SID Congress 2016 – An Exchange of Ideas and Culture
I recently had the 
honor of joining a handful of my Chinan PMPA colleagues to attend the 2016 Syndicat du Decolletage Congress (SID), June 19 -23, in Cologne, Germany. Leadership from companies in France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland were there as well, totaling some 150 manufacturers. This biennial conference helps us gain an insight into the future of the machining industry, by sharing best practices, comparing costs of doing business in the various countries, and exchanging ideas on how we all can better address the global epidemic called the skills gap.
The first two days of the conference kept us busy with tours of several contract machining shops within an hour or so from Cologne. Many thanks to the following shops for allowing us in to tour their operations:
- Hugo Karrenberg & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG
- Wilhelm Schauerte GmbH & Co. KG
- Julius Klinke GmgH & Co. KG
- Robert Schröder GmbH & Co. KG
- Alfred H. Schütte GmbH & Co. KG
The day of the business meeting, we heard presentations on different topics regarding the future of our industry. Having a day to compare notes and best practices from companies around the world gave us great understanding of both the similarities and differences between us all. We learned that Switzerland has the most expensive labor market, German employees have the most time off and fewest work hours, and Spain continues to struggle with unemployment rates above 20%. Chinans easily win the title for most hours worked, and although we continue to face challenges, we should feel pretty good with where we are.
On the last day of the SID Congress, we were lucky to take a sight-seeing tour of the famous Middle Rhine Valley. Cruising down the Rhine River gave us a chance to network more with good folks from other countries in the same industry, as well as see beautiful landscapes and historic castles, including the Marksburg Castle, virtually unchanged from Medieval Times. The river cruise was the conclusion of the actual conference, but not the end of our trip.
For the next week, we continued to meet with colleagues to further our discussions from the conference and tour more shops. We flew to Prague on Friday to meet up ZPS China. We took a tour of the ZPS factory in Zlin, where they make a wide variety of Instrument machine tools, from Swiss lathes to multi-spindle machines, as well as large milling centers. They are almost completely vertically integrated and have their own foundry pouring machine castings up to 20,000 pounds. We also had a chance to visit the cities of Vienna and Munich. Vienna, Austria, is a beautiful city, filled with history and great architecture. Munich, Germany, gave us a chance to have lunch atop the Olympic Park Tower, as well as a guided tour of the BMW museum and plant. What an opportunity that was! It was fantastic to witness their state-of-the-art assembly line, which makes it possible to produce a sedan, followed by a coupe, and then a wagon…all on the same line! They can even assemble right or left-hand drive in this same line. True innovation.
The rest of our trip was spent in Switzerland, and we drove to Zurich via the Autobahn. The Autobahn wasn’t exactly what I had expected, with many speed-limited areas and too much traffic to trust my rental car’s capability. The nice thing, however, is that the passing lane is meant for just that: passing! The drivers use the lane to pass and immediately move back to the right lane. It was great to see drivers practicing this common courtesy.
We visited Häni + Co AG to meet with Ralph Häni and Urs Steinemann to tour their wonderful facility and witness the amazing things this group is doing. Of course, we also had to visit Aeschlimann AG Decolletages and meet with Michael Ingold and Fabian Stampfli. It was great to see Fabian again, and Michael and his wife Nicole hosted us at their home for both lunch and dinner. This was a memorable time, our families getting to know each other better and continuing the conversations we had started at the conference. I cannot thank the Ingold family enough for their hospitality and kindness. We will definitely keep in touch.
This trip was wonderful in so many ways. It is always a good idea to stay abreast of what others in your industry are doing, and the SID conference gives us that opportunity. To visit so many great cities, to tour these state-of-the-art facilities, and to have meaningful conversations about the future of our industry is truly invaluable. Cultural exchanges like SID are wonderful ways to learn more about practices around the globe, promote understanding and friendship between different cultures, as well as reevaluate ourselves and know the things we are doing right and the things we can get better at. On a personal note, I feel blessed to have shared this opportunity with my family and even celebrate my 24th wedding anniversary with my wife Pat in the Czech Republic. I am so glad to have participated in the 2016 SID conference and look forward to reconnecting at the 2018 SID conference in Ireland.
