Bohnenkamp pays attention to the topic of availability concerning even the tiniest tyre or rim. As a consequence, Bohnenkamp has enormously been expanding storage capacities in Dieselstraße 8 in Osnabrück. This, however, was not enough, because a further two-floor warehouse was set up. Until then, a storage area of 85,000 square metres was available under one roof. The new expansion phase will move this to about 95,000 square meters. According to company information, there will be storage capacity for about 1.2 million different tyres.
Apart from continuously expanding storage possibilities, a new administrative building was set up too. The three-floor building offers not only room for sales and services for German customers, but also functions as ‘control centre’ of the Bohnenkamp group. The company employs more than 600 employees (270 in Germany) at the moment.
Five-pillar strategy
The Bohnenkamp group, which was founded in Osnabrück in 1950, has established itself with tyres, wheels and vehicle components for professional use in five segments of the commercial vehicle industry. Using the slogan ‘MovingProfessionals’, the internationally operating wholesaler can be found close to the customer in 30 countries with 25 independently acting sales and storage locations. The range of products consists of tyres and wheels from 3 to 54 inches for the areas of agriculture and forestry, earth moving, industry, truck and transport as well as small and specialized vehicles. Different axle and vehicle components complement the programme.
AS tyre segment
Devices and machines in modern agriculture have become more efficient but also bigger and heavier. Thus, VF tyres have increased their popularity in the market. They enable the use of considerably lower tyre pressure and offer an efficient solution for optimum use of the soil. Since this technology became available for towed vehicles, it has additionally gained effectiveness during the last years.
In 2018, the first VF-flotation tyres were introduced by Alliance, later on, further suppliers followed. Nowadays, not only tractors but also slurry tanks and loading vehicles – and thus whole combinations – can be equipped with this technology.
Bohnenkamp offers a multifold range of products for any type of professional uses not only for these purposes, but for other ones too. The tyre offer has an emphasis on tyres of the partner brands Alliance and BKT, but products from Michelin, Trelleborg, Continental and other renowned manufacturers are represented in a comprehensive way too and turn Bohnenkamp into a true full-range supplier in this segment. The company pays a lot of attention to offering products that meet the quality requirements of each market at a level of 100 per cent. Thus, only a product with a valid ECE certification and the mandatory verification number on its sidewalls will be added to the range of products.
During the past years, especially the variety of dimensions in the AS segment has been rising to a high degree. At the moment, the company offers more than 1,500 different products for the equipment of tractors. Thomas Pott, General Sales Manager at Bohnenkamp explains: “Each year, about 60 to 80 new articles are added only in this segment. At the same time, a product hardly ever disappears from the market. Thus, we are aiming at providing dealers in this segment with the full range of products, so that fitting products for older tractor models will be available too. As a consequence, the number of products offered by us has been increasing continuously.”
The big variety of products and brands has turned out to be an important element of customer provision, above all currently during the pandemic. Due to lockdown and production limitations, there have been several delays in delivery and bottlenecks in purchasing. When an article was not available straightaway as a consequence, the experts were and are able to offer alternatives and they have also directly been shown in the online shop. Bohnenkamp’s full service also consists of technical service via telephone or email – as well as consultation for application on-the-spot.
XXL complete wheel mounting line
Aiming at constant improvement includes optimizing internal working conditions. Thus, Bohnenkamp has been thinking about improving the mounting of wheels from a perspective of both quality and work safety. This resulted into a totally redesigned mounting machine for complete wheels. After a preparation time of three years, this pioneering project has come close to completion. Our team of editors was already able to watch the new plant in trial production. We have been more than impressed!
The new complete wheel mounting line in XXL format is able to produce wheels from 20 to 54 inches. Depending on the wheel size, up to 400 wheels can be mounted in an eight-hour shift. There are two different ways of adding tyres depending on the size. The rims are separately added to the machine. After placing the tyre on the rim, the most important work step starts, the pumping process. A special pumping bell was developed and built, which is able to pump up the tyre with an exactness of plus/minus 0.05 bar. The whole mounting is carried out in a lying position, which is completely different to traditional mounting machines. This does not only improve the pumping process, but also protects the rim because there is no need to fix it in the mounting machine.
Technical know-how
Gregor Rüth, Chief Executive Officer at Bohnenkamp AG, comments: “Many ideas and experiences from practice can be found in this assembly line. From the very beginning colleagues from wheel mounting, logistics and sales were integrated in the development. Thus, it resembles more than 70 years of wheel mounting in a modern way. Additionally, the assembly line considerably improves the physical conditions of use for the employees and thus, it offers an effective contribution to work safety and employee health.”
The dimensions of the XXL complete wheel mounting line are extremely impressive. In spite of the new plant the former nine mounting stations are still in use. The new plant enables Bohnenkamp to adapt to peaks in incoming orders and dispatch customer orders even faster, when necessary.
