The Polymath from Horn-Lehe
AerospaceGERADTS GMBH supplies systems technology for a multitude of sectors – including aquariums for use in space
No can do? No such thing! GERADTS GMBH makes the things other companies can’t even imagine. This is why this engineering firm is so firmly rooted in major European aviation and aerospace projects, and also in a myriad of other sectors.
Werner Geradts’ average day contains significantly more than 24 hours. There’s no other explanation for how the 69-year-old founder of GERADTS GmbH can unite his ambitions and his passions: he is a business leader with expertise in so many areas, such as aviation and aerospace, shipping, medical technology and the defence industry. Added to that, he’s an amateur pilot, bee-keeper, brewer, keen baker and much, much more.
According to Geradts’ consultant at the company that was founded in 1978, “It’s really not easy keeping up with him”. Even if you come into work really early, you’ll often find the founder already working at a machine in one of the halls. To this day, the polymath is not only active in a management role but also the main inspiration in research and development, and he even gets hands-on in production. “You simply cannot stop him”.
Top-notch technical solutions for a multitude of industries
The founder's restless spirit is a reason for the success of the company, which now has a workforce of 45. However, Werner Geradts is the first to admit that the developments in recent years would not have been possible without his employees.
Having said that, it’s not quite so easy to explain what is actually going on in the well-protected halls. Anyone who has ever seen GERADTS solutions might think: well, it could be anything. It's always something to do with mechanical and electro-mechanical products or systems. The company manufactures machines, assemblies, devices and individual components for use in aerospace, marine technology, high-vacuum and medical technology, for precision engineering and for the defence industry.
The one thing all these endeavours have in common is that it's always about solutions that bring others to their limits. “We make the things that other people think are unfeasible, either because they are technically too demanding or seemingly impossible to manufacture. We have the knowledge and the technical equipment needed to get right to the root of problems and find out exactly what it is our customers need”, stated Werner Geradts. A multitude of certifications and permits for a diverse range of sectors confirms that statement.
Travel in space or in the world’s oceans
What examples are there? The company created an aquarium that can withstand space travel. Scientists then used it to study how underwater ecosystems behave in weightlessness. It was launched into space a number of times and was robust enough to survive the crash of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. In the marine technology sector, the company is manufacturing special high-performance screen wipers, which continue to work even in the roughest seas. For aviation, GERADTS GMBH is developing an air bag landing system for drones and a device for launching drones directly from a flying Airbus A400M, among other things. GERADTS products can be found on board NASA’s Orion module and Ariane-6 rockets, and on the International Space Station. And the Bremen-based company is also once again involved in the preparations for the joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, run by Germany, France and Spain.
No can do? No such thing! It´s doable? Let´s do it even better!
A walk through the company’s five factory halls at its site in Bremen Horn-Lehe shows just how this extensive range of products has been created. There's row after row of all kinds of machine tools. There are machines for milling, turning, grinding, welding, soldering, 3D printing, gluing, lasering, water jet cutting, lapping and much more – in fact, everything’s there.
As Geradts said, “We might not need some of them for one or two years, but then we’ll get an order and bring them into operation again. It’s our depth of production capability that defines us and is one of the secrets of our success. It is how we can be sure that every part is of the same consistently excellent quality. Our motto is: no matter how big the job and how many parts are needed, every component will be processed as cleanly and precisely as the very first.”
The mechanical and electronic expertise in Horn-Lehe is complemented by its subsidiary, GERADTS Composites GmbH, in the town of Ganderkesee, which processes fibre composite materials. However, regardless of location, prototypes, one-off pieces and small series production are always at the forefront, even when GERADTS takes on larger orders.
Testing what the stomach can stand
It's not only the production processes that have to satisfy the most stringent demands. Geradts, the industrious developer, doesn’t let anything get in his way when testing prototypes and his own developments. For example, he uses the company aeroplane for gravity-defying parabolic flights to test new aerospace components in weightlessness conditions. “We’ve built our own electronic systems which can simulate the gravity of the Moon and Mars, and the weightlessness of space, on board of the Cessna.“ The only thing that limits test flights are the stomachs of the customers who come on the flights, which sometimes just aren’t able to cope with the enormous stresses put on them. Even Geradts’ creative mind hasn’t yet found a solution to that problem.
A training organisation since 1979
His mantra to combat the effects of ageing seems to be: just keep on going! Having said that, the management team and his son Sebastian have become more actively involved in the company. Even so, that doesn't mean that Geradts senior is ready to retire any time soon. He continues to think that retirement is something that other people do. As the holder of multiple patents admitted, “When I get home in the evening, I often go straight into my workshop and carry on working on my own projects”.
However, he doesn’t expect his employees to work at the same pace. Exceptional quality, enthusiasm and a sound knowledge base – yes, but he’s also aware that other people have different priorities. “Our customers place a great deal of trust in us and we get totally involved in their highly complex projects. And I put the same level of trust in my members of staff“, he explained. Geradts trained many of his employees himself and some of them have worked in the company for 40 years. Expertise in craftsmanship has always been important to him. Even fully-fledged engineers need to develop a solid, fundamental understanding of materials and processing: “You get a very different feel for the material once you’ve worked with it yourself.”
Growing along with Bremen as an aviation hotspot
Over the decades, Werner Geradts has expanded his company in the Horn-Lehe-West industrial area time and time again. Bremeninvest has also helped him to do this. “We’ve always worked well together. I feel at home in Bremen. And, as an old-school Bremen businessman, my word is my bond. There's no need for a written contract.”
Geradts started his career by training as an aircraft technician at Travelair. During his military service, he worked in the helicopter squadron at Ahlhorn, Lower Saxony. After this, he won his very first order, building a historic model railway. This was the starting point for him striking out on his own in 1978. One of Werner Geradts’ first customers was VFW Fokker, where he was involved in setting up the Northern Development Circle (Entwicklungsring Nord) – both precursors of today's Airbus group. Even at this early stage of the Bremen aerospace group, OHB, his work developed into a very collegial partnership which continues today, from Bremen up into orbit. On the 100th anniversary of the start of aircraft construction in Bremen, he sees this development as a positive thing. “I really value Bremen as a location, the developments in the last few decades, particularly for aerospace, have been truly outstanding, and that, of course, applies to us too.”
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