Polish-German collaboration
While the Robert Schröder company is a relatively new addition to the KAMAX Group, some of the plants operated by this manufacturer of precision parts have been in operation for decades now. In early September, the plant in Bydgoszcz celebrated its 25th anniversary. Approximately 50 of our colleagues are working there in Poland’s eighth-largest city to produce various parts, including spindles for automatic hatchbacks and parts for convertible tops.
Impression of the production area at Robert Schröder Polska in Bydgoszcz
Before the Robert Schröder team took up work in Bydgoszcz, the premises were home to the turning shop for a large bicycle plant. Heinrich Dycha, Managing Director of Robert Schröder Polska, remembers: “Back then I was a foreman in Wuppertal, and I was asked if I would like to help set up and oversee the plant in Poland.” Now Dycha travels between these two locations on a regular basis. The Polish operation serves primarily as an extension of production in Wuppertal, where space is limited.
Expanding CNC production and plastics technology
The production list is full of automotive parts: spindles, rivet bolts, rivet pins, threaded bushings and bolts. Typical applications include automatic hatchbacks and convertible tops. Components from Bydgoszcz can be found in the roofs of the BMW 3 Series and in VW T-Roc convertibles. These parts come from CNC production and the spindle center, each of which is currently in the process of expanding – as is plastics technology. The plant is being reconfigured in order to create space for new machinery. A Traub TNL 26 longitudinal lathe was recently brought in from the KAMAX plant in Turnov, and it will soon be followed by three plastic injection molding machines. One of these will be continuously producing products for KAMAX.
The materials are supplied in various qualities and dimensions as three- or four-meter-long rods – unlike at KAMAX, where the steel usually arrives in the form of wire coil. According to Dycha: “We use this to produce parts ranging in length from 20 to 400 millimeters.” The team delivers most of its products – as well as a large number of blanks – to Wuppertal. This is where most of the orders originate – such as for Brose or Webasto. And since KAMAX acquired a majority share some two years ago, more orders are following.
Our plant in Bydgoszcz (Poland)
Things move faster today than in the past
The distances are quite long, for Europe at least: Bydgoszcz and Wuppertal are located nearly 900 kilometers apart. Whereas in the past, customer drawings would be exchanged using fax machines and then discussed over poor-quality phone lines, communications today run much more smoothly on account of Microsoft Teams and email. Thanks to their connection to the planning system, our Polish colleagues are able to download the production lists themselves and print out the drawings and accompanying data.
Dycha: “We are very flexible, which means that we can always help out whenever capacities grow tight in Wuppertal. We can always rely on our colleagues on site.” He has been working with his Operations Manager for more than a decade now, and two other colleagues have been with him from day one. The team continues to grow, slowly and steadily, and they have launched their own training program for newcomers to the industry in order to help combat the shortage of skilled staff. When things go right, the result is colleagues who spend their careers in the industry.
KXpress
