The Nauen Factory: Difference between revisions

Planning commenced in 1991 for a new dryer series, which would be presented four years later at the home appliance trade fair Domotechnica. In addition, plans were being made for a new top-loader washing machine series.

==== A modern factory ====

The Board of Management stated: "With the new extractor hood factory in Bretten in Baden and a new dryer factory in Nauen/Brandenburg, we have succeeded in establishing two state-of-the-art, streamlined factories with attractive cost structures."<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, A05-0018, inform 1995/1, page 2.</ref> Series production of top-loader washing machines followed in 1995.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives,  A01-0012, Business Report 1994, page 4.</ref> Around 400,000 appliances were produced this year by the some 400 employees, with two parallel assembly lines ensuring flexible production.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives,  A01-0012, Business Report 1994, page 4. BSH Nauen Site Information Flyer, page 10. </ref>

The then head of the factory in Nauen, Udo Barthel, came to an initial conclusion in 1995: "The general impression after the first year of producing dryers in Nauen is very positive, since we have succeeded in ensuring a smooth production start-up. We had already achieved productivity values by September that we had only anticipated for 1996. The work rate and eagerness of all employees is unique and virtually unsurpassable.<ref>BSH Corporate Archives, A05-0019, inform 1996/1, page 14.</ref>

The dryer division was moved to Lodz in Poland in 2006 – 230 jobs were lost in Nauen.<ref>Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte ceases production in Berlin and builds new washing machines in Nauen – Brandenburg undercuts Berlin, 27.09.2006, in: http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/bosch-siemens-hausgeraete-stellt-fertigung-in-berlin-ein---und-baut-neue-waschmaschine-in-nauen-brandenburg-unterbietet-berlin-15879718 (last downloaded on 21.10.2016)</ref> Series production of new front-loader premium washing machines began in Nauen in the same year. The factory in Nauen was one of the top performers in terms of key environmental figures within the BSH Group. The site was named "Factory of the Year" in the "outstanding resource efficiency" category in 2009.<ref>Bosch Corporate Archives, BZI509 10 D Article on Bosch factories, Bosch Zünder 2009/5, Article: Bosch-Werke ganz vorne.</ref> This was followed in 2010 with the distinction of "Factory of the Year" in the "Global Excellence in Operations" category. Production of the new premium washing machine series with wave-shaped drum structure commenced in 2014<ref>BSH Corporate Archives,  A01-0012, Business Report 1994, page 5.</ref>, with around 600,000 washing machines being produced here annually. That's more than 16 million appliances since production commenced. BSH in Nauen is today one of the largest employers in the region with a workforce of around 600 employees. Some 40 percent of the workforce are women. The average number of young people undergoing training at the site is 18.<ref>BSH Nauen Site Information Flyer, page 10.</ref>

[[Exceptional_People_in_a_Global_Network|Back to the list of BSH sites in Germany.]]

== Notes ==