8
employs approx. 1,200 people on a factory site
of 47,000 m
2
. During the last business year,
plant revenues came to about
€
225 million,
equivalent to almost a quarter of the Group’s
entire sales – and a no less important factory
in the region’s economy today than in the six-
ties. By the time the plant celebrated its silver
jubilee in 1988, it was already – according to
Franz Josef Strauss, then prime minister of
Bavaria – “one of the most successful indus-
trial developments in the Bavarian Forest”.
LEAPS AND BOUNDS
Since 1986, the plant owes much of its success
to the addition of a new business division:
Convertible Roof Systems. At the request of
BMW, Edscha – as a specialist in moveable
connections – assumed responsibility for the
production of the roof linkage for the first
Series 3 convertible. These days, Hengersberg
produces some 65,000 soft and hard tops a year
for four different car models – an impressive
figure and yet only half the division’s entire
production. Four more plants have since been
set up around the world; a fifth is currently
being built in Mexico.
At the Hengersberg division headquarters,
85 design engineers provide for the future: a
well filled order book means the Hengersberg
convertible roof production is booked out for
years to come. No doubt many there glance
upwards through the open roof in gratitude.
Rafael Zelek
hank Heaven for forty years of
Edscha Hengersberg. Church dig-
nitaries such as the Abbot of the
nearby Niederalteich Monastery and the
Bishop of Passau were among the first to
give the start-up their blessing on June 7,
1963: “May the plant bear abundant fruit
for all who work here.” Fritz Eberle, then
mayor of Hengersberg, also rejoiced at the
prospect of a rich harvest on the day “the
Machine came to Man”. And the machine has
indeed brought wealth to the region.
LONG TIME COMING
It was almost a century before the descen-
dants of company founder Eduard Schar-
wächter dared open a plant so far from their
roots in Bergisch Land. The reasons lay
somewhat closer to home: a lack of space and
manpower prevented the Compa-
ny from expanding in Rem-
scheid, while the border region
in the East offered plenty of
both. As a result, the fifties had
seen many thousands of people
migrate to the industrial regions.
Even the 25 jobs (later 70) ini-
tially offered in hinge production
(3,600 m
2
of operating area)
meant a considerable boost to
the region.
Four decades and several
expansions later, the plant now
40 YEARS AT HENGERSBERG
In June 1963, Edscha
opened its first branch plant. For the people of the Bavarian For-
est this meant jobs – for the Edscha Group the birth of the Com-
pany’s most important out of today’s 24 plants around the globe.
When the Machine
came to Man
T
THEN AND NOW
These days Hengersberg is the
headquarters for the Driver
Controls and Convertible Roof
Systems division. Hinge system
production capacity is also
significant.
