BMW Group – Production Light Metal Foundry Landshut Plant, Germany

The light metal foundry at the BMW Group's Landshut plant holds a crucial position within the company's global production network. Key success factors for the foundry encompass innovation, flexibility, and competitiveness.

The BMW Group's in-house production strategic goal is aptly described by the iFACTORY, with its focus on Lean, Green, and Digital principles. The Landshut component plant has further extended this vision to include a strong emphasis on innovation. Notably, the implementation of patented manufacturing processes has led to groundbreaking product designs, fostering sustainable solutions and generating cost advantages for the company.

The Landshut site distinguishes itself with an exceptionally high level of workforce identification with both the plant and the company as a whole. This dedication is evident in the notably low employee turnover rate. Moreover, the specialists at Landshut showcase an exceptional level of competence, which they actively contribute to supporting other company locations and suppliers. The jury was particularly impressed with the close collaboration between the plant and headquarters, as well as the strong bond among production, technologists, maintenance staff, and IT professionals. This remarkable combination of lean maturity, IT proficiency, and unwavering motivation makes the light metal foundry in Landshut a highly favoured pilot area for driving innovations forward.

LEAN: The value-added oriented production system (WPS) is deeply ingrained in the site's operations. The visual representation sets a shining example, with problem control sheets, top defects (including sample components), and value stream management that visually depicts construction stages. Well-established routines, action tracking, and escalations further strengthen the system. Leveraging the digital process board (T-Cube), the site embraces an integrated solution for shop floor management, capturing all essential information for production control and improvement. This active support ensures an efficient problem-solving process.

GREEN: Given the resource-intensive nature of metal casting technology, energy efficiency and circular economy principles hold particular significance. Remarkable achievements have been made in the circular economy, marked by reduced waste volume, increased use of recycled materials, and a high ratio of secondary raw materials. Numerous examples showcase more efficient production process innovations and advancements in casting technology aimed at resource conservation. To instil environmental consciousness among managers, employees, and suppliers, a "sustainability experience" has been established at the site.

DIGITALISATION: The light metal foundry has successfully implemented extensive and effective digitalisation solutions, with a primary focus on improving value stream performance. The Smart Maintenance App serves as a versatile mobile and desktop application for maintenance and production activities. It extends support for maintenance tasks and incorporates fault management for production processes. Comprehensive and intelligent mobile assistance systems are deployed, even up to the lower management level. Leveraging data analytics, the site conducts thorough and systematic process data and parameter analyses, enabling identification of root causes and dependencies in quality deviations. This shift towards predictive maintenance replaces reactive approaches, fostering more proactive maintenance strategies. Crucially, direct interface with the quality data of the (internal) customer stands as an essential success factor for quality assurance and process stability in the adoption of new technologies.

Innovation: The Landshut light metal foundry has achieved a significant technological advancement with its Injector Casting manufacturing process, enabling the production of cutting-edge e-drive components that meet stringent quality requirements and intricate geometries of the central housing. The process offers various advantages, including a finer microstructure, resulting in improved mechanical properties. Additionally, optimised local solidification reduces cycle time and contributes to a reduction in CO2 emissions.

The jury has acknowledged the exceptional performance of the "Produktion Druckguss, Lost Foam Guss und Injector Casting" department over the past years, positioning it remarkably well to tackle future challenges, particularly in the realm of electromobility. As a testament to their achievements, Landshut is awarded the prestigious Automotive Lean Award in the "Component Supplier" category this year.

A vital component of the BMW Group's far-reaching production network is the Light Metal Foundry situated at the Landshut plant. This facility plays a crucial role in producing engine components, chassis parts, structural elements, and components for electric drives. Furthermore, it serves as an innovation center for cutting-edge casting processes and groundbreaking drive and vehicle components. Annually, the light metal foundry successfully manufactures approximately 3.3 million cast components for all BMW automobile series and motorbikes, totaling an impressive weight of nearly 73,000 tonnes.