We are KOBRA

Europe’s largest hardening furnace are here at KOBRA in Lengenfeld. I am responsible for monitoring the hardening processes. In the first step of the hardening of steel, carbon is added to the steel structure. In the second step the actual hardening takes place, the quenching. To make the structure strong and ageing resistant, it is frozen at -100 °C.

A hardening process takes between 9 and 10 hours. This requires an absolutely reliable team. Exactly, as with my hobby, the volunteers fire brigade. Again, I must be able to rely on 100% on my colleagues. I have make a decision fast and I must be ready every time. I need to make quick decisions and always be ready. Why am I in the volunteer fire brigade? The biggest reason is because I will help other people. If an application was successful, I am extremely happy.

Who doesn’t recognize them, the wooden figurines and nutcrackers from the region of Erzgebirge? If you were born in this area, as I was, you cannot avoid this traditional wood-carving art form. Especially at Christmas time, this old tradition enjoys great popularity. At such times, I like to sit in a warm room and create small figures made of wood for friends and family. Of course, when small angels and trees are crafted, wood chips will fall.

It is exactly the same in my workplace. There it is much louder and the material is different. Here at KOBRA I serve as deputy master of a 5-axis milling machine, which can weigh up to 3 tons. As with my wood-carving hobby, unique pieces and custom-made items are created here.

A notice in elementary school brought me to handball. At first, I played in the handball district league, and later in the county league. For the last 4 years, I have played for the Rodewischer Handball Wolves. In tournament and cup games, each player gives his best and we complement each other.

It’s the same with my team at KOBRA. My colleagues and I are always “on the ball”. In 3-shift operation, we mainly produce mold walls and swords. I have been with KOBRA since my apprenticeship as a cutting machine operator. Today I operate a 6-axis machine.

The scaled reproduction of the model trains, the design of landscapes with all the buildings and vehicles and of course the semi-automatic control of the railways on the self-built control panel are my passion. With great attention to detail, I am the proud owner of some locomotives and a few meters of rails.

At my workplace, I also operate a so called “locomotive”. This is always the case when a batch leaves one of the multipurpose chamber furnaces from hardening or when it is filled. Attention to detail is the key here, because the organizing of the hardened goods requires a clever hand. It is extremely important to achieve an optimum ratio between hardened material and the charging agent. The proportions of the components to be hardened can vary in size from very small to parts with a weight of up to 800 kg.