Fresh Ideas for Real-World Challenges

Among the participating companies was the BLANC & FISCHER Group. The group includes, among others, the E.G.O. Group, which supplies heating and control components for the home appliance industry. Its second major pillar is BLANCO, the specialist in kitchen water stations, consisting of sinks, drinking systems, faucets, and waste disposal systems. 

They come from countries such as Belarus, Turkey, Peru, and Vietnam to Oberderdingen in the Karlsruhe district, where BLANC & FISCHER has its headquarters. The eleven young women and men who meet at the family-owned medium-sized group have two things in common: they are all students at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). And during the “1,000+” project week, they swap the lecture hall for a workplace in industry for five days.

The long-established BLANC & FISCHER Group is now a veteran of “1,000+”: For the third time, the Oberderdingen-based company is welcoming TUM students to its modern headquarters as part of the project week. The project tasks for the highly qualified interns are just as diverse as the company itself: At BLANC & FISCHER Corporate Services — where overarching management and service functions are based — the focus is generally on strategies to consistently embed sustainability into business processes. The project group at BLANCO is designing an emotional user interface for the water station in the kitchen of the future.

More ideas through diverse groups

Things get more technical at the E.G.O. Group (E.G.O.), one of the world’s leading suppliers and solution partners for components, systems, and services in the home appliance industry: Here, a group is exploring how to make the testing process for the filling and insulating material magnesium oxide faster and more efficient. The second project at E.G.O. also revolves around process optimization: The students are developing and comparing new methods for so-called PCB depaneling— the separation of individual circuit boards from a larger manufacturing panel.

From morning to night, the young women and men sit together, jointly designing new solutions and engaging in heated discussions. The fact that the groups are so diverse works to their advantage: “This is the first time I’ve worked with students outside my campus and outside the TUM School of Management,” says Thi Anh Hong Mai, who studies Management & Digital Technology at TUM Campus Heilbronn. “I can learn a great deal from my new friends in the engineering departments.”

Creative and practical solutions

Things get exciting on the last day when the students present their solutions. The results are practical and creative: sustainability can only be successful if quality remains high and customer needs are taken into account. Focusing on complete systems is more promising than on individual products — that is the conclusion reached by the group at BLANC & FISCHER Corporate Services. The team at BLANCO has developed a sophisticated user interface that specifically utilizes soothing light and sound effects. For the magnesium oxide testing process, one of the two E.G.O. groups presented a concept that could enable time savings of up to 97 percent. According to the second E.G.O. group, inline blade processes — that is, automated cutting processes within the production line — as well as laser solutions prove particularly suitable for PCB depaneling.

Valuable exchange of perspectives

In the end, both sides benefit from the project week. The students particularly highlight the valuable practical insights: “I found it exciting to become familiar with topics that were new to me. I had the opportunity to conduct intensive research for nearly two days to develop a solution,” says Yahor Busko, an Information Engineering student at TUM Campus Heilbronn. Büşra Tuncel Şekerci, who studies Management & Digital Technology in Heilbronn, also emphasizes: “It was particularly interesting to me that the BLANC & FISCHER Group brings such diverse companies together under one roof. This allowed me not only to get to know BLANCO but also to get a glimpse into E.G.O.’s production, which was very insightful.

The supervisors at BLANC & FISCHER are also satisfied: “It was truly great to have these young, motivated people with us. Their outside perspective was particularly valuable,” says Kristina Zimmermann, who drives sustainability initiatives in group-wide procurement. Her colleague Luisa Schiebel, from the sustainability team at BLANC & FISCHER, agrees: “The students naturally think more outside the box than we do, since we work in our corporate context every day.”

Are you interested in the TUM 1.000+ Project Week? Feel free to get in touch with us at: 1000plus@cit.tum.de.