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trailer world Issue One 2014

18      Issue One 2014 Porträt is only looking at a rough sketch and knows what sort of money he is prepared to pay,” says Pfaff, describing his approach. It then takes several days to turn the sketch into a CAD drawing with all the important tech- nical parameters, and this is discussed with the customer again. Experience instead of standardised parts Pfaff trained as a forge master - he re- gards this this phase as a decisive corner- stone of his entrepreneurial success. “A great deal of experience goes into the design planning, both from me and my design- er Michael Heinig who has been working for me for more than 20 years now, and we have all come to call him “foreman” – even though he isn’t really,” says Pfaff. People like Heinig are an essential part of the compa- ny’s capital, he thinks: “Almost every time, we have to start from the drawing board by designing a vehicle based on the customer’s wishes. This means I need colleagues who are particularly creative at the same time as possessing a great deal of experience,” ex- plains Pfaff. The usual procedure followed in the industry nowadays, namely coming up with solutions based on databases and parts numbers, is something that he re- gards rather critically in the context of his company: “Maybe that’s okay for stand- ard solutions, like if I was going to build a small batch of trailers. For us, it’s important to understand what you can best achieve with what material even during the design phase. After all, we build the majority of it ourselves, irrespective of whether you’re talking about the chassis, hydraulics or the internal fittings.” Attracting young employees by training Training is correspondingly important for the entrepreneur, and the company has attracted a large proportion of its workforce by this route. With about 40 employees, Pfaff allows itself 10 apprentices who are be- ing trained up as fitters and lathe operators – above all in the way that Pfaff needs for vehicle manufacture. Head of training, Da- vid Kuhnitzsch, relies on tried-and-tested manual techniques above all else: “With us, Almost all of the vehicle construction work is performed in the company’s own workshop: from the body-in-white stage through to welding and artistic forging work as well as painting and elaborate decoration by hand.

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