Long-term partners HERZING+SCHROTH

LONG-TERM PARTNERS

Leading family-owned metal forming company HERZING+SCHROTH GmbH u. Co. KG (H+S) has been actively supplying the global automotive market for more than 70 years. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to the managing director, Steffen Schroth, to find out how the company is ensuring it continues to flourish.

Disc carriers, clutch housings for dual clutch transmissions (DCT) CEO Steffen Schroth (left) CFO Knut Zimmer (right) Trimming of height, punching of oil holes and snap ring groove at disc carriers

Detail view on a disc carrier for a wet dual clutch transmission (DCT) with oil holes and two snap ring grooves

Welding operation of splined part to hub

Founded in 1933 in Obertshausen near Frankfurt, family-owned metal forming company H+S has steadily grown to its present size, with more than 550 employees and two state-of-the-art plants which are dedicated to the automotive industry, and one non-automotive production all of which are located in Germany.

The H+S Group is made up of three companies, with HERZING+SCHROTH GmbH u. Co. KG (H+S) sitting alongside HELiCA Fordertecnik GmbH, a non-automotive production facility which is focused on the machine build industry and makes production parts for material handling machines, and a third company, SCHROTH Antriebselemente GmbH (SAE), which is located in the former East German county Thuringia and which is automotive like H+S.

All of the shared main functions for the Group are located in Obertshausen, with the development, technical department, sales and management all based here. A further sales office is located in Detroit.

Family dynamic

Managing director Steffen Schroth told Industry Europe how the family-owned status of the company has continued to offer a solid foundation for three generations. He said, “We have been able to utilise the long-standing reputation for excellence as, for more than 70 years, H+S has been synonymous with delivering high-quality metal forming for vehicle power trains. I am particularly proud of the fact that the company has continued to stay at the forefront of the automotive industry while retaining the family values that set us apart from the competition. It’s a strong mix of old and new and family and commercial, and a mix that will see us continue to achieve our goals for the next years.”

The core product portfolio offered by H+S is centred on sheet metal forming, with its well-equipped production sites using transfer presses, progressive die presses, cold forming and flow forming, punching and trimming to manufacture high-quality metal components for vehicle power trains. The core technology is then usually combined with secondary processes, such as heat treating or laser welding, in order to offer a finished product to customers.

Mr Schroth continued, “We have a very high level of component quality which, coupled with excellent technological capabilities, means that we offer an unrivalled complete service to our customers. Our European customers are all in the automotive industry and are primarily OEMs and module or systems suppliers, and primarily first-tier suppliers. It is imperative that we maintain a consistently high quality of metalformed components as our clients rely on us to maintain their own high standards, often across a number of international sites.”

One important element in maintaining this quality promise is H+S’s commitment to ongoing investment, with the company adding new equipment every year. The latest addition includes brand new, top-ofthe-range metal forming technologies and machining lines, with the next major investment set to be a big transfer press which will considerably increase capacity.

Better by design

The ongoing investment programme at H+S is certainly geared towards meeting the automotive industry’s changing trends, with the company keen to ensure that it is consistently the first choice supplier for its customers. Mr Schroth said, “The automotive industry has seen many changes in the past few years and this looks set to continue, so our long-established under-

HAFNER

One key success factor for Herzing & Schroth is the high level of quality of their components. To ensure this high level of quality Herzing & Schroth and HAFNER Fertigungsmesstechnik established a strong partnership that exist for more than 30 years.

HAFNER is a specialist for customized production measuring technology, particularly for dimensional measurement. Their measuring devices are located directly on the shop floor. Due to the sturdy construction HAFNER machines achieve high functional capability and measuring accuracy.

This makes a significant contribution to the high quality level of Herzing & Schroth and on the other hand allows Herzing & Schroth to accuracy assess their production processes and achieve high levels of productivity.

View into a transfer press operation – in die splining of a disc carrier

standing of the changing demands of our customers keeps us in our market-leading position. At the moment, we are seeing the trend for increased automation continuing, which certainly suits our specific skill for metal forming for vehicle power trains, so we are suitably increasing our applications for areas including auto transmission, torque vectoring and hybrid vehicles.”

A mega trend which H+S is in the process of investigating is the continued development of manufacturing in China. As the company sees a rapid increase in demand from across Asia it is looking to create a suitable manufacturing hub in the region where its present global customers can request a supply base and local production facilities in order to respond to very specific demands.

With future development expected to come from both organic expansion or strategic ventures, H+S’s position as a reliable long-term partner for its global automotive customers is on course to continue in a strong manner. As a company that is driven by technical advancements and that offers high tech products, its unique position is that very few companies can offer the same quality and range of products, so H+S is proudly prepared to maintain its strong position as a leading metal forming company. Mr Schroth concluded, “We are in a perfect position to exploit the development in further automation of power trains and hybrid vehicles as well and the increase in demand from Asia. Our unrivalled product portfolio is over and above what our competitors offer in terms of quality and technical competence, so we are looking forward to the next chapter in our story.” n

Cooperate Plant HERZING+SCHROTH (H+S) in Obertshausen, close to Frankfurt/Main