Family business
Innovative strength. Reliability. Consistency. Adherence to deadlines. Precision. Family.
That's what sets MECO apart: a family business in its fourth generation.
A long history of tradition and innovation
1911
1911/12/22: The merchants Hermann Scholten and Hugo Götze founded "Metallwerke Continental Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung" with the purpose of "manufacturing and selling iron and metal goods of all kinds".
1913
The company purchases two patents for carburetor technologies with areas of validity also for Switzerland, France and parts of the USA.
MECO thus lays the foundation for the alignment of the manufacturing program and the orientation towards the emerging automotive industry.
1916
The German Imperial Patent Office registers the trademark MECO for " carburetors for explosion engines". That's why "MECO" is one of the oldest registered brands in Germany.
Well-known automobile manufacturers now rely on MECO carburetors; the good reputation of the products causes sales to grow despite the turmoil of the First World War.
1919
MECO acquires its own manufacturing and business premises at Jöllenbecker Straße 44 in Bielefeld.
Equipped with many extensions and conversions and thus adapted to the changed requirements, this location still serves as the company's headquarters today.
1932
The effects of the global economic crisis also hit MECO. Partner and co-founder Hugo Götze leaves the company. With the brothers Helmut and Walter Scholten-Luchsen, the second generation takes over the management.
Helmut Scholten-Luchsen, who holds a degree in engineering, continues to innovate and develop carburetor technology, thus driving new sales momentum for the company.
1943
During World War II, gasoline is in short supply for the civilian population; internal combustion engines in motor vehicles must therefore be converted to run on high- and low-pressure gas. City buses are particularly affected.
Helmut Scholten-Luchsen develops the MECO gas-air mixer for these buses and thus secures the company's economic existence even in the difficult last years of the war.
1949
The first post-war years are difficult; the country is at rock bottom. Bicycles with auxiliary engines offer people affordable mobility in the early 1950s.
Helmut Scholten-Luchsen develops a small special carburetor without a float for these light vehicles and applies for a patent. This innovation meets a demand that secures sales for the company in the post-war years.
1959
In the economic boom of the 1950s, demand for bicycles with auxiliary motors collapses. Now automobiles are in demand, and in large quantities.
The small company is unable to produce the required quantities of carburetors and therefore switches its product portfolio to fuel lines and the corresponding fittings.
The brothers Helmut and Walter Scholten-Luchsen change the company's name to MECO Metallwerk Gebr. Scholten-Luchsen.
1962
With the businessman Helmut Scholten-Luchsen Jr. the 3rd generation joins the management.
MECO switches production from lathes to automatic lathes. The concentration of the production program on fittings and connecting parts continues and MECO develops a program of standard components.
1974
MECO expands the production and storage capacities at its headquarters in Jöllenbecker Straße by adding extensions and extensions. The organization is also optimized in this way.
1993
Ludwig Scholten-Luchsen completes the company's management team. The graduate industrial engineer represents the fourth generation of the company founders.
MECO converts production to CNC-controlled automatic lathes and integrates an EDP merchandise management system.
1998
MECO is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001 and introduces CAQ and CAD systems.
Since quality assurance is an essential part of the company's philosophy, the company adopts methods from the automotive industry that go far beyond the requirements of DIN.
2011
MECO celebrates its 100th anniversary. The company is aware of its history, but is anchored in the present and looks firmly to the future.
An electronic call-off system is set up for customers and the introduction of an ERP system is prepared.
2015
MECO expands production capacities: With the construction of a new production hall at Am Tüterbach in Bielefeld, the turned parts production department finds a new spacious location and can optimize its workflows there.
The freed-up production space on Jöllenbecker Straße is now used by the tube bending shop and hose assembly, whose organization can now also be optimized more effectively.
Din EN ISO 9001: 2015 & IATF 16949
Certified? Of course.
MECO is extensively certified. The initial certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001 already took place in 1998. Since then, all surveillance and recertification audits have been passed without any problems.
Currently, we are not only certified according to the latest version of DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 but of IATF 16949, too.
The company's own servers are securely located in an external TÜV-certified data center. It has the classification “Highly available, 3tek plus”.
This guarantees the technical and structural security of the data center and confirms compliance with critical organizational requirements.
Manufacturing facilities
MECO manufactures in two operating facilities. On the one hand, there is our traditional company headquarters in Bielefeld Mitte, which has stood for reliable production and delivery since 1919.
Here we manufacture pipe, hose lines and assemblies on 300 sqm. The company building has a total area of 1,300 sqm and houses not only the production facilities but also the central warehouse with incoming and outgoing goods and the complete administration.
Due to its extremely central location near the main train station and the main traffic axes, it is also an easily accessible meeting point for customers.
Since 2015, important production capacities have been added in the south of Bielefeld.
Turned parts of various designs are produced on state-of-the-art lathes in an area of 900 square meters. At the new location, we have paid special attention to the optimization of workflows. With the help of our bar rack warehouse, we are able to store and process our input material in separate batches. This enables traceability down to the starting material.
Due to its proximity to the A33 motorway, this location is also logistically favorable. And for the future, the property still offers potential for expansion.
Quality assurance
Our customers are rightly demanding.
Because we do not take any risks. Quality assurance is directly integrated into the production processes. This means that we can react immediately on site if even the slightest deviations from the defined target values occur.
This enables us to deliver with a reliability of 50 ppm.
The statistical evaluation of quality inspections is a matter of course for us and forms the basis for regular improvements to the production processes. Residual dirt analyses required by customers are carried out in accordance with VDA Volume 19.
This unconditional striving for maximum quality, even when supplying very large quantities and complex composite production pieces, has characterized our family-owned company since it was founded over 100 years ago.
CAQ-System
MECO's CAQ system works with the QS-STAT statistics calculator, which is very widely used especially in the automotive sector.
The measured values determined during the production process are visualized in the control chart in their chronological sequence. On this basis, the statistics computer calculates various process key figures. We analyze these together with the values from the control chart in order to be able to react quickly in the event of deviations in the production process. The goal is to achieve a cpk value of 1.67 and thus a controlled process.
In this way, our customers can be sure to always be supplied with the consistent MECO quality.
Accurate fit due to precision control
Specially manufactured measuring gauges ensure the accuracy of fit even for very complicated fittings, e.g. for longer, angled pipe connections.
Thanks to these precision checks, series assembly of the components runs smoothly, even at high production speeds.
sustainable production
Careful use of resources and the environment
Ecological optimization right down to logistics
For the benefit of product quality, MECO is turning from the solid. Machining inevitably produces considerable amounts of chip waste from a wide variety of metal alloys.
Instead of reusing this metal scrap - as is often the case - as unsorted bulk material, MECO presses these high-quality metal chips into logistics- and processing-friendly metal blocks.
This results in lower transport and reprocessing costs with a corresponding ecological advantage: lower energy requirements and environmentally friendly handling of the recycled material.
Highest standards: Plant II is located in a water protection area.
MECO Plant II is located in a water protection area. The permission alone to build a production facility here is evidence of the company's ecological orientation. To rule out any negative impact on the environment, the entire building is hermetically sealed off from the ground.
Rainwater from the roof is fed into a special overflow basin, where a reed ecotope filters out any possible pollution before the rainwater is again fed into the ground. This even eliminates damage from rainwater; soil sealing is kept to a minimum.