Individual projects » Automotive Europe

SUCCESSFUL PREMIERE

Final assembly for British premium manufacturers

Individual projects » Automotive Europe

For the manufacturer from Great Britain it was their first presence on the European mainland, for the ROFA AG, an attractive new customer: In Nitra, Slovakia, a completely new plant had to be built. The ROFA AG applied for the Assembly Shop and won. Strong ace up the sleeve: the many years of expertise in Eastern Europe.

It took almost a year from the first chemistry meeting to the award. “The proximity of our branches in Poland and Hungary; the fact that we have already equipped plants for other well-known manufacturers – and the attractive offer itself: That was a convincing overall package that allowed us to prevail over the competition,” summarizes ROFA AG board member Rainer Lange.

SYNERGIES ACROSS THE GROUP

Although ROFA AG brought the project into the group and also remained the interface to the customer, as so often is the case, several of the group's partners pooled their expertise to successfully implement all trades. The electric monorail conveyors and the battery charge came from ROFA AG, the skid handling and pusher systems placed by MOLL, the final line slat conveyors by ROFA-LEHMER. The control technology comes from an external partner, with whom they had applied together for the job. In the construction, the headquarters in Kolbermoor worked together with colleagues from the Hungarian and Polish branches.

PERFECT TEAMWORK UP TO THE SOP

Verbal communication is central for a smooth flow of multinational projects. Here, the ROFA acted as a bridge builder between the British on the one hand and the local teams on the other. The Slovakian team (site manager and start-up engineer) appointed by ROFA was able to communicate best with the assembly teams, who were mostly Eastern European, while English was the main language for the customer. In peak assembly times, up to 150 people worked on site to get the SOP to 4. quarterly 2018 on schedule. By means of virtual commissioning, possible complications were eliminated in advance, thus ensuring a smooth start-up. The result: Green light for the output of 150,000 units, with the option of many more in the future.

AWARD-WINNING COLLABORATION

As part of a customer-internal ranking, the ROFA was able to catapult itself from zero to the top of the supplier companies. "This is of course nice praise for the work done and shows that we are we are starting from a good position in a possible follow-up project", rejoiced board member Rainer Lange too.

SHOW CASE

Customer: Premium manufacturer from Great Britain
Project: New plant construction in Nitra, Slovakia
Production area: Final Assembly (Assembly Shop)
Contract volume: 35 million euros

Involved companies:

  • ROFA AG: EMS – heavy duty & doors, battery charging
  • MOLL Automatisierung GmbH: skid handling and pusher conveyors
  • ROFA-LEHMER GmbH: slat conveyors


Project duration from start: 12 months

PRODUCTS & PERFORMANCE

Heavy duty EMS KB240:
Length: 1.400 m
Vehicles: 115 pieces
Others: 1 lowerable rail, marriage system

EMS KB180 for doors:
Length: 1.450 m
Vehicles: 225 pieces
Others: 1 lowerable rail, 5 lifting units

Skillet system:
Length: 4 lines each 130 m
Skillets (with lifting table): 85 pieces
Others: 50 lifting tables

VCATS:
Length: 110 m (each)

Skid Handling System:
Length: 240 m
Quantity: 55 pieces (in 5 systems)
Ohers: 2 lifting units, 2 lifting tables , 2 turn tables, 2 converters

Slat conveyor:
Length: 180 m