House visit: Some time ago we visited the Swabian Alb in the holy halls of Magura. The traditional manufacturer still produces numerous products locally and still directs the fortunes of the parental home of the company founder, who brought the company into being at the end of the 19th century.
Bicycle fans probably know Magura primarily as a producer of hydraulic disc and rim brakes. But that's not even half the truth: The company's success story began at the beginning of the 20th century with the so-called straight-pull control lever, which revolutionized the motorcycle market and was the starting signal for the cooperation with BMW, which continues to this day. This makes Magura the "longest-serving" BMW supplier ever.
The company that Gustav Magenwirth founded when he was only 27 years old is now called Magenwirth Technologies GmbH. A third of them are Magura hydraulics, another Magura plastics - both jointly responsible for brakes on bicycles and motorcycles - and bebro electronic. The fact that tradition is very important to the company is shown not only by the name and logo, but also by the company headquarters: This is still in Gustav Magenwirth's parents' house in the heart of Bad Urach, not far from there is part of the logistics, next door is Magura Bike Parts GmbH, who takes care of sales and trade marketing. A few minutes by car in Hülben and Hengen are large parts of the production and injection molding for our own parts.
Incidentally, during our visit we also had the opportunity to get our hands on Magura’s #customizeyourbrake approach:
Magura #customizeyourbrake: Individual brakes for individual bikers
Magura plastic in Hülben: Plastic comes from "art"!
The plastic secrets of Magura slumber in the hallowed halls of Hülben. In highly complex injection molding processes, countless parts are made from different plastics adapted to the application. Plastic is a taboo word in this high-tech facility and would not do justice to the parts produced here. Not only are parts for Magura brakes made here, but Magura is also an important supplier for the automotive and electronics industries.
Background: Magura Carbotecture
Anyone who has dealt with Magura or one of the brakes from the Swabian Alb in recent years will undoubtedly have stumbled across the term Carbotecture. Incidentally, the high-tech material is not only used in bicycle brakes, but is also used for clutch fittings on BMW motorcycles, among other things. To put it very simply, Carbotecture is a composite material made of polymers and carbon fibers that are "married" to one another in a special process.
The result is a material that is up to 50% lighter with comparable stability than, for example, aluminum, which is usually used for such purposes.
The finished workpieces are subject to strict requirements and often have to be within extremely narrow, safety-relevant tolerance ranges. In the case of hydraulic applications in particular, it is often microscopic distances that determine whether the piston is stuck in the housing or whether the distance is so large that liquid escapes. The desired range lies exactly in between. By the way: The Carbotecture material also offers great advantages here. Piston and housing form a natural lubricating film that reduces friction and therefore lasts much longer than comparable metal combinations.
Magura production in Hengen: Made in Germany!
A short drive through the idyllic Swabian Alb later, we are in the parking lot of the Magura factory in Hengen. Here, among other things, the injection molded parts, which we have just observed in Hülben, are processed into finished products.
Before we are allowed to enter the assembly hall, however, we have to wrap ourselves in fashionably controversial but essentially important blue Magura coats: The antistatic upper material prevents lint or other potentially problematic particles from being brought into the factory from the outside. Finally, hydraulic components are assembled here, in the circuit of which a grain of sand can lead to a total loss.
A high degree of on-site automation keeps production costs within acceptable limits despite Germany being the "noble location" and minimizes possible sources of error. Every half hour the so-called "train" passes us, which ensures that parts are replenished at the corresponding assembly islands.
At the end of the assembly process, the brakes are filled. For this purpose, they rely on self-developed systems that fill every brake perfectly ex works with Royal Blood - Magura's own mineral oil - and equip it with a crisp pressure point as standard. However, we are not allowed to take photos here – trade secret!
