Wage degreasing of automotive supplier components

An automotive supplier was looking for a reliable degreasing service provider for larger quantities of components used in the production of electric motors for electric vehicles. They found what they were looking for with a degreasing specialist.

ElringKlinger AG manufactures 350,000 transmission components and 130,000 service covers per year at its headquarters in Dettigen an der Erms in Baden-Württemberg. The transmission components are used in electric motors for electric vehicles, while the service covers are used to cover and protect electronic components in cars, such as control units or batteries. Clearly, the demands placed on the quality of the parts are particularly high - especially when it comes to cleanliness. This is where ElringKlinger AG relies on a regional professional in contract degreasing: Richard Geiss GmbH. The solvent specialist, based in Offingen (Bavaria), approximately 90 kilometers away, not only cleans the parts down to the pores to remove oil and other particles, but also offers a complete all-round service and its expertise.

ElringKlinger AG is a leading global system partner to the automotive industry for lightweight solutions, electromobility, sealing and shielding technology, tool technology and engineering services. ElringKlinger AG has been active in the field of fuel cells for over 20 years and in battery technology for more than ten years.

"With the production of the service covers, we entered the field of forming technology and naturally the question of degreasing these components arose. This could not be done with our in-house degreasing system, so we started looking for a reliable degreasing service provider who could also handle larger quantities. Our plant manufacturer then deliberately recommended Richard Geiss GmbH as a partner," recalls Peter Braun, Team Leader Manufacturing Technology at ElringKlinger AG. He is still pleased with the tip today: "In Richard Geiss, we found more than a typical contract washer, namely a genuine solvent specialist with decades of expertise. That convinced us." Since 2018, ElringKlinger AG has relied on the expertise of Richard Geiss GmbH for contract degreasing.

The family-owned company Richard Geiss is one of Europe's leading specialists in the processing of solvents. The company's own degreasing plants at its headquarters in Offingen therefore also use high-purity recyclates that are 100 percent the same quality as virgin products. Depending on the solvent, between 46 and 92 percent of CO2 emissions can be saved compared to the production of fresh goods. Richard Geiss GmbH started offering contract degreasing services back in 2012, followed in 2016 by a new investment of over two million euros in an 800 m2 hall and a new high-end degreasing plant. Since then, this new business area has boomed so much that the company already put an additional parts cleaning plant into operation in 2019.

"With our all-round degreasing service, we have hit the nail on the head. Customers can look forward to perfectly cleaned parts and absolute process reliability. We take care of the smooth process from A to Z," explains Bastian Geiss, managing partner of Richard Geiss GmbH.

Top service is well received by customers and usually generates further orders. This is also the case at ElringKlinger: in addition to service covers, Richard Geiss now cleans six other items, also from other ElringKlinger AG business units. These include not only other covers but also transmission components for e-vehicles. These transmission components are 100 percent installed in Germany, while the service covers are delivered directly to various European plants of ElringKlinger's customers.

The volume of contract degreasing has almost tripled within the past few years: in 2020, around 240 mesh boxes containing parts from ElringKlinger AG passed through the high-end degreasing facility at Richard Geiss GmbH; by 2021, this figure had risen to 520 washing mesh boxes. For 2022, the figure is expected to be as high as 750 washing grid boxes.

With its solvent expertise, Richard Geiss GmbH offers automotive supplier ElringKlinger not only pore-clean results but also absolute process reliability. The effort involved is enormous, but it pays off: "We test the solvent in our degreasing systems every day and monitor it continuously. If there are any problems, we can react quickly. This allows us to eliminate downtime and ensure the cleaning process is 100 percent reliable," emphasizes Waseem Rana, division manager for contract degreasing at Richard Geiss GmbH. Customers benefit here from the fact that Richard Geiss cleans a wide range of different oils for its clients and thus has a great deal of experience in handling a wide variety of oils.

In addition to a stable degreasing process, ElringKlinger AG particularly appreciates the great flexibility and spontaneous availability of its solvent specialist. "Our customers in the automotive industry are in the midst of electrifying their vehicle fleets - that's where changes to geometric shapes, unit quantities or delivery dates often come in at short notice. The Corona years 2020 and 2021 were also bumpy," says Daniel Schöll, Program Manager Plant at ElringKlinger AG. However, the supplier must always be able to serve its customers as quickly as possible and to their complete satisfaction.

Time is then often tight for degreasing as the final step in the process chain. "We are grateful that in Richard Geiss we have found a partner who responds quickly and we don't have to worry about the degreasing process and logistics," also explains Albert Lennerth, Operation Manager for the Metal Sealing Systems & Drivetrain Components divisions at ElringKlinger AG. For Lennerth and his team, the collaboration with Richard Geiss GmbH still has room for improvement: "Our forming plant still has room for improvement in terms of capacity utilization. In the acquisition process, degreasing via Richard Geiss is firmly factored into all offers."

With contract degreasing from Richard Geiss GmbH, everything comes from a single source. The solvent specialist provides the automotive supplier with lattice boxes for the produced parts. In the case of heavily oily parts, the grid boxes are additionally equipped with oil collection trays. Richard Geiss collects the grid boxes from ElringKlinger using the company's own fleet of vehicles. After high-end degreasing in Offingen, the cleaned parts are returned to ElringKlinger AG in Dettingen an der Erms in the packaging of choice. If new components need to be integrated into the degreasing process, Richard Geiss GmbH creates individual and customer-specific washing programs by means of washing tests, which are then stored as barcodes in the company's own system.

The issue of sustainability and responsible handling of the solvents also played an important role in the decision to choose Richard Geiss as the contract degreaser: "Our headquarters are located in a water protection area and we have to make sure that no oils or solvents get into the environment. With solvent specialist Richard Geiss, we know that they act safely and responsibly both in the production of the solvents and in the transport and degreasing processes," emphasizes Schöll. With Richard Geiss as a regional partner located a good 90 kilometers away, ElringKlinger AG also saves on long transport routes and the associated emissions. (OM-05/23)