On the 1st of April of this year our entire assembly and small batch production operations were transferred to two new 4,000 m² production rooms at Röthenbach a. d. Pegnitz. This new facility ensures that we can produce products for our customers on an even more market-based and flexible basis because the assembly work carried out there is structured in line with the latest lean management principles. The plans also accommodate more space for future capacity increases and more production lines.

Lean management means slimmer production processes in which manual intervention and long distances are minimised. It is “One-Piece-Flow” all the way to the point the assembled gearhead is packed. For ZEITLAUF^® antriebstechnik this means reducing throughput times, significantly reducing stocks and ceasing assembly production. This changeover means that incoming orders can be processed faster and more economically.

Optimising the production stages
To obtain slimmer procedures in the new production rooms in Röthenbach, assembly work has been split up into individual production-related “cells”. Assembly is carried out on a customer order-related basis, with one cell available for each type of gearhead (planetary, angle and spur gearheads), in which all stages of the work, such as preliminary and final assembly, quality inspection and packaging are all integrated. In this way, the product can be worked and processed entirely in a single cell. An intelligent materials provision concept makes sure that the materials required are available direct on the production cell / production line as and when required and that they can be immediately processed. A so-called “supermarket” ensures that the material keeps on coming. This is where all parts needed for production are stored and where they can be uncomplicatedly and quickly requested and brought to the production line. Stock replenishment is controlled through the supermarket.
A well thought-through kanban system, finely tuned to the production and material requirements, makes sure the production of parts runs smoothly. So only the items used up are then manufactured. Capital intensive buffer stocks are minimised and a maximum degree of transparency is assured. This is a complex, sophisticated system that simplifies the processes, designing them along efficient lines. Regular training for our workforce makes a crucial contribution towards putting the lean principles to best possible use and thus to constantly further improving the efficiency process.

More transparency, reducing throughput times and lastingly increasing employee motivation – since introducing the lean management principles ZEITLAUF^® antriebstechnik has profited from the associated advantages. In this way we are able to react the quicker to changes in the market and to trends as well as focus our corporate activities on customer needs in a more targeted way.