This year, KASTO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG celebrates its 171st birthday, making it one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the whole of Europe. Armin Stolzer has been at the helm of the company, which was founded in 1844, for over 25 years. He is the fifth generation of his family to have headed the business and, only a few years ago, brought the sixth generation into the company to provide assistance. Under the guidance of Armin Stolzer, KASTO has developed to become the acknowledged global market leader for metal sawing machines, semi-automatic and automatic bar stock and sheet metal storage systems, as well as for automatic handling systems for metal rods, sheets and parts cut to size. This market position is underpinned by more than 160 patents and is impressively testified to by the more than 140,000 sawing machines it has shipped to every part of the world, as well as the installed base of more than 1,700 automatic storage systems.
Sawing and storage of metal products
KASTO is the only manufacturer of metal sawing machines to offer its customers all three sawing variants (bow, band and circular sawing machines) and can deliver a wide range of products for every segment. Its portfolio extends from small manual machines for fast cutting jobs in the workshop through to high-performance band sawing machines for sawing large ingots and sheets. KASTO is also the only company to have developed and produced a wide range of semi-automatic and fully automatic bar stock and sheet metal storage systems. The products it ships range from compact, standalone storage towers through to fully automatic high-rack honeycomb systems with thousands of storage cassettes for bar stock, sheets and residual materials which are being returned to storage after machining. Combining these two lines of business has resulted in the development of the outstanding “sawing centres” or “storage-saw cell systems” in which all the storage, handling, sawing, marking, palletising and bundling processes, including material identification, are performed fully automatically in multishift operation – from the entry of the raw material through to the commissioning of the cut parts. Customers from trade, industry and the metal dealership sectors therefore benefit from the full range of equipment for material provisioning, production and distribution from a single supplier.
Sawing, storage and “more” besides: KASTO’s guiding principles
Perfect sawing and storage – for KASTO, that is still not enough. The company differentiates itself by providing value added that brings real benefits for customers and staff alike. Thus, for example, the claim “More Profile” is backed up by corporate values such as a focus on customer satisfaction and success, reliability and a commitment to progress. “More Responsibility” describes the durability and resilience of the products as well as of the company’s customer relations and decisions. To achieve this, KASTO not only draws on its strengths as an owner-run company but also actively embraces values such as loyalty to Germany as a production site, quality “Made in Germany,” and long-term, sustainable further development. In 2010, for example, KASTO enlarged its company headquarters in Achern-Gamshurst (Baden-Württemberg). Among other things, this created 4,800 square metres of additional assembly space and a demonstration centre.
KASTO’s greatest potential, however, lies in the large number of employees who have received optimum training in-house and are versatile and competent enough to fulfil the various requirements characterising the individual products and markets. For this to continue in the future, the company needs pioneering, interdisciplinary thinkers who are constantly looking for improvements and new ideas. And KASTO makes great efforts to develop just these qualities: The company invests some 1.2 million euros every year in the professional training and advanced training of its employees.
Technology and design leader
KASTO’s core skills lie as much in its creative technology and product development as they do in its robust mechanical engineering competences and expert project management capabilities. What is more, the company has established a global marketing and service organisation and works, at the international level in particular, with long-standing, experienced dealers. KASTO’s machines and storage systems lead the way not only in terms of technology but also in their technical design. Many awards and distinctions testify to this, including an award from the Design Center Stuttgart and the renowned Red Dot Award. What is more, KASTO’s management team have on several occasions been named as finalists competing for the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” business award. Claiming first place in the “Best Factory Award,” organised by the Reutlingen Export Academy and the journal “Markt und Mittelstand,” marked another highlight in the company’s history.
From Achern across the globe
2014 was an important year for KASTO. In May, the company not only celebrated its 170th birthday but also unveiled its new KASTOwin saw range at an official ceremony. Since then, it has already sold more than 400 KASTOwin machines – and not only to customers in Germany. Overseas businesses have also shown great interest in this innovative machine range. KASTO’s overseas sales have been constantly increasing for a number of years. While in 2013, overseas business accounted for 44.6 percent of total sales, this figure grew to 54.3 percent in 2014. And KASTO is reacting fast to the growing significance of its overseas markets, in particular in South-East Asia. On 26th October, the company will launch its new subsidiary, KASTO Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., in the German Center in Singapore. The guest of honour will be the Baden-Württemberg Finance and Economy Minister Dr. Nils Schmid, who will also cut the ribbon to mark the occasion. And that is not all – KASTO is currently also building a site in Shanghai. Similarly, the nearby Swiss market will soon be supported by its own KASTO location. In this way, the company is set to secure its future position as global market leader for metal sawing machines and bar stock and sheet metal storage systems.
Email: kasto@kasto.com
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