Site Boosted by Automated Production

The fifth and final high-tech milling machine arrived at the production site of Weber Maschinenbau GmbH in Groß Nemerow in December. This completed the company's investment in an automated production system, which cost a total of 2.5 million euros. Weber is using the automation project to try and secure jobs at the site and to increase production in a sustainable manner. The ongoing lack of specialists makes it more difficult to gain well-trained employees in the region and hold onto them in the long term. At the Weber Maschinenbau GmbH production site in Groß Nemerow 55 employees manufacture blades for the slicers used in the food-processing industry for cutting and infeeding lunch meat and cheese.

"The high number of orders and our annual market growth are reasons for us to look positively into the future," explained company owner Günther Weber. "However, in order to remain a market leader with our products we need to continually improve our production processes. Success on the international market is not only determined by technology, but also by cost leadership," stressed Weber.

Plans to further extend the automation system

Weber wants to extend its automated production even further in the near future. For example, as of February 2014 a robot is going to be used to individually control the machines and continually equip them with parts without the need for a member of staff to assist in the procedure. "This enables production to continue without people – even during the unpopular night and weekend shifts," explained Markus Frick, Head of Blade Technology at the Groß Nemerow site.

As part of the order comprising the five-axis milling machines for Weber, Deckel MAHO, a mechanical engineering company located in the Southern German Allgäu region, was able to deliver the 1,000th machine of this type.