known as
“laying down sheet metal” and the historical
background is fairly easy to see. When coins
were first used as legal tender there were no
minting machines to work the brass or other
metal. Metal smiths had to use tiny shears to
tediously cut coins from a sheet of silver or
other metal. And so people came to say that
they were spending “sheet metal” to pay those
bills. The English counterpart, though harking back to a much earlier age, might have
been “to shell out”.
Fortunately, and thanks to modern technology, sheet metal can today be turned into a
variety of products and thus into hard cash.
Both the industrial world and our everyday lives would be inconceivable without
sheet metal. And that’s why we would
suggest inventing new idioms to reflect the true and noble character
of this fine material. For instance,
“All that glitters is not sheet metal.”
We’d like to hear our banker say,
“Your credit is as good as sheet
metal.” As odd as this might
sound to our ears, sheet metal
is in fact far more important to
everyday lives than the muchcoveted silver and gold.
Illustration: Gernot Walter
7
SHEET METAL: A REMARKABLE STORY
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Photos: L.& C. Stendal GmbH, getty images
Distinguished pleasures
What happens when steel tubing leaves the Westphalian town faces are a simple matter of
of Bad Oeynhausen? Ultimately it winds up in living rooms, course. Lingemann pays close
kitchens and baths. Or airports and bars. The L. Lingemann attention when drilling round holes in round tubes
Stahlgroßhandel GmbH sells nine million meters of rectan- or bending rectangular tubing to exact radii. The TRUMPF
gular and round tubing for furniture use each year. It works TruLaser Tube 5000 helps meet exacting standards. Only
material made of pickled, hot-rolled strip — or cold-rolled what looks good and is good invites the beholder to indulge
steel when components are to be chrome plated. Perfect sur- in distinguished pleasures. www.lingemann-stahl.de