Whether planning, optimization or maintenance of the cell factory, the battery factory or the electric vehicle factory as well as peripheral logistics including the charging infrastructure – Leadec contributes its expertise to support the industry in its transformation process.
The world’s automotive factories are our home. We have helped to plan or automated many of the major OEMs’ plants and have been maintaining them for years. Whether internal combustion engine or electric motor, classic powertrain or battery assembly – we are there with our expertise. We are shaping the industry’s transformation together with our electric mobility customers – in many different facets.
The battery is an electric vehicle’s central component. It accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the added value, and the cells in turn account for 60 to 80 percent of this. With its technical services and planning expertise, Leadec is the ideal partner for the cell factory. In China, for example, we provide technical facility management services in the factory of one of the top three battery cell producers in the world.
Battery production is a new territory for many OEMs. Leadec has been gaining experience in this field for years and has proven its competence. For a German premium brand, we have planned and set up the automation and screwdriving systems in the high-voltage battery assembly. Because complex assembly processes are the core element in the modern production of battery components or even entire systems. Batteries are very sensitive to shocks. Both during assembly and handling, care must be taken to ensure a "low-shock" process. A German OEM has entrusted us with the planning and project management of the assembly and testing facilities of its battery system for the internal lead unit for the USA and China. For our customers, the intelligence of the battery is contained in a highly complex overall system. Automated assembly systems and facilities for leak testing of assembled batteries are new fields of competence at Leadec.
Once the battery factory is in place, we are permanently on site with our industrial services. To ensure the battery assembly’s quality, we ensure the complete plant and equipment’s availability. Leadec is the first service provider in Europe to provide maintenance services for a total of eight battery lines at two locations. Our service includes production equipment maintenance for assembly lines on which batteries are assembled and the associated automated guided vehicles, e.g. for Mercedes-Benz in German and Polish plants.
Last but not least, we are flexible and experienced enough to take care of individual process steps in the value chain. For example, we have independently planned and implemented the pre-assembly of the battery case for a German manufacturer. A very high degree of cleanliness of the parts is required here. Foreign bodies can lead to short circuits in the cells. In addition, the precise sealing of the battery case against external influences such as water and dust is elementary. As a full-service provider, we thus take over part of the assembly process of a fully electric vehicle.
In the course of powertrain electrification, new production facilities are being built worldwide. In Russia, we recently planned a new greenfield production plant for electrically powered vehicles. In China, we are responsible for technical cleaning and technical and infrastructural facility management at the large new production facility of a European manufacturer of high-quality hybrid vehicles.
As electric cars roll off the assembly line and onto the roads, the next challenge is the charging infrastructure. The city of Wolfsburg is currently testing a solution with 12 mobile rapid charging stations. Leadec is responsible for the transport to the different locations, rough cleaning and troubleshooting as well as maintenance and testing. But the charging infrastructure is also being expanded at the production sites. Here Leadec has experience at various plants with the installation and commissioning of charging points and wall boxes.
