Expertise!

True to the principle of ‘learning from the experts’, customers visiting any of the Wirtgen Group’s numerous training facilities benefit from the application specialists’ decades of experience.

In this age of modernisation, the demands road construction and material processing machines and plants have to meet are also increasing. The Wirtgen Group product brands strive to do more than just meet these requirements. At Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm, Kleemann and Benninghoven, creative minds are busy developing innovative new technologies on a daily basis. To ensure that customers can fully exploit the potential of the companies’ market-leading technologies during their day-to-day activities on job sites around the world, the Wirtgen Group offers a training program that covers a broad range of topics related to applications, operations and machine technology. After all, qualified training for relevant personnel is a basic requirement for long-term efficient and profitable utilisation of the machines, as is the specialist knowledge required for servicing and maintenance.

CTT – state-of-the-art training centres

To ensure that knowledge and expertise can be effectively transferred to customers and partners, the Wirtgen Group runs its own training centres at its five brand headquarters in Germany and at numerous locations operated by its sales and service organisations around the world. These Centres for Training and Technologies, CTTs for short, were developed to create the conditions necessary for the transfer of knowledge in the various application areas. At these state-of-the-art training facilities, experts from Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm, Kleemann and Benninghoven share their expert knowledge with operators, site managers, service technicians and workshop staff. With whiteboards, audio-visual projectors and a range of simulation systems, the facilities are equipped with everything required for professional training activities. ‘In addition to the classrooms, where we teach the participants theoretical concepts, the training halls are particularly important’, explains Mirko Hartung, Head of Customer Support Training at Vögele in Ludwigshafen. Here, the participants are also shown practical tips and tricks for operating the machines they will be using in everyday working scenarios. ‘In our experience, the knowledge that our customers gain during the practical exercises really sticks in their minds’, continues Hartung. Fortunately, training participants do not have to worry about travelling for hours on end to reach the nearest facility. The dense global service and sales network ensures that the next training location is always only a short way away.

Something for everyone – the multifaceted training programme

The wide range of training courses offered by the Wirtgen Group encompasses the various challenges encountered on project sites and covers all potential target groups – from operators to site managers. The product brands’ highly specialised personnel train the participants in small groups in separate courses covering application, machine operator and machine technology training. In the application training courses, a distinction is made between two key areas: application technology and application consulting. ‘Application consulting primarily addresses government agencies and companies and helps them select the right process prior to the start of a construction project’, explains Lothar Krumscheid, Head of Customer Support Training at Wirtgen in Windhagen.

In contrast, the training courses on application technology focus on machine operators, who learn how to achieve the most effective results. The program also provides operator training courses geared to the special needs of machine operators, which focus primarily on machine control systems. ‘In a nutshell, we explain the function of every single button and switch.’ The programme also includes machine technology training courses, in which machine users learn how to carry out maintenance, service and repairs without outside help.

Quick and easy booking

A new platform was set up at the beginning of the year to make it as easy as possible for customers to book training courses with the Wirtgen Group.

The company’s training portal provides potential participants with an overview of all of the training courses available at the various brand headquarters. They can then register for the training course of their choice with just a couple of clicks. The portal also provides an overview of the content and learning targets of the individual courses. ‘Thanks to the new training platform, registering for a course is now easier than ever before’, says Krumscheid.