WACKER Opens the Door to New Markets in the Automotive Industry

Dr. Thorsten Schneppensieper: The automotive industry has exceptionally high requirements that relate to the sector’s typical supply chain. Suppliers are responsible for at least three-quarters of the entire value creation inherent in the production of a vehicle. Carmakers process the supplied parts and materials using fast and highly automated manufacturing processes. Assembly lines standing idle because of faulty components or materials, or a delivery delay, would result in high costs. If you consider the costs that face car manufacturers in the event of a product recall, not to mention the damage to their image, it is understandable why they are have created a special standard for a highly engineered and complex entity like a car. To ensure value creation, automotive manufacturers expect a zero-error strategy from their suppliers. The IATF 16949 standard is intended to ensure zero errors throughout the entire value creation chain. A supplier not certified to this standard has almost no chance of working directly with the car industry.

Schneppensieper Error avoidance, risk management and reliability are at the core of IATF 16949. The notion of error avoidance is particularly important: instead of reacting to malfunctions and correcting errors, such errors should not even arise. This minimizes the failure risk for automotive manufacturers and the liability risk for suppliers. The standard not only states what needs to be done, but also specifies how this should be achieved, i.e. what quality-assurance measures need to be undertaken in particular. It also entails meeting every single customer-specific requirement in full. In addition, IATF 16949 requires suppliers to continually improve their processes. The automotive standard formulates requirements regarding processes, workflows and management methods for those parts of the company that develop and manufacture products for the automotive industry.

Rommel : We are seeing extraordinarily high demand for silicone-based thermally conductive materials from the automotive manufacturers – for example for our thermally conductive gap fillers and thermally conductive potting compounds. Such materials are used in electric vehicles, for example for thermal management of the drive batteries and the charging unit. Both components become very hot during use, particularly during fast charging, which can lead to severe damage unless adequate cooling is provided. The thermally conductive materials help to effectively dissipate the generated heat to the heat sinks or cooling system and thereby ensure reliable operation and a long lifetime. Thermally conductive potting compounds can additionally perform yet another function: they protect the surface of the power electronics against environmental effects. Both types of silicone-based thermally conductive materials have become indispensable in the manufacture of electric vehicles, because, as silicones, they are not only electrically insulating but also heat and aging resistant, and therefore have superior properties to other classes of materials.

Schneppensieper : Of course, it primarily involved the manufacture of thermally conductive silicone products. They include addition-curing RTV-2 compounds. These are two-component silicone-rubber formulations that are cured by an addition reaction to form a silicone elastomer. We have therefore certified those parts of the company that manufacture these RTV-2 silicones – specifically, certain areas of the silicone plants at our sites in Burghausen/Germany and Zhangjiagang/China – together with all the supporting functions such as product development, strategic planning, HR, procurement, marketing and sales.

Schneppensieper : We commissioned TÜV Nord to do the certification As specified in the standard, we first had to submit a detailed plan for the quality management system of the company part to the test organization, and show with suitable documentation that we had already been working for a year according to the stipulations of IATF 16949. We had already identified and eliminated weaknesses, adapted our workflows and processes to the requirements of the standard and installed additional systems for error avoidance. For example, as part of our continuous improvement efforts, we pursued the long-term goal of building up our automation to almost entirely eliminate manual errors by our operators. After examining the submitted documents, TÜV Nord conducted an initial audit with us, the so-called phase 1 audit, and assessed us as ready for certification. Some weeks later, two auditors then spent several days with us to put our quality management system through its paces in the phase 2 audit. Having passed the audit, we have now received the certificates in February 2022.

Rommel : “By fulfilling the IATF standard, we have created robust – i.e. failure-proof – transparent and traceable processes and workflows for our RTV-2 silicone plants.” As we conduct our processes in compliance with IATF, we also have full control of our liability risk with respect to the automotive industry. In addition, the certification allows us to prove to the automotive industry that we are a reliable business partner. This opens doors for us to new markets in the world of the automotive manufacturers.