Freudenberg’s growth in research and manufacturing in North America is strengthening the company’s position in one of its target markets. Recent developments are allowing for greater flexibility, shorter delivery times, and faster innovation. After the COVID 19 pandemic led to massive supply chain problems in 2020, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions (FHCS) expanded the manufacturing capacity at its Aurora facility in the U.S. state of Illinois. As part of this project, the company established a large external shipping center in just two years and used the space that became available to set up new, automated production lines. “During the last three years, North America experienced unprecedented market share growth”, said Mark Cieslinski, Regional President North America Consumer Division at FHCS. “Having a source of supply close to the end user allows for speed and flexibility. Having a supply chain closer to the largest customers gave us the ability to capitalize on incremental sales opportunities.”
Securing the supply chain
Aurora is now achieving success manufacturing two of its top products, RinseClean™ and EasyWring™ Spin mop systems in-house, and doing it even faster than initially expected. The Business Group has also set up new suppliers in North America, so it can be more independent of supply chain disruptions and respond very quickly to changing supply conditions.
"Having a supply chain closer to the largest customers gave us the ability to capitalize on incremental sales opportunities.” **
Mark Cieslinski, Regional President North America Consumer Division at FHCS
FHCS is also implementing innovative solutions to manage worker shortages through the utilization of smart production technology. For example, robots now load cardboard boxes onto pallets and use screwdrivers. “This is helping us look at the future positively,” said Mauro Frangipani, North America Operations Director at FHCS.
Vibracoustic expands Air Springs Tech Center into Mexico
Over the past two years, Vibracoustic has ventured into new territory. One example is the Air Springs Tech Center at their site in Lerma, Mexico. “The extension of our Air Springs Tech Center in Lerma has been an important initiative to grow our presence in North America and be the supplier of choice for our customers in the region,” said Stefan Oehmke, Executive Vice President Business Unit Air Springs. “We can communicate with our customers faster and more efficiently.” The benefits will include shorter lead times for inquiries and quicker response times for customers’ requests and changes. A local presence also makes it easier to collaborate with customers on meeting their requirements for North American vehicle specifications.
Efficient teamwork
The Lerma Tech Center has clear advantages, which go beyond customer communication and proximity. Internal project teams benefit greatly, as engineers can now collaborate with one another seamlessly on innovative solutions. This approach has the advantage of shortening the lifecycle phases of products between design and serial production. It achieves this by offering design engineering, lab testing, prototype design and testing, and material technologies all under one roof.
The existing Hamburg Tech Center collaborated with the team in Lerma to share learnings and best practices and provided support in the initial stages. Since then, colleagues from both locations have been able to grow and learn from one another, evolving the operations in Lerma into a world class tech center for Air Springs. This center now supplies customers throughout North America.