Fischer GmbH, founded 1972 in the town of Taunusstein-Wingsbach in Hesse, specializes in galvanized plastic surfaces and has developed into an important purveyor for automotive suppliers. If one encounters a state-of-the-art T5-transporter one can be virtually 100% sure that the emblem on the radiator grill originated at the Fischer company. This goes for 80% of all front emblems of VW automobiles as well. The same is also true for the Mini, designed in Great Britain, which is being distributed by BMW in its latest reincarnation. The posterior nameplate of a Mini Cooper also originates, in most cases, at Fischer’s manufacturing halls. All in all, Fischer encases 800 different plastic components yearly with a high-quality reflective chrome plating, which eventually go on to adorn a Skoda or a Mercedes.
The founder, leading the Fischer company since 1972, initially concentrated on supplying goods to the furniture industry and sanitary accessories, but soon thereafter took notice of the trend in the automotive industry to include more and more high quality chrome ornamentation in the interior as well as exterior of automobiles. This concentration on a product that constitutes one of the strongest growing industries in recent years eventually led to Fischer’s consistent progress and growth into a successful mid-sized company. Today, the Fischer Group has subsidiaries in Katzelnbogen, Seelbach, as well as in Liberac, in the Czech Republic, in addition to the main headquarters in Traunusstein-Wingsbach, in order to adequately realize the individualized demands of automotive suppliers in a timely fashion.
One of its subsidiaries, founded in 1999 in the Czech Republic, serves the needs of Skoda suppliers, and has developed into an important division within the Fischer company. Over one-hundred employees work in the Czech division, not far from Dresden, and systematically cover Eastern European markets. Another subsidiary, located in Katzenelnbogen, Rhineland Palatinate, constitutes the main production site and complements the ca. 50 workers in Wingsbach, the company’s administrative headquarters. This internationally operating specialist for plastic electroplating and die casting currently provides secure jobs to more than 350 employees.
Secure jobs and consistent company expansion, now lead by the second generation, are the result of Fischer’s extraordinary quality demands, in addition to its high-minded leadership. While at the time of the company’s founding the company’s quality controls and evaluations were done by sight only and encompassed anything visible to the naked eye, today technically mature inspection systems decide the degree of precision down to the micrometer.
Certified in compliance with the standards DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001 as well as ISO/TS 16949, the quality demands of the automotive industry constitute the basis for present and future production processes at Fischer. According to the company’s own high professional standards, Fischer relies on the performance of specialists when it comes to matters of quality. In order to achieve the highest possible transparency and resulting cost efficiency, Christian Klaiss, the engineer in charge of internal quality management at Fischer, started to prepare in 2006 for the implementation of a new system for quality assurance. Initial contacts with many software providers offering custom designed software solution were not pursued due to an inadequate cost-value ratio as well as limited flexibility. These concerns narrowed down the choice for potential partners considerably.
Extensive comparisons of so-called standard software at the Sinsheim quality convention Control as well as private product demonstrations in Katzenelnbogen led quality control manager Klaiss to the decision to implement CAG AG Factory Systems software. Moreover, CAQ AG Factory Systems’ willingness to offer solutions that fit the specific demands of electroplating made Mr. Klaiss’s decision final.
Based on a 3-month project phase the computer supported system for quality assurance was put into operation in August 2007. “Our IT specialists had prepared themselves for a considerable amount of work”, the quality manager Christian Klaiss reports, “We assumed there would be a complete revision of our network in addition to the common integration problems. But we were pleasantly surprised by what actually happened.” The “considerable amount of work” expected by the Fischer IT team turned into a mere 2 hours of efforts, which was mainly invested by CAQ AG’s own Mr. Funk in order to connect the new system with the existing setup and the ERP-system ABAS which was already in place.
The core software CAQ-Compact.Net as well as the initial sample module EMP/PPAP.Net, the rejection software REM.Net, and the audit module QAM.Net, were all adopted to achieve unified quality control of the three locations involved in the production areas of electroplating. Shortly thereafter, Fischer expanded its software system with modules for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis FMEA.Net and the gauge management software PMM.Net, as well as the software for foresighted maintenance PMS.Net, all of which represent an optimal utilization of the CAQ AG Factory Systems’ line-up of quality control software.
Approximately 20 employees in diverse locations access the system on a daily basis. The company’s existing ERP-system ABAS was integrated into the overall system so that master data as well as the inspection orders generated by this software can continue to be used for quality control.
The quality control of individual units takes place by way of manual initial samples which are done mainly during the process of product development. With the help of the resulting initial sampling reports Fischer is now able to access a comprehensive “library” of knowledge standards, which, just a little while ago, involved enormous research efforts. This research, in turn, could lead to a reduction in work output.
As a so-called “super user” quality control manager Klaiss focuses on the performance of his software system just as much as his colleague Mr. Brands, at the nearby subsidiary in Seelbach:
“The question posed by my company’s management – What can a system like that do for us? – was answered in short order by the results. But even I didn’t expect that the software would be so user-friendly. This makes it possible to save on valuable resources and a lot of time!”
The user-friendly design of CAQ AG Software is as much part of the company philosophy as is the integration of improvement suggestions from customers. While other software providers rejected Fischer GmbH due to their specific requirements, CAQ AG programmers saw it as a welcome challenge and an opportunity to improve the software to satisfy the demands of customers in specific industrial areas. To this end, Mr. Klaiss’ need for a daily (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur, Fri) preplanning instead of the standard monthly variety is now available to other customers as well, as a software update. Furthermore, CAQ AG offers continuous training sessions which make working with the software much easier and show users optimal usage of the software’s possibilities. Although using the software does not require any specific training, some functions can be used in more efficient ways, depending on the application. This really makes the software system pay for itself in no time.
Renowned customers especially demanding in the area of quality and environmental management describe their success stories and serve as guarantors and references for software that yields high performance and is reliable and fair.
From mid-size companies to multi-national corporations, CAQ AG develops innovative, integrated software solutions that satisfy the highest demands and meet all requirements of quality management.
Furthermore, CAQ AG software supports all quality-related processes pertaining to any value added chain, production companies, and service providers. We attach special importance to compliance with standards as well as 100% release-capability of all of our software solutions without any restrictions – all this while retaining the maximum degree of customization to satisfy customer-specific demands.
Although CAQ AG software solutions are installed on thousands of systems worldwide, we guarantee that you can update your version automatically, no matter how many updates and upgrades you have installed previously. All upgrades function with minimum servicing time and effort onsite. Updates install automatically without requiring you to consult or involve our service staff. Updates neither change nor impede any customer-specific configurations. This principle ensures the full value of your investments.
In all of our efforts our most important goal is not just to satisfy you, but instead to thrill you! One thing is essential to realizing this goal – and we are very proud of our accomplishments on this front: We have a highly motivated, engaged, and competent team in which and with which working is fun!
It is a matter of course for us here at CAQ AG that our employees in development, support, customer service, sales, and management, in addition to having university degrees as well as practical experience, have completed the training courses for “Quality Manager GFQ-IHK” or “Quality Assistant GFQ-IHK” and stay up-to-date by continuously completing training programs.
