Partners & Projects
Perfection based on tradition
| Michael Birchler
20-year partnership with precision mold maker Steiert
Absolute discretion, the pursuit of perfection and a passion for innovation. These are the ingredients of a mold-making success story from the Black Forest. 20 years of cooperative partnership with Netstal.
Precision engineering, watchmaking and jewelry production are the most distinguished Black Forest industries. Striving for perfection and quality is a deeply rooted cultural aspect in this exceptional region, which takes its name from the largest interconnected forest in Germany. It was on the basis of these values that one of the technological leaders in injection mold manufacturing emerged, Steiert Präzisionsformenbau GmbH.
Qualified machinist Karl-Heinz Steiert established the company in 1980 in the garage of his parental home in Simonswald. The family-run enterprise has grown continuously ever since. Numerous building phases have seen the success of the company also become markedly apparent to the outside world. Not always a simple undertaking given that the company domicile is located on the periphery of the community. "I had to win a number of confrontations with the local authorities before we could ultimately get going," recalled Karl-Heinz Steiert. Today Steiert operates a state-of-the-art machine park on a 6,000-square-meter, air-conditioned production floor. The equipment is seldom 'off the rack', but rather always adapted to meet the company's needs. To fulfill the expectations of ambitious customers from all over the world, Steiert pursued an uncompromising quality philosophy from the very outset. One decisive success factor is the workforce, which comprises around 60 qualified employees. Staff training and further training are firmly anchored in the medium-sized company's strategy.
partnership-based cooperation
Torsten Baumer (Managing Director, Steiert), Karl-Heinz Steiert (Managing Partner, Steiert), Uwe Telinde (Managing Director, Netstal Germany) inside the Steiert technical center (from left)
Air-conditioned technical center equipped with Netstal machines
The final annex was completed in 2005. Since then, the 900-square-meter, air-conditioned technical center has become the company's showpiece. "This is where we carry out confidential trials and system tests or support our customers with the implementation of factory acceptance tests. Our technical center consequently provides us with the best possible conditions to subsequently get production up and running quickly and easily," added Steiert. The core feature of the facility is the array of currently four Netstal ELION injection molding machines ranging from 800 to 2,800 kN. "There's no question, Netstal simply build the best machines. A fact that is not only apparent from the harmonious and absolute precision of the movements, but principally also the tremendous flexibility of the controller," said Steiert.
„There's no question, Netstal simply build the best machines"Karl-Heinz Steiert, Managing Partner
Cooperation with Netstal dates back to 1998 when the company commissioned a SynErgy 2400. "Together with Netstal, over the years we have worked on exciting projects and crafted a number of new concepts. These led to numerous innovations that were and indeed still are extremely successful," declared Steiert. One pioneering example involves a mold for print cartridges made of two components with different processing temperatures. "While one component is processed at 100 degrees Celsius, the other is processed at only 20 degrees. That's a considerable difference and was only possible thanks to ideal equipment and the application of a great deal of know-how," explained Steiert.
Technical Highlights
Steiert stack moulds are used in all areas and are among the best in the world
Steiert works for customers in a variety of sectors, but the lion's share of the molds are developed for medical applications. Other mold makers have often previously taken on the task and had a tough time. Ultimately these are complex multi-cavity molds for COC and COP syringes or medical equipment assemblies. "For the sake of discretion, we never publically reveal customer names or give essential details of the specific applications - an approach that is greatly appreciated by our customers," emphasized Steiert.
Complete vertical range of manufacture and ultimate precision
The prerequisites for achieving the highest levels of quality and repeatability for all products is a complete vertical range of manufacture and precise documentation. Each supplied mold can be reproduced in detail in the case of repeat orders. Individual cavities in all the molds can also be reproduced and replaced. Steiert's international customers have benefited from superlative performance, minimal maintenance costs and excellent mold availability for almost 40 years. "Or to put it in a nutshell," concluded Steiert, "ultimate precision."
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