NEWS

That’s what moves us

MOLL Automatisierung with the largest order in the company’s history to date20. May 2022In spite of the difficult market conditions of the last two years, MOLL Automatisierung GmbH keeps on growing. A large order from Swedish automotive manufacturer VOLVO is raising the order level to date to a very new level again. The managing directors of Moll Automatisierung, Stefan Bauer and Thomas Wittmann, are extremely happy about the manner in which the company was able to master the coronavirus crisis. In spite of delivery bottlenecks, relocation of workplaces to the home, and high sick rates due to quarantine measures, the specialist for chassis installations and automation solutions was able to keep its annual turnover stably at about 90 million euros. While many companies from the industry introduced short working hours or had to lay off employees, MOLL continued to work at full utilisation throughout the crisis period. At the moment, the company is once again intensely looking for specialists in the area of machining, assembly management, and trainees in all specialisations in order to be ready to face future challenges as well. Starting into a new dimension of large projects MOLL Automatisierung is one of the top-5 suppliers worldwide for chassis installations. It counts renowned automotive manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche, Daimler, and VOLVO among its customers. At a volume of 34 M euros, its current VOLVO order is not only the largest one MOLL has received in its corporate history so far – it also pushes the company into an entirely new size dimension. The medium-sized company headquartered in Lower Bavarian Leiblfing has consistently earned its way there. For a period of more than a decade, high quality and reliable deliveries served to build a mutually valuing, committed customer-supplier relationship with VOLVO. After many preliminary talks, the tendering and awarding procedure of six months finally established the confidence that MOLL had the experience and the technical prerequisites for mastering a project of this size.Core parts of the order include delivery of a production line comprising a thruster platform line with a length of 220 m. A total of 8,000 square metres of steel platform are installed and 177 thruster platforms are set into motion for this. The mammoth project started in April 2022, and the delivery went to VOLVO’s main plant in Göteborg/Sweden, where mainly the larger vehicle types, and in particular the XC90 flagship are being produced. The greatest challenge surely is in the project’s narrow timeline; additionally, there are continued sustained delivery issues on the global raw materials market. Nevertheless, MOLL Automatisierung started into this project with great enthusiasm – all the more since the highly professional processing is to serve as a recommendation for the company as a supplier for large projects of this calibre world-wide and to specifically acquire VOLVO as a customer for long-term cooperation in its plants in Europe and the USA. Expansion of the building and IT infrastructure In order to be able to provide the capacities required for orders of this size, the company increased its employee number by 15 to 255 in 2018, confirming its role as one of the most important employers in the Straubing-Bogen district. The machinery was also expanded in quality and quantity alike with further milling and turning machines quantitative and the in-house IT infrastructure was equipped with the latest soft- and hardware. Further investments were made in the building infrastructure. March 2022 saw the start of construction of an additional 70 parking spaces with charging stations for E-vehicles on the company premises. Not least due to the comprehensive investments, managing director Stefan Bauer considers the company perfectly equipped for the future. “We are excited to watch in particular the developments in the area of E-mobility. Investments of vehicle manufacturers have greatly increased here in spite of the currently uncertain economic situation. As a member of ROFA group, we are prepared very well for this. Our broad technology range enables us to develop solution that support the current change in the automotive industry in a customised manner.” Figure: Sample figure thruster platform lines...
