Project Brazil Rheinmetall Automotive

Those of you who read a lot of our articles may think: at VOLLMERT it’s always the same anyway: dismantling, removing, packing, loading, transporting, unloading, unpacking, installing and reassembling. This may be true in theory, but this project was different in many ways:

In February 2016, VOLLMERT was entrusted with the complete mechanical and electrical dismantling of a plant for the chemical surface treatment of aluminum pistons at the Neckarsulm site and for subsequent reassembly in Sao Paulo. VOLLMERT was commissioned with the detailed documentation of the plant, professional packing and the shipment from Germany to Brazil.

Transporting something to Brazil, was very different from what we’ve previously experienced. Without notarized contracts between buyer and seller, an import license from Brazil and the final goodwill of the Brazilian customs, the process is much slower than what we were used to. So in this case, exactly one year elapsed between the time of export in Neckarsulm and the time of reimportation in Sao Paulo! After the customer let us know that every local issue has been solved, a project manager, two electricians and three mechanics from VOLLMERT set off on a promising trip into unknown territory at the beginning of March 2017: to South America! The required tools had already been shipped in advance with the plant components to support our workflow.

When we arrived in Brazil, a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius at 85% humidity were totally new to us but we got used to the weather and were happy to see the different architecture, culture and people of Brazil. This project allowed us to make memories in a different environemnt and we are grateful for the experience!

After three weeks, the plant was fully reassembled and a member of the manufacturer’s staff was able to come along and carry out the fine-tuning for the Brazilian requirements. And what remains of this trip? The realization that the German stubbornness doesn’t work at all times. We’ve learned that in other parts of the world, everything seems to be more “tranquilo” (take it easy) and it ultimately works out. But we’ve also learned how we sometimes take what we have at home for granted and appreciate our rainy days even more now! We hope to see our new Brazilian friends again!