Plant expansion: Wirtgen GmbH strengthens production of special machinery

Wirtgen GmbH’s new final assembly plant at the company location in Windhagen was put into service in 2006. The entire range of 46 different machine models in the six Wirtgen product divisions are assembled here on a roofed area of 22,000 square metres. The plant is the largest and most modern production facility worldwide specialized in the series production of cold milling machines.

The increasing demand for the special machinery produced by the construction equipment manufacturer was decisive in 2007 for a plant expansion that would constitute the next milestone: A separate final assembly plant for the highly customized special machinery is therefore currently in the process of being built to the north of the existing company premises of Wirtgen GmbH, enabling the special machinery to be assembled entirely separate from the series machines.

Strategic decision: strengthening competitiveness

Wirtgen GmbH’s decision to build the new plant will increase production capacities for the company’s successful special machinery divisions: Surface miners, cold recyclers and slipform pavers will in future be assembled in the northern part of the company’s 320,000 square metre premises. In addition, the new plant expansion is a clear sign of trust into the highly qualified staff of the family enterprise, and into the further development of the German location in order to remain competitive on an international scale.

The investment also reflects the market success of the special machines. In the selective and economical mining of useful minerals, surface miners are continuously gaining ground on conventional mining equipment, as is impressively demonstrated not merely by a major contract placed by an Australian client. Environmentally friendly technologies like the resource-saving cold recycling process, which reuses 100% of the existing material, are accepted on an ever broader scale in view of continuously rising prices for energy and raw materials.

Special logistics for more efficient assembly

Production-related specialization in series production on the one hand, and in contract-specific, highly customized special machine production on the other hand offers numerous advantages: The new assembly capacity on an area of approximately 11,000 square metres is intended to guarantee faster and more efficient assembly of the complex, large machines.

As a prerequisite, the plant needs to be equipped in accordance with the requirements of the special machines: Built to a height of 9.5 m, it has been specially tailored to the dimensions of the large machines from the surface miner division, enabling even the largest surface miner model, the 8.2 m tall 4200 SM, to be entirely assembled inside the new plant. Crane capacities have also been specially dimensioned to cope with the heavy machine components weighing up to 80 t.

Logistics has been adapted to the machines as well: Commissioning of the individual components will be optimized by means of an own, particularly flexible storage area in the new building, which is a crucial logistical advantage considering the huge number of options and special components that special machinery requires.

Increased flexibility for fluctuating order levels

Wirtgen customers will benefit from the investment as well: In order to be able to respond to market developments more quickly, the plant will have a multifunctional design. The assembly stations in the plant’s bays can be flexibly adapted to suit the desired machine model. If many orders have been received for cold recyclers, for example, they are converted in a few swift moves: Assembly stations intended for slipform pavers or surface miners are simply converted to assemble cold recyclers – or vice versa. A technical limitation was consciously avoided in order to be able to respond to customer requirements more quickly.

Right on schedule: start of production in January 2009

The final countdown is on for completion of the new building. Technical installation and interior construction have begun in August and are right on schedule. Just over three months to go: Production in the new plant will begin in January 2009. Detailed plans for the move have been drawn up to ensure a smooth transition period with no loss of production times. The Christmas party of the family business and its entire staff of over 1,200 will take place in the new building already.