Tag Archive for: Automation

HAHN Group appoints Frank Konrad as CTO/COO

/in ,

On February 1st, 2022, Frank Konrad will take over responsibility as CTO/COO for the technical and procedural control of the entire HAHN Group, in addition to his role as CEO of HAHN Automation. With this step, the corporate network will accelerate the integration of its subsidiaries in order to prepare for the planned growth.

As CTO/COO, Frank Konrad will be responsible for the business areas of innovation and development, engineering and software, processes and project management as well as purchasing. With this decision, the HAHN Group is preparing for the great potential of innovative projects in the fields of automotive, diagnostics and medical devices as well as electronics.

“As a global company, we have the size and the strength to be a reliable development and implementation partner for our customers, even for very large and complex automation projects. Therefore, we will join our competencies and capacities even more closely together,” states Philipp Unterhalt, CEO of the HAHN Group. He adds: “I am very happy that Frank is ready for these challenges and that he is putting his decades of experience and competence at the service of the entire HAHN Group.”

Frank Konrad, who also took over the chairmanship of the board of directors of the VDMA for the Robotics + Automation trade association in October 2021, is a partner and CEO of HAHN Automation and has significantly shaped the company’s positive development. The 49-year-old automation expert adds his experience to the management of the HAHN Group consisting of Philipp Unterhalt (CEO) and Axel Greschitz (CFO).

“I see great potential in the HAHN Group, which we will realize even faster through harmonization and integration of the individual companies”, explains Frank Konrad who is looking forward to the new task. “We always take into account the requirements of the individual companies, industries and customers. That is what makes this role so exciting, along with the implementation of a joint innovation strategy.”

Frank Konrad will also keep the role of CEO of HAHN Automation. The massive expansion of the organization that is currently taking place strengthens the entire team and takes the positive market development into account.

HAHN Group presents digitized plant systems at FAKUMA as part of its extensive product portfolio

/in ,

As part of the FAKUMA trade fair, the HAHN Group will be presenting solutions for the plastics industry from its subsidiaries WEMO Automation, Waldorf Technik and GeKu at its stand B3-3115. The highlight of the exhibition is a trade fair system from Waldorf Technik and Sumitomo Demag, which has been expanded to include digital monitoring systems from HAHN Digital.

The HAHN Group booth B3-3115 combines the exhibits of the companies WEMO Automation, Waldorf Technik and GeKu automation systems at the FAKUMA trade fair. An exciting detail of the exhibition this year is the MOBILE.EXPO truck, which carries selected automation and robot systems from the entire HAHN Group company network. This includes digital systems that you can touch and try out such as “EVE Support” as a remote maintenance system from HAHN Digital or the options for “Virtual Commissioning”, i.e. the virtual commissioning of systems before they are built. As part of the HAHN Group MOBILE.EXPO, over 13 locations in 5 European countries will be visited by December 17, 2021 in order to present the competencies of the company network to customers, local partners and employees.

With Vario TIP®, Waldorf Technik presents the patented and world-leading system concept for the manufacture of medical and diagnostic consumer products. The Vario TIP® system is characterized by its unsurpassed degree of freedom for different tool configurations and packaging units, with an extremely space-saving design and complete cavity sorting. With Vario TIP®, high numbers of cavities of up to 128 are possible, with cycle times with peak values of 3.8 seconds. The automation system takes on all basic functions such as removal, transfer, screening, buffering and filling. In addition, the system includes a large number of unique functionalities that can be used customer-specifically. This includes camera inspections, cavity-sorted replacement of bad / missing parts, filter assembly and customized packaging of the finished parts.

At the Sumitomo Demag stand (B1-1105), the HAHN Group’s digitization and interface expertise will also be demonstrated. An Intelect S 100 / 460-250 was combined with an automation system from Waldorf Technik, which is based on the Vario Tip® FSS system. This creates a fully automated production cell for the manufacture of caps for insulin syringes on a 16-cavity mold in a total cycle time of six seconds. The use of vacuum sensors on the removal gripper sends data on product quality and the gripper position. A camera system provides additional optical information on the structure, quality and number of the finished parts for automated quality management. The data generated enable the products to be traced, as each test result can be assigned to the mold cavity and the time of production. This allows a well-founded analysis and observation of the quality in order to be able to react in a targeted manner to deviations in good time, such as deselecting cavities as a measure.

The further development of the Vario TIP® FSS with a particularly narrow structure opens up the market for MedTec injection moulders in new performance classes without requiring more clean room space. FSS stands for Floor Space Saving and offers an extremely reduced space requirement compared to the Vario TIP® standard model. By cleverly arranging the buffer areas required for separating the cavities, Waldorf Technik has succeeded in reducing the area by half compared to the basic system. The functionality and variability of the Vario TIP® standard are of course retained.

