TSA’s New Stator Line At The Wiener Neudorf Works

After optimizing the rotor production by around 1 million EUR in 2020 (lead time could be reduced by more than 50 %), the next milestone has now been reached. The new Stator Line, part of the manufacturing site where the mechanical processing of the stators takes place, was officially put into operation on 17 October 2022. TSA’s CEO Robert Tencl as well as guest of honor, former co-CEO and shareholder Günter Eichhübl, officially opened the new welding robot facility as the centerpiece of the project.

The highly flexible welding robot leads to significantly more flexible operations, considerably reduces process times and remarkably improves welding quality by switching to a new metal powder filler wire.

Robert Tencl said: „Our Production Roadmap provides an output increase of 40 % by 2025, without enlarging the production space. Since spatial expansion possibilities at the company location cannot be realized, we need to implement numerous optimization measures. Our customers expect ever more efficient, lighter and more reliable products in both rolling stock and road commercial vehicles. In our understanding, this also requires a structured mix of lean management, automation and digitalization.“

This major project also includes investments in a new stacking press and the overall redesign of the manual welding workstations. The main topics in the layout planning were material flow, occupational safety and ergonomics. Another focus of the project was also digitalization. Programs are now loaded automatically via a new interface, machine data and logs are transferred using state-of-the-art software and saved for further analyses and reports. This represents an important step towards Industry 4.0 as it supports our employees and increases transparency of processes.

The Stator Line has been in full operation since spring 2022. The initial test phase has now been completed by optimizing final processes and improving workplace design details. This investment project with a volume of almost 2 million EUR is only one of several elements of TSA’s comprehensive investment plan. In the years to come, around 10 million EUR will be used for expansion and replacement investments to keep the site in Wiener Neudorf attractive and competitive in the long term.