..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... Issues: » Editorial » EDAG Employees’ Opinion Poll 2006 » EDAG is the World’s largest Provider of Engineering Services » Massive Spectacle for gigantic Sculpture at the Brandenburg Gate » Project Management Course in India » People: · Munich and New Delhi under new Management · Dual Leadership in India · New Chairman of the Supervisory Board » Innovation for Maximum Safety EDAG Ingolstadt develops low-cost Process for Production of armoured Vehicles » Apprentices at EDAG Eisenach demonstrate their Abilities » EDAG at the Testing Expo 2006 and Automatica – 1– ..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... Dear employees, In the May edition of the newapaper “Automobil- A customer in Malaysia has placed an order for a woche”, the EDAG Group was ranked for the first 4-door limousine, whilst in Australia, the EDAG time ever as the world’s largest provider of engi- team from Down Under will be taking on the deve- neering services. lopment of the complete interior and all add-on parts for three derivatives. In the area of manufac- To hold the pole position in this fiercely contested turing, we have just been given the job of reloca- market is at one and the same time a distinction ting the production of a particular product, with and a spur to us. This is the reason we have been EDAG and FFT taking over the management of the working so persistently on the matter of our com- project, as well as carrying out any re-building and petitiveness. Slim structures in management and new constructions needed in the BIW and assem- the technical divisions are visible signs of the suc- bly installations for a German OEM. In the com- cess of the efforts we have undertaken together mercial vehicles branch, we have accepted prelimi- these past 18 months. nary development orders for a new generation of driver’s cabs. And last but not least, EDAG is invol- With the newly defined Product Development, ved in close negotiations with two German OEMs, Manufacturing, Production and Aerospace Divi- with regard to placing orders for complete deve- sions, we have created a transparent breakdown of lopment projects for a derivative. our comprehensive service portfolio for our custo- mers, and will continue to work on building up These examples show that EDAG is on the right EDAG to become the leading partner to the mobi- track if it is to continue to play a leading role and lity industry. defend its hold on the pole position as the largest independent engineering partner in the branch in In spite of the difficulties on and surrounding the the future. market, EDAG has managed to assert itself this current business year. For instance, we have just been awarded the contract to develop the comple- te dashboard of a luxury-class vehicle for one of the German OEMs. Dr. Klaus Blickle President and CEO – 2– ..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... EDAG Employees’ Opinion Poll 2006 From 1st – 23rd June 2006, the second major opinion The action has the support of both the manage- poll in EDAG’s history will be carried out among ment and the works committee. “The opinions company employees. The motto of the poll is “It’s and ideas of our staff members are an important in your hands”. All employees located in Germany foundation on which we can continue the success- will have the opportunity to express – anonymous- ful development of EDAG and maintain the com- ly – their opinions and outlook on communication, pany’s attraction as an employer,” stressed EDAG’s information, opportunities for vocational training, CEO, Klaus Blickle. their attitude towards the company, etc. EDAG is the World’s largest Provider of Engineering Services For the first time ever in the history of the compa- ny, the EDAG Group in May took first place in the list ranking engineering service providers who are active on a worldwide scale; the list appears in the branch newspaper “Automobilwoche”, and is published once a year. This means that EDAG ranks as the largest provider of engineering services in the world, elbowing aside MSX, who had previously headed the list for several years. – 3– ..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... Massive Spectacle for gigantic Sculpture at the Brandenburg Gate When Audi boss Dr. Martin Winterkorn issues invi- tations to football stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Bastian Schweinsteiger to a premiere, then great things are to be expected, and – as in this case – there is certainly something great behind it. A silver-gold object in front of the Brandenburg Gate: 10.2 metres long, 3.25 metres high, 4.5 metres wide. The unveiling of the third sculpture on the “Walk of Fame” on 6th April 2006 was not just the uncovering of the sculpture “The Automobile”, but also the occasion on which the Audi TT was presented to the world for the very car was, of course, a particular honour and chal- first time. As one of the official partners in the lenge; after all, an engineering company is not “Germany – Land of Ideas” campaign, Audi, with often given the chance to present its abilities to the the gigantic sculpture of its brand new model of public in such an immediate and effective manner. the Audi TT, contributes a modern symbol of Audi, too, is attaching great significance to this Germany’s inventive talent and innovative power. prestige project. