Day 1

After months of exhaustive organisation by M K Gaskets, March 2005 was to be a historic date for members of the GCA, as they embarked on their first overseas site visit. The early hours of Tuesday 1^st March saw delegates congregating at both Manchester & Stanstead Airport en route to the Victor Reinz production plant in Neu-Ulm, Germany. All twenty delegates arrived safely in Stuttgart to be greeted with icy winds, snow drifts and, as later documented, the worst regional weather on record for over one hundred years.

From the airport, the members of the GCA were treated to a bus journey to the city of Neu-Ulm. Many were surprised to note that despite the deep snow, the traffic hadn’t ground to a complete standstill. It would appear that this area of Germany, unlike Britain, was blessed with the ‘right kind of snow’. Soon after, the party arrived at the Maritim Hotel that was to be their home for the next 24 hours. Located on the banks of the Danube and offering panoramic views of this historic city, this proved to be an extremely popular choice.

Upon completing the check in process, the party agreed to meet up one hour later for lunch. This is where two splinter groups formed. One group could be found in the restaurant enjoying the food provided. The other group could be found drinking local beers by the pool table downstairs. A precedent had been established and this precedent appeared to be liquid based.

With stomachs full and blood alcohol levels increased in order to combat the cold, a walk around Neu-Ulm was to be the next activity. At this time, Felix Lutkenherm from Victor Reinz joined the group with Barbara Raabe. Barbara was to be the guide for the tour and entertained the group with stories from the past whilst highlighting points of interest throughout the city. One particular tale told of a man unsuccessfully attempting to hand glide over the Danube. Barbara explained how both his great height and oversized waistband were to blame for his failure. Barbara’s gestures towards Max Rowland by way of example ignited laughter throughout the party (see above picture!).

The tour continued to the magnificent cathedral as the temperature dropped further still. A marketing masterstroke by Simon Winfield saw a number of delegates wearing woollen hats bearing the Novus emblem that he ‘just happened to have’ in his pockets. Eventually, sanctuary was found in the guise of the Zunfthaus restaurant where local food and drink was extremely welcome. The evening was rounded off either around the hotel pool table or at the brewery on the opposite side of the Danube. Keith Sheperd’s back was the only casualty of the evening as his attempts to throw Max into the Danube were easily thwarted.

 Day 2

The morning of 2^nd saw the group greeted with temperatures of –25°C. Siberian weather had truly found a home……not the wake up call many had requested but it certainly worked. After breakfast, the party climbed back onto the bus for the short journey to the Victor Reinz plant. Coffee was provided to combat the cold and the group took their seats in the conference suite. After a short welcome from Felix, the group were introduced to Volker Etzel, He guided the delegates though a full presentation incorporating the full range of materials manufactured on site. The group were then taken to the laboratories and their various test methods were demonstrated. These included both quality testing of their own materials and analysis of competitors products. Finally, the delegates were shown the motor test beds where a number of engines were being put through their paces.

After lunch, the group moved into the manufacturing area of the plant for demonstrations of Victor Reinz production methods. First stop was the AFM range. The group was first lead through the mixing process, onto the calendaring process and finally to the finishing of the sheets (quality control, printing etc). The group then followed the material onto it’s next application where it was placed on a fully automated 6 head water jet cutting machine. The resulting cut parts were removed faster than you could say “Don’t go hand gliding Max”.

The next stage of the tour took the group into the production area where multi layer head gaskets were being manufactured. An array of robots, high power presses and automated conveyor belts offered a demonstration of stereotypical German efficiency at it’s best. The parts manufactured within this part of the plant then journey to the production lines of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Ferrari & Volkswagen to name but a few. It was at this point that the hospital like cleanliness of the plant became even more evident. The metal fabrication utilised in this section of the plant led perfectly into the heat shield production area. Once again, huge presses, bespoke conveyer belt driven cleaning & painting lines and robotic arms were in abundance.

The final part of the tour took the group onto the valve cover manufacture section. This area was a lot quieter than the group had experienced over the last hour as there were no longer huge presses thumping down on sheets of metal. What it gained in silence it lost in aroma, as the smell of molten plastic was quite strong. Once again, this section of the plant was a demonstration of robotic arm frenzy and bespoke automated processes. From here it was back to the airport and home to bed as it had been a long couple of days.

All members of the travelling party agreed that the visit had been a huge success. Not only was the tour highly informative, the delegates also had a chance to see the beautiful city of Neu-Ulm and soak up the Bavarian atmosphere. Thanks must go to Felix, Volker and all the staff at Victor Reinz who made everyone so very welcome during their stay in Germany. Additional appreciation must also be awarded to M K Gaskets (Victor Reinz official agents in the UK) who orchestrated the entire event.