MANmagazine Truck edition 1/2017 Great Britain

01/2017
asked whether she feels at home here, she answers
with a widely smiled “Tak!” Her expression
certainly goes beyond a simple “yeah”.
It isn’t just the “spring chickens” who feel
fine in this TGE production plant. True MAN
veterans such as Robert Michalak and Marcin
Roszyk, who have been employed at MAN
since 2001 and 1998 respectively, also enjoy
working on an entirely new vehicle with the
characteristic lion on the front. “It’s really nice
to see our old and familiar logo,” admits
Marcin. “We used to build buses, and now we
build the TGE. They’re all part of the same
family, aren’t they?” The two were part of
Września from the get-go and, like many others,
lent their wealth of experience to the
plant. A good example of this is “horizontal assembly”,
where the new TGEs are lined up in a
row like cartridges in a belt, which facilitates
the assembly of bulky parts such as the roof
liner and the inner panelling. “If the vehicles
Jump start for Września: The two seasoned
MAN employees Robert Michalak (left) and
Marcin Roszyk shared their wealth of experience.
Glossy product of many industrious hands:
The Września plant creates about 3,000 jobs.
came one after another along the assembly
line, there would hardly be enough space to
manoeuvre these components into the loading
space. This way, however, it’s not a problem,”
explains Marcin. Once again, experience,
and the capacity to think outside the
box, proves tremendously useful.
„I have prospects here.
And responsibility!”
Ewelina Gèodek, Final Check for Body Construction at MAN’s Września plant
though it is a rather unusual phenomenon in
Poland. This might be due to the fact that
“KaRoBau”, the German term for body construction,
is known under the Polish name
“Spawalnia”, or “welding shop”. That sounds
like heavy industry, reminiscent of smelting
furnaces, dirt and noise – yet this gritty vision
is far removed from the TGE in its unfinished
state, where machinery handles the
hardest work.
Soon thereafter, the two side walls are attached
to the flooring assembly to create the
“triple” form. “In that moment, we’re defining
the body shape,” explains Frank Schemmel.
“Wheelbase, window, vehicle length – that’s
been determined here. All the other welding
work simply completes the structure.” A step
that now actually allows for the reference to a
“commercial vehicle”: Deliverable in three
lengths and three heights, the TGE already assumed
its identity at the very beginning,
without even the very first welding points.
© MAN Truck & Bus
3,000
individual
components
are installed in the MAN TGE. Each part
must meet the high quality standards of
the Września plant.
Quite a while later, when the body glides
toward completion, Ewelina Gèodek uses her
eyes and hands to check whether all of the
welding points are positioned correctly. She
has been working at the plant since 2016 and
was drawn there mainly because of the advancement
opportunities. “I have prospects
here,” she says with pleasure. “And I have responsibility!”
Observing her while working,
clearly affirms her statement. Always conducted
by a team of three, a close inspection
investigates the TGE body for around three
minutes. Professional routine now prevails
and the team works quickly through all the
areas. Upon team consultation, it is Ewelina
who gives the final approval for the body,
which only then may move on to the paint
shop. Perhaps the harmonious working climate
that is so tangible in this plant becomes
especially prevalent here: People rely on each
other, respect each other – and it is indeed
apparent that Ewelina enjoys her job. When
YOUNG PEOPLE such as Piotr Gréskowiak
can in turn learn from the “old hands”. At
merely 19, Piotr installs cockpits. This is his
very first job and he’s proud of it, particularly
because he comes from Września himself. “In
my family, we talk a lot about the plant and
how much it drives the city and the region forward.”
Assisted by a robotic arm controlled by
a joystick, he pushes the next instrument panel
into the TGE’s interior. It will be positioned
with millimetre precision, while his colleague
installs the corresponding cabling up front in
the engine compartment – within three minutes
and 25 seconds, everything is screwed
into place. No matter how routine the hand
movements are for Piotr, they are extremely
important to him, as he still lives at home.
“My work here is also a step towards my independence.
And I enjoy it,” he says with a shy
smile. The TGE standing in the background
also began with small metal pieces. Now that’s
what might be called development potential …
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