Heinen GmbH & Co. KG

Heinen Freezing Optimizes Documentation Processes with SCHEMA ST4

North German specialist in deep-freezing technology focuses on efficiency and structure

Heinen GmbH & Co. KG from Jade on the North Sea coast is a leading manufacturer of freezer systems for the food industry. From pizzas and cakes to vegetables and ready meals, all around the world countless products are frozen using Heinen systems. The company belongs to Kahl Holding and employs roughly 90 people in its office, a further 15 in logistics, and around 30 fitters. Heinen operates purely as engineering company with no production facilities of its own and is distinguished by its customized solutions, technical precision, and high quality.

The challenge: Complex range of appliance versions coupled with unstructured documentation

Over the years, Heinen had accumulated a large number of documents, text templates, and individual processes, from quotations and order confirmations to operating instructions and service manuals. A variety of Word templates, redundant content, and a lack of structure led to high maintenance costs and inconsistent information.

“We wanted a system that could handle everything from the initial quotation through to the final operating instructions,” explains Beate Müller, a technical writer at Heinen. On top of this came the vast range of product variants: there are eight series in the spiral freezer segment alone, each in up to 18 sizes, with countless options and numerous possible configurations. For each of these variants it was necessary to find and correctly document the technical and commercial data—a herculean (and largely manual) task.

The solution: A central information database established with SCHEMA ST4

After searching for a comprehensive solution, Heinen opted in favor of the SCHEMA ST4 content management system, supported by its experienced partner Dokuwerk. The goal was to standardize and automate all documentation processes.

To begin with the company established the necessary foundation: a uniform data and document structure across all departments. Internal terminology was then defined to ensure that terms such as “evaporator” or “air cooler” were used consistently across the board—and ensuring that misunderstandings would become a thing of the past. Building on this, the team worked with Dokuwerk to model an innovative solution. A generic data structure consisting of just two data node classes (“value” and “placeholder”) was created, which allows all the relevant metadata contained in an Excel-based “transfer file” to be imported into ST4 fully automatically.

A quick click of the mouse and all technical and commercial data is transferred to a new project—including filter logic, variant control, and automatic layout assignment. Thanks to a nifty switch mechanism that was also developed by Dokuwerk, the system only outputs relevant content.

The result: Structure, speed, and consistency

The upshot of this change is impressive. Heinen now only has to fill the information pool once, after which it can be used for all documents, including quotations, order confirmations, and operating instructions. Thanks to the automated processes, one click is now all it takes to generate a complete PDF.

“We’ve drastically reduced our processing times, while greatly improving the quality of our documents at the same time,” enthuses Beate Müller. Internal consistency has also been significantly improved at the same time, with uniform terminology, a central layout, and automated data transfer meaning that content remains consistent across all languages and formats. Even CE-relevant test reports, safety concepts, and training documents are now generated directly from ST4, complete with customer-specific information such as machine number or installation location.

Another advantage is that layout changes or logo adjustments only need to be made in one place to take effect in every document. This has significantly reduced translation costs because identical text modules are now reused multiple times.

Not just documentation but a company-wide standard

By working with SCHEMA ST4, Heinen has not only optimized its technical documentation, but also permanently altered the entire company structure. The introduction of a document key ensures clear identification of all non-project-specific documents. Even internal HR documents such as employee information or benefit overviews are now created using ST4—and to the same quality standards as customer documents.

Conclusion: Unbeatable efficiency at a single click

Thanks to SCHEMA ST4, Heinen has established a centralized, highly automated documentation process that saves time, guarantees quality, and facilitates growth. The upshot? “Today, just one click is all it takes to import all the metadata and generate the PDF—that’s it! It's a huge step forward for us.”

Working together with Dokuwerk and Quanos, Heinen successfully overcame the transition from fragmented documentation to integrated, intelligent information management and is now looking with confidence to the future: “We’ve got a whole lot more to come.”