The German construction machinery industry encompasses mining, construction and construction material machinery. It is used for construction projects, the transport of auxiliary construction materials and the processing of construction materials. The range here extends from diggers to conveyors to fixed-location equipment. With approximately 32%, earthmoving equipment is one of the most important machinery categories in the overall sector turnover. This includes hydraulic excavators.

What do we produce for the construction machinery sector? 

HÖRMANN Automotive produces hydraulic tanks of up to 1,600 l as an integral part of the equipment system including the colour scheme and JIT/JIS delivery. These complex and sophisticated systems are often subject to very high technical requirements.  

We are known at our customers in the sector for fully assembled, ready-to-install systems – produced in low volumes with a very high number of production variants. HÖRMANN Automotive is equipped for the customer needs, which often come in at short notice, and has aligned the procurement logistics and production processes to reflect this. Our competent and flexible employees make a huge contribution here.

It is important to us to know the qualitative, technical and time-related challenges of our customers in order to fulfil the expectations as a recognised system supplier with this knowledge. For our customers, we are an innovative, competitive and reliable supplier that helps shape their success on a partnership basis.

The focus of our work is always the product requirements of our customers. We take up the challenge on a daily basis to precisely identify these requirements and create ideal technological solutions. 

We make your production processes leaner by means of a production- and assembly-compatible product design. During product development, we support you every step of the way – from samples up to series production maturity of your product. Our strength lies in achieving a production- and assembly-compatible design of customer-specific products and in professionally implementing the corresponding application development. 

We can model the production processes in advance in 3D. In this connection, we check and optimise the error-proneness of a process already during the simultaneous product development – we thus create Poka-Yoke system solutions for the products as well as a lean and robust production process. We also have all current interfaces to the digital OEM world.  

Together with you, we thus develop a concept step by step with which we continuously improve the products and processes and with which you meet the desired targets in terms of time, quality and cost. You can draw on a broad pool of services with many years of in-depth expertise: We take into account the wide variety of available production methods and realise an optimised value stream. In addition, we always include the following steps in the process chain. You benefit from a consistently lean production process that results in target-oriented resource optimisation.

We are there to lend a helping hand with our production expertise when it comes to the production-related realization of your ideas: This involves the feasibility validation, production-related product optimisation, tool design and implementation, prototyping and transfer to series production. A consistent CAE chain supports simultaneous engineering and ensures close and coordinated project execution.

Our assembly expertise ranges from assuming the overall responsibility to supply chain management to responsibility for quality control. We are happy to take over responsibility for the assembly of complex systems and modules and their demand-based delivery in the desired takt time (e.g. JIT and JIS). We thus accompany you as a partner every step of the way from the idea to production to the finished product.

Forming 

Sheet-metal working

We process fine sheets in accordance with EN 10143 and EN 10131 to a max. thickness of 3 mm, as well as thick plates with the material grade of QStE 700 TM to a max. thickness of 15 mm. Delivery takes place via truck or railway wagon, the unit weights of the coils can be up to 30 tonnes.

The systems used at our company for material preparation include the following:

• Uncoiling and cutting-to-length line up to max. 1,550 mm wide with precision straightening system, 12 m guillotine shears, magnetic lifting devices, CNC die-cutting system and roller conveyors for thick plates 
• Coil line with max. blank size 2,050 x 3,700 mm for thin sheets 
• Blank cutting centre with 2 lasers of 4.4 kW each, combined plasma cutting and CNC die-cutting, brushing/shot-blast systems and slitting shears

Press systems

In the Fine Sheet area, production takes place on two fully automated press lines with max. blank dimensions of 2,400 x 4,000 mm and max. 6 tools. The following are available in the Thick Plate area: Two press lines from 4,000 to 12,000 kN, one multiple-die press with 30,000 kN, a bending machine with 4,000 kN and 4,000 mm long and two presses with 50,000 kN.

Roll forming

The following systems are available in a coordinated production system for the production method known as roll forming:

• Integrated roll former with reel and straightening device 
• CNC die-cutting systems 
• Flame cutting robots for contour cuts 
• Bending systems

Welded Assemblies 

The trend in recent years has shown that our customers are increasingly interested in purchasing pre-welded assemblies instead of just single parts. As a result, we deliver both manually and robot-welded assemblies, such as outer skin panels for harvesting machines or steel bumpers for trucks. Today we also already deliver the basic pressed parts for the production of cabs for harvesting machines and tractors. 

