MANUFACTORY
the very beginning. “We were the first to provide solutions for
both AC and DC charging for the American, European, and
Asian markets. It is not for no reason that the CCS type 2
connector is still known as the Phoenix Contact connector
throughout the world.”
Demand grew exponentially. And it presented the young
team, which was actually extremely accomplished, with some
quite unusual challenges. “Setting up a production line is part
of our daily routine at Phoenix Contact. The big challenge here,
though, was that there were no templates, no blueprints. Not
for the products, not for the tools, not for production. After all,
who else had already started working in the field of e-mobility
back then? Because of this, we first had to find suppliers for
tools, machines, and cables. If we hadn’t had Phoenix Contact
“Cable preparation
is and will remain
skilled work.”
Bodo Finken,
Production Manager Phoenix Contact E-Mobility
on our business card, 99 out of 100 suppliers would almost
certainly have turned us away without a thought.”
Finken recalls, “Representatives from of the largest
suppliers in the field of cable preparation sat right here and
insisted on referring to their standard catalog. At the time,
they were completely disinterested in the low volumes.”
Since then, Phoenix Contact has found e-mobility partners
with similar setups, and who are just as engaged in driving
electromobility forward.
The next step
After one and a half years, the orders began to increase to
hundreds of connectors per order. “We were now at a point
where we had arrived in a small-scale-production world,
with new demands on the organization of our work. Our
charging connectors and charging sockets were high-quality,
safe, and tested products, but not yet suitable for true series
production.”
A steep learning curve for the small team. Even today,
developers, engineers, and production staff still come
together in joint meetings to tweak the system to increase
output. “Nobody is better than anyone else in these meetings;
we use plain language so that we can achieve improvements
together.” An exchange between equals – in Bodo Finken’s
opinion, this is a decisive key to today’s success. “As always, we
are in a situation where we do classic fundamental research
here followed right immediately by building a prototype in
a workshop right next door. Speaking with colleagues there
is like taking part in a lecture on electrical engineering. It is
fascinating when you think that our colleagues are already
working on products that will not reach us for several years.”
Developments that also led to fundamental research in
production. What began back then with a few sketches on
paper has now turned into intelligent worker assistance
systems. What seems so obvious today is the result of years
of fiddling around. “The workstations are designed mainly by
those who use them,” Bodo Finken explains on a short tour of
the vastly increased production facility.
“But cable preparation is and will remain skilled work.
Thanks to the close feedback – from development all the way
to production at the individual workstations and employees
– we have been able to significantly optimize a number of
processes and products.”
Bodo Finken is an expert in
industrial engineering. With rapidly
growing demand, the challenges
placed on production increase
14
UPDATE 5/20
The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine