The art of bringing a real benefit to one's customer. Kübler GmbH showed during its customer days how innovations bringing real benefits to the customers ensure the durability and the growth of a company.

Pulses for innovation was the slogan of the last Kübler customer days on October 10 and 11, 2008, during which the company, based in Villingen-Schwenningen, offered a varied programme including professional conferences, ceremonies, technology and entertainment. The subject, innovation, was the common theme all along this event which, with over 100 international guests, packed the house. New: the factory with an area of 2,500 square metres and its Development Centre, which was inaugurated within the framework of the costumer days. Another innovation: manufacturing in line with the Kaizen and One Piece Flow principles; Kübler is currently implementing a company-wide Kaizen culture.

This globally acting counter and sensor technology manufacturer understands innovation essentially as follows: it must begin- and also end - with the customer. Gebhard Kübler, company manager, describes the philosophy of the firm "We, as Kübler GmbH, endeavour to search for innovation on site, at our very customer's. And, for example, regarding reliable encoders, we showed what can be expected from us in the close future".

The inauguration of the factory. Innovations on a new 2,500 square metres production area.

By nature, this technology firm based in the South-West of Germany is not prone to pomp and show. Yet an event as exceptional as the inauguration of a state-of-the-art production building, with its high-tech manufacturing installations, had to be the opportunity of a suitable celebration. In the presence of 100 customers, 205 collaborators, the specialised press, Dr Rupert Kubonn, the mayor of Villingen-Schwenningen, as well as many guests of honour from industry and research - and in the presence of the wife of the founder of the company, Mrs Erika Kübler, the managers Gebhard and Lothar Kübler cut the bright red ribbon in front of the goods arrival ramps. 18 months elapsed since the first ideas and concepts of the building in the office of architect Vollack in Karlsruhe. They were followed, as from spring 2007, by a building phase of only 10 months. And two brand new factory floors appeared, which now accommodate the Research and Development department, the arrival of goods, several high-tech manufacturing lines, and the Dispatch department.

Space was created to allow for the extension and future growth of the company. Even though, during construction work, people had to cope with annoyances like dust and temporary arrangements, the result shows the validity of the whole project. Gebhard Kübler describes the general evolution: "It is impressive to see the fundamental change of our company in the last 10 years". A success which can easily be assessed: "We grew from a 7-million Euros to a 30- million Euros company. Nevertheless, the heart of our vision is and remains to exist as a family-owned company on the global market".

Kübler, Kaizen, Culture. Innovation to the power of three thanks to a constantly experienced improvement.

Even though Kaizen - "small-step improvement" - and innovation - "the large completed novelty" - are often considered as contradictory, the contrary is true. This is the core of the message of the Kübler customer days. "When an innovation is supported by Kaizen, the innovation can not only be carried out reliably, but it can also, additionally, be improved further"; the company came to this essential conclusion after 5 years of continuous improvement. Kübler wants now to give a more efficient and wide foundation to its various improvement projects thanks to a "Kübler Kaizen culture". A "Kaizen-Office", with presently one person and an external coach, highlights the seriousness of this company-wide undertaking. The teamwork with many other employees thus allows the implementation of a lasting Kaizen culture at Kübler. "Kaizen is not itself a project" explains the manager Gebhard Kübler, but a long-term task, "only this way will we be able to maintain long-term employment in Germany".

A workshop about Kaizen, which took place during the afternoon with coach Jürgen Braun of ProComet, the Kaizen responsible Frank Schad and the Management of the company showed the results Kübler achieved in the 5 last years, and the objectives the company is determined to reach in the future.
So, in the meantime, the suppliers were included in the company optimisations by means of the electronic Kanban, a very advanced logistics system, which adapts itself flexibly according exclusively to the requirements. Mario Börner, of the company Börner Drehteile GmbH, presented the point of view of the suppliers, describing his experience with Kübler and E-Kanban.

At Kübler, stickers with red arrows indicate the sectors where improvements are planned in the next weeks: here a possible failures source on a device, there a place without marking on a shelf or undefined tooling storage. "We definitely still have a long way to go but, according to Kaizen the way is also the objective" conclude Gebhard and Lothar Kübler, who are firmly convinced of the "return on the considerable investment". So the workshop reflected a mix of successful and of problematic Kaizen examples. It was followed by an animated discussion among the attendance - still entirely based on the practical implementation.

The new production building with 2,500 sqm of floor space on our company premises in Schwenningen was finished in time for the start of the new year.

We have thus increased the space previously available to us by more than a half. Space has primarily been created for the production and development departments.
The new building facilitates flexible production processes for innovative ideas, technologies and reliable products.

