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Etesia and Wolf Factory Tour - Phillip Voice
- 02 January 2013
Having spent the best part of 200 hours over a distance of more than 1,250 miles sat in the seat of an Etesia H124D mower I have more than a passing interest in how the machine was made. So I was pleased to be invited to last week's visit to the Etesia and Wolf factories in Wissenbourg north east France for a tour of the manufacturing process.
At 1000km, the journey for me was a long one. I didn't have the option to fly and I didn't want to drive so I decided to take the TGV. I've never been on a train in France before but I thought it was probably the most relaxing way to travel, and it turned out to be a nice experience.
Bergerac station is just thirty minutes from my home and Strasbourg - where I was to be met - is just over one hour from Wissenbourg.
The journey went very smoothly although it was a little nerve racking changing at Bordeaux. Having never used the train before I had no idea how the system worked and I became paranoid I'd miss my connection and not complete the trip. But I needn't have worried. In the end I had enough time for coffee and a pain au chocolate before boarding the onward train to Strasbourg.
(Image above right : The impressive stone-built station building at Strasbourg)
I was collected from Strasbourg by Les Malin and Karen Green from the Etesia UK office, eventually arriving in Wissenbourg at about 7.30pm. Les and Karen had driven to France and had been on the road for about ten hours. It was most surprising to see over six inches of snow on the ground and a layer of hard packed ice on many of the roads. The road outside the hotel was like a skating rink.
A very welcome meal and a little of the local wine was consumed with pleasure before a well needed rest. The others who we were to meet the following morning, flew out arriving at the hotel at 12.30am; long after I had retired for the night.
There were eight Etesia dealers plus four press (if you include me) as well as Chris from Fusion Media, Les, Andrew and Karen from Etesia UK and Patrick Vives the Etesia President.
Brief history of Etesia Mowers
(image: 1989 Etesia's first mower; a ride-on Hyrdro 100)
After breakfast the morning started with introductions and a history of Etesia and Wolf Tools (Outils Wolf).
Etesia is part of the Wolf group. Wolf Tools started life way back in the early 1920s when August Wolf and his sons Gregor and Otto started making agriculture implements for the farming industry.
- In 1953 Outils Wolf had evolved into the garden market and began producing the first ever rotary lawn mower in Europe.
- In 1957 the company moved to its new factory in Wissembourg.
- In 1958 the first ever electric lawn mower was produced leading to the introduction of an ultra-quiet petrol mower by 1975.
- Etesia started life in 1989 with just one product; the he first ride-on mower with direct ejection and integrated collection, the Hydro 100.
- The group employs approximately 120 people and turns over around €35m.
- 90,000 square metres of factory space.
State-of-the-art factory
(video: every Etesia machine undergoes rigorous testing before it leaves the factory)
Much of the Etesia production is now completed using automated procedures.
Computerised tooling and laser machinery cut out components from huge sheets of steel whilst automated arc welders fuse the components into recognisable structures. Although some welding is still carried out manually.
What is impressive is the vast racks of jigs which, when set up, mean each procedure ensured accurate and exact replication of parts.
Most of the machinery assembly remains manual.
When assembly personnel uses a particular part from their station, the part is immediately replaced, and the inventory updated. A storeman retrieves a new part from the stores and and parts replenished in the stores when numbers get below a critical level.
There are rows and rows of spare parts and accessories towering at least 10 metres to the ceiling.
Radio guided forklifts trucks and an extensive bar code system ensured stocks were maintained accurately.
Product recall
In 2001 a product recall cost the company €1m. Patrick Vives said that whilst the recall was very expensive for Etesia it had a positive impact on client relations and ultimately benefited the company overall.
Environmental issues cause re-focus on petrol engines.
Ten or more years ago the low cost of diesel fuel compared to petrol meant diesel engines became the natural choice for grounds maintenance companies.
Even though a diesel engine is considerably more expensive than a petrol engine, the extra power, life expectancy and better fuel consumption created an overall cost saving: diesel became the engine of choice.
However Patrick Vives told us that petrol engine research and development, coupled with the rising cost of diesel fuel - diesel is now more expenses than petrol in many counties - meant petrol powered machines are now a real commercial consideration once again.
(image right: Etesia engine - the particulate filter is fitted to the end of the long black tube to the left)
What is really starting to tip the balance against diesel powered machinery is the increasingly prohibitive emissions rules. Diesel engines are less friendly on the environment as exhaust emissions contain particulates that are damaging to health.
