Page 25 - TEXtalks International May/June 2022

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And we also quickly focused on such growth and future
issues as automation and digitalization. Vision has
Cover Story Vision is also a requirement of globalization. Was it Cover Story
always been part of it.

not its early global orientation that made Barmag a
market leader?
Stausberg: We would undoubtedly not be a market
leader without global expansion. By the way, Barmag
was supplying equipment to countries such as the
Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, the US, Austria and
Japan even before World War Two. We then actively
After being founded in Wuppertal-Barmen in 1922, Barmag relocated to set our sights on other foreign markets. And it is
Remscheid-Lennep, its current site, in 1926. Here, the eventful history figures that demonstrate the result of this: the foreign
of the nascent company was continued on a green field share of sales rose from 7 to 311 million
deutschmarks between 1955 and 1975. Barmag
Oerlikon Barmag can proudly look back on 100 years always wanted to go where the music was playing.
of history – in a sector that has experienced the ups A look at the state-of-the-art assembly of a WINGS winder
and downs of a turbulent century. What is the secret When we entered the US market in 1965, the country
to this company and its fiercely-fought success, was the world’s largest producer of synthetic fibers while other regions were still recovering. Overall, this
which has made it a leading manufacturer of with one-third of all global output. We have actively has contributed to our economic stability. Furthermore,
manmade fiber spinning systems and texturing accompanied the increasing shift of the textile we are able to better support our customers through
machines? In an interview, CEO Georg Stausberg – our local employees and service centers as well as our
who has had the privilege of shaping 33 of these markets to Asia from the very beginning, traveling to recruit, and retain, qualified people over the years? workshop model, in which all trade apprentices
100 years in various positions – goes in search of China for the first time as far back as 1959, long-standing network of suppliers. Stausberg: An innovative, successful company is, of undergo fundamental training to start with, has
the answers. establishing a company representation in Hong Kong
in 1973 and setting up a first joint venture in China in How important is service for machine course, very appealing to employees. But that is not proved itself – from 1922 through to the present day.
Mr Stausberg, Barmag was a pioneering machine 1984. Today, we are present outside Germany with manufacturers? the only factor. Employees have always felt a close Of course, learning has changed dramatically over
bond with Barmag and have supported the company
the past century. Industrie 4.0 and digitalization are
Stausberg: The pandemic has clearly underlined the
manufacturer during the time the manmade fiber 1,200 employees, ten sales and service sites and huge importance of service. We initiated our hybrid even through difficult times. Why? Because social transforming apprenticeships, with further training
industry was born. In the early-1930s, the rayon spinning machine – in front of which the seven production and R&D centers in the primary
proud team is standing – was state-of-the-art markets of China, India, Turkey and the US. customer service as a way of solving problems – responsibility has always been, and remains, a and career development for talented recruits further
What were the reasons for the company’s success full scope of experience and knowledge potential. In with video streaming to Germany, temporary determining principle of our corporate policy. And important topics.
during the first decades? the name of progress, we also occasionally question Is globalization no longer a problem with regards to recruitment of additional staff locally, online there are many examples of this. Barmag established
Stausberg: Success came, on the one hand, with the established processes and change conventional the pandemic? consultation and training, remote analysis and a housing association in 1927, providing Digitalization has been mentioned in several of your
statements. How much is it shaping the future of
rapid rise of artificial silk and synthetic textile fibers, procedures and ways of thinking. This was Stausberg: Globalization is less of a problem, it optimization. To this end, we have been able to company-owned homes to employees at low rents. Oerlikon Barmag?
with the manmade fiber industry swiftly expanding at demonstrated in the development of the at the time actually helped us during the pandemic. Because maintain almost all services and once again prove World War Two saw the initiation of the Barmag Stausberg: Digitalization is a major trend. There is no
the beginning of the 20th Century. On the other hand, revolutionary WINGS technology, among other things. countries such as China initially overcame the crisis that we will not let our customers down! And we pension fund – a pioneering voluntary company area of the company it does not impact. We were one
Barmag set a clever course following World War Two. more quickly, becoming economic driving forces, have a name for this: Partnering for Performance. pension. Also acquiring legendary status were our of the first systems builders worldwide to implement a
The advance of purely synthetic fibers such as nylon Our aim is to make the customer’s production and Family Nurses, an institution that was the contact fully-networked smart factory for a yarn manufacturer.
and perlon demanded more research and business ever more efficient, competitive, profitable point for a wide range of employees’ social concerns, All processes within the production chain are
development along with other machine technologies. and sustainable. It all kicked off in 1969 when as were the Christmas parcels full of goodies that digitalized. Artificial intelligence is being used in initial
Barmag launched its innovative grate spinning Barmag established its own service department with brought joy to employees for many decades. Both in products. Our company and its organization have
machines back in 1948, entering the texturing market six technicians recruited from the development the past and today, Barmag has always set social been oriented on digital transformation and the
in 1954 and introducing extrusion technology in 1958. division. Today, we have more than 18 service standards – ranging from the company health
stations and offices and in excess of 60 insurance fund, our HSE (Health, Safety, requisite agility for the past few years. Basically, we
The desire to develop new products continues to representations in all important textile centers across Environment) program all the way through to work-life have been working towards this since the 1960s –
make Barmag strong to this very day. Where did this the globe, with more than 400 experienced service balance measures. initially with our own electrics and electronics
strength of innovation come from? engineers and employees and 24/7 hotline support. department, then with our entry into process control
Stausberg: Innovation and technology leadership The Service business is one of the key cornerstones What role does in-house training play in recruiting engineering and later with the development of our
have always been Barmag’s guiding stars. There is a of the corporate strategy for achieving customer staff? Plant Operation Center (POC), one of the first
strong entrepreneurial spirit behind this, even during loyalty throughout the entire lifecycle of the sold Stausberg: From the very beginning, the skilled manufacturing execution systems (MES) for the
the early years. This resulted in the consistently close workers and their talents have formed the backbone manmade fiber industry. Today, around 80 percent
cooperation with customers, market-oriented machines – and hence for boosting new sales as well. of our company. Even today, the in-house our spare parts business is conducted online using
innovations, interdisciplinary, team-oriented Service, along with all the progress made by your apprenticeships and supporting skilled workers are our myOerlikon.com customer portal. These highlight
development work and the creative utilization of the cornerstones of the Oerlikon Group. Currently, the importance of digital applications, as well as
company, cannot be provided without competent Increasingly digital production of a WINGS winder Oerlikon Barmag is offering apprenticeships in 14 remote support, video conferencing and webinars.
employees. How has Barmag consistently been able to different professions in Remscheid. Here, our training We have developed our own IT infrastructure solution

