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Hermle Company Profile
Time never comes to a standstill, which is the nature. And time has become valuable.
Time has always been "made" and interpreted by mankind. When people started to
observe "time" they focused on sunrise and sunset only. In the Middle Ages they started
to develop ever more sophisticated methods of measuring time. In today's world we
feel the urgency to save time. We are obsessed by the need to win time. Our desire for
the peace of our personal time can be satisfied by the elegance of exclusive clocks.
Franz Hermle & Sohn was founded in 1922 and has its headquarters in Gosheim in the
Swabian Jura, Southern Germany. Franz Hermle & Sohn is the largest producer
worldwide of mechanical table clocks, hall clocks and wall clocks and a market leader
in the manufacturing of mechanical clock mechanisms. The product range, under the
brand name "HERMLE" comprises of more than 65 basic clock mechanisms of most
varied designs. "HERMLE" products stand for German technology. Approximately 500
employees at three German manufacturing sites manufacture them. Furthermore,
Franz Hermle & Sohn has subsidiaries in the United States. Hermle Black Forest
Clocks Amherst, Virginia was founded in 1977. Traditional craftsmanship's combined
with state-of-art manufacturing methods warrant customer satisfaction in more than 80
countries around the world.
Hermle's Product
"HERMLE" products are entirely manufactured in Germany offering a wide range of
completed clock line starting with special carriage clocks, vacuum plated or all metal,
mantle clocks, wall clocks, regulators, 400 day anniversary clocks and extends to
grandfather clocks. Hermle ships to some 80 countries around the world and its
mechanical and quartz movements can be found in most of the clocks worldwide.
Hermle's emphasis on sophisticated engineering and automated production secured
the Company a high market share in moderated priced clocks. Products innovations
over the last years have included the "Flagship", new quartz movements with chiming
quality equal to their mechanical counterparts and a range of add-on features for quartz
models. In its wide range of finished clocks a comparatively new introduction is a
modern line of wall and mantle clocks. The Company is now working on several new
developments and expects to launch these items in the very near future.
One of the most modern clock factories in the World
"HERMLE" clocks are produced from one of the most modern clocks making plants in
the world. Operating from 2 plants in Gosheim, 1 in Reichenbach, Germany and
another 1 in Amherst/Virginia, USA covering about 150,000 square feet and a work force
of 500, it has been acclaimed as a center for advance technology and high efficiency. Its
production programs range from traditional clocks with mechanical and quartz
movements, with or without chime, to high tech radio controlled clocks. Nearly 100% of
the parts are made in-house with advance equipment and machinery. Molding,
metallizing, lacquering and production of very complicating turn parts needs to be
carefully controlled to ensure that every piece of "HERMLE" clock meet up to the highest
standards of precision and quality.
One of the recent investments in machinery has been in the procurement of precision
equipment to finish the pivots on each clock arbor after all the dust preventive plating
materials have been removed. These machines placed a polished finished on the
pivots and careful checks are made to ensure that rigid quality control standards are
maintained. This improvement should extend the lives of "HERMLE" movements
considerably. The Company has also invested a considerable amount of capital in
improved processes to finish the pivots on the train wheels in the mechanical clocks.
All nickel plating is removed from the pivots and then they are polished using these
machines. Then careful inspections are made during each step of this operation. The
factory is now working on developing additional features for lesser-priced movements
and expects to launch these items in the near future. Hermle is the world leader in the
manufacturing of mechanical movements, producing more that 1 million units annually
and sells to over 130 countries around the world. It's not surprising that you will find that
many of the mechanical clocks in the market are fitted with a "HERMLE" movement.
Applying Modern Technology To Clock Making
Within a few kilometers of where the Danube River begins its journey to meet the
waters o f the world. Hermle products begin on their way to almost every country on the
globe. Like the Danube, the Hermle factory system has adapted itself to meet the
changing nature of the modern marketplace and still maintain a strong forward
momentum.
The Hermle factories engaged in making both mechanical and electronic clocks are
nestled in a picturesque Black Forest valley in southern Germany. The planes are
located in the shores of Reichenbach and Gosheim. This valley has always been the
home of the Franz Hermle & Sohn Uhrenfabrik and over the last 70 years it has become
one of the major business enterprises in the area. The valley has traditionally been the
home of several factories engaged in the production of precision machinery and small
mechanical components, so there is an abundance of skilled labor available. Even
though some of these factories have grown to a considerable size, the valley has never
taken on an urban character and still maintains a quiet village atmosphere that is
ideally suited for clock making and precision manufacturing. This quiet way of life has
not impeded the progress of the factories in the area. Most of them are as modern as
one would expect to find in any of the major industrially developed countries of the
world. All of them have had to automate their operations to the maximum extent
possible so they can remain competitive in their respective markets. Franz Hermle and
Sohn is no exception in this regard. They have constructed a factory complex which is
one of the most modern and efficient facilities in the world for manufacturing both
mechanical and electronic clock movements. Hermle mechanical clocks start their
existence in the Reichenbach plant, which produces almost all of the component parts
that are found in the wide range of mechanical movements the company manufactures.
