August 15, 2024
The quality of our sleep products is particularly important to us. We guarantee this through our high level of vertical integration at both of our locations, which allows us to control all stages of production. However, there is much more to the "Made in Germany" label than meets the eye: Tobias Luhn, our Head of Plant Development, provides interesting insights into the measures we are taking to make our production in Germany fit for the future.
Sleep. Life. Flow.: Mr. Luhn, extensive restructuring took place at the production sites between 2022 and 2023. Could you please explain in more detail what changes were introduced?
Tobias Luhn: We consolidated our plants and realigned our operational structure in order to remain competitive. We concentrated our capacities from the original three locations into two locations. We created specialized competence centers from the remaining locations in Aschbach and Oschatz, which bundle resources, expertise, and technologies. This enabled us to leverage synergies and increase our efficiency. The Oschatz site serves as a center of expertise for mattresses and toppers. These are produced exclusively here, and the relevant expertise is maintained and further developed here. The Aschbach site is our center of expertise for quilts and pillows. Here, we focus our knowledge and the corresponding technologies on this area.
Are there also plans for further technological developments at
?
We are planning to introduce advanced automation technologies, including robotics.
In Oschatz, we are already using a collaborative robot, known as a cobot, to automate repetitive work processes. Robotics will also be used more extensively in the future for tasks that place high physical demands on our employees. The main goal of automation is to further reduce errors and increase efficiency. With the use of the cobot, we have created a proof of concept and can now consider how we can implement this technology in other areas as well.
In addition to improvements in production, we are also working on improving the sleep solutions themselves. We have a research laboratory where mattresses are tested for permanent elasticity and durability using rolling machines. The findings from the research laboratory enable us to further optimize the quality of our sleep systems.
Although Frankenstolz has its roots in craftsmanship, automation seems to be becoming increasingly important. How are you dealing with this change?
Even though the degree of automation is increasing, our products still involve a lot of manual work. In quilt production in particular, we sew our products by hand. Here, for example, a quilted panel is produced on large carding machines and multi-needle machines and then edged by hand. We will automate these work steps in the future, partly due to demographic change. There will be fewer and fewer people who can do this job. However, the decisive factor for automation is that we want to be innovative and make the best use of new technological possibilities. Our goal is to put fully automated quilt production into operation at our competence center in Aschbach. Another goal for the future is fully automated mattress production.
How are employees being integrated
during this transformation phase?
We strive to optimize our processes by actively involving our employees. A current example is the redesign of the sewing room in Oschatz. Together with our employees, we worked out what the ideal workplace should look like for them. One measure was to refurbish the old parquet flooring. This decision is particularly noteworthy because people work on this floor. The advantage is that this old floor gives slightly. When employees stand or walk on it for long periods of time, it is more ergonomic than a new industrial floor that does not give. It also proves to be aesthetically pleasing.
For us, change does not mean radically redesigning everything, but rather carefully examining where changes are necessary and which proven concepts continue to make sense in the "new world."
