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News Release from: Muller Weingarten
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 November 2006
German power press builder reorganises
Faced with the prospects of no immediately foreseen orders for large automotive power presses and lines, Muller Weingarten is reorganising itself to meet changing markets.
Muller Weingarten is reorganizing the company in order to face up to the current market challenges Chairman of the board of management Rolf Zimmermann explained the measures and objectives behind the 'MW Transformation' value-increasing programme at the EuroBLECH show
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 29 Dec 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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"On the one hand, Muller Weingarten has not reacted to some market changes in a consistent manner, as was necessary.
On the other hand, we have to realize that the previous processes and structures need to be further developed to enable more efficient management of our wide range of international projects," said Zimmermann, explaining the motivation behind the programme.
He elaborated that the previous matrix organization, for example, did not prove beneficial and had been replaced by a clearly defined line of responsibility.
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Zimmerman added that, following the appointment of a new management team, the previous divisional organization was being revised with the goals of adapting the structures to the latest market developments, bundling expertise and streamlining hierarchies, citing the repositioning of Muller Weingarten Werkzeuge as an example.
"The 'MW Transformation' value-increasing programme comprises four cornerstones, namely 'Operative Excellence', 'Growth', 'Portfolio Management' and 'Finance and Asset Structure'," explained Zimmermann.
The four cornerstones are then subdivided into a total of 18 clearly prioritized projects.
'Operative Excellence' means increasing productivity by 10% by improving the production processes and optimizing project management.
"By 'Growth', we mean profitable growth," clarified Zimmermann in no uncertain terms.
"We will achieve this through targeted development of our international market presence, for example in the service sector by purchasing and integrating BCN and constructing the production site in Dalian/China." He claimed that the purchase of BCN had decisively improved the company's position in North America.
Studies show that there are still 75,000 to 100,000 presses manufactured by Bliss, Clearing and Niagara on the market, thus offering an excellent basis for expanding the volume of business.
Zimmermann added that Muller Weingarten not only owned the drawing rights to BCN presses, but would also secure itself access to new customers and, therefore, strengthen its market position if the interest in replacement investment were to continue to rise.
He added that the positive effects of the deal could even be felt in Europe.
Since there were several thousand BCN presses in Italy, a new service company in Italy will tap the full potential.
However, it is the growth markets in Asia and Eastern Europe that are the focus of internationalization.
The MW Morkov site is to receive an additional service unit which is capable of maintaining and repairing the thousands of presses made by the Muller Weingarten brand manufacturer 'Umformtechnik Erfurt'.
Muller Weingarten India has just begun its work in India.
The real heavyweight in terms of Asian activities is, of course, the rapid construction of the production site in Dalian.
"Due to the excellent infrastructure, links and customer proximity, we can offer modules, spare parts and assembly capacity for almost all divisions here and supply customers in the Asian region quickly and at the right time," said Zimmermann, citing the key benefits.
Consistent portfolio management enables the development of those divisions which have a realistic chance of establishing a market-defining position - through purchase, new technologies and product expansion.
Zimmermann says that the improvement of the finance and asset structure is, of course, the most important objective.
"For the year 2010, we would like to post an operative profit in excess of EUR 20 million and also increase our cash funds substantially," he said, defining one of the main objectives.
"A company has to earn money in order to be able to invest in innovations and, consequently, in the future." The cornerstones and projects are important modules: "For transforming our vision into reality: to move from being an integrated special machine manufacturer with a high level of vertical integration, as now, to being a manufacturing engineering company with streamlined structures and market-specific solutions, which is profitable, international and a leader in its markets and industries," explained Zimmermann, pointing the way ahead for the company.
In order to compete effectively against southern European and Asian rivals, manufacturing and overhead costs as well as the real net output ratio have to be reduced, according to Zimmermann.
"In Germany we have to consistently focus on the know-how-intensive products and engineering and, in the case of low-tech components, think carefully about whether we should purchase these or produce them at sites outside Germany such as Dalian and Morkov," said Zimmermann.
The company wants to reduce its manufacturing costs by a total of 20%.
"For us it is not a question of superficial savings, it is much more a case of improving operative processes and added value so that we can be profitable and grow in the market," clarified Zimmermann.
Alongside developing international market presence, Zimmermann attaches importance to optimized products and processes.
"Without innovations in these areas, which offer the customer clear added value, we cannot be the masters of our own destiny," said Zimmermann.
He added that the company would work hard at this.
The focus of the technological initiative is the 'PressTuning made by Muller Weingarten' optimization concept.
PressTuning covers three fields: 'Motion Tuning', 'Control Tuning' and 'Virtual Tuning'.
Together with the tools for digital simulation and virtual press start-up ('Virtual Tuning'), customers receive intelligent optimization solutions in three areas - 'Drive', 'Automation' and 'Control' - which offer them greater reliability, enhanced performance and a faster means of adding value.
According to Zimmermann, the entire MW transformation programme - covering company reorganization, internationalization and the technological initiative - is a highly ambitious project, the objectives equally so.
"But I am confident of achieving these objectives together with the management team and all our employees," said an optimistic Zimmermann.
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