Founded in 1991 by Michael Schönberg, HZD is and will remain a competent partner for its customers. HZD's customers are companies from a wide variety of industries: from the hardware and lock industry to drive technology, automotive, sanitary and audio industries to electrical engineering.
The broad customer structure was ultimately also the reason why HZD did not have to give up despite its bankruptcy. Most of the customers remained loyal to the company and trusted in its continuation, which was ultimately also achieved through good communication with the customers.
Stefan Helbich was in charge of this. In the course of the insolvency proceedings, neither short-time work nor giving up the company had to be considered. One focused on the continuation.
Among the prospective buyers was a regional investor who was already known to the HZD. From May 2020, the purchase negotiations became concrete. Initial internal discussions showed that the investor's concept matched Stefan Helbich's strategic thoughts.
In August, Ms. Dana Minor took over the HZD.
A lot has happened in the company since the takeover:
The corporate structure was reorganized and set up in a flat hierarchy.
At the top are Ms. Minor as managing director and Stefan Helbich as plant manager. Ms. Yvonne Beck as financial accountant and HR manager and Mr. Martin Schlemm as quality manager complete the extended management team.
New and old responsibilities were defined, existing procedures, processes and interfaces questioned and placed in the focus of continuous improvement. The corporate culture was also examined together with the employees.
Everyone agrees: First, the foundation of the new structure must be in place. Then the company can grow.
That HZD - Druckguss Havelland GmbH is on the right track is also shown by the positive developments in the ratings of its customers. In addition to quality and cost efficiency, customer satisfaction is a top priority.
In the past six months, the supplier status ratings for several customers have been improved.
In November 2020, the company was successfully certified according to the quality management standard DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015. Further certifications are planned for the development of the company in the next few years (energy and environmental management).
The capacity utilization in the foundry was switched back to 3 shifts due to increased purchase quantities, but not all machines are affected by this yet. There are more free capacities available.
Even if there is still a lot to be done, these small successes are signposts and confirmation.
There are currently 23 die-casting machines with clamping forces from 7.5t to 200t available in the HZD foundry, whereby the main casts are made with the DAW80 machines.
Five of HZD's machines are already equipped with robot technology. This means that various work processes are covered directly on the machine after casting. The use ranges from removal, cooling and punching of the parts, to mechanical processing (thread forming). All operations are implemented fully automatically in the cycle. The largest casting cell was installed on a DAW 125, here customer parts (network sockets) are manufactured ready for dispatch. Further investment projects are planned here.
The expansion of HZD to include the new hall built in 2018 is planned for the medium term. With the new hall, 2000 m² of space will be available for growth. How the expansion can be designed in the future is already being planned.
HZD is currently looking forward to the increasing number of inquiries for new projects. This shows that the market is placing its trust in the company again. HZD hopes to win one or two customer projects!
The greatest growth in currently being seen in the electrical engineering sector. Here, plans are being made to increasingly supply the high-frequency technology market.
The first customer discussions were positive - there is a high level of interest on both sides.
Conclusion
The company and plant management are optimistic about the future, the pandemic has not had any negative effects on the company.
The hope is that customer visits will soon be possible again, so that HZD - Druckguss Havelland GmbH can present itself on site.
