A passion for precision Philipp HAFNER

A PASSION FOR PRECISION

Decades of experience in the design and manufacture of high-precision measuring devices have made HAFNER a partner of choice for the automotive industry. Julia Snow spoke to Christian Ibach, head of sales at the company, to find out more.

Philipp HAFNER GmbH & Co KG was founded in 1928 and is today led by the third and fourth generation of the family, with a turnover of €15 million. “It all started with the mechanical production of manually operated gauges,” says Mr Ibach, “and in the 1970s our products changed over to electronic measurement devices, from small table-top units to measurement machines.”

Much emphasis is placed on craftsmanship, and with short decision paths and close proximity to the production, the company prides itself on its ability to react quickly and flexibly. The region around Stuttgart has a well-known industrial heritage, and the quality principle is deeply rooted – an ideal breeding ground for special measuring technology.

Today the company employs 80 full-time staff, as well as training a number of apprentices and offering opportunities to students and graduates.

HAFNER offers solutions and services that support customers in measuring tasks for CV joints, transmission parts, axle and steering parts, motor parts, wheels/alloy rims and aluminium parts. Furthermore, the company offers Flex-mandrel, a flexible measuring technology for boreholes as well as highly precise standardised gauge parts and setting masters. The solutions include manual measuring equipment through to fully automated measuring machines, and the integration of various sensors and components for highly complex measuring and testing tasks. Technologies include tactile, pneumatic and optical measuring equipment, as well as for example crack detection, weighing, labelling and sorting equipment.

The goal is to increase the benefit for the client. “Right at the beginning, we discuss a customer’s requirements and bring our longterm experience to bear. We offer ‘measuring consultancy’ which will create added value for the customer, because it will improve the whole production process.” As an independent company HAFNER is not tied to the products or partners of a group, but can use the best possible components to create the optimum solution for each customer. The range of services comprises consulting and planning support for new investments through to staff training.

Automotive sector expertise

Automobile manufacturers like Daimler, BMW and VW and their suppliers purchase HAFNER measuring equipment. “Our expertise in special machines and measuring devices for the shop floor is just a perfect match for the requirements of the automotive industry.” explains Mr Ibach: “Our machines enable a high number of workpieces to be measured in a production process with a short cycle time. In the automotive sector 100 per cent measurement and

extremely low tolerances are called for, as well as devices that can feed back to the production / tooling machines, or be integrated into assembly processes.”

HAFNER measuring solutions match the speed and high accuracy of modern production cycles, explains Mr Ibach: “A customer may produce a shaft with different diameters, where tolerances are less than 10 microns, and every single one needs to be tested. For bearings the tolerance is sometimes within a single micron – and each piece needs to be graded so that the mounting process will work perfectly later. Unlike other measuring technologies, our machines measure the set characteristics within the cycle times, so that no time is lost through the testing.”

Extending the reach

HAFNER machines are installed in Europe, North and Central America, and Asia, and export shares are currently increasing “We have some representatives in bigger markets like China, but we also generate international sales through international tooling suppliers or from existing customers who are confident with HAFNER products and have trust in their high quality.

“In the future we want to expand our international business, particularly in the fields of homokinetic joints or electronic power steering. We have an extremely extensive knowledge in this field and our very good measuring machines have proven their reliability not just with customers in Germany but also with customers for example in Italy, Mexico, China, Korea and the USA.”

Current trends call for ever more accurate measurements, says Mr Ibach: “Car makers are downsizing on materials all the time. If for example parts such as shafts are thinner than before, a higher degree of accuracy is needed. Also, the use of turbochargers is on the rise, to enable smaller engine sizes with the same performance. Turbochargers have RPMs of up to 300,000, and in order to achieve the necessary precision our measuring tools have an important part to play.”

Sheetmetal supplier

A partner of Philip Hafner

As a sheetmetal supplier we manufacture safety guards for the machine tool industry as well as enclosures and electronic cabinets to various customer requirements. Our powerful equipment and highly qualified personnel guarantees the highest quality in sheetmetal applications.

Rudolf-Diesel Straße 25, D-71394 Kernen Phone: +49 7151 9 49 88-0 Fax: +49 7151 9 49 88-50 E-mail: info@mutschler-feinblech.de

www.mutschler-feinblech.de

Outlook

“Currently we’re working over capacity, which is very good news. We have already employed more staff and we are also about to convert some temporary structures which we are using at the moment into more permanent buildings,” says Mr Ibach. “We’ve grown organically so far, and because we are bank independent we can afford to grow at our own pace. We are happy to expand our existing business activities on the back of the positive market trends in our sector.

“In order to recruit the best staff we are constantly investing in creating excellent working conditions. For example, our construction department had a complete overhaul to improve the working environment, and we constantly strive to offer highly attractive jobs for people who want to work with technological challenges, and who want to make a difference as part of a great team.” n