AICHELIN Service coordinated and implemented the relocation of two AICHELIN chamber furnace lines for its customer Winning BLW GmbH, one of Europe’s leading companies in precision massive forming. These were relocated from various locations to Winning’s new factory in Penzberg, Bavaria. One of the two systems has been in operation successfully since July 2023, and the second is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of 2023.
The automotive supplier Winning BLW has been an AICHELIN customer since 2020. As a service competence partner, AICHELIN Service has already supported system maintenance and repairs at the Munich plant. The high level of satisfaction with AICHELIN Service and their proven competence and reliability was the decisive factor in commissioning this relatively complex project.
Support with plant relocation
Winning BLW will relocate its entire factory from its current location in Munich to Penzberg in 2023. The move is taking place within a tight time frame and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. AICHELIN systems heat-treat components for the drive trains of cars, trucks and agricultural vehicles. Delivery capability should remain high even during the move. The aim of the project with AICHELIN Service was to dismantle an existing chamber furnace line from Munich within a tight time frame, move it and then put it back into operation in Penzberg. Before that, another new AICHELIN system in Penzberg had to be built and put into operation for the first time.
Coordination of several project partners
As the overall project coordinator, AICHELIN Service coordinates the dismantling, relocation, reconstruction and commissioning of the systems. The complexity of this project is significantly higher than comparable projects:
One of the two chamber furnace lines is a new system that was not previously in operation and was built at the new location as part of the factory move. This system was temporarily stored in parts and in several locations. The facility was relocated to Penzberg in the first quarter of 2023. The construction was carried out by AICHELIN and the system was successfully put into operation in July.
The second heat treatment plant has also already been relocated to Penzberg. The dismantling at Winning BLW’s Munich factory was carried out by specialists from AICHELIN Service and staff provided by the customer. Thanks to a successful team effort, the dismantling was completed ahead of schedule. Since fewer resources were required than originally calculated, Winning BLW benefited from time and cost savings in the five-digit euro range. The plant is scheduled to be restarted by the beginning of November 2023.
In the new factory in Penzberg, Winning BLW now has these two systems operated by the Hanomag Lohnharterei Group. The company is one of the leading hardening shops in Europe and is present at several locations in Germany as well as in Poland and Austria. Around 13 employees have been working at Hanomag’s new facility in Penzberg since May 1, 2023.
AICHELIN service as general contractor
Throughout the entire project period, AICHELIN Service is the central contact for all project partners and, as a communication interface, is responsible for the complete planning, coordination and monitoring. This also included drawing up the technical plans for the dismantling and reconstruction of the systems. AICHELIN Service also coordinated all the project partners and people involved from various companies involved in order to optimally coordinate the individual trades and carry out the plant relocation efficiently.
Thomas Peinkofer, responsible managing director of the European service organization of the AICHELIN Group, confirms: “Central project coordination is essential for relocations of heat treatment plants of this size and complexity. This means we offer our customers real added value. With this project we are once again proving our competence as a reliable and experienced general contractor.”