Several semi-automatic machines that have traditionally been associated with the
production of mechanical clock parts have been upgraded with computerized control
mechanisms to increase the number and type of functions they can handle. The
increased efficiency of these modified machines, as well as the recent investments the
company has made in new computerized machinery, has enable Franz Hermle & Sohn
to continue to provide their products at very competitive prices all over the world. Almost
very operation in the Reichenbach plant has been automated and very few workers are
required to produce a sizeable quantity of parts for the Hermle assembly lines and
spare parts stocks. These continued innovations have helped to reduce the greatest
cost factor in any precision manufacturing operation - the cost of labor. In most cases
these changes have not been made at the expense of Hermle employees, as those
displaced by automation have been relocated to other production activities in another
part of the factory system. One of the most recent investments in machinery has been in
the procurement of precision equipment to finish the pivots on each clock arbor after all
the rust preventive plating materials have been removed. These machines place a
polished finish on the pivots and careful checks are then carried out to ensure that rigid
quality control standards are maintained. This improvement should extend the lives of
new Hermle movements considerably.Even those operations that still have to be
accomplished by hand have been automated to the maximum extent possible. The
drums that operate the hammers on chiming movements are still assembled by hand
but every effort has been made to make the parts available to the assembler in a fast
and efficient manner. Other operations such as the assembly of automatic beat setting
services are best accomplished by it but automated machinery that can sense the
correct tension on the spring is used so the operation can be carried out quickly and
efficiently. The clock plates for mechanical movement are prepared on the lower level of
the main Gosheim plant. After being stamped from a roll of sheet brass each plate is
brought to a perfectly flat state and the decorative designs are placed on it. Great care is
taken in drilling the holes in the plate that will accommodate the wheels and other
components. The plate is prepared for finishing and is given a coat of baked lacquer
before it is sent on its way to become part of a mechanical clock movement in the
assembly facility. The assembly of mechanical movements is accomplished on the
upper levels of the main plant building in Gosheim. Wheels are placed between the
plates and the movement starts its journey down the assembly line on a conveyor belt.
At each station employees add additional parts to the movement and place it back on
the conveyor. This process is continued until the movement is completed and moves to
the inspection station. All Hermle mechanical movements are test-run for one winding
cycle on racks adjacent to the assembly facility. The company devotes a respectable
amount of its staff and their time to quality control operations. A considerable
investment has been made in computerized equipment to upgrade the quality control
efforts of the company. Most of the mechanical movements are prepared for shipping to
Hermle customers all over the world once they have completed their test runs. Other
movements are transferred to the new Hermle plant in Gosheim located only a few
blocks away, where they are installed in cases procured from local suppliers. Most of
the clocks assembled in this facility go to Hermle's European customers and to fill
special orders. While Hermle operates a subsidiary plant in Amherst, Virginia, it is not
economically feasible to equip most of these facilities with duplicate machinery. Some
parts for mechanical clocks that require specialized machinery or complex
manufacturing processes are made in the Reichenbach and Gosheim plants and
shipped to Amherst. Every part that goes to the U.S. plant is given a 100 percent quality
control inspection before it leaves Gosheim. Components for Hermle electronic clocks
are produced in the buildings that house the plastic injection machines. These parts
undergo several different types of finishing processes before they enter the assembly
facility. The basic electronic movement is assembled totally by automated equipment.
Different components are then added to the basic movements to produce a wide range
of functions and features available to Hermle customers. Even though the basic
movement is assembled by an automated process most of the operations required to
add the additional features can be accomplished by hand more economically for limited
production runs. Hermle electronic 400-day clocks are assembled in the new Gosheim
plant by teams of two employees. Each clock is totally assembled by these teams,
which is somewhat different than the traditional production line approach used in most
factories. The assembly of each electronic clock can be completed quite quickly and
efficiently using this method. Several work stations in this facility allow the assembly of
different quartz electronic 400-day models at one time. The Franz Hermle & Sohn
showroom in the headquarters building reflects the wide range of horological products
the company is capable of manufacturing. These range from traditional, weight-driven
clocks to new, state-of-the-art, radio-controlled timepieces. The different styles and
features, appearing on clocks made to satisfy the tastes of people in different parts of
the world, emphasize the extent of the distribution of Franz Hermle & Sohn's products.