Our range of services covers the following:

• Development and planning
• Prototyping
• Welding, riveting, adhesive bonding, edging

Coating 

Cathodic dip painting
To ensure the quality and durability of our products, we have implemented customized surface technologies such as cathodic dip painting. Our systems are designed for coating complex workpieces with different layer thicknesses.

Topcoat
The topcoat film of a chassis is what gives it its colour; this coating also has weather- and chemical-resistant properties. At HÖRMANN Automotive, topcoats with liquid paint material are applied in automated application zones.

Pulverbeschichtung

Alternativ zur Nasslackierung kann auch das kostengünstigere Pulverbeschichtungsverfahren in vielen Anwendungen die qualitativen Anforderungen unserer Kunden vollumfänglich erfüllen. Unsere Anlagen konservieren in Stahl oder Aluminium ausgeführte komplexe Teile automatisch oder manuell. Ob ein- oder mehrlagig aber auch im Dublex-Verfahren erhalten die Kunden erstklassige Qualität auch als Lohnbeschichter.

Max. nutzbare Größe des Warenträgers:     
L = 2.700mm x H = 2.000mm x B = 1.300mm

Max. Anhängelast:       
500kg pro Laufwagen

Pre-Assembly 

We support the continually increasing focus of our customers on their core competencies at the end of our process chain via the realisation of pre-assemblies both of individual components or modules and of complete systems, such as chassis frames for heavy-duty trucks. In this connection, we also offer consulting services and the performance of intelligent logistical processes as well as packaging and transport management in addition to pure assembly competence.

Assembly and Sequencing

Thanks to our many years of experience in the assembly and sequencing of modules and systems in the automotive sector, we are able to offer every customer a concept tailored to meet their requirements. In addition to customer-oriented process planning and the overall schedule coordination, this also includes the planning, realisation and ongoing monitoring of the entire supply chain. Our concepts range from large-volume assembly scopes with a corresponding degree of complexity and a large number of variants that we produce in a highly efficient manner with a corresponding degree of automation, to projects with low volumes that we produce in a demand-based manner in production cells with low investment requirements. Pure sequencing of component parts as what it known as a “carset” is of course also possible. Our ppm figures are the benchmark in the sector. The wide range of modules extends from pedals and pedal assemblies to cooling modules, centre consoles, roll bars to system carriers and other module scopes.

Our range of services covers the following:

• Process planning
• Investment for the required systems and tools
• Realisation in accordance with APQP and PPAP/PPF incl. sample processing
• Procurement of components (alternatively provided by customer)
• MRP for purchased parts
• Transport coordination for all incoming goods
• Assembly of offer scope
• Monitoring of supply chain, supplier management, supplier development
• Change management for components and systems
• Delivery of goods in accordance with delivery release order(s), JIS, JIT

Innovation goes hand in hand with customer benefits. We achieve these in close dialogue with our customers with regard to the stated product requirements as well as via close cooperation in our network consisting of competence centres, universities and technology partners. Here we focus above all on two aspects:  

1. Product Development
2. Technology Development

These two development areas allow us to implement new technological approaches in terms of cost efficiency, integration of functions or improved performance in products. At the same time, we challenge ourselves from a technological perspective – to implement ideas from internal product development or to satisfy the requirements of our customers.

The current technological core topics concern the realisation of cost-efficient lightweight solutions that are indispensable for our customers, especially against the background of the current trend of electromobility. We focus both on structural and material lightweight solutions. We view both approaches as decisive in the commercial vehicle sector and are accordingly focusing intensively on the development of new steel lightweight technologies and strategies for the processing of promising lightweight materials.

Our aspiration is clear: We want to shape the future of mobility together in a network consisting of customers, universities and competence centres. 

1. Innovation in Product Development

As an established system provider for the commercial vehicle industry, HÖRMANN Automotive develops new solutions for the delivery traffic of tomorrow. In this connection, we see ourselves obliged as a supplier to play our part in achieving CO2-neutral logistics.

The associated challenges for the commercial vehicle sector are immense and motivate us to overcome them together with our partners and customers.

Innovation for heavy-duty commercial vehicles

The influencing factors for innovations in heavy-duty commercial vehicles range for HÖRMANN Automotive from economic lightweight design approaches to function and component integration to new topological vehicle structures. 

