trailer world issue Two 2010

Together with Otto Fuchs, BPW has developed an aluminium wheel for heavy commercial vehicles that pays off in next-to-no time.

Dossier 24 Issue Two 2010 It all began in 1962 when Porsche was tink- ering around with the prototype for the 911 series and looking for a special, completely new wheel. It was to combine light weight with riding comfort and stability, while of- fering an unmistakable design. In contrast to the cast wheel, a forged wheel seemed to tick all the boxes. Up to then, Porsche had only gained experience in this direction with track rollers for lightweight small tanks. These roll- ers were forged for the tank chains and made of aluminium – manufactured by Otto Fuchs. The Porsche job gave the metalworking firm from Meinerzhagen an oppor- tunitytobecomeabrand manufacturer. The Fuchs wheel became a classic. In addition to Por- sche, it soon also conquered other in- novative cars, such as the NSU Ro 80, the VW Porsche 914 and the original Audi Quattro. Nowadays all popular car mak- ers are customers of Fuchs. The com- pany’s success is based on its know-how about materials and procedures gathered over many decades together with more than a hundred special aluminium alloys. “By today we have acquired a kind of global USP for forged light alloy wheels”, says Jörg Ludwig, responsible for technical sales and marketing. However, the company’s pro- duction activities go way beyond parts for car production, extending through to aerospace engineering, the building industry and machinery and plant construction. A wide range of different parts are made for the many industry sectors using production methods such as forging, extrud- ing or ring rolling. In 2009, the family company thus generated turnover of €2.4 billion with a workforce of 8,000 employees. The foundations for the business were laid by Otto Fuchs one hundred years ago. Back in thosedayshetookoverabrassfoundryandlater e x - pand- ed it to offer a wide range of metal pro- duction. During the 1930s, his son Hans Joachim Fuchs ran one of the first SME firms that opted for alumini- um, subsequently producing components for the aviation industry.. After the end of the war, the factory lay in ruins and the family had to start again right from the very beginning. But the years of the economic mir- acle also helped Fuchs to a swift recovery so that soon there were 3,000 employees work- ing in Meinerzhagen. In 1964 the company took over Schürmann in Bielefeld (now called Schüco), producing elements for windows, It’s as synonymous with Porsche as the colour red is for Ferrari. After all, the Fuchs wheel (Fuchsfelge® ) from Otto Fuchs KG is not only light and tough, it also has that special something consisting of timeless design and racing flair. For die-hard car fans, this is what makes a Porsche the real thing. Constantly reinven ting the wheel Photos:Behler,Stretz »BPW and Otto Fuchs share the same sound basic values.« Dr. Hinrich Mählmann, general partner

trailer world issue Two 2010

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