Kaufbeuren/Germany, September 24, 2024- HAWE Hydraulik celebrated the tenth anniversary of its production site in Kaufbeuren in September. The plant management surprised the workforce with a reception on the red carpet and presented gifts, including honey from the region. The site in the Allgäu region is the company‘s largest plant in the international production network and plays a central role in the production of its top-selling product, the proportional directional spool valve type PSL. These hydraulic valves are used in mobile machinery such as construction machinery, municipal vehicles as well as forestry and agricultural machinery.
“With the opening of the plant in Kaufbeuren ten years ago, we laid the foundation for the further development of our business," says Christof Gilnhammer, Chief Operations Officer (COO). In total, HAWE has invested a three-digit million sum in the site over the last decade, primarily in state-of-the-art production facilities and buildings. Today, the company employs around 700 people in Kaufbeuren and generated around 40 percent of the Group’s global turnover of 510 million euros in 2023.
Franz Pasta, Plant Manager Kaufbeuren: “All production steps – from pre-production and surface treatment to assembly and shipping – are carried out on site.” The optimally designed value stream makes it possible to manufacture products efficiently – both in large series in different product variants and in batch size 1, i.e. a customer-specific configuration.
Production in Kaufbeuren: efficient, flexible and state-of-the-art
“The market is increasingly demanding individualized products,” explains Gilnhammer: “That’s why we want to be able to supply our customers with small quantities – at competitive prices, with the usual delivery times and in consistently high quality. To achieve this, we make our production as flexible as possible.”
HAWE achieves this flexibility and efficiency in Kaufbeuren by digitally networking production, among other things. For example, employees can see the required quantities and configuration of the product on a screen directly at the assembly station, and are guided through each assembly step by assistance systems. Logistics is linked to production in such a way that the parts required for customer orders are already picked in the automated small parts warehouse before they are made available for assembly. Driverless transport vehicles support this process.
The Kaufbeuren site also offers excellent conditions for product testing. In its own test laboratory, two mobile machines from customers can be accommodated at the same time in order to thoroughly test the HAWE solutions. In addition, an acoustic measuring room is available to measure the noise emissions of hydraulic according to national and international standards.
Values as a family business: focus on people and the environment
In the area of sustainability, HAWE in Kaufbeuren relies on innovative solutions such as a waste water concept in which an evaporation system recycles the waste water and partially returns it to the production process. Green electricity, a photovoltaic system on the roof of the production facility and various heat recovery systems ensure that energy-related CO2 emissions from the production process are reduced to a minimum. Since this year, HAWE has been offsetting the currently unavoidable emissions through certified climate protection projects.
“Compared to conventional industrial buildings, our production halls have a very high glass content of 18 percent. Combined with LED lighting throughout, we achieve a very high level of energy efficiency in lighting,” explains Franz Pasta. The grounds around the plant are also managed sustainably: sheep cultivate to the green areas, while bees pollinate the surrounding areas. “The apprentices at the site are responsible for looking after the animals – which they really enjoy,” adds Pasta. Currently, 62 young people are completing their training in the dual system and are specifically qualified for later employment in production, for example as industrial or cutting machine operators, specialists in metal technology and warehouse logistics or as production technologists.
Plant Manager Franz Pasta also began his career at HAWE in 2004 as an apprentice industrial mechanic at the Sachsenkam plant: “The average length of service at HAWE is 13 years. As a family business, we place great value on direct contact with our employees and their further development.” As plant manager in Kaufbeuren, he wants to continue to promote these values. “At the same time, job security for our employees is very important to me. One of the ways we achieve this is through our innovative, sustainable and state-of-the-art production. And that is our answer to the pressure of global labor cost competition,” emphasizes Pasta.