Fast, reliable and unique are the main attributes in special machine construction
Sheet metal components for plant and mechanical engineering
You are also part of this industry. Then you are certainly looking for security, reliability and continuity. High product quality is required anyway and agreements regarding price and delivery times should be reliable. They also want to be able to rely on the fact that their ideas and designs in sheet metal are optimally implemented, that weld seams are designed accordingly and that developments are calculated correctly. You don't want to spend a long time dealing with the individual manufacturing processes, but rather have your components manufactured by one supplier as completely as possible with the entire vertical range of production. Then you have landed on this page in exactly the right place.
Interview with Stefan Dengler, Managing Director at SDS Systemtechnik GmbH
The mechanical engineering company
Stefan Dengler is what you would call an original Swabian inventor and inventor. The Calwer native was already working as a student in the 1980s on procedures for checking tires for damage using shearography, an optical measuring method. “I got my chance from Michelin,” remembers company founder and managing director Stefan Dengler. Dengler was always considered a permanent contact at Michelin, even before he founded his own company in 1998. When the tire company planned to set up a franchise network of independent cold retreaders in the USA in the 1990s, the young Swabian entrepreneur's hour had come. The Michelin partners were contractually required to use shearography for the incoming inspection of the casings. Without a business plan or bank loans, he was able to start his own business with the Michelin contract. Today it can be called the world market leader in this area. Fimab has been there right from the start as a supplier of many sheet metal parts for its machines
How did contact with Fimab GmbH come about?
“It has always been Fimab from day one. We have been working with Fimab for as long as we have existed. At that time it was the father of the current managing director; his two sons had just joined the company at the time. I don't even remember how we got to Fimab, maybe it was because of an employee who worked for me at the time. At the very beginning I rented a hall in Althengstett and worked with a company that had always received its laser parts from Fimab. To this day I work with as few suppliers as possible and work together as closely as possible.”
Why do you continue to work with Fimab today?
“In the past, a technical drawing in 2D was sent to various suppliers, but only with Fimab were all the parts delivered correctly. If there were problems, there was always a quick call to clarify it. The competitors might come up with something useless or they might get it right three times and wrong once. All parts of the Fimab were great. Today we also purchase laser parts from other suppliers, but we make more than half of our sales with Fimab. Other providers are often cheaper here. But that doesn't seem to be Fimab's goal, to always be the cheapest. They simply rely on perfect service and uncompromising quality, even with more complex parts. Many of Fimab's competitors are suffering from the decline in orders from major industrial customers and are offering any price to keep the machines running. But there was no one with whom we worked as closely over the years as Fimab.
Today we deliver the 3D construction and the data ourselves, no employee of the supplier is needed anymore, the interfaces and lasers are probably mostly the same, that's where you enter the model into the software. But what Fimab does differently is that I get the order neatly sorted on a pallet and each part has its own sticker. Mr. Fiedler is consistent and one step ahead of everyone else. The flow of goods is perfectly organized there. Fimab has not had one incorrect delivery over the year. With other providers we sometimes even have third-party parts included in the delivery.”
What is the added value from this collaboration?
“The punctual, neatly sorted delivery with neatly labeled parts is a great added value for us; the other providers haven’t understood that yet. The Fimab is simply clever. At Fimab there can sometimes be problems, but there is someone who is available and cares, there is feedback and then we talk about it and solve the problem together. Everything has its place there with great organization. We recently had our annual conversation again about how things are going and what the plans are for the future. Only Fimab does something like that, the others don't even know about it. Mr. Fiedler has maintained personal and direct contact for many years and as an entrepreneur you can also exchange ideas about many things.”
Is there anything that particularly impresses you?
“Yes, the direction of his entire company structure. He has placed his customers at the center of his focus when aligning his own culture. Every part of the company revolves around the customer. What do I need to make the customer happy? What do we have to do to ensure that the customer receives perfect quality? Mr. Fiedler is a very interesting conversation partner, especially when it comes to structural processes. I also find it fascinating how he takes the time to constantly educate himself. His wife also plays a big role here and is also breaking new, exciting paths in human resources management. I'm having a very hard time with that because I'm far too much of a mechanical engineer and a stubborn Swabian. Fimab is simply very well positioned here. What also fascinates me is that Fimab has moved into an area of control cabinet construction where you have to be aware that 99% of this market is occupied by a top dog. His only chance here is to specialize in special solutions and a unique service. And thanks to his innovative approach, much more came out of it than I ever imagined.”
Interview by Michael Kunert, freelance editor
Address and contact details:
FiMAB GmbH & Co. KG
Bühlstraße 8
75387 Neubulach
Tel. +49 7053 | 96 839-0
Fax +49 7053 | 96 839-19