HEGGEMANN helps implementing complex series production for VinFast
190412 Foto Zur Pi Heggemann Vinfast
The aerospace technology specialist at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport is taking on a major order from Vietnam. The excavators have already arrived to move many cubic meters of earth on HEGGEMANN AG's new expansion site.
In its core business, the specialist from Büren focuses on the development and implementation of highly complex metal assemblies for the aviation industry. For example, complete landing gear systems are developed, tested and transferred to series production, or complex welded assemblies made of special materials such as titanium are produced for aircraft engines.
In addition to the aviation sector, the automotive industry has traditionally used the vertical integration of the lightweight construction specialist for selected series projects for more than 30 years. Very quickly, in the fourth quarter of 2018, HEGGEMANN AG received a major order from the new Vietnamese automotive group VinFast, which emerged from VinGroup, a globally active multi-group. In a first step, VinFast manufactures two models under license, which are based on the technology of the last BMW 5 Series and BMW X5 Series. More than half of VinFast's suppliers come from Germany. In connection with HEGGEMANN AG, the list with names such as ABB, Bosch, Dürr, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp and ZF reads impressively.
HEGGEMANN was selected because of its reliable customer relationships within the automotive industry to ensure the start-up of the complex front and rear axle production. In order to implement this ambitious project, HEGGEMANN is expanding its production areas directly at the site where the series production plant will be put into operation. Over a period of 6 months, 50,000 front and rear axles will be produced in 3-shift operation. Construction work started just three months after the order was placed. For this purpose, a plot of land and a part of the Dornierstraße and Zeppelinring in the Airport Paderborn/Lippstadt industrial estate opposite the headquarters of HEGGEMANN AG was acquired by the city of Büren in order to construct 2 additional production halls with a total area of over 3,000 sqm. The Council of the City of Büren supported the project from the beginning and created the legal and urban planning prerequisites with targeted decisions. In addition, HEGGEMANN was commissioned with the training and familiarisation of 65 Vietnamese specialists during the approximately one-year production phase, so that the new series plant would run smoothly even after the later transfer to VinFast.
From left to right: Robert Heggemann (owner HEGGEMANN AG), Burkhard Schwuchow (Mayor of the City of Büren). Dr. Christian Howe (Executive Board/CEO of HEGGEMANN AG) on the construction site for 2 additional production halls for the processing of a major order for the new Vietnamese VinFast automotive group at Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport.
About HEGGEMANN AG
Founded in 1962 in Paderborn, the family-owned company began its consistent orientation as a supplier at the beginning of the 1990s, focusing on the development and manufacture of complex metallic lightweight structures for the aerospace and automotive industries. Today, HEGGEMANN AG employs over 220 staff and 17 trainees on approx. 20,000 sqm at its headquarters at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport and currently generates annual sales of more than EUR 35 million.
In accordance with the company motto "360° - from Engineering to Production", the complete value-added chain from product development through series production to the production of ready-to-install structures and systems is realized for the customers. The focus of the lightweight construction specialist from Büren continues to be on civil aviation. Some of its customers include Airbus, Lufthansa, MTU Aero Engines, Pilatus, Rolls Royce and Zeppelin as well as BMW, Bugatti and Porsche.
