Tyre technology Herbert Maschinenbau

TYRE TECHNOLOGY

Herbert Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of tyre equipment and machinery, and develops tyre technology solutions in close partnership with tyre manufacturers the world over.

Herbert Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a family owned business headed by managing director Matthias Walter who, during the interview, was accompanied by his wife Sabine Walter. As we shall see, this structure brings benefits for both customers and employees.

Matthias Walter begins: “An obvious advantage of being a family business is the hassle-free decision making process – short communication lines between us and the customers make it possible to shorten the complete production cycle. An advantage for our employees is that they know the management and us, the owners, on a personal level, which creates a bond that turns into enthusiasm at the workplace. We have our own football team, brass band, and we give our employees private health insurance.”

Herbert was founded in 1905 by Leonhard Herbert in Frankfurt am Main and began by manufacturing tyre moulds. Later on it transitioned to the manufacture of machines for the vulcanisation of tyres and tubes. Herbert expanded its product portfolio with the production of tyre confectioning machines.

Matthias Walter: “Today, an important part of our business model is based on development partnerships with tyre manufacturers: they have their own machines, but nobody likes to keep working isolated in their own backyard – they come to us to see what the world of tyre manufacturing has to offer. Since we work for most of the world’s tyre manufacturers – Herbert is a meeting place for ideas, new concepts and production methods.” Turnover

The company employs 450 people worldwide, of which some 300 work at the company headquarters in Hünfeld, in central Germany, between Frankfurt and Kassel. Thanks to the efforts of all its treasured employees, the company has been able to maintain a stable turnover growth of between 5–8 per cent annually.

Matthias Walter: “When I bought the company back from National Standard in 1991, we knew that the advantages of a family owned business could boost our relationships with customers; shorter decision cycles – less time spent on making calls back and forth – means getting down to business quicker. Our turnover for 2015 is €60 million, of which 20 per cent was generated in Europe, and 80 per cent in the rest of the world.”

Tyre moulds

Of the €60 million turnover, the tyre moulds department took responsibility for €30 million in sales. Herbert is one of the very few in the tyre industry that has moulds with a 6.5 metre diameter – especially developed for earthmover tyres.

Matthias Walter: “Normally we invest between three and four million euros in new equipment per year. Last year it was eight million, in part for tyre moulds with a 6.5 metre diameter – which is quite rare in the tyre industry. As a matter of fact, customers from other industry sectors such as mining, wind energy and shipping industry

NAVIS AG

NAVIS® Schiffahrts- und Speditions-Aktiengesellschaft is a group of companies active in all areas of national and international freight forwarding services. Established in Hamburg in 1956, NAVIS is now present with its own branch offices in Bremen, Hanover, Freiberg (German State of Saxony), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium) and Barcelona (Spain). NAVIS AG is family-owned company. Our independence has been maintained for the benefit of our customers. The group of companies is therefore not only family-owned, but is also family-managed day-to-day and also throughout its long-term business development. The NAVIS group’s 2015 turnover of around EUR 100 million was produced by its staff of more than 180 employees. NAVIS AG, Hamburg, possesses the certified Quality Management Systems ISO 9001 and VDA 6.2. Furthermore, NAVIS obtained the status of “Authorized Economic Operator” (AEO-F) from the Customs Authorities. At NAVIS, our philosophy is to provide our customers with an individual, all-round and highly personal service. Our comprehensive service means that our customers feel secure and are kept in the picture.

have shown interest in our know-how and production capabilities. Of the €30 million sales generated by our tyre moulds department, between eight and 10 million euros are generated by sales of tyre moulds for the truck and earthmover sector.”

Herbert’s global investments

Tyre manufacturers the world over work with Herbert, which is reflected in its employees working outside of Germany: the company employs 60 people in the USA, 20 in Russia, and their Czech partner company employs another 300 more.

Matthias Walter: “Everybody has heard the good news about Iran being welcomed again as a trading partner, and for us as well this is good news. We started doing business with Iran 20 years ago, and got hurt by the sanctions imposed some 13 to 15 years ago. Getting back to business means we can make up for the decline in business we have felt on the Russian market, mainly caused by a weak ruble. The opposite is true for the dollar, which compared to the euro makes imports for Americans attractive. We have invested between three and four million dollars in new equipment in Akron, Ohio, the tyre city of America, to locally serve the major American tyre manufacturers.”

Strategic partner quality award

Since 2011, a major tyre manufacturer has presented a range of supplier awards to outstanding providers of goods and services. The ceremony was held in September 2015 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and out of 30,000 suppliers, of which 400 are recognised as being ‘strategic partners’, only three suppliers received a quality award in recognition of their exceptional contribution to the group’s high standards. Herbert was one of the three suppliers, and came first in the ‘manufacturing purchases’ category.

Matthias Walter concludes: “Of course we are very proud of having won this quality award. All of the major tyre manufacturers in the world trust us and like to work with us. We are in India, in the USA, in Finland, of course, in Indonesia and in Pakistan. They will all be glad to hear that we have just finished developing a new laser guided moulding process, and that in the course of 2016 we will be introducing a water guided laser cutting process.” n