+++ Award-winner: Vanessa Hellwing is named one of the best female managers in the world +++
The »IEra WomenLeaders Magazine – A smart way to Industry« awards female managers throughout the world, profiles visionary women and celebrates the best of these every year with the IEra Women Leaders prize. The Executive Board and employees of the CHIRON Group are proud and delighted to have Vanessa Hellwing, one of the »10 Best CFOs of 2021«, in the company and would like to express our sincerest congratulations for this achievement.

The annual awards are given to women who change industries by promoting and implementing state-of-the-art business solutions in order to enable growth and create valuable brands from 'their' companies. According to the author of her laudation, the key to Vanessa Hellwing's success is »her friendly and approachable attitude with a focus on always finding a consensus.« And: »Following the restructuring on the CHIRON Group, she is even more determined to ensure the company undergoes continuous further development. For her, a technology company must always be prepared to think outside the box.«

What is Vanessa Hellwing's main focus for the CHIRON Group and how does she balance her career and family? Find out more in the laudation of the IEra WomenLeaders Magazine.

+++ Innovation in the spotlight: The AM Cube 3D metal printer +++
Which innovations stand out from the crowd and offer companies real added value? The Best of Industry Award from trade journal »MM Maschinenmarkt« has been answering these questions since 2016. A panel of experts and users vote to decide the winners in several categories. What was special this year was that the panel of experts created a shortlist of what they believed to be the best innovations. An innovation from the CHIRON Group appeared in the Production & Manufacturing category: the »easy to use« AM Cube 3D metal printer for producing larger and more complex components, for coating, repairs and 3D printing.

Innovative? No doubt about it! With added value? That too! The automatic changeover of the deposition head while the process is running enables the combination of various properties in a single workpiece and – in different process phases – the application of wire and powder.

Worth the money? The users from 13th September to 12th November agreed it was. The result? The votes were counted and the AM Cube was in the Top 3 – congratulations to Axel Boi, Head of Additive Manufacturing, and his team for this excellent achievement! The users' decision was tighter and more tantalizing than ever before, but gold finally went to Kennametal Europe for a 3D-printed tool solution for e-mobility.

Two innovations for comprehensive process monitoring during laser deposition welding are also setting new trends for machining practice. Find out more about these and all other 2021 market launches from the CHIRON Group here.

+++ Welcome back, Roger Schöpf +++
37 years »on the payroll« at CHIRON, most recently as Head of Application. Now, Roger Schöpf is back, and as Head of Global Operations he is responsible for all production facilities of the CHIRON Group. What spurred him to make this move? Where will he be focusing his efforts in his new role? And what still drives him after all this time? Find out the answers in our interview  with him.

+++ ¡Una cálida bienvenida, CHIRON Iberia! +++
A warm welcome to the CHIRON Group! On July 20th, 2021 the CHIRON Group acquired commercial agency Maquinariá Eurotec S.A. in Spain and integrated the company into the group under the name of CHIRON Iberia SAU. With more than 500 successful machining center installations under its belt, CHIRON Iberia is an expert in turnkey solutions and services. And in the words of Bernd Hilgarth, CSO of the CHIRON Group, it also boasts »a fantastic, highly experienced team, that fits seamlessly into the group. With the addition of this new subsidiary, we are strengthening our position on the Iberian market, enabling us to support our customers faster and more effectively, to reinforce existing relationships and to forge new ones. Here, we have a particular focus on the important yet demanding aerospace, automotive and medical markets.«

The new subsidiary currently employs a team of 15 under the leadership of Managing Director Eneko Cortabarría and CFO Isaac Cuzador. The registered office remains in Iciar, near San Sebastián. 

We would like to take the opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to Pedro Ormaechea, who successfully ran Maquinariá Eurotec for more than 20 years, and established it as a highly valued partner of the CHIRON Group, who leaves to enjoy a well-earned retirement. We wish you all the very best! ¡Todo lo mejor!

+++ Double award-winner: CHIRON China +++
On November 11th, 2021, trade magazine »Automobil Industrie China (AI China)« in Shanghai celebrated its 25th anniversary by presenting several suppliers with an »Automotive Innovation and Technology Award« in various categories. The judging panel comprised industry experts, automotive manufacturers and representatives from the Automotive Technology faculty of RWTH Aachen University, who awarded the honor to companies whose innovative solutions had contributed to advances in the automotive industry. CHIRON China was delighted to receive not one but two awards: The »Outstanding Enterprise Award« and the »Automotive Innovation and Technology Award« for the MILL 3000. The 5-axis machining center's generous and flexible work area and its high milling capacity are ideal for machining structural components such as side beams, crossmembers and battery housings for electric vehicles.

+++ Giving customers the very best support: new sales and service structure +++
Is your machining center from CHIRON? Or STAMA? Or FACTORY5? No matter which brand you have, the Sales team of the CHIRON Group now takes care of the entire product portfolio following a restructure. Alongside the existing sales region structure, the teams in Schlierbach and Tuttlingen, Germany, will be focusing on their long-established skills more than ever. The staff in Schlierbach will specialize in the application areas of injection systems, brakes, tools and hydraulics, while the sales experts in Tuttlingen are on hand to offer support for all other industries.

Customer contacts for service are still the same. For maintenance, technical support or even retrofitting and refurbishing STAMA brand machining centers, the experts based at the Schlierbach site are still on hand to help. Wherever in the world you are, the CHIRON Group Service team is always close by. They provide the necessary services for all brands throughout the entire lifecycle of a machine, and in the event of mechanical breakdown, they react quickly to get your production back up and running fast.

+++ The best of the best: Lukas Müller is the state winner! +++
Like 7,497 further trainees throughout Germany, Lukas Müller, trainee in the CHIRON Group from fall 2018 to summer 2021, has successfully completed his Chamber of Industry and Commerce technical examination as Mechatronics Engineer. What’s special about his achievement, however, is that he left all the others trailing behind to become the best in state. Congratulations!

He achieved extremely good grades in the theoretical examination and received the school award from the Erwin Teufel college in Spaichingen, Germany. In his practical examination, he solved complex software tasks typical in the day-to-day work of engineers with ease. For theory and practice he achieved 98 out of 100 possible points. He completed his technical examination with this outstanding result.

The CHIRON Group recognized the winner as part of a celebration in the forum in Tuttlingen, Germany. In his laudation, CEO Carsten Liske emphasized the importance of the next generation for the CHIRON Group: »It is our employees who make our company strong and successful. Their commitment and passion for precision are what make the difference. To make sure this continues in the future, we need talented trainees like Lukas Müller. In addition to his personal performance, which must not be underestimated, the fact that we have presented a state winner for the first time is proof of the excellent quality of our training.«

+++ 25 new young talents for the CHIRON Group +++
September 1, 2021 marked the start of the future for 25 young people who now work for the CHIRON Group SE as trainees and students and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. In total, there are currently 126 budding workers undertaking training in 15 different areas.

This new chapter of their lives began with an orientation week, in which they were introduced to the company, its products, contact partners and their new colleagues. Even in training, the CHIRON Group places great importance on digitalization, including virtual learning content, how to use digital media safely and mobile working. »We're training the workforce of the future. It's therefore very important to familiarize them with future technologies and working methods early on and to incorporate these aspects into the training,« says Head of Training Herbert Mattes.

The very latest technology and cutting-edge equipment are also a focal point in the training workshop. Additive manufacturing techniques and the latest programming techniques were recently added to the training topics. Continuous investment in the future pays off: The proof of this is in our workforce that is fully prepared for future challenges and in our fourth Focus Money award for Germany's best training companies.