Women's power in metal construction

Cows out, lasers in: Hailtec is a supplier and development partner for precision mechanical parts such as medical implants or electrical sheets for electric motors. A high-tech company in front of which the Alb buffalo graze - because the core cell is a farm. Just over 20 years ago, the cows moved out and the laser systems moved in. True to the motto "Where high technology meets trust", Hailtec offers a range of technologies that is probably unique in Germany - including micro water jet cutting and ultra-short pulse laser processing. The team currently consists of 34 permanent employees, with an average age of 39. The company advises and supplies well-known manufacturers such as Elring Klinger and Aesculap.

Flexible working time model is attractive

17 women and 17 men currently work at Hailtec. Such a high proportion of women is unusual in the male-dominated industry. Only two percent of trainees in the metal industry or electrical engineering are women. Only on Monday mornings are they all at work at the same time. "We have extremely flexible working time models. For example, one employee comes in for two full days plus half a day, another only from seven to twelve o'clock." Sabine distributes the jobs and sets up the bending presses for the individual orders. She also makes sure there is enough variety, which is not a problem with batches of ten parts, but not always possible with 10,000 pieces. Manual work in a high-tech company? "What we bend here cannot be done by machine," confirms Sabine.

Quality before quantity

As an example, she shows a medical technology part that has to be touched five times before two curved sleeves are created from a flat, laser-cut sheet metal strip. The laser cutting is done in-house, after which the parts are sent to the manual department. "At Hailtec, we have folding machines and press brakes with automation and robotics, but in many cases manual bending is technically necessary." Even with large batches, quality comes before quantity. "Manual bending is sometimes very demanding and requires concentration. That's why we only set guidelines for the number of pieces per hour; piecework does not match our quality standards".

When the first employees arrive at seven in the morning, the work preparation has to be completed. "If we have already completed a similar order, the set-up is quick," explains Sabine. This is ensured by set-up sheets in which she documents each work step with photos and explanations. Before that, teamwork with the design department is the order of the day. Sabine has a knack for people and machines and is also good with CAD and ERP programs as well as the 3D printer. The enthusiastic tinkerer enjoys the varied and challenging tasks: "We're always getting new parts in, and I enjoy setting up the tools and machines for them".