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Performance Competition of German Crafts – MOLL graduates among the best results3. December 2021A great celebration honoured the 110 state winners in Augsburg: the young craftspeople had prevailed and made the first places in their training professions on Bavarian level in the performance competition of German Craft, qualifying for the Federal stage of the event. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder himself handed over their certificates at the festivity. “Commitment, willingness to work hard, and great training are paying off. Congratulations to the 100 best in Bavaria! We are proud of you! Bavaria is committed to its craft, which represents innovation and progress,” he praised them. “Master craftspeople are at the very top of our economy, just as professors are. High-tech always depends on craft, and this branch of the economy needs to be valued.” The president of the Bayerischer Handwerkstag (BHT), Franz Xaver Peteranderl, particularly emphasised the special task for the state winners: “Crafts are modern and innovative. We offer opportunities and careers. We are the likable economic power ‘from next door’. Carry this outwards and stay true to our branch of the economy.” Craftsmanship is assessed by a specialist jury based on work samples or the journeyman’s pieces in this four-level competition. The festive framework for the laureates, their trainers, and their families in the Kongress am Park was supported by the “Cash-n-go” acapella choir. Host Markus Othmer professionally led through the event with exuberant enthusiasm. Organisation manager Ulrich Wagner was visibly happy with being able to have the event at all. “It was a balancing act to design a high-quality event like this under the current coronavirus rules. We did our best to honour the young state winners’ results accordingly.” Caption: From the left: Stefan Großkopf (works council chairman), Christian Guba (department head of design), Stefan Bauer (managing director), Andreas Spitzer, Isabella Bachner (former trainees), Claudia Herrmann (HR), Thomas Wittmann (managing director), Florian Springe, and Michael Mohl (training manager, design) The management of MOLL Automatisierung was particularly impressed by the outstanding examination results of its trainees. Thomas Wittmann: “When you hear about results like the ones achieved by Andreas Spitzer and Isabella Bachner, you’re very proud, of course, and happy about the individual awards. The team in the background, the training managers, and the colleagues, also help make such top performance come about, however. We are very happy to have created an environment for our trainees where such awards can be acquired.” It is all the more pleasant to hear that both of them decided to stay with the company. Isabella will remain in the area of controlling and accounting, and Andreas in design. They are both already setting their eyes on the next challenges, planning to engage in extra-occupational further education in their respective fields! ...
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Lower Bavaria Creates a Future18. October 2021High Award: MOLL Automatisierung is a TOP Company in Lower Bavaria The Niederbayern-Forum e.V. association teams up with the districts and district-free cities to honour those companies that stand out by their extraordinary performance and special dedication with the “TOP company Lower Bavaria” award. The outstanding companies are firmly rooted in the region. They are down to earth and open-minded at the same time, ensuring future capacity of the Lower Bavarian economy. They have acquired an outstanding position as market leaders in their respective strong competition and are frequently international leaders. They represent value generation and economic dynamics in Lower Bavaria. They bear great responsibility for their staff and also are dedicated to their sites and the entire region beyond this, turning them into figureheads for Lower Bavaria. Every outstanding company is backed by people. This includes the leaders as well as all the staff members. With the award, the association Niederbayern-Forum e.V. also wishes to publicly express that the association specifically values and rewards the entrepreneurial performance and commitment. MOLL Automatisierung GmbH from Leiblfing qualified for awarding of the “Top company Lower Bavaria” award in 2021. As a result, the company received its award on 08 October, following systematic assessment. The company with its approx. 260 employees particularly stood out with its commitment to its home area, tradition, and enormous innovation power that it uses to carry the values of Lower Bavaria into the world in the independent selection procedure. The two managing directors Thomas Wittmann and Stefan Bauer would like to particularly thank their own employees: “Without our dedicated colleagues, such awards would not be possible. Therefore, we would like to thank the entire staff, who enable our success even in tough times like these.”...
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Welcome8. October 2021As a successful company network in the areas of conveyor facilities, automation, and intralogistics, we not only offer outstanding training in an innovative company, but also comprehensive opportunities for personal and technical further development. A great team, exciting tasks, and many opportunities for further education are waiting for you. Apply now! Herzlich Willkommen bei der MOLL Automatisierung Vier neue Azubis, zwei Azubis für Technische Produktdesigner und zwei Azubis für Feinwerkmechanik. Zwei weitere Azubis der RK-Tec GmbH absolvieren im Rahmen einer Kooperation die Grundausbildung bei uns im Hause. ...
