Development and production partner for stamped, formed, welded, electroplated and plastic injection-moulded assemblies
Carl August Wirth GmbH
Kierspe (headquarters, plastics technology, surface treatment) · Schwarzenberg (stamping technology)New on Amplifa
Metal processing from the idea to the finished assembly
Carl August Wirth GmbH (CAWi Group), headquartered in Kierspe (South Westphalia), manufactures customised metal assemblies from the initial idea through to series delivery. The service portfolio includes stamping and forming technology, deep drawing, upsetting and bending, welding and joining technology (MIG, MAG, TIG, spot welding, clinching, riveting, bonding, hemming, screw-fastening), assembly of modules, electroplated surface finishing as well as plastic injection moulding with 2K/3K, MuCell and hybrid technology (insert/outsert). Coil material of all grades is processed with strip widths of 5 to 1400 mm and strip thicknesses of 0.3 to 5 mm; deep drawing is carried out with up to 800 t of press force and a drawing depth of 150 mm. Progressive and transfer dies are manufactured and maintained in the company's own toolmaking department. Customers come from the automotive industry, the electrical and household appliance industry, medical technology, white goods, the construction industry as well as mechanical and plant engineering. The group employs more than 500 staff at 7 sites worldwide, including four locations in Kierspe and Schwarzenberg.
- Site
- Kierspe
- Processes
- Stamping technology (automatic stamping presses, servo presses, transfer lines), Deep drawing technology (hydraulic and mechanical drawing presses up to 800 t press force), Upsetting and bending, MIG welding, MAG welding, TIG welding, Spot welding, Welding robots for complex welded assemblies in large quantities
- Materials
- Steel, Stainless steel, Copper alloy, Thermoplastics (filled and unfilled), Elastomer-modified thermoplastics (TPE), Elastomer-modified thermoplastics
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 9001:2015 (CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH), ISO 14001 (Carl August Wirth GmbH), ISO 14001 (CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH), ISO 9001 (CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH), IATF 16949 (CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH), ISO 14001 (CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH), ISO 50001:2018 (CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH), DIN ISO 9001 (CAWi Kunststofftechnik), DIN ISO 14001 (CAWi Kunststofftechnik), ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 50001
- Founded
- 1905
- Employees
- more than 500 (group
- Industries
- Automotive industry, Electrical and household appliance industry, Medical technology, white goods, Mechanical and plant engineering, Construction industry
- 01
Design and development
- 02
In-house toolmaking (progressive and transfer dies)
- 03
Stamping and forming technology
- 04
Deep drawing technology
- 05
Welding and joining technology
- 06
Surface finishing (barrel and strip electroplating)
- 07
Plastic injection moulding (2K/3K, MuCell, hybrid)
- 08
Module assembly
- 09
Warehousing and delivery
Materials and manufacturing processes
Steel
Base material for stamped, formed and electroplated parts, e.g. finished in strip electroplating with nickel, silver or tin.
Stainless steel
Base material in strip and barrel electroplating for corrosion- and wear-protected components.
Copper alloy
Finished in barrel and strip electroplating with copper, silver, gold or tin to improve conductivity and solderability.
Thermoplastics (filled and unfilled)
Processed in standard, 2K/3K and MuCell injection moulding as well as in metal overmoulding (hybrid technology).
Elastomer-modified thermoplastics
Single-component standard injection moulding for permanently elastic functional components.
Locations of the CAWi Group
Kierspe – Carl August Wirth GmbH (headquarters)
DEHeadquarters, stamping and forming technology, welding and assembly production
- Materials
- Steel, stainless steel, copper alloy
- Automatic stamping presses and stamping presses incl. servo presses and transfer lines
- Transfer and interlinking system with three hydraulic presses (22,000 kN, table length 9,000 mm)
- Hydraulic drawing presses up to 800 t
- 14 robotic welding systems (MIG, MAG, TIG, spot welding)
Kierspe – CAWi Kunststofftechnik GmbH
DEPlastic injection moulding and hybrid assemblies
- Materials
- Thermoplastics, TPE, metal-plastic hybrid
- Around 50 injection moulding machines, mostly all-electric
- Clamping forces 60 to 5,000 kN
- 2K/3K multi-component technology
- MuCell technology (nitrogen, cell diameter 5–50 µm)
- Camera-supported quality monitoring
Kierspe – CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH
DEBarrel, strip and rack electroplating as well as degreasing
- Materials
- Steel, stainless steel, copper alloy
- Dual-track strip electroplating line (strip height 3–100 mm, nickel/silver/tin)
- Barrel electroplating (nickel, copper, gold, silver, tin, zinc-nickel)
- Semi-automatic degreasing system with ultrasound and vacuum distillation (basket 650 x 450 x 300 mm)
Schwarzenberg – CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH
DEStamping and forming technology, welded and assembled modules
- Materials
- Coil material of all grades, strip width 5–1400 mm, strip thickness 0.3–5 mm
- More than 60 stamping and production systems in Kierspe and Schwarzenberg (servo presses, deep drawing presses, transfer lines)
- Hydraulic drawing presses up to 800 t
- Welding robots and module production
Components and assemblies
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamping technology (automatic stamping presses, servo presses, transfer lines)Forming | – | Strip width 5 to 1400 mm × 1400 mm | Strip thickness 0.3 to 5 mm | – | Coil material of all different grades |