With the use of EVE Analytics: Connect from the HAHN Digital portfolio, Waldorf Technik enables continuous monitoring of the automation system in real time. With the information obtained in this way, operators can react immediately to anomalies and enable higher efficiency and output. With its EVE Suite portfolio, HAHN Digital offers further solutions for digitization in the manufacturing industry, with maximum data security and close cooperation with the experts from the HAHN Group corporate network. As part of the MOBILE.EXPO exhibition, further digital products and technologies for modern automation systems will be exhibited. This includes EVE support as a remote maintenance system from HAHN Digital or virtual commissioning applications. Visitors have the opportunity to try out the various products directly in the exhibition truck and experience them up close.

WEMO Automation presents a wide range of innovations and concepts for cost-efficient and fast handling, including among other things injection molding machines in cooperation with ABB Robotics. WEMO is known on the European market as a supplier of 3-5-axis linear robots. Together with ABB Robotics, WEMO is now expanding its portfolio around the adaptation of the wide range of six-axis industrial robots from ABB. Effective immediately, WEMO will support the market as an ABB value provider for customers worldwide. With many years of experience in the integration of ABB robots, WEMO offers solutions and support at the highest level.

The offer ranges from flexible configurations to standalone concepts and SGM concepts. This covers most of the applications in the plastics industry, taking into account the respective individual requirements. The advantages of the different configurations and concepts lie in the use for different tasks as well as the simple installation and commissioning. As always, WEMO offers standard solutions and options such as interface EOAT adapters, protective devices and much more.

The “ABB + WEMO hand-in-hand concepts” are space-saving and flexible solutions for using robots in the plastics industry. The WEMO robots are mounted on the injection molding machine with an integrated ABB robot for further downstream operations. The advantages here are commissioning for both devices at the same time as well as the simple addition of communication solutions and other functions.

With the new management by Johannes Kjellgren as CEO and Håkan Larsson as COO, WEMO Automation will strengthen the Robotics Division within the HAHN Group in the future. This bundles the know-how in the areas of linear, collaborative and mobile robotics and makes it even easier for customers to access. In addition, the respective sales and partner networks complement each other very well in order to further increase customer proximity. Through the group network, WEMO is also to be developed even more strongly as a regional hub in Scandinavia in the future.

GeKu, with the exhibition cell for automated contact provision, is part of the mobile exhibition belonging to the truck. For the automotive and electronics industries, GeKu developed a specialized system for providing contacts that can be used as part of the automated production of connectors and sensor housings. The system uses a bending cutting tool with a punching system driven by a servo motor. The force used is approx. 30 kN, but it can also be supplied as a larger version with higher forces and is adapted to the required tools. For each contact group, individual contacts can be made available within approx. 4 seconds. The system uses a KUKA robot whose parallel gripper is equipped with a spreading stroke for the individual contacts. The processes within this automation system can be customized for customers and their requirements and can also be delivered as part of complete automation cells.

HAHN Group MOBILE.EXPO offers local trade fair in your region

/in ,
Frankfurt am Main, Germany – The HAHN Group MOBILE.EXPO is picking up speed and presenting its technologies and products with its innovative exhibition and trade fair concept at 13 locations in Europe
The HAHN Group starts its MOBILE.EXPO in Europe on September 20th. At 13 locations in 5 countries, including a stop at the FAKUMA trade fair, the new exhibition and trade fair concept brings the technologies, products and contacts of the company network to regional customers and partners.
The HAHN Group shows digital and service-oriented concepts on 60m² of exhibition space in the specially converted exhibition truck. With the help of a wide range of information, a place for exchange, networking and brainstorming is created. At the accompanying exhibition, the current state of the art in the field of automation and robot technologies can be experienced up close on a further 80m². The agenda is designed for each truck stop location-specifically and thus sets sustainable impulses for transformation and knowledge transfer within the respective region.
Interested participants can register for MOBILE.EXPO on the HAHN Group website: https://www.hahn.group/en/events/mobile-expo/
The MOBILE.EXPO is carried out with the following event dates and locations:
  • 20.09. – 23.09.2021 | HAHN Robotics in Bettlach, Switzerland
  • 28.09. – 01.10.2021 | Waldorf Technik in Engen, Germany
  • 12.10. – 16.10.2021 | FAKUMA in Friedrichshafen, Germany
  • 19.10. – 21.10.2021 | Mainz, Germany
  • 25.10. – 26.10.2021 | HAHN Robotics in Fichtenau, Germany
  • 08.11. – 10.11.2021 | HAHN Robotics in Kelmis, Belgium
  • 15.11. – 19.11.2021 | GeKu Automatisierungssysteme in Diepenau, Germany
  • 22.11. – 24.11.2021 | HAHN Robotics in Ponitz, Germany
  • 25.11. – 01.12.2021 | HAHN Automation in Ùvaly, Czech Republic
  • 02.12. – 07.12.2021 | HAHN Automation in Kremsmünster, Austria
  • 09.12. – 11.12.2021 | HAHN Robotics in Lüdenscheid, Germany
  • 13.12. – 17.12.2021 | HAHN Automation in Rheinböllen, Germany
In addition to the information materials that can be experienced on site at MOBILE.EXPO, the HAHN Group offers featured content on the subject of “DIGITAL ADVANCED AUTOMATION” on their website. Through a video case study for the Healthcare industry, you will learn how today’s production will be further optimized through the application of intelligent and digital automation technologies. With its network, the HAHN Group is able to offer complex large-scale projects from a single source and to distribute capacities in times of high incoming orders. The video as well as a short presentation of the digital product portfolio and the responsible contact persons can be found here: https://www.hahn.group/en/digital-advanced-automation/

