ADVANCING CYLINDRICAL GRINDING

Woven around the theme ‘Swiss Made’, Fritz Studer AG held this year’s Motion Meeting in Steffisburg, Switzerland. Detailing how the company successfully strengthened its market position and expanded its innovative portfolio. Driven by a robust year-end performance, it achieved a high proportion of new customers, reaching 44 percent of total machine orders.

At the annual press conference, Sandro Bottazzo, CEO, Fritz Studer AG, emphasized that while 2025 was marked by challenging markets and geopolitical uncertainties, the company exceeded expectations and emerged from this phase stronger than ever, due to a powerful year-end performance. North America and Asia stood out as major revenue spinners.

This commercial resilience was bolstered by the aerospace segment, which closed as the company's largest single market for the first time, representing nearly a third of all orders. He shared that the company’s broad portfolio remains a pillar of success across universal cylindrical grinding applications.

The best-selling machine was the S33, followed by the S31 and the S41. Both external machines and machines for internal cylindrical grinding also performed well. The S141 even achieved one of the best sales results of the last ten years.

Regarding STUDER’s fiscal momentum, Bottazzo elaborated that although overall turnover finished marginally behind the prior year’s figures, the results surpassed internal projections. He highlighted a record-breaking year for the service sector, stating, “Thanks to our global, customer-focused service organization, we were able to set new sales records in the service and maintenance business areas”. Currently, over 70 percent of the active installed base is covered by a maintenance contract.

Operational and Digital Evolution

L-R: Stephan Stoll, COO; Sandro Bottazzo, CEO; and Daniel Huber, CTO from Fritz Studer AG

With the acquisition of GF Machining Solutions by the United Grinding Group, which now operates under the name, United Machining Solutions, the group is one of the largest machine tool manufacturers in the world. As part of the acquisition, the Studer Competence Center for internal cylindrical grinding moved to the modern premises of United Machining in Biel, Switzerland. Adding to this, Stephan Stoll, COO, Fritz Studer AG, stressed, “In 2025, we took our production and logistics processes to a new level”. The new fully automated small parts warehouse  with 32 autonomous robots and 16,000 containers is consequently increasing efficiency for both machine and spare parts logistics. Additionally, the company made progress in digitalization on the way to becoming a paperless factory.

Introducing the past year’s technical milestones, Daniel Huber, CTO, Fritz Studer AG, cited the world premiere of the S23 universal cylindrical grinding machine as a primary highlight as the machine received a highly positive market response.

Huber mentioned that customers also benefit from a new axis system for the S31 and S33, which allows automatic adjustment to different workpiece lengths. On a concluding note, Huber shared, “The year also brought important new digital features like the C.O.R.E. Release 5.0, which enables access to Transaction Network's manufacturer-independent customer portal directly from the machine operating panel and visualizes live status updates of the machine park, among other things.”

Engineering Philosophy of 50 Years of Granitan^®

A central theme of the company’s consistent precision is the 50^th anniversary of its proprietary mineral casting material, Granitan^®. This material remains the bedrock of STUDER’s technological advantage. Granitan^® is cast at room temperature. The material’s primary advantage is its vibration damping, which is 15 times better than gray cast iron. The contact surfaces between the rock grains and the binder matrix efficiently destroy the vibration energy, preventing surface marks on workpieces.

Five decades after its market launch, Granitan^® has become synonymous with a stable machine base that continues to set standards in the industry today. In view of the growing demands for precision, sustainability, and flexibility, it remains an indispensable basis in machining, whether for machine tools, aerospace, electronics, or medical technology.

In this context, Rolf Grossenbacher, Sales Director, Far East, Fritz Studer, pointing to the material as a strategic asset, stated, “Granitan^® is more than just a material; it is a technology kit and a platform for future innovations”. He shared that the material would continue to help customers perform grinding at the cutting edge of technological feasibility.

Going forward, the company plans to utilize the cold casting process to integrate sensor technology and electronics directly into the machine base.

Roadmap for 2026

Fritz Studer AG enters 2026 with a positive economic outlook, expecting a further increase in demand. On this optimistic note, Bottazzo concluded that the company will continue to invest in innovation, infrastructure, and workforce, supported by an apprentice program that accounts for 10 percent of their staff. This blend of 114 years of tradition and 50 years of Granitan^® innovation ensures STUDER remains a global leader in precision.

SOUMI MITRA Editor-in-Chief Modern Manufacturing India soumi.mitra@magicwandmedia.in