SuccessStory Borbet

BORBET GmbH

The Borbet Group is one of the leading international producers of lightweight alloy wheels. The family-run business was founded in 1881 and established a customer portfolio including famous car manufacturers from Audi to Volvo. Borbet also supplies to the retail market under the name of Borbet and CW Automotive Engineering. In the 19th century, Borbet worked exclusively with brass. In 1928, Borbet extended their production program to include aluminum sand casting.

The rapid company growth is illustrated by the numerous subsidiaries, e.g. Austria Alu-Guss Ges.m.b.H., Kronprinz Alu-Guss GmbH and Borbet South Africa and the newly established sites in Medebach and Bad Langensalza. In the new site Bad Langensalza, Germany, 400 employees currently produce up to 8,000 lightweight alloy wheels in five shifts per day.

"With the introduction of the user-friendly HYDRA system, we have gained a deeper insight into order, machine and tool statuses.

Defects and causes are automatically reported and quickly resolved,

which has the added effect of minimizing idle times and rework."

Stiev Weissgerber, Manager Logistics, Bad Langensalza

HYDRA Success Story

Task and Solution

The highly automated site works with state-of-the-art technology in their production, using different machinery and systems like casting machines, roller conveyor, paint shops, X-ray machines and robots. In order to increase efficiencies for costly machinery and to gain an

insight into machine, order and tool statuses, Borbet decided to roll out the MES system HYDRA to the new site in Bad Langensalza. HYDRA had already been successfully installed in the sites in Hesborn and Medebach in 2002.

Initially, the HYDRA modules order data (ADE), shop floor scheduling (HLS), machine data (MDE) and tools and resources (WRM) were introduced. Borbet uses HYDRA ADE to monitor order progress and evaluates actual production times and quantities. Comprehensive

evaluation in HYDRA ADE enables detailed cost control and recalculation for the user to generate order efficiencies and to introduce relevant measures.

Production orders created in the ERP system are downloaded into the HYDRA shop floor scheduling module to carry out capacity related planning. This enables Borbet to assess any situation that deviates from the target state quickly and efficiently and to react to conflicting

planning data. The shop floor scheduling tool centrally accesses resource data of all sites and checks availability of molds and machines. The Borbet site in

Bad Langensalza has now perfected machine assignments and achieved a great level of transparency and planning security using HYDRA HLS. Therefore, Borbet could reduce operational times as well as tool and setup costs working with optimum occupancy rates and

resource utilization. Adherence to delivery times is also guaranteed.

Borbet uses the HYDRA module MDE to increase machine utility rates and to reduce idle times.

Since the production of molds is laborious and expensive, Borbet exchanges these molds between sites depending on the order situation. HYDRA WRM informs supervisors at all times on the location, the usage duration, the status and history of the molds. This enables

a proactive maintenance and increases the lifespan of these valuable tools. Thus, Borbet experiences lower production costs, higher product quality and decreased scrap rates. Management of tools across all sites

becomes more efficient and simpler.

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