| Deep drawing technology (hydraulic and mechanical drawing presses up to 800 t press force)Forming | – | Drawing depth 150 mm | – | – | Metal |
| Upsetting and bendingForming | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| MIG weldingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| MAG weldingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| TIG weldingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Spot weldingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Welding robots for complex welded assemblies in large quantitiesJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| ClinchingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| RivetingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| BondingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Hemming/crimpingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Screw-fasteningJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Thread cuttingMachining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Module assembly (manual, semi- or fully automatic with rotary indexing tables, transfer andAssembly | – | – | – | – | Metal, Plastic |
| Barrel electroplating (nickel, copper, gold, silver, tin, zinc-nickel)Surface | – | – | – | – | Metal, Steel, Stainless steel, Copper alloy |
| Strip electroplating (nickel, silver, tin; full or partial finishing, selective dip depths)Surface | – | Strip height 3 to 100 mm | – | – | Steel, Stainless steel, Copper alloy |
| Rack electroplatingSurface | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Degreasing (semi-automatic degreasing system with ultrasound, distillation/vacuum distillation,Surface | – | 650 mm × 450 mm × 300 mm | – | – | Metal |
| Zinc-nickel thick-layer passivation (transparent & black, with/without sealing, with/withoutSurface | – | – | – | – | Steel, Metal |
| Single-component standard injection moulding (filled, unfilled, elastomer-modifiedPlastics | – | – | – | – | Thermoplastics, TPE |
| Multi-component technology 2K and 3K injection mouldingPlastics | – | – | – | – | Thermoplastics |
| MuCell technology (physical foaming with nitrogen, cell diameter 5-50 μm)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Thermoplastics |
| Hybrid technology: metal overmoulding (insert and outsert injection moulding)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Thermoplastics, Metal |
| In-house toolmaking (progressive and transfer dies)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development and design services (prototype and series parts)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3D coordinate measurement with scan function, measuring projector, micrograph evaluation,Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
10 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic stamping presses and stamping presses (incl. servo presses, deep drawing presses, | – | more than | Coil material 5 to 1400 mm width, strip thickness 0.3 to 5 mm | – | Kierspe and Schwarzenberg |
| Transfer & interlinking system with three hydraulic presses | – | 1 (3 Press | Total press force 22,000 kN, total table length 9,000 mm | – | – |
| Hydraulic drawing presses | – | – | up to 800 t press force | 2002 (Inve | – |
| Welding robots / robotic welding systems (MIG, MAG, TIG, spot welding) | – | 14 | – | 2004 (Begi | – |
| Manual welding workstations | – | – | – | – | – |
| Injection moulding machines (mostly all-electric) | – | around 50 | Clamping forces 60 to 5,000 kN | – | Kierspe (CAWi Kunststofftechnik) |
| Dual-track strip electroplating line | – | 1 | Strip height 3 to 100 mm, continuous coating with nickel, silver, tin | – | Kierspe (CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung) |
| Semi-automatic degreasing system with ultrasonic unit and distillation/vacuum distillation | – | 1 | Basket sizes 650 mm x 450 mm x 300 mm | – | Kierspe (CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung) |
| 3D coordinate measuring machines with scan function | – | – | – | – | all sites |
| Digital measuring projector | – | 1 | – | – | – |
Additional services
Quality and certification
All sites of the CAWi Group work according to an implemented quality system IATF 16949 / ISO 9001 with Core Tools such as FMEA, APQP and KVP. Each site has 3D coordinate measuring machines with scan function, a digital measuring projector, coating thickness measurement, salt spray test and chemical analyses.
| Evidence | Carl August Wirth GmbH (Kierspe) | CAWi Kunststofftechnik GmbH (Kierspe) | CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH (Kierspe) | CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH (Schwarzenberg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | ||||
| IATF 16949 | ||||
| ISO 14001 | ||||
| ISO 50001 |
More than 100 years of metal processing
- 1905
Foundation of the Wirth company in Kierspe as a metal goods factory
- 1954
Supplier to the automotive industry
- 1956
Start of in-house surface treatment
- 1960
Delivery of tank and cooling caps, filler necks and bicycle parts as own product programme
- 1961
Expansion of automotive activities
- 1995
Expansion and foundation of CAWi Stanztechnik GmbH in Schwarzenberg (Saxony)
- 1996
Foundation of CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH
- 1998
CAWi Oberflächenbearbeitung GmbH as a subsidiary of Carl August Wirth GmbH (according to the surface finishing page)
- 2002
Investment in larger automatic stamping presses and hydraulic drawing presses with up to 800 t press force
- 2004
Extension of manufacturing depth through welding robots and module production
- 2008
Production floor expansion at the Schwarzenberg site
- 2021
Acquisition of SUK Kierspe as CAWi Kunststofftechnik