The expert for profiles

No matter where you are: The probability that you are close to a steel profile formed by Welser at this moment is relatively high. The profiles can be find in homes, offices and cars, in many of our everyday appliances and buildings - from the guide rails in drawers to the support frames in trucks and railway carriages. The company, with its headquarters in Ybbsitz, Lower Austria, and a German production facility in Bönen near Unna, is Europe's leading manufacturer of special profiles and assemblies.
The history of the family business began in 1664 with a pan forge. Since 1960 Welser Profile has been manufacturing roll-formed steel profiles at its founding location in Ybbsitz - initially mainly for the construction sector - and since the early 1980s also longitudinally welded special section tubes. Today, Thomas and Andreas Welser are the eleventh generation of the family to manage the company - together with Christian Hansl and Nicolas Longin. Around 2,500 employees work in the worldwide sales offices, the three production facilities in Austria and Germany and the production site in the USA.
The history, the strong and long connection of the Welser family to their company and its size characterize it as medium-sized - regardless of which definition you apply. But the proximity to suppliers, customers and employees is also given and is omnipresent during a visit to the production site in Bönen.

Jörn Miklas, Head of Supply Chain Management at Welser Profile, extends a warm welcome to his guests at Salzgitter Flachstahl: Ines Guhr, team leader in sales, and Dr. Ralf Koch, sales manager with statutory authority. They have known each other for many years, the contact is close, the communication channels are short. "For us, a trip to Bönen is like a visit to very good friends," says Ines Guhr.
Jörn Miklas is responsible for the procurement of materials and thus also for the purchase of steel. Salzgitter Flachstahl and Salzgitter Stahlhandel are among the most important suppliers. The business relationships have been cultivated for more than 20 years and go back so far that none of those responsible today can really remember the beginnings.
Over the years, this proximity has developed that is so formative and important for medium-sized businesses and which simplifies many business processes. Such a development is not a matter of course, especially if the general conditions might suggest otherwise. "However, we do not perceive Salzgitter AG as a large company with opaque structures, but meet each other on a quasi equal footing," says Jörn Miklas. "We know our contacts at Salzgitter and know that we can turn to them at any time. And so far, we have always found a solution together."
This does not mean that the business relationship between Welser Profile and Salzgitter AG could not be further optimized. Jörn Miklas sees a particularly important task for both partners in the near future: The digitalisation of distribution, procurement and other processes must be advanced. One could also say that both partners need to come even closer together - also to meet the challenges of the future in terms of digitized processes. "However, both partners are on the right track here and are optimistic that they will soon be able to make corresponding progress together," says  Dr. Ralf Koch.

Digitalization is also important because Welser Profile does not produce standard profiles, but customized solutions according to customer specifications. These special profiles and their complex cross-sections give an idea of the work and care required for their design and manufacture. During the joint product development, in addition to Welser's know-how in profile production and tool design, their experience with the materials comes into play. "We know which steels are suitable for which purposes," says Jörn Miklas. "Our strength lies in our imagination in dealing with steel and in our ability to find solutions together with the customer." Part of this competence is to name and procure the appropriate steel.

More than 80 % of the coils are delivered by rail. The wagons roll directly into the coil warehouse, which is located in Bönen directly adjacent to the production halls. The slit strips are first pre-punched and then formed step by step in the profiling lines - until the desired profile cross-section is produced. This roll forming is carried out by roll tools without heat input. They are an important resource for the company. Its internal development laid the foundation for its success in recent history. Welser Profile develops and designs the tools itself in its main factory in Ybbsitz. Thanks to their various shapes and qualities, these rolls can be combined as desired in the profiling line to produce a desired cross-section. It is a huge construction kit with which an unimaginable number of profile cross-sections can be produced.

 At the Bönen plant, hundreds of thousands of these rolls are stored on high racks about 10 m high. A logistical challenge, because only the computer knows where which tool is located. With these tools Welser Profile has already produced around 23,000 different profile cross-sections. At present, about three new ones are added every day.

The processing possibilities of cold forming are almost inexhaustible. To achieve the desired profile, Welser can also emboss, stamp, bend, weld, laser cut and more. The desired depth of added value is defined by the customer. For example, complex stamping tools are also developed and built in the tool competence center at the Ybbsitz site.

Design, toolmaking, maintenance and the closely synchronized flow of materials are handled by a team of experts at all locations who have established a particularly close relationship with their company. This can be felt in Bönen when walking through the production halls almost with every step. Throughout the entire company, people are basically on a first-name basis, greeting each other with a smile and friendly words, and the gaze does not drop when a supervisor walks by. "We have flat hierarchies here," confirms Jörn Miklas, while exchanging a few jokes with two colleagues from production.

It is a moment of closeness that is found in many facets. For example, the employees have their own fitness center in Bönen, and every two years the company celebrates a big family party together with the Welser family. The fluctuation among employees is correspondingly low - although the workforce is rejuvenating: around 7% of all Welser employees are still in training. Welser Profile provides demand-oriented training in all areas relevant to production. Because in a company that bears the name of the owner, his responsibility for the employees is always a special one. This becomes clear with Welser Profile in a subtle and beautiful detail: a picture hangs in the corridor between administration and production.

Only from close up can you see that it is a photo mosaic: The portrait of the former boss and current supervisory board consists of many small photos of employees. The boss as the sum of his employees - this is another way of defining the principle of medium-sized businesses.