www.wahler.de

The concept of shaping attractive and useful items out of metal—that was Gustav Wahler’s simple business idea in 1902 when he started his own small metal-embossing company in Pforzheim in southwest Germany, a town world-famous for its jewellery and watch making industries. The goblets, vases and serving trays turned out by his small factory were quickly joined by the first technical products such as protective motor end caps. Making parts for the auto industry soon became increasingly important to the young enterprise. In fact, these products would become the cornerstone for the impressive growth of the company as a whole. Today, more than a century after its founding, Gustav Wahler GmbH & Co. KG is one of the most innovative mid-sized parts suppliers in Germany.

The company employs a workforce of over 1,650 worldwide. Emissions control and temperature management not only comprise the core competency of the family-owned enterprise—they also happen to be central issues in contemporary automotive engineering.

“Europe is not the only place where environmental protection statutes are becoming ever more stringent,” says Klaus Kasper, one of Wahler’s two managing directors. “Our products are enabling manufacturers to lower engine emissions and increase engine output at the same time.”

Tougher regulatory statutes call for new solutions based on innovative technologies, and Wahler has consistently delivered plenty of those in the course of several decades. As early as 1938, the company introduced an engine thermostat based on its own patents. Whereas the purpose of the conventional thermostat was to keep engines from overheating, today’s generations of Wahler thermostats are quite a bit more sophisticated.

“With our electrically heated models, we have advanced the state of the art in thermostat technology,” says Kasper. The crucial improvements? The modern devices cause engines to warm up faster, which reduces exhaust emissions.

“In addition,” comments Kasper, a qualified engineer, “the engine always runs at a higher operating temperature, which adds up to fuel savings.”

The most advanced thermostat technology, experts say, is that of thermostats equipped with electric motor actuators. Facilitating a degree of accuracy heretofore unknown in temperature control, these devices are also suited for deployment in the context of fuel-cell propulsion.

Aside from temperature management, the company’s second core technology concerns itself with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). In practical terms, EGR involves the cooling of a partial volume of the combustion exhaust gases and their subsequent re-injection into the combustion cycle. The process reduces exhaust emissions. As one of the world leaders in this technology, Wahler supplies its customers not only with EGR valves but also provides the required connecting pipes and tubing in a variety of designs.

The high demand on the part of the auto industry for solutions of this kind is reflected in the progress of Wahler’s sales figures. Between 1993 and 2007, revenues increased from 78 million to 260 million euros. Equally impressive is the fact that during recent years, the growth curve shows a virtual straight-line progression, without any dips or slumps. It’s the obvious hallmark of a family enterprise that is managed on the basis of long-term prospects, and that can afford to forego any short-term optimization of key indicators.

Until 2002, Dieter and Hans Wahler, descendants of the firm’s founder, jointly managed the company’s operations. Over the course of several years, the brothers prepared for their departure from corporate management. (The change has been completed at the time of this writing.) For the first time in the company’s history, an “external” management team has taken the helm.

The two-person team of managing directors is determined to stay the course charted by the Wahler brothers’ successful guidelines, and this involves, above all, the company’s culture of innovation. History shows that Wahler has never grown through acquisitions but always by means of new products based on in-house designs and proprietary developments.

All of the above was made possible by the enterprising family’s willingness to innovate, not to mention the great degree of liberty allowed to researchers who were free to work with the notion that it’s alright if a given avenue of development fails to realize an envisioned objective.

“Innovation doesn’t come free of charge,” says Klaus Kasper, “and we’ve always invested heavily in innovation.” About ten percent of Wahler personnel in Germany are working in R&D. And a dedicated ‘ideas manager’ continually encourages workers to make suggestions for improvement while, at the same time, motivating them to make use of their individual creativity at the workplace.

To date, with the company’s concept of innovative premium-quality products, Wahler has earned the business of some 20 automakers and engine manufacturers, and the line-up ranges from Alfa Romeo to Volvo. Cutting-edge Wahler thermostats are equally at home in Daimler’s Maybach luxury mega car and Volkswagen’s powerhouse signature product, the Touareg luxury SUV.

Instead of supplying standardized, fit-anywhere products, Wahler routinely manufactures custom solutions for its customers. It stands to reason that most of the company’s products owe their creation to the close cooperation with customers who are themselves members of the automobile industry.

From the vantage point of Wahler’s management, there will continue to be no alternative to this proven strategy in the future. A close partnership with the individual customer is the only way in which the growing challenges facing the industry of mid-sized automotive suppliers — one issue being that of warranty liability — can be overcome. While more and more sophisticated products need to be developed along ever-shortening timelines, the suppliers’ warranty obligations steadily increase. As one possible consequence, companies may flatly refuse to develop products with an inherently high likelihood of call backs because of the outsized financial risk they would be facing. Quite obviously, this issue did not exist in the times of company founder Gustav Wahler. The time has come however, for suppliers and automakers to jointly tackle this problem until a solution can be found.

Link to our product site: http://www.wahler.de/Produkte.19.0.html?L=1

Gustav Wahler GmbH u. Co. KG
Hindenburgstrasse 146
73730 Esslingen
Germany,

Tel +49 711 3152-0
Fax +49 711 3152-210
Web: www.wahler.de

 

 

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