Starting in March 2016, technical services provider Voith Industrial Services (Schweinfurt, Germany) relocated ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Friedrichshafen, Germany)'s complete shock absorber production facilities from Schweinfurt to the company's Eitorf, Germany location, which is approximately 300km away.
Disassembly and reassembly of the production lines, racking systems, and individual machines were carried out in two steps. While some of the facilities were disassembled and reassembled in Eitorf for trial operation, part of the production continued in Schweinfurt. Only after the project had been ramped up and the team had ensured proper functioning of the equipment in Eitorf, the remaining shock absorber production equipment was disassembled in Schweinfurt.
VF contracted Voith Industrial Services with coordinating disassembly of the laser welding equipment used for shock absorber production. The highly sensitive laser system had to be transported in special shock-absorbing packaging and reassembled by experts in Eitorf. Voith cooperated closely with the laser manufacturer in this regard.
Now that ZF's factory building in Schweinfurt—previously used for shock absorber production—is empty, core removal activities will begin. ZF contracted Voith with installing hybrid production facilities in the building.
For more information, please visit www.voith.com and www.zf.com.