The company of the future

Walter Formenbau was founded in 1960 and currently has 40 employees. The company is among the leading manufacturers of molds for aluminum hubs and castings for the automotive sector. Various milling and turning machines are operating in the 3,000 m2 production building, including 3- and 5-axis machining centers from Röders, Hermle and DMG Mori. Walter was family-owned for 56 years before Buchert acquired the company in November 2016.

With a doctorate in mechanical engineering, he previously worked in various companies, including automotive manufacturers, software companies, prototype manufacturers and consulting. He has always been interested in manufacturing optimization and Industry 4.0.

So how did he come to buy a die manufacturer? "I want to shape my own future, not just implement other people's decisions. And in Walter Formenbau I saw the opportunity to implement concepts that I had already been thinking about for a long time." The appeal of Walter Formenbau:

• It was a healthy handcraft operation with a good product and customer base.
• The manufacture of gravity die-casting molds entails the construction of very similarly designed parts – an ideal starting point for standardization.
• The dimensions of the modern office building and the production building are designed to enable planning far into the future.

Even before Buchert stepped into the company, he contacted an old acquaintance: Jens Luedtke from Tebis AG In addition to having been colleagues for years at Tebis, the two share a common vision of the ie manufacturing company of the future. As head of Tebis Consulting, Lüdtke has 20 years of experience in the industry. In addition to commercial and production expertise, he has a high degree of process expertise in die, mold and model manufacturing. Buchert discussed with him whether his vision could be implemented at Walter Formenbau. And it quickly became clear: Yes, Lüdtke also saw the great potential. And another yes: If Buchert acquired the company, Lüdtke would provide advice and support. Why did Buchert decide on Tebis Consulting? "I have gotten to know many large consultants during my career," says Buchert. "These people are perfect in business administration. They know right away what happens to the hourly rate if we double our spindle run time. But they can't tell me how to double spindle run time. And that's exactly where Tebis can score with its industry expertise."

After the analysis and definition of the first milestones, the new owner set to work with a will: Walls were torn down in the manufacturing building, machines had to make way for new ones, all documents and furniture were disposed of – changes that are not always easy for the employees. "I communicated with the employees a lot right from the start," stresses Buchert.
"We hold all-hands meetings roughly every six weeks. I also go through the plant every morning and greet everyone. This gives everyone the chance to speak their piece. However, we also have an external business psychologist who holds meetings with employees."

Buchert also introduced improved working conditions: This includes changes such as company cars or electric-powered company bikes, improved work materials and more flexible work schedules. New lighting or lifting tools were also implemented in production to improve convenience for employees. "We gained new employees and lost others," says the owner. "Despite this, we have always tried to involve the employees. We had at least five barbecues last summer. We do this to celebrate the acquisition of new machines, a running process – or just to show that we are making progress."

And what about planning and control? Jens Lüdtke explains the use of "simple tools" for this: "Many people confronted by planning problems make a big mistake. They buy a planning system and think that they have solved the problem. But that's not how it works. The planning philosophy must first be integrated in the company. If planning doesn't work with the simplest tools, it's not going to work with software either." This means: The starting point is always a table in Excel. First the employees have to be brought on board and the philosophy established in their minds – step by step.

Walter Formenbau is just now at this point in the process. There are tracking cards for every part passing through manufacturing. And hanging next to every machine there is a whiteboard with a handwritten list of the current orders. Machine data acquisition is starting to be introduced in parallel with this. This is a small piece of the puzzle in the overall ProLeiS manufacturing management system that is being installed piece by piece and serves as the basis for networking the machines. An augmented reality pilot project was performed for optical quality control: The image of a real part is displayed on a tablet – superimposed with the CAD data. The user can thus perform a target/actual comparison, for example, on the part while it is clamped in the machine.

Finally, we'll take a look ahead: What does the future look like for Walter Formenbau? The team of Buchert and Lüdtke shares a clear common vision here: Motivated employees (they are not superfluous!) stand in a brightly lit manufacturing building with a white floor – and are very proud to be working in the die manufacturing company of the future. A die manufacturing company in which everything is clean and well-organized and where the work is automated and standardized. The software systems are networked together and ensure transparency in planning and manufacturing. It is also always possible to quickly intervene in the process and respond flexibly to short-term requirements. "I think that the most important parts are functioning processes and motivated employees," adds Buchert. "Everything else can be bought for money."

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