Digital Advanced Automation

/in
Within the HAHN Group, we create tailor-made automation and robot solutions with integrated, digital applications for various industries, including the healthcare industry. With the motto “Digital Advanced Automation” we proudly present our comprehensive portfolio for digitized automation. In the video with an integrated case study, the group shows how the differentiated teams work hand in hand and thus build on each other with expert knowledge.

HAHN Group sets the course for the future

/in ,

The HAHN Group is preparing for further growth.

With the reorganization of the investment structure by RSBG SE, the investment company for medium-sized companies of the RAG Foundation, RSBG Automation & Technologies GmbH is created as a new corporate platform. This also results in a broader potential and further synergies for the HAHN Group. The previous CEO of the HAHN Group, Thomas Hähn, will be in charge of the new platform. The previous managing director Philipp Unterhalt will take over the helm of the HAHN Group on April 1, 2021. Together with Axel Greschitz (CFO), the further expansion of the group in factory automation is driven forward. Additional locations are to be opened in the next few months.

RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies GmbH as a new company platform enables growth in further business areas through the use of technical and organizational synergies

With the establishment of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies, RSBG SE opens up the possibility for further technology investments besides the HAHN Group. The HAHN Group is a 100 percent stake in the new platform and focuses on automation and robotics in the industrial environment. In addition, further investments in automation and robotics in non-industrial areas are planned.

Further development of the management team underlines the stability and continuity of the HAHN Group

The management of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies is taken over by Thomas Hähn, founder of HAHN Automation and longstanding CEO of the HAHN Group. In the future, as CEO of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies, he will be responsible for all activities in the area of automation & robotics, and will therefore continue to be strategically linked to the HAHN Group.

Philipp Unterhalt takes over the management of the HAHN Group. Together with Axel Greschitz as CFO, he will push the next growth step and promote the diversification of the company network. Unterhalt will take up his new role as CEO of the HAHN Group on April 1, 2021.

“I am pleased to introduce Philipp Unterhalt as the new CEO of the HAHN Group. He has demonstrated outstanding strategic orientation. With his international experience and value-based management style, he is the ideal candidate for the further development of the HAHN Group. I really appreciate our cooperation and look forward to continuing it in the new constellation,” said Thomas Hähn, CEO RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies GmbH.

Philipp Unterhalt has been with the HAHN Group since 2014 and worked as its managing director since 2019. Together with Thomas Hähn he developed the concept of the HAHN Group as a platform for entrepreneurially managed automation companies and managed all transactions of the group of companies. Under his leadership, the new companies were integrated and the digital strategy was also developed and implemented. In addition to the operational business, the 39-year-old is also responsible for corona management at the HAHN Group. The economist lives with his family in Essen.

“The HAHN Group is a fascinating group of companies and entrepreneurs. Due to the network character, we can use the synergies of a large company and still be very close to the customer with innovative solutions,” explains Unterhalt. “I am really looking forward to working with the entire team in order to continue our successful strategy: organic growth, supplemented by technological expansion as well as expansion of the business in additional industries and the strengthening of global activities.”

