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May 2012 – 50th anniversary of Kemnath location. From a small production facility to a global center of competence in the field of mechatronics
View of the Siemens plant in Kemnath, 1967
Siemens’ success story in Kemnath began back in 1962. Early that year, Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG (SRW) acquired the premises of Buntspinnerei Meiler in Kemnath – a location comprising 50,000 square meters – with the aim of setting up a branch plant for the parent company in Erlangen. Just a few months later, on June 10, 1962, the production of simple parts and components began. The Kemnath plant supplied Erlangen with a total of seven different products, thus expediting the production of X-ray equipment there.
In the beginning, seven people were employed in Kemnath. Within a year, Siemens-Reiniger had created 120 jobs at the site, becoming a major employer in the region. Apprenticeship training was also already offered in 1962. At first, nine young people enrolled in these training programs for mechanics, lathe operators and finishers each year; by 1970, this number had grown to an average of 20.
The 1970s were marked by impressive growth. Following the completion of two expansions, in 1970 and 1975, the facility’s floor space comprised more than 26,000 square meters. The number of employees rose to roughly 580, most of whom were from the region. Siemens had invested DM40 million in expanding the Kemnath site since its establishment in 1962. This commitment on Siemens’ part helped transform the Oberpfalz area from its one-time role as an agricultural region to an industrial region.
From a small production facility to a center of competence
The facility’s expansion ushered in changes in its areas of responsibility and competences. In 1972, responsibility for financial and personnel issues was handed over to Kemnath. Employees involved in production also took on increasingly challenging tasks. As a result, Kemnath evolved from a small production plant that served as a supplier for Erlangen to a full-fledged manufacturing site. By 1982, simple X-ray diagnostics systems were being produced in the Oberpfalz. Over the years, the degree of complexity of the products manufactured in Kemnath increased continually, and by 1998, the facility had assumed full responsibility for the production of entire systems.
Kemnath has also been a development center since 1994. At that time, technical development was transferred from Erlangen to Kemnath in order to optimize development processes and align them more closely to production. The Oberpfalz site assumed production responsibility for X-ray diagnostics equipment, examination tables and reception areas. The first product that was completely developed at the location – the Multix PRO/TOP radiography system – was delivered to the customer in 1997. And the new R&D center was inaugurated in April 2003.
Around the turn of the millennium, the site underwent a restructuring phase aimed at shifting the production of additional components (for angiography and fluoroscopy applications, for instance) to Kemnath. By bundling competences from Forchheim, Erlangen, Dresden and Stockholm in the Oberpfalz region, a number of synergy effects were achieved. At the end of this phase, the production of next-generation linear accelerators was relocated from California to Kemnath. This state-of-the-art production facility, including a specially constructed operations and radiation protection building, was inaugurated at the end of November 2006 at a ceremony attended by Siegfried Russwurm, who was then a member of the Group Executive Management of the Medical Solutions Group.
Global center of competence in the field of mechatronics for healthcare applications
At the dawn of the 21st century, Kemnath – as a healthcare location – introduced further structural changes. The effects of implementing Siemens’ production system were so impressive that Kemnath became renowned within Siemens AG for its outstanding processes. On the basis of this success, Siemens defined additional strategic measures for Kemnath, including the Footprint project, an initiative that earned the site the Factory of the Year award in the category “Excellent change management” in the fall of 2011.
Today, Siemens Kemnath is intensely focused on its core competences in the area of mechatronics. This one-time small production facility has become a global center of competence for complex mechatronics components.
Mai 23, 2012 – Nina Blachut / Sabine Dittler