ANDRITZ annual report 2012 - ANDRITZ Vertical volute pumps

Acquisitions
15
automotive industry still accounts for a large
part of the entire Schuler business. But even
the business, which involves large press lines that take
months to install, is subject to cycles. For example,
Schuler is still busy working on the largest order the
company has ever received, which came in just before
Christmas 2011: The car manufacturer BMW ordered
a total of seven press lines using ServoDirect
technology for an amount “well into nine digits,” as
Schuler reported. The high-speed servo presses ordered
represent a technological leap in the mass production
of sheet metal parts. Operating at more than 20 strokes
per minute, these 85 meter long machines, which are
designed to form sheet steel into body parts, are among
the fastest in the world.
A factory tour in Göppingen. These presses were built
in the huge production halls situated right opposite
the company’s distinguished headquarters on Bahnhofstrasse
in Göppingen. The contrast could not be
greater: On one side, there is the splendid building
from the early 20 th century with historic and art nouveau
architectural features, and, on the other side, only a few
steps away past the company’s foundry, there is the
pounding and hammering of the presses being tested.
One of these giants weighing several tons is currently
being hauled up onto a low-loader that will transport it
An automation robot
conveys a car body part
from one press to the
next within a press line.