“There’s no such thing as can’t”

Since SENNEBOGEN was founded in 1952, the development of the familiy-run organization has been based on new ideas, continuity and consistent globalization. Having focused investments on product development and the construction of production facilities during the past years, in May 2014 the inauguration of the SENNEBOGEN Academy was on the programme. The idea for building the Acadmey originated in 1994 through the initial planning drafts of the founder of our company, Erich SENNEBOGEN Sr.

Between tradition and modernity

The new buildings reflect the three-element concept of the SENNEBOGEN Academy. The pyramid-shaped museum building, with its glass dome that welcomes guests, even from afar, is the eye-catcher (Fig. 2). In this regard the shape is just as unusual as it is functional. Based on the initial drafts of company founder, Erich Sennebogen, the form results from the circular grouping of the historical machines with erected booms. Under the steep roof construction there is space for these machines with their booms extended full length. Eight historic machines, from the first manure loader to the hydraulic excavator, document the product development, and they are impressive contemporary witnesses of the past six decades (Fig. 3). The selection of exhibits showcases the variety of products and numerous industry solutions. In addition to the machines on display, the exhibit also provides insight into the respective working conditions and production conditions of the past six decades; graphically told with original documents and authentic workplace portraits (Fig. 4).

The central event area of the 700 m² museum offers a unique ambiance for up to 350 guests. It can be used as an ultra-modern conference center, or for festive company events and banquets – all framed by imposing museum exhibits under the roof of the pyramid. The mix of history and state-of-the-art technology ensures a particularly impressive atmosphere.

In addition to the museum, the newly-founded SENNEBOGEN Academy GmbH & Co. KG houses also generously-dimensioned training rooms and conference rooms (Fig. 5) as well as a modern machine training center, including demonstration site in its facilities. Annexed to the pyramid is an open reception area which leads over to ground-level training rooms (Fig. 6) with space for conference and seminar. Spatially separated, the three open training halls in the rear area offer everything associated with machine training and technology (Fig. 7).

“With the opening of our SENNEBOGENAcademy we are investing in the future. We consistently further develop the components that have made the family-owned enterprise strong over the past six decades: Training, creativity, and the know-how of our employees and sales partners. Instruction and training are the supporting pillars of every enterprise. We are building on well-trained employees and dealers and we are also offering our customers the perfect environment to even better ‘experience’ our machines. At the same time the Erich Sennebogen Museum ventures to look back to the roots of the family-run enterprise, SENNEBOGEN”, is how CEO Erich Sennebogen concisely expresses the idea of the recently-opened Academy (Fig. 8).

Training and service

The modern facilities offer space for instruction and training events in theory and practice. The objective in this regard is intensification of the collaboration with sales partners and service technicians. Worldwide competition demands more than high-quality products and a good price-performance ratio at the time of purchase. Machine availability, fast, reliable service, and competent contact persons, who if necessary are quickly on site in the shortest time possible, are the crucial criteria for not only acting competitively worldwide, but rather also for acting first-class in the crane and material handling business.

In three generously-dimensioned training halls, equipped in accordance with the most modern criteria, virtually all service situations can be reconstructed and practiced with real-world relevance (Fig. 9). Thus with a capacity of up to 5000 man days of training yearly, service technicians, fitters, and maintenance personnel will be trained on the SENNEBOGEN machines, and will receive advanced training. The objectives are to help the customer to better use his machine, to minimize downtimes, and to recognize and rectify any problems early on. In the future, topics such as intelligent machine service and telemetric monitoring will be further driven. The motivation in this regard is long-term preventative maintenance and optimal consulting at the highest level of competence, in order to serve customers in a manner that offers all-round satisfaction. To do this, first-class training of service personnel on site is the key.

In addition, the adjacent demonstration site offers excellent possibilities for testing the machines in a wide variety of applications under real-world conditions. For this a harbor site with bulk goods hopper and an 8 m height differential, as well as a cross-country course, are available. A variety of material handling machines and their attachments can be thoroughly tested on the firm’s own scrapyard with approximately 150 t of steel scrap (Fig. 10). Customers can experience the performance of the machines for themselves on site. Other material handling scenarios and crane deployments can be safely and instructively implemented on the extensive 24 000 m² site. Topics, such as fuel-saving movement, handling in a manner that goes easy on the machine, and efficient use of resources can be demonstrated in an understandable manner. Not least, the Academy and demonstration site also offer opportunities for branding and public relations, as a platform for literally “experiencing” the SENNEBOGEN machines.

The cooperation with the near-by universities in Regensburg and Deggendorf, is also enhanced through the new Academy. In the future this facility will offer excellent possibilities for making technology and innovation tangible. In this regard, for the first time SENNEBOGEN is also offering a dual course of study in the field of mechatronics. Practical seminars and technical excursions for interested institutions of higher education, as well as support of project theses and degree dissertations are also conceivable. Currently SENNEBOGEN is already offering training for its own younger generation of employees in a total of 12 regulated trades. With special courses and training programs, young employees can also deepen their technical knowledge as part of the Academy’s offering, and identify themselves with the brand and the products. Thus the Academy sees itself as an active means for countering the advancing shortage of skills, to a certain extent, and for promoting and intensifying the important transfer of knowledge between old and young within the enterprise.

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