May/June 2022 May/June 2022

for the textile industry. The data from all work, materials and freight space. This reduces transport
production and service processes flow together on distances, resources and helps the environment.
our ‘Common Service Platform’. But we are not alone
here: the entire textile world is on a digital journey. Sustainability and climate protection are major
One-off items of apparel can already be configured trends as well. When did Oerlikon Barmag start
and ordered online and delivered in the shortest time. focusing on these?
Stausberg: We have had comprehensive
Digital concepts have undoubtedly become part of environmental management at our main plant in
your own manufacturing environment? Remscheid since the 1980s. Environmental
Stausberg: Our Oerlikon Barmag production sites in protection is one of our company’s declared strategic
Remscheid and Bernkastel-Kues, Germany, and targets. And ecology also helps us save. We operate,
Suzhou and Wuxi, China, are also in the process of for example, two high-performance cogeneration
transforming themselves into smart factories – with plants for supplying in-house energy. Furthermore,
digitalized information flow for predictive production direct benefits are generated by our intensive HSE
planning and steering, with automated continuous (Health, Safety, Environment) activities. To this end,
flow production and with CNC technology. But we were able to halve the number of annual
digitalization is not an end in itself, it is more about accidents over the ten years leading up to 2021.
greater efficiency. Our production is therefore based Although, compared to other sectors, the textile
on lean management principles, ensuring optimized industry is not particularly energy-intensive,
throughput and manufacturing times and low customers have been trying to optimize their
inventory costs. Virtually all parts are delivered to the operations for many years now with the aim of cutting
conveyor belt ‘just in time’. Our competence and one energy costs. This is why we introduced our own
of the most decisive success factors now lie in the e-save label for particularly energy-saving technology
optimum manufacturing of special core components as far back as 2004. And recycling is also an
and precision parts such as pumps and chucks – important topic: our Oerlikon Polymer Processing
consciously also as a way of protecting our Solutions division is the only manufacturer offering
know-how. In the past, we had a high manufacturing the entire mechanical PET recycling chain – from
depth with the associated huge demand for space, processing the recycled materials and the melt
material flow and highly-challenging intralogistics. through to the textured package. There is, of course,
Today, we purchase parts, modules and electronic a benchmark here: sustainability is one of the
components that others can manufacture better or permanent mission statements of our parent
less expensively.
corporation. Here, the guiding principles are the 17
But logistics have also become more demanding in UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We at
other areas, haven’t they? Oerlikon are endeavoring to make all our sites
Stausberg: Absolutely! Our logistics specialists are carbon-neutral by 2030 and to acquire our energy
fighting on many fronts in the age of free trade and exclusively from renewable sources.
punitive tariffs, increasing delivery speeds and
pandemic-related slowdown. Challenges include You yourself have helped shape 33 of the 100 years
seamless documentation, transparent supply chains of Barmag. Why are you optimistic that Oerlikon
Barmag will have a further 100 years of success?
and cross-border inventory planning. For this reason, Stausberg: When reading our anniversary volume,
we are optimizing many aspects of our logistics: our you will discover that the stories and comments of
Global Logistic Execution System networks all various contemporary witnesses have many things in
production sites worldwide, including warehouses, common. Their statements and our history converge
internal and external suppliers, and allows to form the very core of our corporate culture. This
transparent, real-time tracking of goods transports, constant is showcased by the will and the ability to
including consignment and automated dispatch of always adapt to social and economic change and to
delivery documents. Another software solution is
predicting spare parts orders 18 months in advance, change ourselves. It is tangible in many decades of
making inventories at sites across the world visible consistent innovativeness, striving towards
and accessible. Because delivery advantages have technological leadership, in-house social
become increasingly important – also with regards to commitment, stable jobs and long-standing
environmental friendliness and preserving resources. relationships with our customers. This is something
For this reason, Barmag is committed to purchasing, that all former and active employees can be proud of.
manufacturing and delivering as closely to the And that makes me extremely confident when looking
customer as possible and minimizing packaging at the future.