Subcontract steel for European primes, built to your QA chain

Sector brief

Industrial OEM partnerships are the part of our book where the final product carries someone else's nameplate. We are the European steel and integration partner sitting one tier below a prime contractor in a wheeled-vehicle programme, an agricultural machinery line, a mobile crusher series, a heavy-haul trailer build, or a hydraulic press frame. The deliverable is rarely a finished container. It is a welded steel envelope, a sub-assembly, a frame, a vehicle body, or an integration-ready module that ships into the prime's downstream operation and gets fitted out under their name.

This is the discipline we run for Rheinmetall MAN, where we are a strategic partner on EN 1090 EXC2 steel feeding their wheeled-vehicle integration line out of Vienna and Munich. It is also the model we run for Ploeger out of Roosendaal on agricultural machinery, for Kleemann inside the Wirtgen Group on mobile crushing and screening hardware, for Doll Fahrzeugbau on heavy-haul and timber-transport vehicles out of Oppenau, and for Langzauner on welded steel press frames out of Upper Austria.

The work pays in steady call-off rhythm, predictable lead time, and a long horizon, in exchange for tight tolerance, full documentation, and zero drama on the prime's QA chain.

Compliance and procurement path

• EN 1090-1 EXC2 execution as a baseline, with EXC3 available on a per-project basis where the prime specifies it.
• ISO 3834-2 welding at the comprehensive production level. The standard expects the manufacturer to flow the full technical review and welding instructions to any subcontractor, and we sit inside that flow rather than against it.
• Welder qualification to EN ISO 9606, MAG 135 and adjacent processes, with WPS and PQR maintained per EN ISO 15614-1.
• Material traceability per EN 10204 3.1, manufacturer-endorsed with heat number cross-reference.
• ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environmental.
• AQAP 2110:2017 NATO quality assurance, NSPA CAGE 4094M, and the Slovak Defense Trade License. These matter for any prime running a defense or dual-use programme, and they let us absorb AQAP flow-down clauses on critical items, significant work content, or configuration-managed sub-assemblies without renegotiating the supply chain.
• Surface preparation per EN ISO 8501 Sa 2.5, paint and cure under a 7.9 by 5.0 by 4.9 m booth with controlled drying at 75 to 80 degrees Celsius.
• FARO Arm Prime 10 for 3D geometric inspection on first-article and recurring control.

For a prime, that means our paperwork goes upstream cleanly. Per-unit dossiers ship with WPS / PQR sheets for the relevant joints, EN 10204 3.1 material certificates, paint thickness reports, and FARO inspection records. Programme-level audit dossiers add weld procedure qualifications, welder logbooks, and surveillance records on request.

Reference partnerships

Rheinmetall MAN, Germany and Austria

Strategic partner relationship. EN 1090 EXC2 welded steel fabrication delivered into the partner's wheeled-vehicle integration line. Production runs out of Bánovce nad Bebravou, ship-set documentation aligned to the prime's QA chain, with AQAP 2110 and NATO CAGE 4094M coverage in the background.

Ploeger Oxbo Group, Netherlands

Subcontract steel fabrication for agricultural machinery out of Roosendaal. Welded sub-assemblies and frames into the Ploeger production rhythm.

Kleemann, Wirtgen Group, Germany

Steel fabrication into the mobile crushing and conveyor product family out of Göppingen. EN 1090 EXC2 work, paint, and assembly delivered into the Wirtgen Group supplier chain.

Doll Fahrzeugbau, Germany

Vehicle and trailer steel work for the heavy-haulage and timber-transport product lines out of Oppenau. Welded structures into Doll's vehicle integration process.

Langzauner, Austria

Welded steel press frames and sub-assemblies for the hydraulic press product line out of Lambrechten. Heavy welded structures, machined and inspected to spec, delivered into Langzauner's final assembly.