Into the future with mobile robotics

The HAHN Group continues to grow even during the pandemic. Incoming orders across the Group in 2020 increased by 21 percent compared to the previous year, in particular due to orders in the healthcare sector. The focus of the current year is, among other things, on growth in the area of mobile robotics. Two more locations for the HAHN Robotics Network are to be established in southern and eastern Germany this spring. Mobile robotics enables the support of logistics processes in production with minimal integration effort and thus offers even for smaller companies interesting automation solutions that quickly pay for themselves.

HAHN Digital and Erium advance digital process optimization

/in

Synergy between top experts for manufacturing and specialists for process optimization in manufacturing with focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics

HAHN Digital, digitalization expert for manufacturing companies, part of the HAHN Group, and Erium, technology leader in the field of process optimization through AI in combination with expert knowledge, bundle their competencies and generate a joint offer for analytics use cases in manufacturing processes. While it is initially aimed at the healthcare sector, it can later be expanded to include the automotive, electronics and consumer goods industries.

The approach of HAHN Digital and Erium is based on closed AI-based control loops for the calculation of recommendations for action in the areas of availability and productivity to improve overall system effectiveness (OEE). Since the algorithms describe not only the system but also the manufactured product, predictions about product quality are particularly possible. The Erium approach offers the advantage that even small amounts of data are sufficient to carry out analyses. Using HAHN Digital’s background and understanding of specialist knowledge of experts and engineers, it is integrated into a statistical model that depicts the physical process. In this way, companies receive targeted insights more quickly.

Opportunities for manufacturing companies

Thanks to this partnership, operators of automation solutions from the HAHN Group have the advantage that in future there will be fewer rejects in production, processes will be stabilized and cycle times reduced, as process parameters can be defined more precisely through data analysis. With the help of machine parameters and the detection of anomalies, maintenance activities are triggered at an early stage, which enables targeted maintenance as required in the long term and avoids longer downtimes due to repairs.

The healthcare sector, and later other served segments by the HAHN Group, benefits from the analysis of process and quality parameters, which means that the causes of errors in the injection molding process can be identified more quickly. Using systematic statistical test planning, the start-up time is optimized and the effort involved in setting up, for example, filling processes is reduced. Since closed AI-based control loops for existing processes make process recertification necessary in many cases, it is worth equipping production systems with sensors and analytics tools right from the start. In the long term, the system provides the operator with information about the causes of errors, optimization potential and settings that can be optimized. In cooperation with other HAHN Group subsidiaries, HAHN Digital and Erium are already implementing their first projects together.

“Process analysis and optimization are becoming increasingly important, especially for manufacturing companies. Translating, ‘Smart factory’ into competitive factor for our clients, becomes key to meet the increasing demands related to ‘time to market’ and ‘quality assurance’” explains Uziel Zontag, Managing Director of HAHN Digital. “The connection between our deep understanding in digital manufacturing and Erium’s deep knowledge in advanced analytics will allow us to support our customers on their path with powerful AI. We look forward to this important cooperation.”

Dr. Theo Steininger, founder and CEO of Erium, adds: “The partnership was a logical step for us. The systems of the HAHN Group are ideally suited for the use of machine learning due to the existing technical possibilities. At the same time, with HAHN Digital we have the ideal point of contact in the group, as HAHN Digital is at home in both worlds – both in digitization technology and in automation technology. These are ideal conditions for mutual growth.“

DAHL Automation becomes member of the HAHN Group

/in

The HAHN Group acquires DAHL Automation, expanding its competence in the field of intralogistics and AMR.

Effective March 27, 2020, DAHL Automation GmbH became part of HAHN Group GmbH. DAHL Automation is an integrator for robotics, cobots, as well as AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) and AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle). 30 employees are currently employed at the headquarters in Meinerzhagen, Germany. The company has extensive experience in the development of products and solutions with cobots, grippers, image processing systems and standardized training cells. With its expertise in the field of robotics and intralogistics projects, DAHL Automation is expanding the HAHN Group’s portfolio.

Detlev Dahl, founder and managing director of DAHL Automation, will continue to lead the company. “We are delighted to be joining the HAHN Group as a strong, long-term partner,” explains Dahl. “The combination of international orientation and proximity to the customer is very promising for us. We look forward to expanding our range of services together with the sister companies in the HAHN Group, as well as opening up new industries and markets.”

“DAHL Automation is a pioneer in the field of collaborative robotics and has established itself with well-known customers, providing innovative automation solutions. The company’s its expertise fits perfectly into the HAHN Group portfolio,” comments Thomas Hähn, founder and CEO of the HAHN Group. “With the solutions from DAHL Automation, harmonious teams of people and robots can be created in the long term. This ensures better production conditions and offers specialists the opportunity to develop their full potential in demanding areas of activity.”

