Page 40 - Best of 2019 English

nerre was then transferred to other Mannesmann Precision sites in 2015. Today, the Saint-Florentin plant takes pride in its level of automation: surface treatment of the hollows is carried out without the help of human hands, for example. “The cold- drawn tubes are heated to 900 °C, cooled with water and then reheated to 500 °C to ensure the steel has the desired properties.” The hollows are cold drawn with a tensile force of up to 80 tons be- fore heat and water are applied to temper the steel. Depending on the force required, as many as three tubes can be drawn simultaneously.
Manual work is still required where the mate- rial is processed or adapted for the customer. The employees place each individual piece in their ma- chines to press precise recesses in the tubes, make notches in sleeves and drill tiny holes in airbag components. This care and precision is appreci- ated and acknowledged by customers, and Alain Laplaud is especially proud of an award on display in his office: the customer thyssenkrupp Cam- shafts presented Salzgitter Mannesmann Précision Etirage SAS with the “Supplier Award 2016” – the distinction for the company’s best supplier. “And this covers all business units – not just precision tubes,” says Alain Laplaud says proudly.
Components made from seamless precision tubes for the automotive industry are a specialty of the Saint-Florentin plant and are machined to customer specifications
The Mannesmann Precision Tubes France SAS plant and headquarters are located in the “Zone Industrielle La Saunière” in Saint-Florentin
Alain Laplaud checks production in the plant’s most cutting-edge department. Here, small holes are punched into the precision tubes to millimetric accuracy
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Photos: Gunnar Garms