Breidenstein, Germany with Edmund OschmannBreidenstein, Germany with Edmund Oschmann

Be it wood–composite plant pots, glow–in–the–dark signage, or metal injection molding, E. Oschmann GmbH, a small injection molding and moldmaking shop in a tiny German village, is chock full of big ideas.

The man with the imagination is founder and owner Edmund Oschmann, who reminds one of the days when there were plenty of free spirits running processing shops.

"I like to play with ideas," he explains, a statement reinforced by the parts scattered around his office. The firm serves almost every possible market—automotive, medical, furniture, and consumer goods, among others—and whenever a machine is not processing parts for customers, he has his workers start molding those developed and marketed directly by the firm.

The most recent example is the plant pots made of an 80% wood fiber/20% polypropylene mix that Edmund Oschmann developed himself. The pots have the appearance of terra cotta, but are able to survive falls from a height of 4m. "Our pots cost less than ceramic ones, and they print well, too, with no pre–treatment required," he says. A patent is pending, and German do–it–yourself retail giant Obi began selling them in late February. "So far they''re selling very well," he notes happily.

Oschmann''s career in plastics began on the shop floor of a family–owned processor, and his steady upward progression eventually landed him the job of foreman. But when in 1986 the owner retired and a young, inexperienced manager was brought in who rarely accepted Oschmann''s advice, he decided to make the leap to self–employment.

"I told my wife, ''Go to the bank and take out a DM200 (now €100) loan,'' to pay to register a company in my name, and I started making injection molds for prototype or low–volume production in my garage and basement," he recalls. Manufacturing of this sort of tooling still accounts for substantial business at Oschmann''s firm.

Then, as now, Oschmann finds that personal contacts make all the difference. "We live from recommendations," he says. "The plastics processing industry is like a carousel. The people who use our firm move on to other jobs at other firms, and then we have a new customer without really making any effort. And the new employee at the firm our contact just left looks in his file and sees that E. Oschmann is his preferred supplier, so we retain the old customer, too."

The firm has 25 employees and eight injection molding machines, capable of processing parts sized from 1g to 1.5 kg. Last year, Oschmann invested in a new processing hall that includes a centralized feeding/conveying system.

Like many processors in high–wage countries, he has seen business leave for Asia, especially China, and also for Eastern Europe, with the result that many domestic competitors have been forced to close. "And there are even fewer good ones left standing," he says. Much of the credit for the firm''s success he gives to his workforce since, "without experienced employees, the most expensive machines won''t help very much." That workforce includes his son Ralph, who wears many hats at the firm, including that of production manager. He will eventually succeed Oschmann.

Oschmann says his big project for this year is to complete work and find business for molded fluorescent signage. Not surprisingly, he politely declines to discuss the materials used, but says his experimentation has shown that the material will stay visible in the dark for as long as 10 hours.

"That way businesses won''t need to install lighting above their signs," he explains. The firm has also started work manufacturing the first molds for its own metal injection molding contracts. "For a normal molder, without his own moldmaking shop and without an innovative spirit, MIM is usually too much of a stretch," Oschmann says.

Matthew Defosse [email protected]