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EIKEMEIER GROUP East and West Mr Eikemeier had good experience of East German culture and the way in which the operators worked in the box plant; he was not duly concerned about integrating the mentalities of the two factories. “The people at the Lucka plant had a very good attitude towards work, and to be honest, the fact that we were looking to ‘save’ the business meant that all the operators were keen to get behind the management to ensure they kept their jobs. The maintenance engineers were really very good indeed, because over the years, they had to learn how to adapt – spare parts were few and far between, so they resorted to making their own parts. This was a real eye-opener for my engineers from the west!” Integrating business methods proved a somewhat more difficult task however. “One of the first things we did was move the company onto a similar operating system as in the Langenhagen site,” explained Mr Eikemeier. “They had no computerised accounting or scheduling system, so we had to install our own ERP system, which we had developed with SSH, and train the operators. It was slow going, but they got the hang of it and it certainly helped them significantly improve the margins of the business. We had to do a lot of work with the sales team too, educating them in the art of selling ‘western style’, meaning they had to make a margin!” Automation is key Part of the family owned company’s huge investments over the last few years includes a fully automated paper reel warehouse and a 16,500 pallet automatic high rack storage system. The sealed hall for the paper has been custom built, and with an automated crane lifting system, the warehouse can hold 30,000 tonnes of paper at any one time. Stacked five to seven reels Automated reel warehouse holds 30,000 tonnes of paper at one time high, the warehouse is most impressive (even considering the 10 flights of stairs one needs to ascend to get to the viewing platform!). On the roof of the paper store is a bank A viewing platform awaits you after 10 flights of stairs!
EIKEMEIER GROUP of over 12,000 sqm of solar panels, which produce 800,000 kW of electricity per month. The high rack storage system is completely sealed and acts as a finished goods warehouse. Pallets from the end of the converting lines are transferred by way of a complete Dücker materials handling system to the high rack warehouse, where they await delivery by one of 50 trucks owned and operated by the company. Improving quality Significant sums have been invested in the corrugator hall and the converting department, especially over the last three years. A seven colour Göpfert Ovation offline printer has been installed in a bespoke, glass fronted building – standing alone and marketed as Lara-Print. The Ovation is producing award winning graphics, and Lara- Print produces work for other sheet plants in the area as well as its own in-house requirements. You can not help but admire the way in which this business unit has been established, as it sits neatly across the road from the company’s dedicated folding and gluing department. The aerial photo shows the extent of the Lucka site A seven colour Ovation off-line printer at Lara Print. Ducker materials handling system throughout the factory as it stands today – interestingly, today’s facility is some three times bigger than the site acquired by Mr Eikemeier in 1991. Above: Lara Print is housed separately from the rest of the factory. Left: 12,000 sqm of solar panels provide significant amounts of electricity to the community. THE OVATION IS PRODUCING AWARD WINNING GRAPHICS, AND LARA-PRINT PRODUCES WORK FOR OTHER SHEET PLANTS IN THE AREA AS WELL AS ITS OWN IN-HOUSE REQUIREMENTS.
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