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The Leitz-Group is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of precision tools for processing wood and plastics. The headquarter is based in Oberkochen in the East of Baden-Württemberg. The enterprise employs 4.800 people, and in 2008 had a turnover of about 380 millions of Euro.

Corporate structure
Leitz GmbH & Co. KG founded, in 1876, is the centre of the Leitz Group and today the head office of a group comprising of 34 sales companies, 9 production companies and a global network of 200 service stations.

Leitz, Boehlerit GmbH & Co. KG, Kapfenberg (Austria) and Bilz GmbH & Co. KG Ostfildern (Germany) form the Leitz-Group of companies. Boehlerit is a specialist in developing and producing innovative tungsten carbide and diamond cutting materials as well as manufacturing special tools for metal processing. Bilz’s strength is tool clamping technology, being the leading producer of thermal clamping systems for high speed cutting in metal, wood and plastic processing.

The service programme
The Leitz Group product range covers all the automatic precision tools used to cut solid wood, wood derived material and plastics. Leitz’s customers are industrial and craft companies in wood and plastic processing, for example Leitz’s products are used in window and wood construction, panel processing and furniture production.

Leitz offers its customers its long experience in the use of tools step by step, so its customers achieve technical and economical advantages allowing them to concentrate on their strengths and core business. The number and choice of the Leitz services depends on the customers’ needs and requirements.

Besides supplying tools, mounting and their operation, Leitz service includes their administration, software and stock holding. Leitz is involved in production and process related technical questions geared towards an economically efficient operating system. Leitz also keeps its customers’ staff well informed through training courses on the latest developments in production technology. The single service modules are linked to form the comprehensive Tool-Process-Management.

The development of company
In 1876 Albert Leitz, a farrier, laid the foundation for today’s Leitz GmbH & Co.KG when he established his drills, knives and axes factory in Oberkochen. By 1884 this small beginning had grown into the Württembergische Holzbohrer-Fabrik A. Leitz; by 1900 automatic tools had been added as a second product line. With industrial mechanisation and the growth in automatic machines the 1904 catalogue already listed 50 different manual and mechanical drills.

The second generation
In 1912 the company passed to the Second Generation. After the First World War, Albert and Fritz Leitz took advantage of the export opportunities avoiding the consequences of hyper inflation. Emil Leitz founded his company in 1921 to develop sales and in 1938 Fritz Leitz set up his company to produce parts, assemblies and aggregates for aeroplanes. Albert Leitz junior led the family owned company through the difficult post war years by focusing on the traditional wood machining tooling programme. This continuity meant the enterprise successfully overcame the monetary reform and established itself as a leading international manufacturer in its sector in the 1950’s.

Whilst solid wood machining remained dominant in the 1930’s and 1940’s, post war wood derived materials and compound products captured the furniture and interior fitting market sectors. Chipboard and wood fibre board met the needs of the furniture manufacturers; wood derived material products covered with a plastic surface brought new design opportunities in colour and finish.

New basic material after the war
In terms of production, this change in material brought with it new materials for tools, new machining technologies and new machine concepts. The product lines for plastic, non-ferrous metals and wood derived material and compound products developed alongside the traditional woodworking tools. This diversified product programme nearly doubled in a few years.

Organisationally the Emil Leitz sales company was integrated in the enterprise along with additional sales and service companies in German and Europe. Reliable servicing of tools is an important part of the Leitz’s extended service activities, important to maintain product quality and to increase the life of the customers’ expensive investments. A company collection and delivery service provides a smooth quick logistic minimising tool downtime.

First steps abroad
In 1961 Leitz founded the first production plant outside Germany in Riedau, Austria giving access to the EFTA-countries without high customs barriers. In 1974 a second production plant followed in Lana/South Tyrol to support the Italian furniture industry. In 1964 Unterschneidheim was extended to be a complete production location, in time producing tungsten carbide sawblades, knives, boring bits and other shank tools.

Worldwide expansion followed in the seventies after the first steps in Europe. In 1979 Leitz opened a production plant and sales office in Brasil, and some years later the enterprise entered the Anglo-American markets; followed by the Eastern European and Far Eastern markets in the nineties.

Expansion and diversification
Dieter Brucklacher, who joined the Leitz Management in 1975 and manages the enterprise today, has led the development. As a physicist he appreciates the importance of technical innovation. In the eighties he started the first experiments with diamond as a cutting material and ten years later he integrated a memory chip into the tools, developing the basis of a Tool-Management-System.

The enterprise expanded through acquisition and integrated a number of businesses into the Leitz group of companies: the tool manufacturers WIGO and KWO are added in 1984 and 1994 and the Remscheid sawblade specialist H.O. Schumacher in 1998.

Social engagement
This development from a regional engineering company to the recognised leader in its field globally has been accompanied with a social responsibility. Already before the Second World War the head office had a factory canteen and in the post war era Leitz built staff apartments at the bigger sites. A mixed employee education programme – on average Leitz has 100 commercial and industrial apprentices – has the same tradition as the support given to sports clubs and cultural events. The company attaches great importance to continuity and the long term well being of the staff.

Literature

 * Bernhard H. Lott: Der Kocher. Swiridoff Verlag, Künzelsau 2002.
 * Florian Langenscheidt: Deutsche Standards: Weltmarktführer. Köln 2004.

Itemisation

 * Image brochure of Leitz GmbH & Co. KG for the 125 years company anniversary, 2001
 * Leitz homepage impressum

Weblink

 * www.leitz.org