The Success Factor of Using Direct Screw Fasteners at Mahle

FORCHTENBERG-ERNSBACH, Germany, April 3 -- "Heavy pressure creates diamonds" - in no other industry sector is this statement as symbolic as it is in the automotive industry. Very few other industries face the tough requirements that Germany's flagship industry faces each and every day. It is true to say that one in seven jobs in Germany depends either directly or indirectly on motorcars and their manufacture. Faced with international competition the industry is placed between two opposite extremes, each apparently conflicting with the other. These two extremes are the need to reduce costs and to increase quality.

This is the main challenge that Mahle has had to face for over 80 years. Mahle is a leading supplier of car components, employing 38,000 people at 70 locations throughout the world. The company has its headquarters in Stuttgart and specialises in developing and manufacturing engine components, with products ranging from single filters to complete system solutions.

One of Mahle's suppliers is Arnold Umformtechnik GmbH, based in south-west Germany. The company, which belongs to the Würth group, has taken a leading position in Europe as manufacturer and supplier of specialist screws - supplying Mahle and many other manufacturers. Unlike most of its competitors, Arnold has identified a tremendous cost-saving potential in fastening technology.

This is confirmed by Otto Mehrer, Production Manager at Mahler's Öhringen plant, where Arnold products have been used on its production line for some ten years. In particular self-tapping screws, such as the Taptite 2000 products from Arnold, have led the production specialists at Mahle to realise that the cost elements lie not so much in the cost of the part itself and the material it is made of - in actual fact the cost of the screw itself represents a mere 15 percent of the overall cost of a screw fastening. However its potential to increase efficiency throughout the process is the factor that reduces the overall cost. Cost analyses carried out by Mahle clearly show that a self-tapping screw, which is only just about a third more expensive than a conventional screw, ultimately reduces manufacturing costs by up to 80 per cent. "In principle, by using self-tapping fasteners, we can make a sustained reduction in the overall cost of preparing the screw location," said Otto Mehrer, confirming Arnold's own findings, which arrived at similar conclusions, and which show why there is a distinct move towards direct screw fastenings.

    
    ARNOLD UMFORMTECHNIK GmbH & Co. KG
    Michael Pult
    Head of Marketing & Communications
    Master of Science (MSc) / Diplom-Betriebswirt (FH)
    Sindringer Str.25
    D-74670 Forchtenberg-Ernsbach
    Tel.:+49-(0)7947/821-170
    Fax:+49-(0)7947/821-195
    Mobil:+49(0)160/98908602
    mail:michael.pult@arnold-umformtechnik.de
    web:www.arnold-umformtechnik.de

ARNOLD UMFORMTECHNIK GmbH & Co. KG, Michael Pult, Head of Marketing & Communications, Master of Science (MSc) / Diplom-Betriebswirt (FH), Sindringer Str.25, D-74670 Forchtenberg-Ernsbach, Tel.:+49-(0)7947/821-170, Fax:+49-(0)7947/821-195, Mobil:+49(0)160/98908602, mail:michael.pult@arnold-umformtechnik.de