CEO Michael Fahrenbach has been running BAUMANN’s subsidiary in Germany since April 2011
BAUMANN GmbH
The spring and stamped parts business – always near the customer
The specialist for technical springs, stampings and bending parts is active both in Switzerland and abroad. In fact, BAUMANN has set up a global network of subsidiaries at important locations worldwide. “It is our main objective to locate production in close vicinity to our customers. Customers who are operating on an international level opt for direct supply to their production sites,” says CEO Michael Fahrenbach. Since April 2011 Mr. Fahrenbach has been working in this position and has been responsible for the German subsidiary.
BAUMANN GmbH focuses on the latest technology at its location in Lichtenstein
BAUMANN GMBH, headquartered in Lichtenstein, is one of the dominant players in the Swiss group of companies, and it has equally attained a forefront position with BAUMANN’s international customers from the automotive industry, industry and electronics.
BAUMANN GMBH has been part of the group since 1964, and it employs a workforce of 200 people today, manufacturing technical high-quality stampings and bending parts as well as technical springs.
“The lack of qualified personnel led to the acquisition of a small spring production plant in Lichtenstein some 47 years ago,” points out Mr. Fahrenbach. “In addition to the parent company’s site in Switzerland, the new plant focused on the production of tension springs as used in electromechanical typewriters. Simultaneously, the company pushed the production of stampings and bending parts, which still are the company’s key products.”
Technical springs in various dimensions are applied in a wide range of industries
The Lichtenstein-based production site has become a competence centre with its own tool manufacturing and prototype construction facilities, thus emphasising its leading role within the group structure.
“The production of technical springs as well as stampings and bending parts is one side of the story; however, we are able to develop and manufacture all required tools and production machines in-house,” points out Mr. Fahrenbach. “This provides us with a competitive edge. We can preserve and safeguard our know-how.”
Generating know-how – this is BAUMANN’s motto, and the company wants to secure its location on a long-term basis by focusing on well-trained specialists. “Most importantly, our success is based on our employees’ ideas and competence. They have a significant share in the company’s global development,” stresses Mr. Fahrenbach. “In that respect, the German and Swiss dual vocational training system is an ideal tool to safeguard our young talents in the long term.”
Even stampings are elastic elements, which allows parts to be reset to their original positions by rebounding forces
BAUMANN GMBH in Germany cooperates closely with the group’s other production sites, and it can fall back on an optimal internal network. “All the subsidiaries with 1,200 employees worldwide work together in order to implement the corporate vision. In cooperation with our customers from various industries, we aim to provide the best technology available,” adds Mr. Fahrenbach.
In particular this clear focus on customers’ interests has shaped the company right from its beginning. BAUMANN, managed by the fifth generation of the Baumann family today, was originally founded by Caspar and Heinrich Baumann in 1886. At first, the two brothers manufactured weaving equipment and wooden parts for local manufacturers of textile machines. At the turn of the century, BAUMANN produced its first technical springs, which initially were used in the textile machine segment before they were applied in the emerging automotive industry.
“The entrance into the automotive industry was the starting point of our development towards our elaborate position as one of the leading and most influential manufacturers of technical springs,” points out Mr. Fahrenbach.
The manufacture of bending parts is BAUMANN GMBH’s core competence
Since then, the company has experienced a continuous upward development. In 1947, BAUMANN opened its first subsidiary in Italy. In other European countries, the demand for high-quality technical springs as used in the machine, electronics and automotive industries increased. In the 1960s, the office machine industry became a key customer of tension springs for electromechanical typewriters. In addition, BAUMANN set up the production of stampings and bending parts most successfully.
In the years to come, BAUMANN became an international group of companies, which was and still is guided by the motto of proximity of site. “We established new subsidiaries in America and Asia as our international customers want delivery from nearby suppliers,” stresses Mr. Fahrenbach.
Later, BAUMANN was to reinvent itself as the demand for tension springs for typewriters dropped and new products had to be found. “Thanks to our engineers, we were able to continue our positive corporate development,” states Mr. Fahrenbach. “Computer keyboards springs filled the gap.”
Bent wire parts of up to 3 mm are produced at the Lichtenstein site
In 1983, Dipl.-Ing. Hans Rüegg, the fourth generation of the family, took over, and new products were launched, which are still in demand today. “For instance, new retainer rings for plastic wheel covers were introduced.
These retainer rings for wheel covers led to the foundation of a new subsidiary in Spain because many leading manufacturers of wheel covers were situated there. We have always stuck to our philosophy of being close to the customer,” points out Mr. Fahrenbach. Today, manufacturers from the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, electronics and railway technology are among BAUMANN’s customers.
“We have always opted for technological solutions and have constantly invested in new products – and have thus been able to preserve our substance,” stresses Mr. Fahrenbach. “The opportunities and the potential of the global market are immense, and even after 125 years our development is still on the upswing.”
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