Germany Flex Plant Tour Pictures

[Mike Phillips]

Very nice and informative Mike. it give me a greater appreciation for my Flex power tool. Now I am even more proud to be a Flex Power Tool owner!!!

My sentiments exactly. Seeing parts for the tools created from raw stock and then assembled into finished products was a HUGE eye opener as to the focus and attention paid to the smallest details which accounts for the high quality of the Flex name.

Wow. Amazingly clean assembly environment. Seeing how these machines are made and assembled gives me a whole new level of respect for the Flex brand. Truly a high quality tool.

I have some background working in manufacturing including working in a class 9000 Cleanroom for Hewlett-Packard and so I was actually pretty familiar with how assemblies lines like these are set up to maximize time and labor. Flex is certainly up to date with all the best practices needed to create a top quality tool but still be competitive in a market.

very cool picture of the manufacturing plant. German engineering is top notch.

Tom

There was actually so much more to the plant that I could have photographed and shared but I figured what I posted would get the idea across. The Training Room and Hands-on Testing Room were also very well put together to pass on head knowledge and skills for using all the Flex tools.

Hope you guys enjoyed your time!

Hoping to go back for a second round in the future...

Impressive! Thank you for sharing. I love my PE-14!

I agree. Your welcome and me too...

Thanks so much for that Mike!! These photos and information reinforce what I knew about Flex tools the first time I inspected and used my 3401. High quality controlled machines with tight tolerances and built with pride.

I'm glad you had a great time

The process controls for measuring quality were everywhere throughout each station and accounts for their strong customer loyalty to the brand and high customer satisfaction over time.

Very cool!

Flex needs to re-design the 3401 to spin at a higher OPM. That would be awesome!

I'm sure our friends at Flex will be reading this thread and all the Flex threads and see your input.

WOW!! Their work is so perfectly impeccable!!!

I just love how enthusiastic they are about what they are doing!

Thanks for the pics Mike!

Walking through Flex as strangers taking pictures, lots of pictures was probably out of the norm for the employees but one thing for sure they were all very friendly and excited to show us their craftsmanship in the various processes they were responsible for. It was very easy to see and feel the pride they take in their work.

Plant tours are always interesting especially if you experience the process from start to finish..

Great photos Mike!

I agree. The start to finish was very eye opening as I was amazed at how many of the products started out as just raw materials.

The whole time I was there I was taking pictures with my Rebel and my iPhone for different uses but "yes" both Nick and I were working our cameras to the max...

I'm still surprised the let us take pictures unhindered except for the meeting with the engineers....

Seeing the craftsmanship & care taken helps me better understand the pricing. Premium pricing for premium tools. Thank you for the guided tour...I can almost taste the snacks!

I agree and I'm here to tell you all the food was 5 Start all the way... now I have to hit the gym and pay the price.

What a great experience.....time to get home to get some rest :-)

I ended up catching a cold from the trip, probably from the recirculated air on the Jet on the way home. I'm glad to say I'm already over it and back to work full steam ahead.

Did it seem as though they make or purchase most of their components?

Yes, very much so.

Two words Mike...Thank you, OUTSTANDING!

(OK, so it's 3 words)

Bill

Thanks Bill,

It was a privilege and an honor to be the guest at Flex Tools in Germany and the least I could do was to try to capture the tour and the trip with pictures and then share with everyone here...

Mike, thank you for sharing your experience with us. Great pic's as well!!! Nothing beats the German Work Ethic!!!

My pleasure Dave, you would have had a great time!

Mike....will you buy me a CNC? That looks like a blast.

Yeah... right after I buy one for me....

I wonder if Flex is looking for an engineer in the next year .

They are a growing company and a very old company with a time-proven track record for success, definitely someone to send a resume in the future. You never know...

I had no idea that Flex made other tools. Just out of curiosity, do you know if they're available in the US?

I didn't realize how many other industries they cater too, that's what surprised me. As for availability of the other tools in the U.S.A. there's not a lot of distribution that I know of at this time but that could change in the future. Bob Eichelberg will be here next week and I'll check with him.

Great pictures it was nice to see how the machines are made and you can just from the pictures the amount of work and time they all put in

I agree. Each time we walked into a new station there was more to take pictures of than time to take them.

Considering how many pictures my Canon Rebel has taken since I came to Autogeek and how many times I've dropped it... we're all lucky it's still working fine...


Thanks to everyone for chiming in on the pictures from the Flex Plant Tour, if I ever get to go again in the future maybe they'll let me take Yancy and we'll make a little video...

[Buckskincolt]

I was going back and forth between Flex and DeWalt but after seeing this thread it's hands down Flex. Now if they would redesign the 3403 to have a lower RPM (say 6-700) then it would be the perfect rotary for a hobbyist/enthusiast like me The PE 14 is awesome but IMO is a bit of a cash stretch for the non professional. I think to some degree Flex is missing the hobbyist market with their offerings.

Really nice to see the quality control at Flex.
One noteworthy thing is Flex, who is a German Company, still makes their Tools in .... Germany! To me this shows responsibility and that they truly want contol of what they put their name on. We don't need to look far to see quality control issues on products made by outsourced manufactures. Hopefully "other" manufacturers will read this thread too!

[custmsprty]

I usually resist reviving an old thread but this is amazing and ironic at the same time. I have been selling packaging to manufacturers for 23 years. So how come Flex can manufacture their machines in Germany, Rupes in Italy, export them to the USA and make a profit yet very few power tools are manufactured in the USA these days (China, Malaysia etc.) for sale to US customers. That just hurts man!

Great pics of the factory Mike!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

I know this is old but thanks a bunch for sharing Mike!!!! The Germans really know how to make fine products.

I have saw this from the past but it was bumped.

[ph16]

No harm in resurrecting an old thread. I literally just bought a Flex from AG this morning and didn't even know this thread existed. I enjoyed reading it....thanks for bringing it back.

[custmsprty]

Definitely interesting with all the factory pics Mike posted.
Bottom line is some people will pay for quality as they realize that it will out last cheap inferior products in the long run.

[RLucky82]

No harm in resurrecting an old thread. I literally just bought a Flex from AG this morning and didn't even know this thread existed. I enjoyed reading it....thanks for bringing it back.

Me too

Fellow Clevelander

[rmagnus]

Mike you did a fantastic job photo touring the plant. With all those assembly line photos I had to think of Jonny Cash's song "one piece at a time".

[Mike Phillips]

I usually resist reviving an old thread

Great pics of the factory Mike!

Thanks. It was really nice that Flex allowed us to take pictures, with their permission of course.

[Bamaboy007]

I'd still rather have a Rupes