Spier vehicle plant
| Spier GmbH & Co. Fahrzeugwerk KG
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | 1872 |
| Seat |
Steinheim Germany
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| Number of employees | 379 (2019) |
| sales | 66 million euros (2019) |
| Branch | vehicle construction |
| Website | www.spier.de |
| As of January 1, 2020 | |
The Spier GmbH & Co. KG vehicle is a German specialist provider in the commercial vehicle market, with headquarters in the Westphalian Steinheim . The owner-managed family company produces distribution vehicles, box bodies , flatbed and beverage bodies , refrigerated bodies , swap systems , semitrailers , turntable trailers and center -axle trailers . The products are used by car and trailer rentals through to parcel and delivery services.
The vehicle plant in Steinheim (Bergheim) employs around 379 people (as of 2019). The body manufacturer produces between 4,500 and 5,500 vehicle units annually.
history
Founding of a wheelwright shop
Heinrich Spier founded a wheelwright and wagon construction company in Steinheim in 1872 . Spier made wooden wagon wheels, wheelbarrows, harvest wagons, agricultural implements and repaired farm wagons. The workshop consisted of a former stable building - Heinrich Spier converted it into a workshop with around 40 m². Two apprentices supported the craftsman. Heinrich and Karoline Spier had seven children, one of the two sons was Heinrich Spier junior.
Development towards vehicle construction
Heinrich Spier junior took over the craft business of the company founder in 1924. Two years later Heinrich Spier received the master craftsman's certificate. He developed the company in the direction of vehicle construction: in 1930, for example, he manufactured horse trailers with pneumatic tires.
Development into a commercial vehicle manufacturer
With the development of the automobile, the Spier company opened up new fields of activity from 1930. The production program developed from the construction of milk truck trailers to the conversion of cars and the development and manufacture of light metal superstructures.
Together with acquaintances and friends, Spier also looked for old military vehicles during this time and, together with three employees, converted them into transport trucks.
Heinrich Spier passed another master's examination as a coachbuilder in 1949. In the first years of development after the end of the Second World War, the Spier company manufactured, among other things, sales cars. Spier also converted cars into station wagons and manufactured cattle trucks. From 1949 Spier built its first furniture vans, at that time still with wooden bodies.
With the start of an apprenticeship as a coachbuilder, Willi Spier, the third generation of the Spier family, joined the company in 1951. A new phase began for the Spier company: in 1957 the company started manufacturing aluminum superstructures. They consisted of profiles in a frame construction and riveted smooth aluminum sheets. Semi-trailers and motor vehicles were now produced in Pullman design.
Willi Spier joined the company as a partner after completing his master craftsman's examination as a bodybuilder. In 1963 Spier moved into new halls in the Steinheim industrial estate.
Further development of the company and new technical developments
Aerodynamic optimization began in the 1970s and 1980s . The company expanded its production program to include dirt deflectors for trucks. They were mounted on the side edges of the driver's cab, directed the airstream into the lower area and thus prevented the exterior mirrors, side windows and door handles from being soiled. Dirt deflectors were introduced by truck manufacturers a few years later and are still integrated into the design of commercial trucks to this day.
In 1972, Spier opened a new plant in the Steinheim-Bergheim district on a property of 40,000 m².
Spier presented the top spoiler in 1974: a large, convex-shaped air baffle, screwed to the cab roof with four plate holders, guided the airflow over the edge of the body and, compared to vehicles manufactured at the time without a top spoiler, reached up to ten percent lower fuel consumption.
From 1975 onwards, diagonal rear-axle steering gave long semitrailers more maneuverability. The forced steering of the trailer axle mounted far to the rear of single-axle semitrailers also allowed a long wheelbase and thus better weight distribution.
In 1977 the company began developing and manufacturing UPS vehicles for Europe - an important division of the Spier company to this day.
On the night of July 18-19, 1977, a fire destroyed the five-year-old main plant. The damage amounted to many millions of marks.
In 1978 Spier began developing the Top-Sleeper, a driver's sleeping cabin above the driver's cab.
In 1982 there was a generation change: Heinrich Spier, son of the company founder and at the helm of the company for almost 60 years, completely handed over management to his son Willi Spier. Willi Spier was elected to the advisory board of the VDA (Association of the Automotive Industry) in 1986.
In 1989, the Spier box bodies adopted the Aeroform design. In addition, vehicles were developed for distribution traffic and internal shunting traffic.
Optimization of manufacturing processes and development of lightweight case Athlet plus!
In the decade from 1991 to 2000, innovations were introduced in product development and manufacturing processes. New gluing processes and a further development of the load securing systems were carried out. In addition, a lightweight case was added to the product range.
On April 1st, 1998 there was another change in the company: At the age of 60, Willi Spier handed over the management of Fahrzeugwerk KG to his sons Jürgen Spier and Michael Spier. Jürgen Spier took over the office of spokesman for the management. His brother becomes managing director of the subsidiary ATV GmbH.
Expansion of the product portfolio and the factory premises
From 2001 the product portfolio was supplemented by new developments and the company specialized more strongly. The development of sliding tarpaulin and curtainsider structures, the aerodynamically optimized integral structure Aerobox and the development of the area of refrigerated bodies with the product Athlet Thermo are additions to the product portfolio.
The company enlarged the premises and inaugurated a new production hall with two new production lines. The area of the company premises now amounts to 125,000 m².
The requirements of DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN EN ISO 14001 have now been met.
Beginning of partnership for interchangeable traffic systems
In 2011 a partnership began with SDG Modultechnik GmbH from Bielefeld, through which various further developments in the swap traffic systems were implemented.
Optimization of distribution traffic
In 2012, the SP 70 delivery vehicle was developed, which included aerodynamic aspects and improved the comfort of the courier and the safety of the goods to be transported, based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter .
Development of the lightweight case Athlet light
In 2014 the lightweight case Athlet light was developed for commercial vehicles with an approved total weight of 3.5 t. Working with various chassis manufacturers made it possible to drastically increase the vehicle's payload.
Development of the integral structure "SP 80"
The integral body "SP 80" based on the Iveco Daily was developed in 2016.
Development of the integral structure "SP45plus"
In 2018 the “SP45plus” integral body based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was launched on the market.
Web links
literature
- Verband der Automobilindustrie (Ed.): Germany's Automobile Location - A Success Story with a Future. Kommunikation und Wirtschaft GmbH, Oldenburg 1996, p. 118 ff.