Netherlands: high-tech fastening for high-speed track ... - Hilti

Magazine Fall/Winter 2005
Company
Page 27
Plant 88
doubles the luck
Robust
and stylish
Robust and ergonomically
pleasing tools for use by
tradesmen and on construction
sites can also look good. The
Hilti TE 16-M rotary hammer is
a prime example. This tool received
the iF design award in
the “industry” category from
the Industrie Forum Design, in
Hanover, Germany which has
singled out outstanding designs
since 1954. The iF design award
is one of the most prestigious
international design awards and
is given annually to products
that have been judged to have a
particularly innovative design
and quality.
The Design Zentrum Nordrhein
Westfalen, also of Germany,
also bestowed their red dot design
award on the Hilti TE 16-
M rotary hammer. The Hilti
WSJ 850-EB/ET jigsaw, the
Hilti WSR 1400-PE reciprocating
saw and the Hilti TE 706-
AVR breaker also won this
award that is highly esteemed in
technically-minded circles.
The outstanding design also
generates enthusiasm among
our customers. The tools not
only function with efficiency
and highly-developed ergonomics,
they also make an
impression wherever customers
take them.
It sprung up from fields of green grass in a mere 14 weeks: the assembly plant in Shanghai.
The building also houses Hilti’s Asian Development and Supply Center.
As the number “8” stands for luck in China,
Hilti decided to designate its new plant in Shanghai
as Plant 88, bestowing on it a double dose
of luck. Plant 88 deploys the usual Hilti quality to
assemble the Hilti TE 2-A cordless hammer drill
for the worldwide market as well as other tools.
The good luck began during
construction of the new Hilti
assembly plant in the southwest of
the Chinese port city as the rough
construction work, on what had
been green, grassy fields, was completed
in the record time of 14
weeks. Once interior finishing and
the installation of the assembly
lines finished, actual production began
on an incremental basis.
Plant 88 builds bridges across continents.
The guide tube for the hammering
mechanism of the batterypowered
hammer drill is produced
at the Hilti plant in Austria while the
rotor and housing for the gears are
from Hilti plants in Germany. The
international flavor that the hammer
drill possesses is also a bit of luck
for customers. The Hilti TE 2-A
generates a great deal of enthusiasm
among electricians and maintenance
and interior finishing tradesmen.
The building that houses Plant 88
also contains Hilti’s Asian Development
and Supply Center (ADSC).
“This allows us to bring the significant
aspect of manufacturing costs
into the development process,” says
Alex Gapp, manager of the ADSC.
Hilti has had a manufacturing presence
in China since 1995 when it
opened Plant 8, which was also expanded
over the past year. Plant 8,
now having 22,000 square meters
of building space (236,806 sq ft),
practically doubled in size and produces
anchors, nails and drill bits
for Hilti’s worldwide customers.
For more information on the tools
mentioned, see www.hilti.com