In Germany, for example, it is compulsory for diesel engines to be fitted with a particulate removal filter on the exhaust system. Les Malin explained that this addition alone adds €1,000 to the cost of an engine (it's not yet compulsory in the UK).
Global market
Etesia currently exports to over thirty countries expanding into Russia and, perhaps surprisingly, Dubai.
Despite being surrounded by desert, said Patrick, Dubai is a very green place with much grass and planting. Because it is always hot the grass has to be constantly watered which means grass has to be cut every three days or so, 52 weeks of the year.
Etesia machinery has been chosen because it is the only brand able to cope with the harsh desert conditions of constant high temperature and sand particles.
Internet increasingly important to Etesia
We were given an insight into the increased importance placed on digital publicity.
Patrick talked of the diminishing role printed media is playing in the circulation of news and information for the industry as a whole and explained a little about his company's online development.
From user manuals to video and photography content, more information is being uploaded to its websites.
Each country where Etesia has a presence currently has a budget of €6,000 per annum to spend on online marketing. This is addition to a €30,000 Adwords budget for the entire Etesia group. Budgets and activity will only rise as further development takes place.
Landscape Juice has a dedicated Etesia users group and returns many search results on Etesia because of the growing amount of Etesia content being collated by members on the site.
I spoke a bit about Landscape Juice and how visitor numbers are increasing. Probably more importantly I explained how I can reach an audience (roughly about 1,000,000 people in the last twelve months) for a relatively low financial outlay.
In my case my biggest investment is time (and that is increasingly short supply as I diversify my online and offline roles) but in terms of software subscriptions and publishing tools, this is a fairly minor outlay for companies going forward.
After the talk we moved to the Wolf factory just along the industrial park.
(image above: A Wolf mower deck made from Xenoy: a resin material both lighter and stronger than aluminium) Wolf, the original company marque, is situated in a much older factory. The first development started in 1957. Walking into the building one could see the difference compared to the up-to-date, state-of-the-art Etesia factory. Probably the most outstanding being the lower light levels.
The Wolf factory houses the large sealed powder coated painting rooms and spraying facilities. We were told that you could tell what was next for an assembly run by looking at the conveyor belt of coloured parts coming out of the spraying rooms.
After the Wolf factory tour we headed off for a rather wholesome lunch of a large vol-au-vent stuffed with veal and chicken and lashings of thick mushroom sauce washed down with an Alsace white wine.
Meringue and ice cream and coffee followed.
Just outside the wolf restaurant is a small museum dedicated to the products produced by Wolf-Garten. It brought back a lot of memories but it was also a bit scary to think how things machinery has changed in such a short space of time.
Mowerthon
It had been intended that we'd see some outdoor machinery demonstrations but a thick covering of frozen snow put pay to that. Instead we headed back up the road to the Etesia factory.
Patrick talked about Etesia's approach to climate change and the challenges the company faces as the world searches for alternative fuels. He said that all diesel machines produced by Etesia can be run on 30% biofuel without modification.
To finish off the afternoon we talked about the Mowerthon. I explained to the group why I was motivated to raise money for those in our industry who may have fallen on hard times. There was agreement that there is very little in terms of support and welfare for horticulture industry practitioners. The Etesia H124D machine I drove will be auctioned off to recover some costs with any residual going into the pot.
As the work day drew to a close we were dropped off in the town of Wissenbourg. Snow on the ground, Christmas trees, coloured lights and a German market made for a very festive atmosphere. We walked the kilometre back to our hotel.
Royal Palace
To cap off what was a very enjoyable couple of days we were all treated to a Moulin Rouge style show and meal at the Royal Palace. Imagine cabaret and variety rolled into one.
The weather was setting in with snow falling. Temperature was dropping so it was touch and go if we'd make it. It took the coach an hour and a half to do what should have taken an hour over roads which were covered with freezing snow and ice.
What was amazing about the venue was that it was absolutely in the middle of nowhere. A vast music hall complex set in a tiny village.
The Royal Palace started life in 1948 as a humble restaurant. The patron grew a reputation for dancing and with the reputation a world famed show developed. The venue seats about 1000 people.
We left at 1.30am and didn't get back to the hotel until 3am and in need of sleep:)
Source: Landscape Juice - Etesia and Wolf Factory Tour - Phillip Voice
