For a good year now, the company Antennentechnik Bad Blankenburg GmbH (ATBB) has carried its name basically only for reasons of tradition. At that time, the company moved its headquarters from the town that gave its name to the Legefeld industrial estate in Weimar. A step which was not without risk, but which was worthwhile.
New company headquarters in Weimar-Legefeld
Dr.-Ing. Michael Weber is managing director of ATBB. When asked about the past year, his words express pride in what he has achieved and recognition for his staff. "It's incredible what we have achieved in this one year. And I am delighted that our core workforce has gone down this path with us. This path began with the construction of a new company headquarters in Weimar-Legefeld directly on the A4, which was supported significantly by the State Development Corporation of Thuringia. According to Dr. Weber, this was the decisive prerequisite for the further development of the company. "The property is the basis of our plan, which is geared towards growth. It simply offers an incredible number of opportunities.
Demand for networking drives growth
This is the keyword: growth. The company and its boss have ambitious goals: 15 to 20 percent growth is the target that Dr. Weber is aiming for - and also considers realistic. The reason is quickly named. The market for mobile data transmissions is growing and growing steadily. The next 5G generation of mobile communications is just around the corner and the digitalization of the broadcasting market holds further potential. Consumption measurements are carried out via mobile radio, and industry 4.0 sends its regards. The topic of autonomous driving is simply unthinkable without mobile radio solutions. All these areas require state-of-the-art antenna technology. ATBB has a large portfolio of current antenna solutions that are immediately ready for use, which saves customers considerable time. Thanks to its own research and development department, new antennas are constantly being developed and added to the portfolio in close cooperation with the sales department.
Mobile all-rounder WiCAR®
As the antenna has become more complex and more intelligent over the years, ATBB entered even deeper into communications technology at an early stage and developed an intelligent and individually configurable car PC with LTE router under the brand name WiCAR®, which has been on the market since the beginning of the year. This technology will grow together with the antenna over the next few years. This is a complete fleet management system from Antennentechnik ABB Bad Blankenburg GmbH. Core elements are a LinuxOS based LTE gateway and a telematics cloud. This is a server landscape that receives and stores the transmitted data and displays it in a user-friendly way. The WiCAR® LTE gateway is the switchboard between the vehicles and the telematics cloud.
New antenna measurement chamber
In addition, WiCAR® can be used in various industries and is not limited to the transport sector. The Internet-of-Vehicle hardware offers up to two LTE high-speed accesses for every customer requirement. But the networked vehicle already plays an important role today, particularly in the commercial vehicle sector. This will gain even more momentum with the 5th mobile phone generation, the ATBB managing director predicts. To meet these challenges, the company has invested in a new antenna measuring chamber - also an advantage of the current location. "Without such an antenna measuring chamber, you cannot build modern antennas," says Dr. Weber.
Programmed for growth
The company boss believes his company is already well positioned for this. The company has an efficient development department and increased its productivity by more than 20 percent last year alone. After all, if you want to grow, you need employees who generate added value. ATBB currently employs 85 people, more than 10 percent of whom are from the Weimar area. And new people bring new ideas to the company. For example, he employs a female purchasing employee from Taiwan. Since then there have been no more problems with Asian suppliers. At the beginning of October, a Syrian will start in the accounting department. This is a step towards internationalization, says Dr. Weber. "But internationality is not a matter of course. And the integration of foreign employees is and remains a challenge and not a matter of course". Here, communication within the company must be constantly developed further. Further development within the company is another key topic for the managing director. "We have carried out a number of changes within the administration. In addition to the new appointments, this was an important step for us. It has enabled us to discover and promote talent in our workforce. For us, further development and growth are inseparable.
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