ARaymond Building EUR 50 Million Plant
FEATURES
A new “state-of-the-art” ARaymond Gmbh plant in Germany — the largest single investment in company history — is on schedule to be fully operational by early 2016, CEO Jürgen Trefzer announced.
The fastener supplier’s four metal production sites in the country are currently located near its headquarters at Lörrach, close to where the German, French and Swiss borders intersect. ARaymond GmbH will relocate these operations to the 43,000 sq meter facility under construction at Weil am Rhein, where plastic compenets are already being manufactured.
“Building work began in the summer of this year and everything is on schedule,” said Jürgen Trefzer, CEO of ARaymond GmbH.
“We will begin to relocate the 110 stamping and bending machines and 320 employees spread across our four existing sites in September 2015,” stated Trefzer. “This will be carried out step by step over weeks and months. We will ramp up to full production during the second quarter of the following year.”
After that, all processes involved in the manufacture of metal components, from the receipt of raw materials to product shipments, will take place at one location. Trefzer said the move would increase efficiency, improve capacity and reduce lead times.
“The new plant, by far the largest project undertaken in the 150-year history of ARaymond, will reinforce our position as one of the world leaders in fastening and assembly solutions for the global automotive market.”
ARaymond called the move ” a huge logistics effort” involving the moving 1,000 tons of presses.
The company said lean manufacturing processes will be integral to the plant, which has been designed using the expertise of the Hannover-based Institut für Fabrikanlagen und Logistik (Institute of Production Systems and Logistics). The layout of the 20,000 sq m manufacturing area will be divided into modular sections of equal size to optimize workflows and enhance flexibility.
“The modular arrangement will make it easy to replace and install new machines in the future, allowing us to react quickly to changing market requirements,” Trefzer explained. “Once the plans for the layout of the production area were complete, the whole building was designed around it, so it really is a case of form following function.”
Offices, break rooms and all other facilities will be on a first floor overlooking the production halls, which means people will be able to access any part of the building without entering the manufacturing area and potentially interrupting workflows.
The investment includes advanced technology to improve workplace ergonomics and save energy. Waste from stamping machines will be automatically sucked up by a vacuum system and transported by conveyor belt to a central recycling unit in order to reduce scrap collection.
Each machine will be lubricated automatically and encased in a sound enclosure that maintains noise levels below 85 dB. The individually-ventilated cabins will also recover the heat generated by equipment; this will be reused to heat the building.
ARaymond GmbH, which employs nearly 1,700 people, accounts for approximately 30% of the total annual sales of ARaymond.
“ARaymond is proving that you can successfully invest in a high-cost country like Germany if you have highly qualified and highly experienced employees,” Trefzer said. “Besides sophisticated technology and modern facilities, it is the skills and knowledge of our people that will ensure we remain competitive against rival manufacturers in low-cost countries.”
The ARaymond Network supplies fastening and assembly solutions for the automotive, truck, industrial, energy, agriculture industries.
Headquartered in Grenoble, France, the ARaymond Network is made up of 37 independent enterprises located in Europe, North and South America, Asia and North Africa. Together these companies operate 22 production sites and employ 5,400 people. Six percent of turnover is invested in research and development every year.
ARaymond Network has been a family-owned business since its founding in 1865. Current CEO Antoine Raymond is the great-great-grandson of founder Albert-Pierre Raymond. Web: araymond.com
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