Axles for the long haul

摘要

The BPW Bergische Achsen KG factory lies stretched along the valley of the Wield River in the hilly country near Cologne, Germany, marking the spot where the company was started more than 100 years ago. When the Kotz family founded the company in1898, water from the Wiehl was what powered the hammers in the smithy that made axles for the horse drawn farm trailers. In those days, BPW made and sold axles locally; it was only when the railway came snaking through the valley that BPW began to sell its products beyond its own region. Now BPW is one of the world's largest makers of axles for drawn vehicles. It still makes axles for farm trailers and other light applications, but now the largest part of its production is devoted to axles for heavy road trailers and semi-trailers - the workhorses that transport the goods of the world. BPW delivers a quarter of a million such axles a year, manufactured in its factories in Hungary, Italy, China, South Africa and Australia, as well as In several locations in Germany.