A. Meier began as a small company producing watch and clock dials and expanded its production, over the years, to including other metal watch and clock parts, and developing special skills for manufacturing individual watch hands. These watch hands were to initiate A. Maier’s entry into a completely new manufacturing domain: When the automobile became more and more popular, clocks, watches, and pressure gauges were no longer the only areas in which pointers were used to indicate correct data. Proud owners of automobiles wanted to stay informed at all times concerning the speed of their prize possessions. What could do a better job displaying speed but a tachometer – still in use today – which indicated the rate of speed with the help of a pointer mounted on a round disc.
In order to maximize cost efficiency and reduce weight, in the early 1950s, A. Maier began experimenting with alternatives to conventional pointers made from metals. The company later switched to materials made from plastic injection molding since it proved to be more durable and at the same time more cost efficient. Since precision has always played an important role at A. Maier, a family enterprise in its fifth generation, the company decided to fabricate the plastic pointers in a very special way: based on a metal seam the highly precise base piece is covered with a light-sensitive plastic. In this way it was possible to combine the detailed precision of the clock maker’s craft with the large-scale serial production of plastic pieces, without having to miss the precision workmanship for which the company has become so famous over the years.
The possibility to inject metal pieces with polymers made entry into many more areas of application possible which were not even on the horizon yet in 1970 when the company began its production run. In addition to reaching an annual production of up to 33 million pointers for the automotive industry, the business areas in which plastic and metal bonds play an important role, have expanded considerably. In this way highly sensitive connecting blocks for hearing aids are just as commonly found at A. Maier’s production lines as are miniature switches for cell phones, battery contacts for electronic gadgets, or components for CD-ROM players. All of these products have in common their material, made up of electricity-conductible metal parts which are paired with individually designed plastic covers. Of course these types of products apply to a wide field of application, such as in automotive manufacturing, telecommunications, computer technology, and other electronic technology. In fact A. Maier delivers very similar products – at first glance – to a wide variety of companies in differing industrial sectors. Bobbins and contacts are among the most produced products and make up the production norm at A. Maier, although the company is still colloquially referred to as Hand-Maier, in reference to its beginnings in clock and watch parts.
It is pretty much a known fact that quality, in a company which includes the word precision in its title, represents a cornerstone in A. Maier’s production line. After all, certifications according to ISO/TS 16949 as well as the environmental management related ISO 14001, both highly valued by customers, represent part of A. Maier’s standard repertoire. It is just as much a matter-of-course that the company relies on high performance of CAQ AG Factory Systems software when it comes to adhering to such strict quality criteria.
When it came to the numerous problems that were predicted to afflict software at the turn of the millennium, A. Maier had to deal with its outdated software system for quality control. In order to satisfy its own as well as its customer’s demands, A. Maier decided to opt for a completely new system. After researching the appropriate literature, studying brochures of software providers, and visiting numerous suitable conventions, A. Maier decided to contact CAQ AG Factory Systems, located in Rheinböllen in the Hunsrück region. After intense research, A. Maier concluded that CAQ AG software offered extensive possibilities but also possessed an impressive price-performance balance. “It took us a long time to find and invest in the right partner”, reports Stefan Müller, supervisor in the quality department and responsible for software implementation.
“CAQ AG Factory Systems software clearly provided advantages due to its flexibility. We were able to pick out a software system that fit the demands of our company perfectly. With alternative providers we would have had to purchase a complete system which would have been much more cost prohibitive, and we would have not even been able to use all of the modules."
A. Maier knows very well that CAQ AG Factory system also offers software solutions that will cover all areas. The two quality supervisors Stefan Müller and Bernhard Bücheler agree that “we know that the CAQ-program can deal with that situation perfectly well and can even be optimized that way. But we don’t quite need such an expansive system as of yet.
As of right now, A. Maier employs the modules reject management, gauge management, statistics, and the form generator as an expansion of CAQ-Compact.Net®, for which A. Maier owns 11 licenses. Due to the software’s user-friendly design and the resulting inspection possibilities for individual employees, the company plans on expanding its software system by purchasing an unlimited number of licenses.
So far, A. Maier cannot report any problems anywhere in the company. “Whenever we do face a challenge with the technological side of things, than it is always due to our server performance, problems with the CAQ-system are nonexistent!”, explains the quality expert Müller. Additionally, A. Maier depends on the training sessions, offered as part of the TSP (Top Service Pack), which each employee, actively engaged in quality matters, must complete annually. In addition to training the employees how to use the appropriate software, the sessions also include information relating to new program development and improved usability. Both company, A. Maier in St. Georgen and CAQ AG Factory Systems in Rheinböllen, agree that even a great product can always be improved, in other words, made more precise.
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.
