The strength of an industrial build is shaped long before assembly begins. It is shaped by the suppliers and partners involved in the project, the engineering conversations that happen between them, and the trust that determines how problems are solved when they arise. Premier Automation has spent years deliberately building that network, and häwa is one of the partners at the center of it.
Founded in Germany in 1907, häwa is an international leader in housing solutions for the machine and plant engineering industry, with a product line that covers control cabinets, consoles, housings, and machine enclosures. häwa's reputation is built on customized, flexible solutions for customers whose requirements rarely fit a standard catalog, a philosophy their CEO Arno Müller captured plainly: "Our customers have special requirements when it comes to cabinet systems. Sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, but certainly always different."
In the United States, häwa operates out of Duluth, Georgia, where the team stocks targeted inventory and runs on-site CNC machining for cutouts and modifications. That local footprint gives US customers fast turnaround without sacrificing the engineering rigor that has defined häwa's work in Germany for more than a century.
We sat down with John Rosemond, Regional Sales Manager at häwa and Premier's primary contact, to talk about what häwa brings to our work, how the partnership has developed, and where both companies see things going next.
Who häwa Is to Premier
For Premier's Georgia team, häwa is the kind of supplier that makes the engineering work easier rather than harder. Their team takes the time to understand what an end user actually needs, brings practical recommendations to the design conversation, and stands behind the product after it ships. That matters for programs where the enclosure has to perform in a specific environment, fit a specific layout, or hold up to a specific use case that a standard catalog cabinet would not handle well.
It also matters that häwa shares Premier's view on what good supplier work looks like. Both teams put real effort in upfront, both prefer to identify issues before they reach the end user, and both stay involved through execution rather than handing off and stepping back. That alignment is what turned an early working relationship into the partnership it is today.
How the Partnership Has Grown
The relationship between Premier and häwa took shape shortly after Premier opened its Alpharetta location. Early work was modest, but as the two teams got to know each other through a renewable energy customer building home power stations for remote locations, the collaboration deepened. Premier and häwa worked side by side on the project, navigating regulatory requirements across multiple states and engineering an enclosure approach allowing safe, accessible servicing of the battery systems inside.
The early work established something carried forward into every project since. Both teams operate with the same default. Solve the problem in front of you, do not push a customer into a box, and put the work in upfront so execution stays clean later.
"We relate on a lot of different levels in terms of our companies growing together," John said. "The ease of relationship, the way we work together, and the ability to help each other in situations where one side has more knowledge than the other. It comes down to the people."
The ease shows up in how the two teams operate day to day. Weekly meetings keep both sides aligned on active projects. When Premier needs a part quickly, häwa's local stock can be on the floor the same day. And before either team takes a new design to a customer, there is almost always a working session between Premier engineers and häwa to walk through requirements and identify issues before they reach the end user.
A Track Record on Complex Work
The clearest example of what the partnership can produce is the Siemens G120 enclosed drive program running through Premier's Georgia facility. Siemens needed a high-volume solution holding the line on quality and efficiency while controlling cost and getting the required real engineering work on the front end. Premier and häwa collaborated closely on the cabinet design, worked directly with the Siemens engineering team to get drawings into their internal design software, and refined the configuration through prototyping until it was ready for production.
The disciplined front-end work is how both teams prefer to operate. It is also what keeps execution clean once a program moves into production, because the design questions are answered before anything reaches the floor. With häwa's product fitting the application correctly from the start, Premier has the foundation it needs to deliver the rest of the build to the standard Siemens expects.
Looking Ahead
Both companies are in growth mode. häwa recently expanded its manufacturing facility in Germany. Premier is preparing to break ground on an expansion of its Georgia facility, giving the team more room to take on larger projects without floor space becoming a bottleneck. For a partnership built on close collaboration and parallel growth, the timing matters.
When asked what continues to separate the work from typical supplier relationships, John pointed to a discipline both companies share.
"If you can listen to a customer's feedback and hear what they're trying to say, and then solve their problems, it really does set you apart from the competition," John said. "Some of the larger companies are more focused on pushing their ideas than listening to the customer concerns. Premier being as big as they are and still having that perspective really goes a long way with their end users."
The alignment is what makes the partnership work, and it is why häwa will continue to be a part of how Premier delivers for the customers it serves out of Georgia and beyond.