The production plant "Am Wind"

HEUFT - steady growth with know how

When Bernhard Heuft developed his first control devices at home in his parents´ garage he certainly never imagined that in the year 2005 over 400 employees (that is 600 worldwide) would be developing and producing modern systems for the food and beverage industry on over 10,000 square metres of area belonging to the company. In addition to the administrative buildings in the centre of Burgbrohl, Germany, the industrial complex "Am Wind", on the outskirts of the town, forms the heart of the group of companies: the production and development of the complete range of products is carried out here.

It is precisely the last-ment- ioned area which has a par- ticularly high status. Every fifth employee, each a spe- cialist in is/her own field, is permanently occupied with new and further develop- ments in order to be able to put innovative ideas into practice in the food and beverage sector. Strict attention is paid to practical and efficient de- signs which are cost-effectively produced during this process. Employees have the most mo- dern aids, specially equipped test rooms and a test bottling hall specifically designed for this purpose. Prototypes or reworked individual parts are manufactured directly on the premises. Workshops, electronics laboratory and a clean room where electronic parts are protected from contamination during manufacture are made available to the Production Department. The cooperation between these two areas does not only relate to the joint use of work equipment: practical experiences are regularly exchanged in conversations and ideas and suggestions discussed.

The fractal structure of the Production Department (each work group is an independent sec- tion responsible for its own work scheduling, stock keeping, production and quality control) combined with optimum coordination between the Sales Department, Warehouse and Dispatch Department guarantees maximum product quality as well as smooth and fast working proced- ures. Whilst some groups manufacture standard products in series others deal with the speci- fic fabrication of systems according to the customer´s requirements.

After final assembly each product is exhaustively tested again. For this the systems
are fitted to conveyors and adjusted in accordance with the customer´s containers.
The preparations for transport are then made in the Packaging Hall. Finally the world-
wide service network ensures that the quality product supplied is optimally installed
and commissioned on site in the bottling hall.

The know how which the whole team has accumulated since Bernard Heuft´s beginnings in his parents´ garage is today an established integral part of businesses around the globe. The technological and qualitative leadership in the market combined with a great deal of innovative spirit guarantees the worldwide distribution of the products in the future.