Siempelkamp concludes future pact to secure the location of its foundry
The iron foundry is characterized by significant overcapacities, not least due to the slump in sales in the wind energy business, both internationally and in Germany. This leaves the earnings situation of many foundries negative or only slightly positive. Wage developments in the metal and electrical industries do not reflect this earnings situation. Siempelkamp Giesserei has therefore decided to take action in order to sustainably secure the high-quality industrial jobs in Krefeld. In June, negotiations on a future concept were started with IG Metall and the Siempelkamp Foundry workforce.
After intensive and constructive negotiations, both parties have now reached an agreement. With the program "Zukunft Guss 2025" a plan was created which takes into account the current challenges in the foundry industry: With forward-looking investments, the shareholders commit themselves to the traditional foundry and enable the further development of production processes towards greater efficiency and product quality. "The mission of the Siempelkamp Foundry is to offer the customer tailor-made solutions in cast iron. The investment program will strengthen this in the future", Dr. Fechner, spokesman of the Siempelkamp Group's management, is convinced.
The second element of the "Zukunft Guss 2025" program is a tariff model tailored to the foundry. In two stages, a company collective agreement is to be introduced at Siempelkamp Giesserei by 2021, which takes into account the efficiency of the foundry industry on the one hand, but also the legitimate expectations of the workforce on the other. "Right from the start of the negotiations, we made it clear that we did not want to "grab employees' wallets", but that the wage trend must be in line with the earnings situation and financing of the foundry's investment activities," explains Dr. Fechner. And this has been achieved with the agreement we have now reached.
Investment program launched to maintain competitiveness
The Siempelkamp Foundry has already taken the first major steps in its investment program. The Group is investing in innovative solutions that will make significant increases in efficiency possible. These include, for example, the robot blasting house for automation-assisted blasting of cast parts and a magnesium wire treatment plant to improve component quality. A great deal of investment is also being made in operating logistics. Always with the aim of convincing customers with high-quality products and efficient processes and securing the location. In total, the value of these investments will amount to more than seven million euros by the end of 2020 and make the site considerably more competitive.
