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By Gerhard Schattat
Remscheid. "We can only be successful and
safeguard the site on a long-term basis with a high level of expertise
and extensive automation," explains Plant Director Peter Gehre.
This graduate business engineer is responsible for commercial issues
at the automotive supplier N.I.E.R. Stanz- und Umformtechnik GmbH
& Co. KG located on the Tannenstraße in the Reinshagen Industrial
Park in Remscheid. Together with Technical Director Michael Kissing,
he manages the Remscheid production site which has a turnover of
more than 38 million euro and around 200 employees. The site focuses
on stamping technology, with 90% of its production capacity being
taken up with the manufacture of locking systems for car doors.
According to Gehre, the company has certainly found
capable staff. And, despite intense pricing pressure, production
in the Bergisches Land region also has a future - despite strong
pressure within the car industry to relocate to Eastern Europe.
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VOLLMANN GROUP
SITES.
N.I.E.R. is part of the Vollmann Group, which has a total
of six sites, including the head office in Gevelsberg. There
are also production plants in Remscheid, Seebach (Thuringia),
Hohenlockstedt (Schleswig-Holstein), Welzow (Brandenburg)
and Scheibenberg (Saxony).
FACTS AND FIGURES.
The entire group has around 640 employees and a turnover of
approx. 90 million euro.
SECTORS.
The group is involved in the development and production of
high-quality components and assemblies for the automotive
supply industry and the lighting industry. The basic technologies
used are metal forming and plastic injection moulding.
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The company originally operated under the name of Taga in Wuppertal, but was then relocated in 2003 to Remscheid by its owners the Nier Group for reasons of space.
Eventually the Nier Group and its sites became insolvent. In November 2006, the Nier Group was taken over by the Vollmann Group in Gevelsberg.
With the acquisition of the Nier sites (for legal reasons, now written as N.I.E.R), the medium-sized Vollmann Group, which is closely involved in the manufacture of plastic components, was able to significantly extend its potential in the fields of stamping and forming technology. The group is now in a position to produce entire assemblies for car locking systems on behalf of well-known manufacturers such as Kiekert and Brose.
Lock cases emerge from the 630-ton press
"We stamp to a high standard here," says Peter Gehre. This has been
made possible by skilled workers and industrial foremen who have
been able to be reemployed, for instance, when industrial plants
in Remscheid, such as Edscha, reduced or even discontinued their
production. "The people we reemployed here following the takeover
by the Vollmann Group have all done really well," reports Peter
Gehre. The metal components produced here are manufactured, if possible,
in one throughput to keep labour costs low. The coil, the steel
band, is delivered by lorry, then enters the production process
and emerges as a finished lock case from the 630 ton press - on
left for the left door and on the right for the right door.
Tool shop safeguards quality
The smooth operation of the plant is not least
down to the Remscheid tool shop, which services and replaces the
actual stamping segments. The quality of its work is particularly
important for safeguarding the competitive advantage of the German
site.
Savings are constantly having to be made in the
car industry and there is a need to reduce costs wherever possible,
even if raw materials are becoming more expensive. Here the region
has another advantage: its proximity to the manufacturers of high
quality steel in the Ruhr district such as ThyssenKrupp. Gehre explains
that in Eastern Europe, for instance, steel is cheaper, but the
quality is not adequate to meet the requirements of the customers.
If these components were to be stamped in Eastern Europe, then the
high quality steel would still have to be supplied from the Ruhr.
A notable cost factor, as of course only one part of the steel band
is used for stamping. The rest is waste, which is only used at a
later stage.
Orders extending into 2009
With the help of modern computer systems, N.I.E.R. in Remscheid
is able to pursue a "just in time" production strategy and to keep
all costs as low as possible. The company has secured orders right
up until 2009 and new ones should be gained through corresponding
cost management. According to Gehre, further automation will secure
jobs.
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Overview 
