"CONSTANTLY OUTSTANDING RESULTS."

Trissler & Kielkopf GmbH | TILTENTA 7-4200
Field of application: Contract manufacturing | Founded: 1921 | Headquarters: Reutlingen, Germany | Employees: 11

Trissler & Kielkopf GmbH is based in Reutlingen, at the "gateway to the Swabian Alb". Since the early 1990s, Peter and Christel Dorau have been at the helm of the contract manufacturing company, which will soon be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The Swabian medium-sized company has been relying on HEDELIUS machining centres for 22 years.

Johannes Trissler founded the company in 1921 - at that time still purely as a supplier for the knitting machine manufacturer Stoll, also based in Reutlingen. When Peter Dorau joined the company in 1983, the operation was producing its own knitting machines, but was already involved in contract manufacturing for the general mechanical engineering sector in order to create an additional mainstay in view of the structural upheavals in the textile industry. At the beginning of the 1990s, Peter Dorau and his wife Christel took over as managing directors.

Efficiency as the key to success.

The first years under the line of the Doraus were characterised by extensive investments: The machinery was completely modernised and finally found a new home with the larger production hall built in 1997. In the same year, the first two 3-axis machining centres, a BC 40 and a BC 100, were also purchased from the North German machine manufacturer HEDELIUS. Two HEDELIUS C60s followed later. Peter Dorau's attention was opened to the manufacturer by a machine brochure. He accepted a personal invitation to Meppen and saw the machines in action on site. He was not to regret this trip.

"In the early days, the price pressure was enormous. That's why we mainly produced series parts back then," explains Peter Dorau. In his eyes, the HEDELIUS BC 100 with oscillation mode was the ideal machine for this. "The option of double station machining drastically increased our productivity," he recalls. With the help of a partition, two independent work areas were created, which from then on enabled parallel machining and thus minimised unproductive time. Another plus point for Peter Dorau was the good accessibility of the work area: "It was always quick to retool the machine."

"Technically first-class all-rounder".

Today, it is above all the flexibility in production and the reliably very high product quality of the workpieces that customers appreciate about Trissler & Kielkopf. The HEDELIUS machining centres - currently four in number - play a decisive role in this: "We are an all-rounder with first-class technical equipment; everything is possible with us, from small to large series," says Christel Dorau, opening up the company's range of services. "Our aim is to always work with the latest technology and deliver consistently high quality to our customers," says the former development engineer at a renowned technology group.

The customer base is now broadly diversified: from the packaging industry to environmental technology and special machine construction, customers from a wide range of industries rely on the quality work from Reutlingen. Demand has been unbroken for years: "We have never had to advertise for customers," explains Peter Dorau proudly. When new customers come to Trissler & Kielkopf for production, he has often heard: "Looking at your machinery, we can see that you are able to fulfil our requirements."

Trissler & Kielkopf is now even entrusted with the production of high-precision parts for research equipment. "You don't calculate with hundredths, but with ten-thousandths of a tolerance, even for parts that are one metre long," explains Peter Dorau. "We then wrap them in tissue paper."

TILTENTA 7-4200 with maximum equipment.

In view of the high requirements, the HEDELIUS Tiltenta 7-4200 purchased in 2017 delivers "consistently excellent results", says Dorau. With its large X travel path of 4,200 mm and a speed of 18,000 rpm, the versatile 5-axis machining centre with infinitely variable swivelling main spindle and integrated NC rotary table enables the flexible and accurate machining of a wide range of workpieces. Even longer workpieces can be machined from all sides with maximum precision.

The TILTENTA 7-4200 was purchased as a replacement for the HEDELIUS BC 100, which had provided faithful service for twenty years until its replacement. It is therefore no surprise that a HEDELIUS was once again chosen for the new machine. With its extensive equipment package, the TILTENTA 7-4200 sets completely new productivity standards: In addition to the already proven oscillation mode, a fast tool changer, a standby magazine with 190 places and a high-precision laser measuring system ensure a further reduction in tooling times with consistently high production quality. Four axes in the tool guarantee workpiece-independent dynamics - an ideal prerequisite for high rapid motions and feeds of up to 40 metres per minute. The high feed rates are supported by an internal coolant supply (IKZ) 75 bar pressure. The IKZ also minimises tool wear.

Plus point personalised service.

In addition to the convincing machine concept, there was another important purchase criterion in favour of HEDELIUS for the Doraus: the competent and personal support. "The good service was a decisive factor in our decision to purchase a HEDELIUS machining centre again in 2017," says Peter Dorau, praising the commitment of the service technicians. "If something needs to be closed, we always get help quickly and reliably."

Trissler & Kielkopf currently employs eleven permanent staff. However, the company is desperately looking for further reinforcements, as the shortage of skilled labour also has the contract manufacturing industry firmly in its grip. In the couple's view, one of the reasons for this is the immense competitive pressure, which makes working as a cutting machine operator increasingly unattractive for young people. "It is all too often forgotten that the focus should still be on people, because it is people who have to operate the machines," they agree.

If you take a look inside the operation's production hall, you quickly realise that they are serious about valuing their own employees. For example, when purchasing the HEDELIUS TILTENTA 7-4200, they made sure that the machine has a closed work area to keep the environment clean. Mineral oil-free cooling lubricants are also used on all machines to protect the health of the machine operators. "We want to offer our employees high-quality jobs and show that we can retain them in the long term," emphasises Christel Dorau.

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