Brose invests in Holzgerlingen/Weil in Schönbuch
At new Holzgerlingen plant (animated picture) Brose will produce door systems beginning in summer 2006, creating 140 new jobs.
The new plant will supply products to DaimlerChrysler. Brose currently has a production facility in Herrenburg where 60 employees are engaged in producing door systems for vehicles of the Mercedes Benz brand. New contracts from the Stuttgart automotive group however will necessitate even greater production capacities at Brose in the upcoming years. Since the current location is unable to accommodate this volume, a new plant will have to be set up.
There were a number of arguments which helped sway the location decision in favor of Holzgerlingen/Weil in Schönbuch. These included the fully-developed infrastructure, the close proximity to the customer’s plant and favorable traffic connections.
Quality and cost benefits for DaimlerChrysler
It is planned to set up a leading edge production facility covering an area of 9000 square meters in the Sol industrial park. With a maximum output of 9000 units a day, the plant will supply door systems on a “just-in-sequence” basis.
Modular door systems incorporate essential components such as the window regulators, latches, loudspeakers, electronic control-units and other components on a base plate. The door system separates the door into a wet and dry area. Sensitive power components are mounted on the dry side, enhancing operational reliability. Production and delivery of the door systems is carried out in line with customer’s own production schedule. Four hours after receipt of the delivery request from Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen, the door systems are ready for assembly at the customer’s own final assembly line.
Intelligent products help secure jobs
On the announcement of this construction plan, Thomas Spangler, Executive Vice-President Production at the Brose Group, said: “Despite cost pressures in the automotive industry, we feel committed to the location of Germany. With door systems we have managed to develop a product which is economical to manufacture in Germany. Intelligent products and intelligent production help to save jobs in Germany.
Wilfried Dölker, Mayor of the town of Holzgerlingen and Chairman of the jointly administered Sol industrial park, welcomed Brose’s commitment. “While many German automotive suppliers are relocating their production facilities to lower-cost countries, Brose is doing something for our region and the location of Germany.”
Milestone in business relations to DaimlerChrysler
Jan Francke, the manager of the new plant, referred to the future development of the location and the company’s business relationship with DaimlerChrysler: “According to current planning figures, the production site in the Sol industrial park will be the Brose Group’s largest JIS plant by the year 2010. The partnership between DaimlerChrysler and the Brose Group has existed for 75 years. Based on this fair collaboration over such a long time, we have established this new location and look forward to further long-term business relations.”
Brose supplies DaimlerChrysler from thirteen plants in Europe, North and South America as well as South Africa. Currently 40 vehicle models of the Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Smart and Maybach brands are equipped with window regulators, seat adjusters, door systems and closure systems.
At the beginning of the year, the automotive supplier was honored for its exceptional quality and supply reliability with the DaimlerChrysler Global Supplier Award.
The Brose Group
Brose is a partner of the international automotive industry, supplying products for more than 40 vehicle brands and leading seat producers. Some 8,600 employees working at almost 40 locations worldwide are engaged in developing and producing components and systems for automobile doors and seats. In the previous business year, the Brose Group’s turnover was just under 2 billion euros.
