Since it was founded in 1961, metal spinning company Albert Haag GmbH has built a tradition for continually raising the bar in the forming and finishing of metals – whether in the production of parts for heating and air conditioning systems, for medical instruments or for the lighting and furniture industry right through to the manufacture of machinery.
Here at aha! we are best placed and fully equipped to supply both small batches and large production volumes to high quality standards in short turnaround times. Special products are custom-made in manual processes. For small and large production runs we work with robotic technologies, deep drawing presses and PNC spinning lathes of the latest generation.
Naturally our range of services also includes joining techniques and surface finishing processes.
High levels of expertise in all fields, calculated flexibility and carefully executed logistics are the characteristics which make aha! the ideal partner – from manufacture and further processing right through to completion and installation.
This is the history of aha!, a company which has been evolving for more than half a century – based on a solid foundation of skilled craftsmanship and intelligent management and having the foresight to adapt to technological advances of the modern era – to emerge as one of the German success stories in the metalworking sectors of industry. Here are the main chapters in the company’s success story:
Unmanned production is introduced, with loading and unloading robots increasing speed and cost efficiency in the metal spinning process.
The expertise of aha! is in ever greater demand and customer confidence is high, with inquiries coming in for ever larger jobs. The current equipment is inadequate to cope with the volume of orders, and the in-house toolmaking section is also in need of more space. Another building is added to the 2002 extension in order to provide another 2100 m2 of production floor to accommodate the extensive stock of tools, new workstations and new machines.
On seeing that Richard and Robert Eßer have become acquainted with the business operations down to the very last detail and have emphatically proven their capability, Friedrich and Monika Eßer hand over the reins to their sons, taking aha! into the third generation as a family-run business.
After a traineeship in banking and a degree in business studies (qualifying as a “Diplom-Kaufmann” which is similar to an MBA), Robert Eßer is gradually introduced to key aspects of the company and goes on to take charge of cost accounting, sales, marketing and personnel management. With an eye to the future, he focuses mainly on the digitisation of the business processes.
There is a steady rise in the volume of orders and, with it, an increase in the space requirements. As a consequence and an investment in the future, a new production building with a floor area of 2000 m2 is built on the opposite side of the road to accommodate more production machines of the latest generation and larger parts and to improve the options in terms of logistics.
The aha! tradition of striving consistently for quality is officially recognised. In 2008 the aha! quality management system is assigned ISO 9001 certification for the first time. Since then the certificate is renewed continuously in repeat certification audits.
After doing an apprenticeship as a toolmaker and graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, Richard Eßer follows in the footsteps of his parents and bring his expertise and know-how into the company. In the years which follow, Richard is gradually encouraged to increase his input in the management of the business.
Having continued to grow and steadily expand its stock of machinery, the company is bursting at the seams again. aha! acquires a 6000 m2 plot of land in Johann-Georg-Halske-Straße in Korschenbroich and builds a 3000 m2 plant with modern workstations and spacious staff facilities.
The healthy growth of the company continues. The high number of orders necessitates an increase in the workforce and an expansion of the premises in 1983. A new workshop is added to the existing company building. More space is needed yet again in 1988, however, following investment in new machines and an increase in demand for more storage capacity. The second extension goes ahead. The technological revolution falls in the same period, and the hand-operated spinning lathes are gradually converted to the first fully automatic spinning machines and hydraulic deep drawing presses.
The second generation takes over the responsibility for the company and, having already been actively engaged in the management of the company for some time, daughter and son-in-law are now officially at the helm of the metal spinning company. With many years of experience as a master metal spinner, Friedrich Eßer heads up the technical side of the business while Monika Eßer, née Haag, takes charge of the commercial aspects and the administration. The couple make the important decisions jointly. In a move masterminded by Friedrich Eßer, the range of services had already been extended before the handover to include deep drawing.
The young enterprise grows steadily. Albert Haag and his then five-strong workforce need more space for their hand-operated spinning lathes. The company acquires a 3800 m2 plot at Gilleshütte 96 and builds a 450 m2 factory on the land. An office annexe is also built along with an apartment for the second generation, Friedrich and Monika Eßer. As in the previous years, the wife of the company’s founder, Maria Haag, is in charge of all the office work.
After many years of manual metal spinning work in a company in Korschenbroich, Albert Haag decides at the advanced age of 48 to start up his own company. Plant and equipment: one hand-operated spinning lathe with spinning tools. Company headquarters: garage. Operations subsequently move into a former cowshed which had been converted into a workshop and the first employees are hired.
Teamwork and cooperative partnership on an equal footing are firm foundations of the aha! company philosophy. These principles are also lived out by the four members of the management team who share the responsibility for adopting an integrated and sustainable approach to the realisation of the business aims and objectives.
We are committed to both the welfare of our employees and the success of our customers and this is the spirit in which we seek to continue the tradition of Albert Haag in the third generation.
Dipl.-Kfm. [graduate in business administration]
Head of Sales
Director
Dipl.-Ing. [graduate engineer]
Head of Operations
Director
Production Manager
Toolmaking Manager
Johann-Georg-Halske-Straße 13
41352 Korschenbroich
Tel.: +49 21 61/6 13 94 0
Fax: +49 21 61/6 13 94 22