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Successful Operational Vaccinations at MOLL Automatisierung GmbH in Leiblfing21. June 2021On 15 June, the first 54 employees at MOLL Automatisierung GmbH in Leiblfing were vaccinated with BioNTech. The vaccination offer was targeted at all internal employees, and some individual ones of their family members. The vaccinations were performed by company doctor Dr. Topal. Secondary vaccinations are, as usual, planned after a period of six weeks. Moll was able to make all colleagues willing to get vaccinated a vaccination offer, leading to outstandingly positive feedback among the staff and justified pride among the management. “Since the well-being and health of our colleagues takes the highest priority for us, we are very happy about this launch of our operational vaccinations, and that we have been able to make an offer to all employees in Mid-June already,” says Thomas Wittmann, managing director. Furthermore, all already-vaccinated employees were offered to have their vaccination documents digitised in the company in cooperation with the Dräxlmaier pharmacy from Straubing during their working times. Family members were able to have their vaccination passes digitised during the same time as well. Many colleagues gladly accepted that offer. The last three months already had a weekly quick-test offer for all employees in a dedicated test container. This preventive coronavirus protection measure was implemented in cooperation with the Dräxlmaier pharmacy that took care of performing the tests and informing the people to be tested. “Our gratitude goes to the entire team of the Dräxlmaier pharmacy here. They have been supporting us for weeks in our test campaign and with the current digitalisation of vaccination documents. Without their help, measures like this, at this kind of speed and with such quality, would have been impossible. Thank you for this,” says Stefan Bauer, managing director....
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10, 25, and 30 years with MOLL Automatisierung GmbH – 19 colleagues are celebrating their anniversaries18. February 2021The management is proud of its long-term and dedicated employees Picture from the left: Thomas Wittmann (managing director), Herbert Wurm (25th anniversary), Stefan Großkopf (works council chairman), Erwin Birkl (30th anniversary), Alois Bachner (production manager/authorised signatory), Hubert Klostermeier (30th anniversary), Stefan Bauer (managing director) In today’s highly dynamic and often very fast-moving world, it is a great challenge to permanently bind loyal and dedicated employees to the company. In this context, it is particularly important to us to offer ideal working conditions, to value our employees, and to create a working environment where people are comfortable and where every single person can use their personal strengths and unfold their potentials, says Stefan Bauer. The great share of long-term employees and low fluctuation rate shows us that we are on the right track, as Thomas Wittmann confirms. The entire staff at MOLL congratulates the jubilarians, giving heart-felt thanks to those who have gone through many years in good and difficult times alike with the company for their great commitment and outstanding work. The management would particularly like to thank Herbert Wurm (assembly), Hubert Klostermeier (building services), and Erwin Birkl (production), all of which are celebrating their 25th or 30th anniversaries with the company respectively. (see picture) Congratulations – we look forward to many new and exciting projects together with you! Jubilarians of MOLL Automatisierung: 10 YEARS Thomas WittmannDoris Buchwald-PacheAndreas NubertBernhard LohrAndreas JanottaGeorg HeilmeierTobias MendiMarco KuballFrank PfallerAndreas LangChristian FleischmannMichael BrunnerOksana BeratzDaniel FritscheHasan BayarLudwig Sagmeister 25 YEARS Herbert Wurm 30 YEARS Hubert Klostermeier Erwin Birkl...