On the 18th January 2007 the management and employees were pleased to receive a high-ranking visitor - the Head of Government in Baden Württemberg, Minister President Oettinger, toured the new production and development facilities (2500m²) at Kübler.

The extensions to the factory had been designed in association with building specialists from the Vollack company, based in Karlsruhe, and were moved into just a few days ago, after the new building had been constructed in only 8 months.

Managing Director Lothar Kübler welcomed the Minister President and showed him round the new building; they were accompanied amongst others by the Mayor of Villingen-Schwenningen Dr. Kubon and the Production Manager Andreas Happle. The Minister President was thus able to get an idea of the products and new manufacturing procedures at Kübler. He was visibly impressed that so many new modern jobs have been - and are still being - created for the future at Kübler. On behalf of the town of Villingen-Schwenningen, he praised the commitment of the management and staff. He highlighted especially the light, modern new premises, which gave a visible impression of the precision and reliability of our products. He was also particularly interested in the diverse applications for Kübler encoders, counters and other products.

There followed a talk, during which the shortage of skilled workers in the Villingen-Schwenningen region was on the agenda. Here the regional government is planning a number of initiatives to ease this difficult situation.

Kübler was delighted with this high-level visit, not least as it afforded the company the opportunity to demonstrate what it is achieving today and what it is confident of accomplishing in the future.

Xiangbin Xuan, Gebhard and Lothar Kübler
and Li Wei at the inauguration ceremony of
Kübler China in Beijing.

Flyer: Kübler in India

The Kübler Group welcomes its most recent members: Kuebler ( Beijing ) Automation Trading Co. Ltd. in Beijing, China and Kuebler Automation India Pvt Ltd in Pune, India - the formation formalities for both companies were completed in November 2007. Having a strong presence in two of Asias biggest growth markets is of key strategic importance to Kübler and will help secure the future of the company and its home base in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany. However different reasons lie behind the founding of the two companies:

In the case of Kübler China we are talking of purely a Sales organisation - no production activity is planned. Over recent years the Chinese market has taken on increased global importance, which is why it has become essential for Kübler to have a direct presence in this market. The four sales offices in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu and Wuhan that have been opened in addition to the head office in Beijing underline this approach.

In contrast to Kübler China, Kübler India will also assemble encoders. The goal in the first instance is to supply new local and international projects, which for various reasons - including the customs situation in India - could not previously be handled. The Indian market will continue to be serviced primarily by our distributor Rajdeep, with the support of Kübler India. We should like to welcome both new companies and our new colleagues in India and China into the Kübler Group!

We aim to be a flexible and reliable partner for you also in the future - this required space! A new building has just been constructed on our company site in Schwenningen: we now have 2500m² additional space at our disposal - this means we have expanded our current area by more than 50%; initially this is for our Production and R&D departments, who will find new room for reliable products, flexible processes as well as innovative ideas and technologies. Our new building, which we expect to move into at the end of 2007, has of course been designed according to the latest standards of facility planning - to make sure that we can meet the needs of the future and also create more jobs at our Schwenningen location.

21.09.2007, we celebrated the topping-out ceremony

A topping-out ceremony was held, once the works on the shell of the building had been completed.
For more information on this, please go to our Press release 'Topping-out ceremony'

06.07.2007, the foundations were laid

The foundations are laid for the areas: lift, recreational and changing areas, electronics line and for the supporting pillars. In the adjoining photo you can see the foundations and the shell for the building that will house the lift; this will also connect the new buildings to the existing ones.

24.04.2007, digging started

Extract from the Press Release

When digging started on the 24th April 2007, this heralded the start of the construction of a new production facility and development centre, in part on two levels, with a floor space of around 2500 m2. The new building will be connected to the existing one. This will ensure the building is fully accessible throughout, with integral utilisation for optimum process flows. Kübler aims to reduce its logistics costs considerably and so become more competitive at its Villingen-Schwenningen location.

According to the management, nearly all areas in the company will move and many processes and activities will be examined with regard to potential savings. The new building can be used flexibly and can be expanded over its whole length. The fundamentals for this project, as well as for the new structure of the company, are being worked on in a workshop with employees.

ntegrating the new structure into the existing one and the optimisation of the overall processes were an important premise for this project. This was achieved thanks to a methodical approach, in conjunction with the Vollack company from Karlsruhe. Vollack has the responsibility for the execution, detailed planning and implementation of this project. The new development will guarantee the viability of the Villingen-Schwenningen site and provide the space required for growth and additional jobs.