The company, founded in 1978, emerged from the company Eberhard Mayer OHG that was itself founded in 1963. In 2006, Dirk Elger and Günter Lachnit took over management of the company, occupying the respective posts of chief technical officer and chief financial officer. mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH is a specialist in the manufacture of technical plastics parts and assemblies. "Rather than mass production, we produce small lot sizes," said Günter Lachnit. The company's 30 employees work 24/7 in a three-shift operation.

mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH specialises in the production of one-component precision injection parts for use in electric cars, pneumatic components, thermotechnology and hydraulic components. It is therefore no great surprise that FESTOOL GmbH, FESTO AG & Co. KG and Bosch Thermotechnik GmbH are one of the company's major customers. "We also extrusion-coat many metal inserts," said Lachnit. A classic example of this type of coating is rotary knobs with plastic-coated interior screws.

Although the company processes all established thermoplastics, it concentrates in particular on fibreglass-reinforced polyamides. The weight of the products varies enormously, ranging from 0.1 g (closing plugs used for pneumatic components) to 700 g. Modern injection-moulding devices with electronic control and parts-removal robots are the basis of the company's automated production.

In addition to injection moulding, mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH specialises in the assembly of components, in which the company takes over all steps required by the production process, starting from the purchase of raw materials and bought-in parts to the manufacture of the final product. "We are also involved in securing long-term contracts, i.e. capital commitment, for our clients," said Lachnit. For example, the company was contracted by FESTOOL GmbH to assemble a wallpaper perforator. "The product is made up of many different high-quality stainless steel components that we need to purchase from third parties. Once we have all the required parts in place, we manufacture the complete device," said Lachnit. In order to manufacture products ready for sale, mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH also offers the imprinting of plastics parts using pad printing.

Lachnit is well aware that oil, on which traditional plastics are based, is a finite resource. This is the reason why he is orienting his company towards the field of biomaterials. "We are looking for new, innovative fields of activity," said Lachnit explaining that the company's executives plan to encourage their innovative clients to use bioplastics. "Nothing seems more natural than for a carpenter to use biobased materials and devices," said Lachnit.

Besides its focus on innovation, flexibility is the company's second major strength. " We sometimes modify our machines twice a day," said Lachnit referring to the huge demands on an innovative manufacturing company. Since large warehouse stocks tie up a lot of capital, clients do not expect manufacturing companies to produce large lot sizes, instead they attach much greater importance to the companies' ability to react flexibly to their requirements. mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH supplies a large proportion of its products to consignment stores or delivers on the basis of inventory management systems in order to fit in with its customers' wishes. mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH is a strategic supplier for FESTO AG & Co. KG, Bosch Thermotechnik and FESTOOL GmbH. FESTOOL GmbH has already awarded mayer-THERMOPLASTE GmbH three Suppliers' Awards for outstanding achievements.