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A great representative of Straubingen’s mechanical engineering industry is quietly saying “FAREWELL”!14. July 2020Josef Moll handed over management of MOLL Automatisierung to his successors on 1 July 2020. As the new mayor of Leiblfing, he is going to focus on the welfare of his home municipality in future. Picture: Josef Moll, former company owner and managing director of MOLL Automatisierung Back in 1985, the year in which a certain Boris Becker was the first German to win the tennis tournament of Wimbledon at the age of only 17, another young man from Lower Bavarian Leiblfing was about to soar high as well. Josef Moll preferred a torque wrench to a tennis racket, however. With his competence in the craft, entrepreneurial courage, and unshakable self-confidence, he combined characteristics that were about perfect for building a company of his own. When he graduated from the master’s school in Passau as Bavaria’s youngest master mechanical engineer at the age of 20, he took over management of MOLL Maschinenbau in the early 1980s. At the time, the company had only four employees. MOLL was still developing and building agricultural machines at the time. It barely made ends meet. Young Josef Moll found that condition intolerable in the long run. In his first year as managing director, he therefore set all gears in motion in order to be listed as a supplier of conveyor facilities the operation previously only knew from catalogues. Looking back, that decision clearly was the most important one in his entire career, laying the basis for a new, successful, and much larger company. After the successful start as a supplier for the automotive industry and the growing entrepreneurial requirements due to this, Josef Moll brought in Franz Bayer as an experienced and competent business partner. The double management started driving the company’s development with outstanding success. Since MOLL quickly grew to exceed the dimensions of the old Eschlbach workshop by far, a production site with an operating area of about 36,000 sqm was built in the new industrial quarter of Leiblfing to keep up with the big players in the automotive supplier industry in terms of capacity as well. When moving into the new corporate site with 28 employees at the time, Moll had recognised that he would need to focus most strongly on services in the area of engineering in future in order to remain competitive in the long run. Based on this insight, he established an independent design department with Manfred Rüth, head of design at the time and later to become his co-manager. Now, the company was able to offer everything from design, to production and assembly, to commissioning from a single source as a general contractor. This was a quantum leap from an entrepreneurial perspective. The hard battle for the OEMs’ favour lasted many years. Eventually, Moll and Bayer acquired their first large order beyond the 10-million-DM threshold in 1996. It quickly became clear that MOLL would prevail in this trial by fire. With such a reference under its belt, the company was able to gradually establish itself as a key player of the automotive industry. It subsequently acquired globally operating OEMs such as Audi, Volkswagen, and Daimler as new customers. Larger order volumes also required more space, of course. Moll outgrew the production capacities of its new building in Leiblfing once again after just a few years. Subsequently, he had the company’s headquarters extended by building two halls (with a useful area of about 3,500 sqm) and expanded the design office (by approx. 250 sqm). After a decade and a half of constant growth, the founder suffered his first entrepreneurial setback in 2001, when a fire started by a technical defect burned the newly constructed second production hall almost down to its foundations. Thanks to the alertness and quick reaction of an employee, the remaining operating premises could be saved from the flames. After rebuilding and the subsequent expansion of the factory by production halls three and four (each with a useful area of about 2,000 sqm), the expansion course could continue unhindered, however, also on a global level. The first large order for the US market was the delivery of conveyor facilities for the BMW factory in Spartanburg/South Carolina in 2003. In the subsequent years, the MOLL staff grew to a headcount of 140, distributed among several sites, e.g. in Leiblfing, Sindelfingen, or Braunschweig. After MOLL Maschinenbau was sold to the Austrian group EK-Finn, Josef Moll watched from afar as “his” company fell into insolvency, not least as a consequence of the global economic crisis in 2009. As the manager of the newly founded engineering office MAT in Perkam, Moll maintained a close enough contact with the directors of ROFA Group at the time that they could eventually be convinced to purchase and integrate newly founded MOLL Automatisierung into their group of companies. The board of ROFA Group, under chairman Wolfgang Kozsar, had one condition for the purchase of MOLL, however: Josef Moll had to return as managing director. Together with Manfred Rüth, Moll faced new challenges in that function in order to bring his own former company back to an economically sound footing. Backed by the group parent ROFA and with great personal commitment, he contacted his old companions to help him return MOLL Automatisierung to calmer waters. His first three years as the new “old” managing director were so successful that another factory hall (with a useful area of approx. 2,500 sqm) had to be built to meet the rising demand to the production capacities. The Moll/Rüth duo eventually returned to the track of success for good in 2014. Since their return, they had been able to increase the company turnover by a magical fifty percent! After optimising structures and processes in the company, driving development of the IT infrastructure on the highest level, and ordering construction of another assembly hall, Josef Moll decided to pass his responsibility on into younger hands. After two years of managing the company together, he finally handed over the management to his successors Stefan Bauer and Thomas Wittmann on 1 July 2020. Josef Moll retiring? – Impossible! What is likely going to be his last big project is all about his home region: the Leiblfing municipality. Freshly elected as mayor there, he has a clear idea of his future creative and productive contributions, similar to the manner in which he built his company. He wants to make this vision come true in the years ahead. The chances for this are quite good. After all, he is known as someone who has always been true to his word! As managing director of MOLL Automatisierung, Josef Moll will be remembered as someone who… still knew all employees in person and always considered their private lives in everyday work gave every employee the feeling that they were an important part of his company spoke his mind and convinced others on technical and interpersonal levels always strove to maintain a balance between private life and work always considered social commitment essential places importance on values and traditions, in particular those of Bavaria was, all in all, a down-to-earth managing director throughout the time that he was responsible for the company, with great passion, empathy, and enthusiasm that is rare in these days! The entire staff at MOLL Automatisierung, including managing directors Stefan Bauer, Thomas Wittmann, and the board of directors of ROFA group, thank Josef Moll for his many wonderful years of cooperation, and for more than 250 secure jobs in the Straubing-Bogen district. Thank you, “Sepp”, and all the best for your future!...