We are also considering completely new vehicle systems in connection with semitrailers in order to be able to optimally equip ourselves from a technological perspective for the future requirements in heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

Here the synchronous technology development provides us with decisive input in the areas of forming and joining technology for the realisation of innovative structures and systems that differ decisively from the current ladder-type frames with regard to the weight, costs, functionality and the integration of alternative energy carriers.

What guides us here are the customer issues that we see becoming relevant alongside weight, number of variants and costs, in particular against the background of the emission legislation for 2025 and 2030. New solutions are required – for this reason, we are already planning ahead today.

Innovation for light-duty commercial vehicles

Solutions for future urban mobility and logistics necessitate new, customised systems for alternative drive sources. For this purpose, we have developed a chassis for lightweight electric commercial vehicles.
 
It is characterised by a bionic lightweight design approach that can be seen both in the topology and in the component design. The non-linear chassis topology facilitates systemic protection of the energy storage units in the chassis and thus reduces the weight and costs for the accommodation and protection of the batteries. The non-linear longitudinal members are made in turn from steel multi-chamber profiles that are designed specifically for the absorption of impact energy in the case of a side crash. 

> The HÖRMANN Group with innovative chassis concept at the IAA

The underlying, innovative production technology allows a high number of variants in the profile configuration without additional tooling costs and is thus able to cover a high number of vehicle variants with regard to the wheelbase and battery dimensions.

The vehicle is equipped with wheel hub direct drives and thus has a reduced entrance height and at the same time maximises the potential loading volume of the body.

2. Innovation in Technology Development

We support you in the implementation of your ideas with new technological approaches. For this purpose, we are working consistently on the further development of our technologies and processes at the cutting edge of the trends we are currently experiencing in the form of alternative drive systems and digitalisation.

Development of lightweight technologies

The discipline of lightweight design is experiencing a whole new relevance against the background of alternative drives: The objective is to reduce the moving masses in order to increase the range and compensate for the payload lost due to the energy storage units. We are achieving this through the development of new process chains for processing high-performance steel and non-ferrous materials. At the same time, we see great potential in having the requisite technological proficiency for the realisation of load-adaptive structures for lightweight structures. Conventional forming methods often only offer the required degrees of freedom in association with significant additional costs. Due to the increasing flexibility of the forming process with regard to the realisable degrees of freedom for the component parts, we are in the position to produce load-optimised structures and are also able to do so in a cost-efficient manner with a high number of variants. We are currently pursuing this objective in particular with our efforts in relation to free-form bending and linear flow splitting.

Forming high-strength aluminium alloys

New developments in aluminium materials are making high strengths available and enabling a significant weight reduction. However, greater strength and reduced formability require temperature-induced production strategies. Our objective in this connection is to integrate new aluminium materials into the existing process chains of component design and transfer these to series production via the development of new process routes and tooling concepts.

Development of process chains for the production of hybrid composites

In many cases, multi-material systems offer added value, in particular in the area of large component part applications in the agricultural machinery sector, which are both weight- and wear-sensitive and must also fulfil additional functions due to the attachment of a wide range of add-on parts. We are taking this trend into account and working on the development of metal-plastic composites with the focus on optimal material use and intelligent process integration options while at the same time complying with the component performance.

Digitalisation in Forming Technology

Smart products

Forming-related component parts currently fulfil mechanical requirements to the greatest possible extent. We want to go beyond this and create additional benefits by means of component intelligence. For this purpose, we are working in an ecosystem with universities and customers by means of which we check the sensor integration within the production-related process chain. An additional benefit can arise here for us by, for example, recording the component behaviour such as the longitudinal member deflection due to the payload or also the component strain of safety-critical chassis parts due to operating loads and learning how to utilise them.

In this way, we can build on the trend of vehicle digitalisation and offer completely new options for product use in connection with predictive maintenance and condition monitoring. We use group-internal synergies with the Funkwerk IoT, which provides the basis for data evaluation and usage via the use of machine learning and AI algorithms. 

Smart tools

Via new tool digitalisation approaches, we are monitoring the component quality where it is created: In the tool. For the first time, the integration of sensor elements in tool systems gives us a transparent insight into the forming process and thus allows us to develop technological processes based on tool-internal cause-effect chains.