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s The event drew over 500 guests from the worlds of development boss, for instance, insisted on getting show business, sport politics and economics to the his own impression of the quality of the XL version capital, to witness the premiere of the new design of the Audi TT before the sculpture was transpor- icon from Ingolstadt. ted. When he visited EDAG in Fulda-West on 28th March, Dr. Hackenberg proved to be impressed not For EDAG, as the technical partner responsible for just by the size of the sculpture, but also by the the implementation of the XL sculptures, the deve- quality of the surfaces – which was better than he lopment and construction of a super-dimensional would have thought possible. Special praise goes to the EDAG team, who produ- ced the big brother to the new Audi TT in just two months – a bold target, as Uwe Schäfer of EDAG’s model making shop confirmed: “We had to find ways of making sure that we could assemble, paint, produce and handle the sculpture, and all of that within a very tight schedule. Also, the functio- nal joints of the serial model had to be in exactly the same positions on the sculpture.” The method used for the football boots was also used to pro- duce the automobile. Neopore foam segments – 4– ..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... were shaped, laminated, pasted, fine milled, able to pass on the praise of Dr. Winterkorn, Audi manually finished, and then assembled on a speci- CEO, to the EDAG employees who had likewise ally designed steel construction. travelled to Berlin. “Dr. Winterkorn was clearly impressed by the quality of your work, and expres- When it came to the finish, several members of sed his thanks for the success of the project,” said EDAG’s model making team were working on a Dr. Blickle. “I, too, would like to thank you and segment at one and the same time. This stage cal- everyone else who has contributed to the success- led for patience and extreme care. “The grinding ful completion of this highly prestigious project.” machine can only be used on flat surfaces; but most of the surfaces on this sculpture are rounded, The super-dimensional sculpture of the car stan- and this means manual work,” says Bernd Schäfer. ding against the backdrop of the Brandenburg What – another Schäfer? “Yes, the fourth in the Gate is now on show to an international public, crew,” smiles Bernd Schäfer. “Some people alrea- who, as the football World Cup is being played out dy call us the ‘Schäfer Department’, but it’s pure in the next few weeks, will be focussing on coincidence, really, we’re none of us related, not Germany and its capital. even by marriage.” By the end of May, the XL sculptures “Modern Finally, the 16 segments were put together in Book Printing”, “Theory of Relativity” and EDAG’s 10,000 m2 shop in Fulda-West, where “Masterpieces of Music” will have been uncover- complete production facilities are otherwise crea- ed, and the Walk of Ideas in Berlin will be comple- ted. Once it had been fully assembled, the 10 ton te. All of the sculptures made by EDAG will be on sculpture was painted, and then a heavy transport show in Berlin until the end of September. operation undertaken, to move it to Berlin. Dr. Lutz Helmig, EDAG’s sole shareholder, and EDAG CEO Dr. Klaus Blickle, went to Berlin speci- ally, to be present at the premiere. Dr. Blickle was – 5– ..............edag....newsletter....No.3...2006..... Project Management Course in India Apart from technical competence, a project management system defined for use throughout Background: the entire company is the decisive factor for effi- In 2001, all of EDAG’s technical divisions cient and transparent processes in the develop- worked together to develop a specific ment of vehicles and production facilities. These EDAG project management manual. Since clearly defined processes are particularly helpful 2002, this manual has been the basis of the when it comes to co-operation between various training courses which the department for international EDAG offices, because, in a situation human resources development and the where everybody has the same understanding of Michel Institute in Bamberg have worked the procedures to be followed, other difficulties, out and held for EDAG in Germany.