Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

Report
53
Knorr-Bremse introduces new logistics concept in Aldersbach
The Knorr-Bremse plant in Aldersbach, Lower Bavaria, is the leading center for the production of disc
brakes within the Knorr-Bremse Group. During the year under review the company started to introduce
a new concept for optimizing logistics at the facility. In addition to reducing inventories, the aim
was to simplify handling processes. Both the Aldersbach production lines – disc brakes and electronics
– were equally involved in developing the new concept.
Even at the planning stage the project team began to optimize material flows, sequencing materials
and packaging to synchronize with the customer’s schedule and avoid the need for a handling and
booking process during materials receipt and shipping.
In the past, the assembly sequence was based on volume requirements, whereas production is now
sequenced on the basis of customer orders, ready for immediate shipping. This means that deliveries
to the assembly line are reverse-scheduled. Assembly orders are allocated and timed on the basis of
the final loading plan for an entire truck. Under- and over-supply of the production line is avoided,
largely eliminating excess supplies of components. Storage of materials for shipping is organized in
truck-based lanes rather than so-called “mixed” lanes, with two warehouse tow-tractors from the central
warehouse supplying the new lanes once every hour; up till now this had been carried out with
forklift trucks at irregular intervals according to need.
Volume production of trailer drum brakes launched at Knorr-Bremse KAMA
During the year under review, Knorr-Bremse KAMA in Naberezhnye Chelny – the joint venture set up
by Knorr-Bremse and Russian truck manufacturer KAMAZ OJSC – launched volume production of
drum brakes for trailers. The brakes will be delivered to NEFAZ, a KAMAZ subsidiary and one of Russia’s
largest manufacturers of trailers, with a market share of between 25% and 30%.
The new drum brakes are based on the tried-and-tested design of the current KAMAZ truck brakes but
have been developed specifically for trailers. Most of the components are standardized and already
available, which means the brakes offer a combination of value for money and high quality. The aim is
to produce some 20,000 units per year.
Trailer drum
brakes extend
Knorr-Bremse
KAMA’s product
portfolio in Russia.
The launch of volume production of the new brakes marks a further expansion of the joint venture’s
product portfolio. Knorr-Bremse KAMA currently manufactures 42 different types of drum brake for
commercial vehicles, as well as other products such as dampers, manual slack adjusters, clutch servos
and clutch master cylinders. In the near future the portfolio is to be further expanded with a view to
offering customers a wider range of localized products manufactured to the usual high Knorr-Bremse
standard.
Knorr-Bremse opens new logistics center in Moscow
Back in 1997 Knorr-Bremse established a sales office in Moscow to handle activities in the Russian market
and the CIS states. Since then, Knorr-Bremse has steadily and systematically built up its business in
the region with a portfolio of products and services geared to these markets, and embarked upon a
successful collaboration with Russian commercial vehicle manufacturers like KAMAZ and Group GAZ.
Following the Moscow facility’s conversion into a subsidiary of the Knorr-Bremse Group, in the year under
review it also began handling all local logistics activities for all Russian customers, as well as for customers
from the CIS states.
The 20 employees in Moscow have since been responsible for organizing efficient supplies of original
Knorr-Bremse parts to dealers, trailer manufacturers and OEMs. Revised and optimized processes facilitate
the ordering process and make for smooth order handling, all the way to invoicing. In the ware-