Studer Pins Recovery Hopes and Prepares for EMO Milano 2021

Steffisburg, Switzerland – Fritz Studer AG (STUDER), the world leading supplier of cylindrical grinding as well as non-circular grinding, virtually held the traditional press conference which takes place as part of the Motion Meeting, the annual worldwide sales event. This year’s events were also held online due to worldwide travel restrictions / protective measures, and in the spirit of digitalization, were united by the common motto ‘STUDER Fight Club’.

To accommodate the various time zones, three events were held on the same day and reported live from the boxing and training studio set up specifically for these conferences. The event drew around 120 participants from more than 30 different countries.

The company had to deal with a sales downturn just over a year ago, but it still had its third-best year since its founding. The economic situation, on the other hand, had already worsened dramatically. “We are used to this because machine manufacturing is a notoriously cyclical industry that requires the ability to handle these fluctuations in order to survive,” said Jens Bleher, CEO, Fritz Studer AG. However, a new danger to the global economy was looming on the horizon: the corona pandemic. The organization responded rapidly and implemented extensive safeguards on a consistent basis. The STUDER Corona Task Force was activated right away, which meant that outbreaks in the factory were prevented and the company was able to always provide a full service for its customers.

The company has withstood corona as well as the downturn and has reacted to drops in sales with the proven annual work-hour model and short-time working, where possible. Major developments were continued with the further development of the product range. In regard to digitalization, numerous group projects from ‘UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions^TM’ played a key role. Structural alterations and investments in new material, machinery, and equipment have also been considered.

“STUDER invested in 2020 and will continue to do so this year.” added Bleher. “All in all, we consider ourselves to be well positioned, which is a decisive advantage, particularly in the current competitive environment.”

Apprentice Programme

The company remained committed to its tried and tested vocational training, which was also affected by the pandemic, and was able to ensure professional training. “The number of STUDER apprentices remains high, they make up over 11 percent of the workforce”, explained Bleher. This is reflected by the success of the apprentices in their final year, who were able to prepare thoroughly and passed their final exams. Furthermore, an internal follow-on solution could be offered for all. The company continues to invest in apprenticeship training, such as a new NC lathe for the apprentice workshop.

In addition, the company’s vocational training once again produced top-level performances last year and bagged medals with one gold, one silver, and two bronze, at the SwissSkills. “STUDER thus has the current Swiss champion in polymechanics and will be represented again at the next WorldSkills,” asserted Bleher.

Noticeable Recovery Ahead

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries imposed lockdowns in February and March, but the company ended 2020 on a high note thanks to an excellent order input at the start of the year and above all, due to a strong year-end spurt.

“Thanks to the very good order intake towards the end of last year, particularly from Asia and Latin Europe, but also in some cases from Central Europe, STUDER generated a substantially higher order volume than during the last major crisis in 2009. This was a positive development because the general market decline was similar to that experienced during the financial crisis more than eleven years ago,” elaborated Sandro Bottazzo, CSO, Fritz Studer AG. “Many of our customers are expecting a stronger second quarter or second half of 2021 in particular, which is precisely why many grinding machines were still ordered in December.”

Another important factor in the company’s success is its diverse portfolio of universal external, internal, production, and conventional cylindrical grinding machines. The new S33, introduced in 2019, was by far the best-selling cylindrical grinding machine last year, followed by internal grinding machines, as well as the new S31 and the new favorit. Sales of the favoritCNC, an entry-level external grinding machine, have also increased significantly.

In general, the order situation in Germany, in particular, was low in comparison to previous years. This is attributed in part to the pandemic, but also to continuing systemic shifts in the automotive industry. In 2020, order intake from Asia, North America, and North-eastern Europe remained positive, primarily due to strong demand from the job-shop and aerospace industries. However, Latin Europe was also very upbeat, thanks to Italy’s solid end-of-year surge. “In total, we sold our grinding machines in over 40 different countries worldwide in 2020,” shared Bottazzo.

STUDER Customer Care was another key success factor over the past year which is unique in this form in the universal cylindrical grinding machine market. “Thanks to our local, customer-focused network of over 130 STUDER service technicians worldwide, we were able to provide our customers with continuous support during the pandemic”, stressed Bottazzo. The company continues to expand this global network of service technicians and has further developed its portfolio of digital services. The customers can now get the complete UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions retrofit package with a maintenance contract for a special price.

Digitalization in Focus

The company is currently implementing a digitalization roadmap developed by the UNITED GRINDING Group. As an example consider the production monitor, ‘UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions’, which offers an overview of the company’s manufacturing and assembly production equipment’s operational status at any time. It displays to customers in real time whether and which machines are in use, as well as the related production history. This is of special importance and value not only to shop floor managers, but also to machine operators of unmanned machines. Not only can the company’s machines and other UNITED GRINDING Group machines be incorporated into this app, but so can a wide range of external production equipment and manufacturers through the standardized umati interface. “At the workstation, the system also allows many detailed analyses and status reports, including information on order statuses, maintenance intervals, and any servicing that may be required,” emphasized Stephan Stoll, COO, Fritz Studer AG.

Another move toward digitalization is the use of digital tools: Work instructions, test procedures, and checklists are often paperless and available in the most recent version. “Tablets and screens have already become indispensable aids for the STUDER assembly specialists and are used in a suitable form depending on the workstation,” added Stoll.

Technological Innovation

Digitalization is also a critical issue in technology development. “Today and in the future, we need a transparent yet secure connection, so that process information can be easily transferred to external systems,” elaborated Daniel Huber, CTO, Fritz Studer AG. These are the benefits provided by the STUDER OPC-UA solution. All machines in the Tech Center are also connected via OPC-UA to the company’s UNITED GRINDING Digital Solutions applications in accordance with the umati universal machine tool interface standard and are outfitted with additional sensors.

The laser measurement technology with STUDER LaserControl is a technological breakthrough. The company has several years of experience in basic research on the use of machine-integrated laser measuring technology for measuring grinding wheels or workpieces. It has further developed the tool monitoring systems used in other industries to measure workpieces on grinding machines based on these findings and the most recent laser measuring technology.

The company’s new generation of laser measuring device LaserControl is suitable not only for contact-free measurement of tool cutting edges in the harshest conditions, but also for rotating workpieces, which significantly reduces measuring time. Premium laser optics and cutting-edge evaluation technology enable unrivaled speed, precision, and dependability. Highly dynamic and contact-free measurements also allow for the quality assessment of high-precision PCD tools.

EMO Milano Outlook

While providing an insight into its advance technologies, the company kept one future-oriented technology under wraps as it is under innovation for EMO 2021. The company and the whole UNITED GRINDING Group is looking forward to attending the fair and ‘surprise’ visitors with several inventions at its exhibition stand in Milano.

Image Source: Fritz Studer AG