VWH GmbH in Herschbach/Oww. plans to expand its production area by around 3,000 square metres and to build two new production halls this year. VWH had already built a new production hall with 1,200 square meters in 2009/10. The building application for the new halls has been submitted and the company is currently waiting for the building permit for the investment, which will cost around 2.5 million euros and will create additional jobs in the region. VWH has already more than doubled the number of employees in the past 20 years. More than half of the employees have engineering qualifications. In addition, the company has almost tripled its sales and operating performance since becoming independent in 1992.
VWH stands for high-quality products in the fields of injection moulds, laser technology, automation and testing technology. Managing Director Thomas Sturm says: "We offer a diverse pool of expertise, ranging from the development of initial ideas and designs to the production process and packaging management. We sell our know-how". The company has made a name for itself as a specialist for complex and individually tailored production systems. Sturm states self-confidently: "We have never had such a large order template as now". Three quarters of the orders come from German customers, others from Europe and production sites worldwide. "In this way, we are contributing to securing production sites in Germany," emphasizes Sturm. For the managing director, it is clear what the success story of the Westerwald-based company is based on: "We are simply a large family, a well-connected team. The essential success of the company is the team spirit".
From the very beginning, the company has recruited its employees primarily from its own ranks - and from the company's environment. Apprentices - or even working students - are usually taken on, and employees are guaranteed that their relatives receive a training place. VWH trains industrial mechanics, toolmakers, machining mechanics and electronics technicians in industrial engineering. VWH also retains its employees when it comes to further training: they are released from the obligation to qualify and thus remain with the company, explains the 48-year-old managing director, who was born in Meudt-Dahlen.
"We are already working on products and solutions that will be on the market in two to three years," says Johannes Dünnes (IT/Quality Management), characterizing the innovative strength and inventiveness of the team. "Here we particularly benefit from the advantages of additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. The fields of application of this technology are manifold and can be found in many of our fields of activity". There are already a number of products that are part of everyday life without the user associating them with the Westerwald company. "Today there is no car on our roads in which there are no parts manufactured with our company's equipment," Sturm cites as an example.
VWH is positioned in such a way that complex plastic parts can be manufactured at the same time according to customer requirements and suitable systems can be designed for the assembly process. The customer either receives individual products that are installed at other locations or an "all-round package" that extends from the concept to the packaging process. This addresses a wide variety of industries in Germany and worldwide. Today, VWH produces to a high degree not only for the automotive industry, but also for the medical-pharmaceutical sector. The company also relies on close cooperation with technical colleges and universities in the development of new production processes.
With permission of the Westerwälder Zeitung