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Progress through know-how13. February 2020Electric mobility, car sharing, autonomous driving: The automotive industry is currently undergoing a profound transformation. As a supplier of conveyor systems and special machinery, MOLL Automatisierung GmbH has recently been able to play a major role in the reconstruction of automobile plants. And the Leiblfing-based company also sees itself well prepared for the coming years. Image: Managing directors of MOLL Automatisierung GmbH (from left to right: Stefan Bauer, Josef Moll, Thomas Wittmann) The change has long been reflected in forecasts: by 2030, it is predicted, that every third new vehicle registered in Europe will be electrically powered, and in China it is even expected to be almost every second. Alternative mobility concepts such as car sharing are said to make up ten to 15 percent of total car sales by then. Technical advances in the field of autonomous driving will significantly change the design and functional equipment of vehicles over the next 15 to 20 years. For many automotive suppliers, this means drastic changes in their business models, combined with the risk of losing their place in the race between technologies and their various suppliers. MOLL Automatisierung, the Leiblfing-based supplier of conveyor systems and special machines, a member of the ROFA Group, has been able to adapt to this technological change in time. “We are currently in the privileged position of being involved in the reconstruction of automotive plants of all well-known OEMs. In 2019, this has brought us a total turnover of well over 100 million euros”, sums up Managing Director Josef Moll. In view of the increasing competition from China or Eastern Europe, we must keep an eye on the market, but there are still areas where the quality work of German engineers is in demand. In 2019, this has brought us a total turnover of well over 100 million euros”, sums up Managing Director Josef Moll. In view of the increasing competition from China or Eastern Europe, it is true that we must keep an eye on the market, but there are still areas where the quality work of German engineers is in demand. In particular, Moll sees problems in the area of simple conveyor technology: “It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with foreign competitors in terms of price. This means that our product portfolio must be adapted to the new situation. We need to invest more in special mechanical engineering and automation technology, because here in particular, engineering know-how and product quality still count more than the price itself”. Marriage stations – the assembly of body and chassis – is one of the driving forces of MOLL Automatisierung. In this business sector, projects in Germany, South Africa and Mexico generated a sales of over 30 million euros in 2019. “We delivered our first marriage in 2003 for BMW in Dingolfing. Since then, we have developed into one of the top 5 suppliers worldwide. Our goal is to expand our position in the coming years and become more or less independent of developments in drive technologies. Because one thing is certain: even an electric car consists of a body and a chassis” jokes Moll. Accordingly, the company is aggressively facing the current economic downturn in the automotive industry. Moll: “Many suppliers are currently struggling with order bottlenecks or short-time work. On the other hand, after the final expansion of our production facilities, we can concentrate on expanding our engineering and building up the necessary know-how in this way. We hope that this will give us a decisive advantage in the upcoming years”....
