Greater customer proximity across Germany
KUKA Roboter GmbH opens and expands its subsidiaries in Siegen and Braunschweig in Germany
21 September 2015
Augsburg/Siegen/Braunschweig, September 2015 – Quality consulting close to the customer as well as more space for service work and training in the area of robotics: these are the results and continued aims of the new KUKA Roboter GmbH subsidiaries in Siegen und Braunschweig. While the Braunschweig site is an expansion of the existing one within Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant, the new subsidiary in Siegen replaces the previous site in Wilnsdorf. In terms of customer proximity and training for General Industry (GI), both sites are logical strategic additions.
Consultancy in Siegen – beyond the scope of trade fairs
In 2002, seven employees began offering training sessions for customer service, sales and robotics in facilities covering around 750 square meters. Since March 2015, almost 50 employees have been working in facilities covering around 2,000 square meters at the new site located at Obere Leimbach 13 in Siegen. The site was officially inaugurated with a customer event on 11 and 12 September 2015. “Competent contact partners inform, advise and support our customers and partners in the pre-sales, sales and after sales phases. And they do so in the vicinity of the customer even beyond the scope of trade fairs,” states Michael Weber, Head of the Branch Office West, in discussing the site concept. The new training facilities have space for up to 24 participants. The new site also has its own showroom which presents the wide-ranging product portfolio of KUKA Roboter GmbH with demo cells on varying topics.
Opening up new markets for robot-based automation technology
In February 2000, a KUKA service support point managed by Norbert Settele was integrated into the VW plant in Wolfsburg for the production of Volkswagen’s Golf V. A small team provided support for the commissioning of KUKA robots, took care of maintenance and trained VW employees in robot technology and robot programming.
“Gradually, we came to support other VW plants and the requests for training increased. We also provide more and more support for our customers from General Industry in order bring robot-based automation technology to new markets as well as small and medium-sized enterprises,” reveals Jens Tschenisch, Team Leader for Service at KUKA Roboter GmbH’s Branch Office West, as he conveys the reasons for the expansion of the site –which opened on 18 September 2015.
“Gradually, we came to support other VW plants and the requests for training increased. We also provide more and more support for our customers from General Industry in order bring robot-based automation technology to new markets as well as small and medium-sized enterprises,” reveals Jens Tschenisch, Team Leader for Service at KUKA Roboter GmbH’s Branch Office West, as he conveys the reasons for the expansion of the site –which opened on 18 September 2015.
Now offering training for the KUKA LBR iiwa lightweight robot
The new subsidiary – located near Braunschweig Central Station on the former site of the Rollei plant (today known as “Campus 3”) – started the first training session in mid-March. Covering an area of around 1,400 square meters, there are 24 training cells and four training rooms as well as new office facilities. As of early September 2015, training is now being offered on the LBR iiwa lightweight robot in both Wolfsburg and in Braunschweig – the former being the northernmost German subsidiary of the Augsburg-based robot manufacturer. This thus expands the program of training courses for nearby customers from both Automotive and General Industry (GI).As a result, the program of training courses for the Branch Office North includes operation and programming based on KUKA Sunrise, KRC and VKRC, maintenance courses for mechanical and electrical systems as well as field bus and technology training.
“Overall, this increases the training capacity in the north by 48 spots and allows us to react even more efficiently to the training needs of our customers,” explains Florian Runge, Team Leader at KUKA Roboter GmbH College Nord.
KUKA Roboter subsidiaries are now more independent
The subsidiary in Braunschweig focuses on the areas of training and service. “The expansion of our site means that we can react even more flexibly to customer requirements and that we can offer highly attractive jobs to our increased number of employees. Beyond this, our convenient location as regards the transportation network allows us to reach many of our customers even faster,” notes Jens Tschenisch on the advantages of the site expansion. The benefit to the customer is also the priority for the KUKA Roboter Branch Office West.“Thanks to our new showroom, the quality of on-site consultation has again significantly increased. We can now illustrate application matters with concrete examples. Our new site is an important hub for both sales and customer service. This will allow us to win new customers and to optimally support existing ones,” enthuses Michael Weber on the future of robotics in western Germany.