Typical deliverables

• Welded steel envelopes and frames at EN 1090 EXC2, with ISO 3834-2 welding documentation.
• Vehicle and machinery sub-assemblies: chassis sub-frames, body shells, tank and reservoir structures, mounting brackets, walkways, cabinetry sub-frames.
• Painted and assembly-ready modules: Sa 2.5 blast, primer and topcoat to the prime's RAL spec, with bolt-on hardware, fluid systems, or fit-out items pre-fitted as specified.
• ISO containers and container-style envelopes used as the structural shell for an OEM end product. Where the OEM builds a finished container family on top of our envelope, the CSC plate and EN 1090 declaration sit with the prime.
• Engineering review on supplied drawings: we accept the prime's drawings as the contract baseline, run a DFM and welding review, and feed back any constraint that affects WPS, fixture, or tolerance, before steel is cut.

Engagement model

Industrial OEM work runs almost entirely under engagement model #4 from our standard four: subcontract under prime. European steel and integration partner under your prime, with EN 1090 EXC2 fabrication, paint, and assembly delivered to your QA chain.

In practice, this means:

1. Sign-off on your drawings. Your engineering pack is the contract. We do not redraw, we review, and we feed back any DFM or welding constraint before steel is cut.
2. WPS and PQR aligned to your spec. Our welding procedures map onto your weld joints, with PQR records ready for your QA team.
3. Material flow into your traceability chain. EN 10204 3.1 certificates and heat-number cross-reference travel with each batch.
4. Inspection and surveillance access. Your QA team is welcome on-site for first-article inspection, audits, and surveillance visits. We hold the audit trail.
5. Logistics on your terms. EXW Bánovce nad Bebravou as default. DAP into your line on request, on the call-off cadence your production plan needs.

Where a prime needs the legal coverage of a defense-grade subcontractor, the AQAP 2110 and Slovak Defense Trade License posture is already in place. Where it does not, the same shop and the same welders run the work under ISO 9001 plus ISO 3834-2 alone.

Lead times

• First call-off: 10 to 16 weeks from engineering sign-off, in line with the custom-build standard.
• Recurring call-offs against a multi-year framework: as agreed in the framework, with pricing locked and slot held against the production calendar.
• Hot-dip galvanizing or extended surface-treatment cycles add 1 to 2 weeks.

FAQ

Are you a Tier 1 or Tier 2 supplier for an industrial OEM? Either. On Rheinmetall MAN we sit directly under the prime as a strategic partner. On other programmes we sit one or two tiers down, depending on how the prime structures the supply chain. The certifications travel either way.

Will you take our drawings and our welding spec without rework? Yes. Our engineering review runs over your drawings to catch DFM, fixture, and welding constraints. The output is a small set of clarifying questions, not a redesign. WPS and PQR map onto your joint list rather than the other way around.

Can your AQAP 2110 coverage flow down from our prime contract? Yes. AQAP 2110 requires the prime to flow applicable contractual requirements to external providers, and we are positioned to absorb those clauses, including GQA surveillance language, without renegotiating our quality system. NSPA CAGE 4094M is on file as of September 2025.

What documentation ships with each batch? Per-unit dossier: WPS / PQR sheet for the relevant joints, EN 10204 3.1 material certificate with heat traceability, paint thickness report where coatings apply, FARO geometric inspection record on first-article and on agreed recurring controls. Programme-level audit dossiers add weld procedure qualifications and welder logbooks on request.

Can you handle EXC3 if our programme requires it? EXC2 is our baseline. EXC3 is offered on a per-project basis with the corresponding uplift in NDT, WPS rigour, and welder qualification. The shop, the consumables, and the welders are the same. The documentation and the inspection regime change.

What is your geographic delivery footprint? We deliver across the EU as default. Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Czechia, Poland, France, and Switzerland are routine. UK has shipped a 90-unit container project. USA and Saudi Arabia are export markets with specific partnerships. The default Incoterm is EXW Bánovce nad Bebravou, with DAP and DDP on request.

How do you handle confidentiality on a prime's drawings and BOM? NDA in 24 hours on first contact. The drawing pack and BOM are held inside the engineering team only. Where the prime sits in a defense or dual-use programme, the Slovak Defense Trade License posture and AQAP 2110 controls already cover the chain of custody on technical data.

What is the lead time to onboard us as a new subcontractor? Typically 4 to 6 weeks from first contact to a fixed quote on the first call-off, assuming your engineering pack is review-ready and your QA team can accept EN 1090 EXC2, ISO 3834-2, and EN 10204 3.1 documentation as-is. AQAP flow-down or specific material grades may extend the front end.