The tour started with Thorwesten. Since many of their machines have been controlled with Klaes, there is a very close and friendly cooperation between the employees of Klaes and Thorwesten.

The managing directors Martin Rumpf and Christian Luthmann explained the advantages of the cutting center and the profile processing center to the Klaes team. The modular design and also the possibility of linking to a production line are impressive.

The Klaes employees particularly liked the 3D simulation of the machine display, in order to be able to identify potential problem cases at an early stage.

The next stage led to Veka. There, Thomas Stermann and Klaus Northoff from Veka IT were expecting the Klaes visitors. In a very informative talk about Veka and Veka IT, they presented their extensive activities for their mutual customers.

After lunch, we went on a plant tour. The size of the production is overwhelming, according to the unanimous opinion of foreign Klaes employees. More than 5.000 employees at the headquarters in Sendenhorst leave no doubt about the significance of the Company on the market.

In the late afternoon we went to Winkhaus. There, the Klaes team was welcomed by Ulrich Mersch and Volker Blömker. Ulrich Mersch is responsible for the software- and product data at Winkhaus. Due to him, the satisfaction of the mutual customers is above average in the fitting area, because he uses perfectly the data-supplier functions in the Klaes master data.

After a detailed analysis, each mutual customer receives a customized fitting database. This is designed so perfectly that really every fitting part and each processing can be determined and displayed for all window constructions.

Of course, the data is precisely available for the control of machines and is perfectly adapted if required. Even very experienced Klaes employees were impressed by how extensive and at the same time exact the database at Winkaus is structured. An example is the graphical representation of the lock case milling.

Then Volker Blömker from the Winkhaus sales team led the Klaes team through the production. The high degree of automation was a final highlight of the tour.

For Bernhard Hambrügge (Klaes export manager), it is absolutely crucial in sales, in addition to pure software knowledge, to have a high level of consulting expertise with regard to the processes in the Company. This includes compulsorily the know-how of areas like fitting, machines and profile.

This know-how was perfectly developed during this tour – many thanks to all hosts!