Technology Leader with Profile
Interview with Ronald Wuttke, Commercial Director of Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH
Immediately after the reunification, the West German Tillmann Group invested in the future of East German Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH to establish a leading company in roll forming technology in the new federal states. The commercial director Ronald Wuttke revealed in an interview with Wirtschaftsforum which innovations made this possible and what the challenges for the future are.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Wuttke, together with four other companies, Kirchhoff & Lehr GmbH belongs to the Tillmann-Group, which operates in the market as a technology leader in profile technology - what contribution do you make to this?
Ronald Wuttke: At its core, all companies within our holding group offer the same range of services, specifically roll forming or profiling. This cold rolling technique, as the name suggests, does not heat the material, usually steel, but instead shapes it at room temperature into the desired form – from 30 mm to 15 m in length. Kirchhoff & Lehr is the only company in the Tillmann Group located in East Germany, meaning our customer base is primarily in this region, as well as in Poland and Czechia – because the short transport distances not only save costs but also minimize the associated CO2 emissions, which has become a compelling argument given the growing importance of ecological sustainability.
Wirtschaftsforum: The roots of Kirchhoff & Lehr go back to the early 20th century.
Ronald Wuttke: Our company has existed continuously since its founding in 1901, even though it was nationalized in the 1970s in East Germany, which had serious operational consequences. I myself started my training in the then conglomerate in 1988 and well remember how worn the machinery was at that time. After the reunification, the Tillmann Group was looking for a company engaged in profile technology in East Germany and found only one – Kirchhoff & Lehr. That was our luck. Because right after the re-privatization, comprehensive investments followed, so we were able to quickly catch up technologically.
Wirtschaftsforum: What innovations have been particularly important for your company in recent times?
Ronald Wuttke: The profiling itself has not fundamentally changed since the original development of this technology. Nevertheless, we have been able to implement many powerful innovations which have allowed us to significantly expand our range of services - most notably laser welding, which we have been using for ten years with very low energy consumption. Laser cutting has also become an important technology for us, allowing us to produce much smaller quantities than traditional profiling, which would be uneconomical due to long setup times. This allows us to support our customers today in sample and prototype construction, and even with very low batch sizes, we can still offer very attractive prices.
Wirtschaftsforum: What further impulses will become important for Kirchhoff & Lehr in the future?
Ronald Wuttke: We are consistently investing in the modernization of our equipment and will also continue to address appropriate automation solutions, although these cannot be sensibly used in every context – for example, in the production of prototypes. Often, the small batch sizes were the reason to decide against an automation solution. Technologically, a lot has happened here in the last 20 years. Even though we initially struggled with the topic of automation, every related project has proven to be very worthwhile due to clear efficiency improvements and even higher product quality.
Wirtschaftsforum: Is this also a means against the shortage of skilled workers?
Ronald Wuttke: Despite all trends in automation and digitalization, we will continue to rely on qualified personnel. In our industry, this poses a double challenge because there is no dedicated training profession for profilers – and even very talented tool mechanics need one to three years of experience before they have acquired the necessary know-how to be employed purposefully. Fortunately, we have set important course early in our company to secure accordingly qualified staff and trainees who will be our skilled workers of the future, for example through our presence at career fairs at schools and appearances on various social media channels.
Wirtschaftsforum: In the meantime, how do you view the political and economic framework conditions in Germany?
Ronald Wuttke: Without the consistent digitalization of our administrative processes, we certainly would not be able to meet the extensive documentation requirements with the same number of staff – and even though innovations like the E-Invoice are supposed to lead to significant simplifications, everything becomes needlessly complicated again if things do not function as initially expected after a long transition period. This is quite frustrating. I believe that many people and companies in Germany today feel that things no longer come as easily as they used to, and that we have lost our leading position in some areas. We should ask ourselves whether we are really satisfied with this – or if we want to push a little harder again.