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Donation for Ski Class “Lachende Kinder”13. February 2020Picture (from left): Thomas Hillenbrand, Works Council Chairwoman Monika Sturm and Stefanie Prinz Text/photo: Helmut Pilzweger The ski club Leiblfing was handed a check from the company MOLL Automatisierung, which had waived Christmas presents and instead donated the money. Stefanie Prinz and Thomas Hillenbrand from the ski club were handed a donation of 1,000 euros. The money will be used exclusively for the program “Lachende Kinder”, a ski class with and for disabled children in cooperation with the schools Papst Benedikt and Sankt Wolfgang in Straubing. The class shows the willingness to break new ground and bring joy and fun in skiing to everyone. The many young ski instructors and volunteers look after the children at the classes in Langfurth and at the Geißkopf. The positive motto of the ski club is “We are all equal, equally strong and weak – only in different ways.”...
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DKMS – Donation campaign13. February 2020We beat leukaemia Just in time for the pre-Christmas period, MOLL Automatisierung arranged a voluntary stem cell donation campaign on the company premises in Leiblfing. True to the motto “Donate – something different”, 30 courageous colleagues decided to register with the German Bone Marrow Donors’ Database. A great charity campaign, which hopefully will find many more followers!...
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Great Interest in MOLL Automatisierung GmbH13. February 20202,300 visitors attended the open house day – A new assembly hall inaugurated On Saturday, 14 September 2019, MOLL celebrated its open house day at the Leiblfing site from 10 am to 4 pm. More than 2,300 visitors used the opportunity to have a look behind the scenes of the mechanical engineering company. On Thursday and Friday before that, about 300 invited guests each came to experience a seniors’ afternoon and the successful inauguration festivities for the new 2,500 square metres large assembly hall Am Gewerbepark 2 in Leiblfing. A blessing from priest Leo Heinrich and festive speeches by guests of honour from the economy and politics gave the guests an informative day at late-summer temperatures. Many of the 250 employees took the opportunity to proudly present their workplace to their families and friends on Saturday. A round tour marked by barriers and equipped with signs made it easy for visitors to get to know all areas of the company. Most guests started out inspecting the new assembly hall, where many different machine presentations and stands from the vocational school in Straubing and MOLL company respectively were available to them. In particular the two information stands offered an opportunity to many teens and parents to talk to trainees, the people in charge and teachers from the “mechanics” area about the professions of precision mechanic (m/w/d), office management merchant (m/w/d) and technical product designer (m/w/d). MOLL products as used by the customer In the other halls, employees provided information about the respective machines and departments throughout the event. The “chassis installation” designed for VW Argentine was another magnet for the audience. Various examples and explanations by the employees gave them an idea of how MOLL products are used by the customers and what benefits they bring. An image film was shown in the office building and the design work was presented with various 3D animations, layouts and technical drawings. Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs The panel discussion about medium-sized enterprises with Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger was a clear highlight. Together with Josef Moll (managing director), Ludwig Waas (mayor of the Niederwinkling municipality) and Wolfgang Maier (former business promoter of the government of Lower Bavaria), all participants engaged in a refreshing and charming bout of verbal sparring on current political and commercial subjects related to the region. Food, a candy booth, volleyball and electrical vehicles Catering service Ismair from Thürnthenning provided food and drinks for the guests in its usual professional manner. The Frauenbund and Landfrauen Leiblfing supported it, standing out with their coffee and homemade cakes. Good entertainment was guaranteed as well. The offered volleyball court with its prominent visits from the pros of the NAWARO Straubing, proved to be wildly popular. A presentation of electrical vehicles by the Autohaus Vögl and Autohaus AVP drew many visitors as well, who engaged in a thorough exchange on the future of automotive manufacture. Gabys Leckereien handed out sweets to the very youngest of guests, who could let off steam in the bouncy castle. Proper folk music in the background was provided by the Kapelle Kaiserschmarrn. Acknowledgement We would like to thank the Frauenbund and the Landfrauen Leiblfing, the FFW Ober- und Niedersunzing, the HVO Schwimmbach, the players of NAWARO Straubing and the priest of the Leiblfing municipality, Mr Leo Heinrich, for attending and for their enormous volunteer contributions to this event’s success. See more impressions about this event....
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