Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Meyer

The author, born in Hanover in 1955, successfully completed his studies in mechanical engineering during his time in the army and afterwards continued in the service as a technical officer for the Federal Ministry of Defense. After post­­graduate studies in economics in Cologne, Thomas Meyer worked for the Barmag AG in Remscheid from 1983. Since 1993, he has been managing partner of IKS Klin­­gelnberg group.

In the mecca of machine knives production

	Knives for the paper processing industry (Sector of subsequent processing).

The economic region of Bergisch Ci­­ty-Triangle is a traditionally grown in­­dustrial region with internationally com­­petitive manufacturers of tools. A special area of the tool industry is the development and production of machine knives.

Inexhaustible demand
The need for cutting tools is enormous, because in the manufacture of many food products, everyday products and packaging, machine knives are indispensable. They are used any­­where, where meat and other agricultural products as well as paper, cardboard, tin, plastic, rub­­ber, wood or cork are industrially processed. Even at the end of a product’s life cycle, machine knives are used when waste must be crushed prior to recycling.
The quality of machine knives is crucial for the quality of the productivity of the manufacturing machinery and thus usu­­ally also for the product itself. Will the knives bear a long-last­­ing constant load at high frequency or even a longer down­­time, without losing quality? Is the knife suitable for use in the food industry and its hygienic conditions? These and other questions must be taken into account by the developers of machine knives.

Knives for the paper processing industry. Knives for the wood industry. Knives for the metal industry. Knives for the rubber and recycling industry.

Therefore, the various requirements are the challenge for the machine knives in­­dustry, as the intended use of the knives is of prime importance for the choice of steel, the geometry of the blade, its thickness, and the coating.
Due to the high degree of specialization, manufacturers of cutting tools often do not produce in mass production, but in lower quantities.

Producers of machine knives, such as the IKS Klingelnberg Group in Rem­­­­scheid, are specialists in the tool in­­dustry and the most important in­­dus­­try, location worldwide is the Bergisch City-Triangle. The innovative ability of the machine knives industry at this lo­­ca­­tion is high, as the companies con­­stant­­ly have to respond to the global development of new products and the production ma­­chines needed for their production. In the last 100 years, the location with its workers, craftsmen and engineers has developed a venerable know-how, which offers worldwide unequalled opportunities.
The industry knowledge ensures em­­ployment and growth for the location.

	Recycling industry.

World-class companies
Thus, also the IKS Klingelnberg Group makes a significant contribution to this positive development in the region. The company has its headquarters in Rem­scheid.
They started in 1908 as one of the first pioneers in the production of industrial knives and today are one of the oldest, still producing manufacturing mills in the Bergisch region, which is characterized by the tool industry. The company has become and established itself as the world’s leading man­­ufacturer and supplier for nearly all in­­dustrial areas. 1,100 employees generate worldwide sales of around 129 mil­­­lion euros, of which 43 million alone at the location in Rem­scheid (2008).
The share of exports in this sector is inherently high. In the IKS Klingelnberg Group it is, for example, for round and long machine knives a considerable 75 per cent.
Today, IKS Klingelnberg stands for an internationally active group with several production sites in Germany, Austria and Finland as well as further manufacturing and distribution locations in the rapidly growing Asian market (Shang­­hai, In­­do­nesia and Malaysia). Apart from eight production sites, additional sales and service offices as well as numerous re­­presentations complement the global presence of the group in key markets.

The group is divided into three divisions:

The strongest division in regards to turnover is the area of machine knives for the paper manufacturing industry. It is divided into the business areas pulp and paper industry, hygiene paper industry, printing and packaging industry, and subsequent processing.
The second-largest division is the area of machine knives for the wood pro­­cess­­ing industry. The range includes tools for the sawing, pulp, plywood, wood panels and veneer industry.

The metal division is divided into the areas of hot and cold rolled strip, Steel Ser­­vice Center and nonferrous industries.
In addition, they offer machine knives for cutting plastics and rubber as well as for the recycling industry. The sustainable and service-oriented customer service offers also a sanding and repair service with an in-house pick-up and delivery service.

IKS Klingelnberg supplies large machinery manufacturers such as Heidelber­ger Druckmaschinen (Heidelberg Print­ing Machines), KBA, Kolbus, Woh­lenberg, Schneider Senator, E.C.H. Will, Casati, Möhring, and Georg with original tool equipment.
However, the processing industry like Danzer (veneer production), Stora Enso (paper production), Salzgitter Flach­stahl (crude steel production) and many others are also supplied directly with spare parts.
Further renowned producers of machine knives in the Bergisch City-Triangle in­­clude Fassco, Winterhoff Picard, Fritz Ibach, Messerfabrik (knife factory) Neu­­enkamp (Dienes Group) or Kreso.

	Metallverarbeitende Industrie.

Product quality is the key
The successful manufacturer of machine knives always focuses the use of all his resources on the product, its requirement profile as well as the further de­­velopment.

Carefully selected stainless steel ratings of highest quality provide the basis: from tough, medium-alloy tool steel to long lasting high-chromium steels up to pow­­der-metallurgical high-speed steels and sintered carbides. All relevant material re­­sources are utilized.

The latest facilities for machining are avail­­able in the respective works. CNC machines, robot loading and precision grinding guarantee tightest tolerances and highest qualities. Contact with ma­­chinery manufacturers and users all over the world secures the company the con­­nection to the technical progress.
Research is the basis for a secure future. In the IKS Klingelnberg Group, activities in the area of research and development have always been important elements of the corporate strategy. The often complex issues require close contact be­­tween research and development and its partners in industry, universities and institutes. The commitment to apply the latest technologies, to use highly skilled professionals and state-of-the-art production facilities as well as to develop further electronic data processing from purchasing of raw materials to the de­­livery of the finished product ensures high product quality, increasing perfor­­m­­ance, sensible flexibility and above all, global competitiveness.
Application-specific trends on a high-tech­­nology basis for and with customers, solving problems for individual cus­­tomers and offering customized products as well as complete and universal programmes, characterize the perform­ance of the company and, to­­gether with an always market-oriented product strat­­egy, secure the success in international markets.

Years of experience, technical know-how as well as maintaining partnership re­­lations with customers provide a solid basis to be able to detect already to­­day tomorrow’s technologies and to be able to prepare the appropriate ways for new markets.