Marian Bolboe, Schaeffler Romania: “Innovation cannot be done without educated workforce”

“Last year was a challenging one for Schaeffler. In our automotive plant in Romania, we had big decreases in demand. We are living in very volatile market. We must be extremely flexible to cover for this volatility. For this year we see some small growth in Schaeffler Group, and also in Romania,” Marian Bolboe, Plant Manager Automotive, Schaeffler Romania said during Automotive R&D Power Breakfast organized by Automotive Today.

We have some new products in the Brasov plant starting this year. Net revenues in our plant will increase by 15 percent compared to 2019 levels based on these new products. Last year was a dramatically one, but this year is a good one.

It’s very important for every company to readapt their strategy and roadmap for the next period. The Green Deal must be included in their strategy. Schaeffler is adapting in two big directions: automotive division and producing green energy.

Globally, production for electric energy is around 27,000 TWh. In 2030, production will reach 32,000 TWh, with only 2,000 – 3000 TWh in green energy. The companies must pay attention to their entire supply chain footprint. It’s important to have a clear strategy in this direction.

Innovation will be the base for our success in the future. Innovation cannot be done without educated people and workforce. It’s not enough to be financially involved in supporting universities. We must help the students learn about the newest concepts on the market and train them for the careers of the future.”

“The company accepted almost 10 years ago the challenge to invest in the educational development of the new generations of employees, by developing the technical know-how of vocational school graduates, our “nursery for blue collars”, as well as that of students in the programs with the Transylvania University of Brasov, our “nursery for white collars”. Schaeffler Romania understood that if you want talented, engaged employees, who meet our high standards, you cannot just look at the labour market, but you must be actively involved in its development. We have done this through multiple programs and projects. Specifically, by establishing the Kronstadt Dual Vocational School and three technical master’s programs with the Transylvania University. Also, we introduced internship programs for pupils and students and the Trainee program in which we develop our young potentials.

Another priority for us is to achieve the sustainability and environmental goals. Beyond the desire to produce and deliver the highest quality parts at a very competitive price, we aim to reduce the carbon footprint by 10% this year. For that we introduced a “Reduce Carbon Footprint” initiative that is closely linked to Schaeffler´s global commitment to United Nations to serve as one of the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders worldwide.

At our plant, we will introduce sustainable solutions such as electric production machinery, optimization of the logistic chain and modernization of the lighting system in production areas that will reduce energy consumption by 70% with an increase of lifespan by 3.5 times.

The business priorities, like increase of production in the location in Brasov, new and competitive products for both the automotive and the industrial sector remains as always in our strategic agenda,” Bolboe said in a recent interview for Automotive Today.

Click here for full recording of the event.