Modern automation allows quick response for high demand

/in

The HAHN Group enables the medical industry to react quickly to increasing demand in production.

The tailor-made automation solutions of the HAHN Group offer the best quality and the highest precision for manufacturers in the medical industries. The advantages of the HAHN Group’s global presence allows it to access components and experts quickly. Companies in the medical industry benefit from the HAHN Group as a partner for automation, particularly in this time with challenging tasks and high demand.

HAHN Automation expands its management

/in

Rheinböllen, Germany – Philipp Klaschka and Jörg Kilb strengthen the management of HAHN Automation

Effective January 1, 2020, the management of HAHN Automation was expanded with Philipp Klaschka and Jörg Kilb. They support Frank Konrad, who remains CEO of HAHN Automation and drives the company’s strategic decisions and developments, with its well over 800 employees at eleven locations in eight countries.

Jörg Kilb takes charge of the operational tasks as Chief Operations Officer (COO), focusing on the further integration of international subsidiaries and increasing efficiency in processes and systems. As Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Philipp Klaschka is responsible for the customer-oriented functions of sales, service and project management. Both are experts in the field of automation and have many years of experience within HAHN Automation.

The graduate industrial engineer Jörg Kilb started his career at HAHN Automation GmbH in Rheinböllen following his studies at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany. After working as an assistant to the management and member of the organizational development, he was among others involved as branch manager in the operational management of the company. In 2017 Jörg Kilb joined the HAHN Group, where he initially worked as Head of Supply Chain Management, IT & Risk Management. In his last position, Jörg Kilb acted as Division Director for the Assembly & Test division of the HAHN Group, which in addition to HAHN Automation also includes Invotec, REI Automation and DFT Maschinenbau.

Philipp Klaschka studied engineering physics at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, United States. Building on this, he obtained his MBA from the University of Mannheim, Germany. Before joining HAHN Automation, Philipp Klaschka worked for companies such as Festo AG, Deloitte Consulting and Norma Group and spent three years of his career in Asia and eleven years in the United States. He thus has valuable experience in all of HAHN Automation’s growth markets. There, Philipp Klaschka was responsible for the successful establishment of the Chinese subsidiary before being appointed the current CEO of the US subsidiary HAHN Automation, Inc. He will continue to work in this role until a successor is appointed.

“The expansion of the management reflects the growth of recent years and supports the further internationalization of HAHN Automation,” explains Frank Konrad, CEO of HAHN Automation. “With Jörg Kilb and Philipp Klaschka, we are appointing two leaders to the management who know and develop the company, its activities and markets very well. We are particularly proud that we have this potential in the ranks of our own employees.”

HAHN Group ranked as one of the most innovative companies in the world

/in

Frankfurt, Germany – In the ranking of EconSight for the German Handelsblatt newspaper, the HAHN Group holds place 36 among the most innovative companies in Germany.

Every year, the Swiss EconSight GmbH examines companies in terms of their innovation power at the intersection of digitalization and applied technologies. Three factors are assessed for the analysis: The networking of digital and existing technologies, digitalization and the dynamics in its implementation. In the final ranking, the HAHN Group holds the 36th place among the most innovative German companies in 2019. Within the first 10 positions there are several longtime partners and customers of the HAHN Group. VW Group, Bosch and Siemens lead the German ranking of most innovative companies. In the global assessment for 2019, the HAHN Group is among the top 500 companies.

The company and product portfolio of the diversified HAHN Group serves the increasing demand for technologies in the fields of automation, robotics and solutions for Industry 4.0. With its 14 brands, the group is represented in numerous promising industries such as electronics, medical technology, medical devices, consumer goods and the automotive industry.

Each company within the HAHN Group is an industry expert with a high degree of innovation in its field. For example, HAHN Automation has been awarded the Innovation Prize of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate several times in the Digitalization/Industry 4.0 category. HAHN Digital continues the development of the innovative product portfolio EVE Suite to implement the digital transformation for smart factories. With the launch of WIPS 4.0, WEMO enables even more user-friendly dialog programming of robots. The company Walther Systemtechnik introduced the fully automatic degassing system for greases in 2019. The innovative strength of the HAHN Group remains at a high level for the coming year as well. In 2020, HAHN Automation will launch a completely new concept for automated assembly and testing processes.

Thomas Hähn, CEO of HAHN Group, comments on the outcome: “Position 36 in the EconSight ranking of the most innovative companies in Germany is a fantastic result for us. The outstanding achievements of our employees and the cooperation of our teams make this success possible.”