thyssenkrupp opens new production shop for steering components at its Schönebeck site in Saxony-Anhalt

thyssenkrupp opens new production shop for steering components at its Schönebeck site in Saxony-Anhalt

• Strategic expansion of steering production in Schönebeck continues
• Plant expansion creates 65 new jobs
• Modernization and digitization of production infrastructure generates competitive advantages

ESSEN, 27-Oct-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Today (2017-10-25) thyssenkrupp opened a new production shop for steering components at its Schönebeck site in Saxony-Anhalt. The event was attended by guests from government and industry, including Thomas Wünsch, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Science and Digitization of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Klaus Rehda, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Energy of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. From next year thyssenkrupp will produce ball screws for electric power steering systems in the roughly 3,000 square meter shop. The extension to the plant supports the strategic expansion of the steering business in Schönebeck.

Production at the Schönebeck site has grown steadily in recent years. The new shop complete with equipment represents the start of the planned step-by-step expansion of the Schönebeck production facility in the coming years. The project has received funding of around 1.5 million euros from the state of Saxony-Anhalt towards the total investment of around ten million euros. In Schönebeck thyssenkrupp produces steering components that are pre-assembled into modules before being integrated into steering systems at other company plants in Germany and France.

Thomas Wünsch: “With investments totaling millions thyssenkrupp is steering the plant in Schönebeck towards a strong future. The construction of the new shop and other planned extensions are a clear commitment to the location and the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Our funding is a good investment – for the region, for the employees and for new jobs.”

“As a major automotive supplier in Saxony-Anhalt we face stiff international competition. So efficiency enhancement, greater productivity and ongoing process optimization are of key importance for us. To ensure we remain competitive in this market environment we have continuously invested in the expansion and modernization of our equipment and in our digital infrastructure in recent years,” says Sascha Singer, Managing Director of the thyssenkrupp steering plant in Schönebeck.

The Schönebeck facility and two other steering plants in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Florange in France form a production network. In this network virtually all process steps are recorded digitally and processed in real time. Each workpiece has its own data matrix code which forms the interface to the data network. Every process step the workpiece passes through is saved in the component’s virtual memory. The database this creates provides information on individual production steps, complete production processes and product properties. This enables production planning to be adjusted digitally at any time and ensures that every product has a detailed and specific production history.

“The data transparency is not only useful for tracing components, most importantly it also simplifies workflows in the plant. Making production data available to our employees at all times enables us to coordinate process adjustments and solve problems much more quickly than in the past. Data transparency in real time eliminates knowledge monopolies in the plant, involves lots of colleagues in finding a solution and makes us quicker and more efficient,” says Singer.

thyssenkrupp is one of the biggest employers in Saxony-Anhalt and currently employs around 1,900 people there. The plant expansion is creating 65 new jobs at the Schönebeck site. In total the company employs around 4,100 people at more than 20 locations in the eastern German federal states. “We want to live up to our role as an important employer in the region and invest continuously in employee training. Particularly against the background of the increasing digitization of our business, this is a central success factor,” says Singer.

In its worldwide steering business thyssenkrupp employees around 8,000 people at 16 production and development locations in eleven countries on four continents. Every year the company produces and develops steering products for more than 20 million vehicles. The product spectrum ranges from the manufacture of forged components, steering shafts and steering columns to complete mechanical, hydraulic and electric steering systems. The company is currently expanding its electric steering business following numerous major orders and developing forward-looking steering technologies for autonomous vehicles.

thyssenkrupp in the automotive industry

thyssenkrupp is one of the world’s leading suppliers of materials and components to the auto industry. Nine out of ten premium class cars are fitted with components made by the company. One in three trucks feature drive components from thyssenkrupp. In the 2015/2016 fiscal year thyssenkrupp’s sales in the automotive sector came to around 9.8 billion euros. Customers include practically all the big auto manufacturers.

SOURCE: thyssenkrupp AG

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