Structural change as a springboard to success

Structural change as a springboard to success

In toolmaking, Mirko Trentzsch has always insisted on quality. “As a small firm, we’ve so far concentrated on the Dresden region and found our customers here,” Managing Director Trentzsch is proud to report. Precision, punctual delivery and flexibility are the values that the firm has been successfully espousing for over 20 years. With his advanced machine park and skilled staff, the small business has ­everything it needs to supply industry with flawless tooling.

Quality, dependability and flexibility.

When Siegfied Hillig laid the foundations for his “Drahterosion Werkzeugbau” firm in Radeburg in 1991, he knew the path he wanted to take and the target groups he wanted to attract. Although general economic conditions for a new company were anything but ideal in view of the collapse of traditional markets, monetary union and the other factors associated with German reunification, structural change always offers good opportunities for new ventures. As an experienced toolmaker, Hillig knew precisely what counts in toolmaking and what customers expect: quality, reliability and flexibility. With used but precise machines from the state-owned East German enterprise“VEB Elektromat”, the business was launched on 9 December 1991. Today, Hillig no longer operates the machines, but works exclusively as a consultant, having handed over the reins of his business to his grandson Mirko Trentzsch back in 2010. Trentzsch renamed the company “Werkzeugbau Trentzsch GmbH” in 2014. For Trentzsch, ­toolmaking means much more than the fabrication of precise tools to supplied drawings or data. Milling, grinding and EDM are standard processes in toolmaking that the competition also masters. “We take our customers as they come,” Trentzsch stresses. “If someone brings along a sample, he’ll get his matching tool just like a customer who comes to us with a detailed drawing of a finished part. And if anyone urgently needs a ­replacement component, we can machine it within a matter of hours.” With the management handover taking place with the family, the company has experienced a huge boost in its development, a fact manifested among other things by investment and recruitment. Trentzsch thus extended his milling capability by purchasing two machines from Hurco, a VMX 1 CNC milling machine and a VMX 30 Ui 5-axis CNC milling machine; grinding activities with a Kent KGS 63 grinder; and EDM with an FA10-S Advance from Mitsubishi Electric. “The new machines simply needed more space,” Trentzsch explains. “Ground-breaking for our new shop in Brockhausstrasse was celebrated in 2013.” In the same year, Trentzsch bolstered his EDM department with two new machines from Mitsubishi Electric, an MV2400R and an ED-24 start hole drilling machine.

“With our concept of quality, we’ve so far satisfied all our customers,” Mirko Trentzsch explains.

Individual solutions for customers

“Our business rest on two pillars, classical toolmaking and jobbing,” says Managing Director Trentzsch. He attaches special importance to the production of tools from design through to the finished product. This is where Trentzsch can bring his expertise to bear, introduce refinements and control the whole process through to delivery. Customers come with a whole range of different requirements. Some simply bring along their product sample and want to have the tool to match. “Not a problem for us,” the expert says. “We advise the customer, measure the sample and settle all the production issues. Then we optimise the design, produce the drawings and get down to machining the tool. So far we’ve always come up with a good solution, and customers always go away satisfied.” Nevertheless, most orders arrive at the firm with a complete drawing of the finished part or as a 3D model. The second pillar is job production. This is where Trentzsch supports his fellow toolmakers with the full complement of CNC machining techniques. The Radeburg firm has acquired skills in the surface grinding of aluminium and stainless steels and knowledge of non-magnetic materials that require a clamping technology of their own. “Working as a team, we always find the matching solution. We’re very creative as far as that’s concerned,” entrepreneur Trentzsch reports. “We’ve always managed to satisfy our customers. As standard we offer a surface finish of Ra 0.5. We can also supply our customers with finer surfaces, but they require more machining effort.”

So far we’ve always come up with a good solution, and customers always go away satisfied.

Trentzsch is synonymous with ingenious, precision technology and superlative quality.

Swift and competent service

Wire-cut EDM was one of the mainstay machining techniques from the company’s founding. “However, the old machines caused us problems every now and then, and the after-sales service didn’t meet our needs or expectations. Hotline consultations involved long waits, and the technical solutions didn’t always do the job,” Trentzsch explains. So when it came to buying a new machine, he was on the lookout for alternatives. The staff of commercial agents Richter und Hennig drew Trentzsch’s attention to the spark erosion machines from Mitsubishi Electric. “We then gave the Mitsubishi Electric EDMs a thorough looking-over, compared them to those of other makes and also scrutinised them in production at fellow toolmakers’,” the entrepreneur recalls. The Mitsubishi Electric FA10-S Advance finally filled the bill and made its way to Radeburg in 2009. A good four years later, an MV2400R together with an ED-24 start hole drilling machine, both from Mitsubishi Electric, followed in its wake. “After switching to the FA10, we had to get used to a number of changes and contact Mitsubishi Electric several times. As their system works really well and we got comprehensive support from Mitsubishi Electric, the changeover went pretty smoothly. We’re particularly happy with the real­ly swift service,” Trentzsch enthuses. “We can solve a lot of problems over the phone, and we’ve always got someone competent to talk to. And if the specialist isn’t within immediate reach, he calls back as soon as possible and gives us the support we need, even at weekends.”

Milling, grinding and EDM – standard techniques in toolmaking.

The optimum of functionality.

Smooth-running Mitsubishi Electric system

On the strength of experience with the FA10, familiarisation with the system of the new MV2400R was straightforward and fast. On top of this, the new generation of machines came with a number of technological refinements. The MV was quick to impress, as it offers a huge degree of functionality and much faster throughput than the predecessor model, resulting in lower piece costs. Thanks to the new generator technology, energy and wire consumption are noticeably lower. For a modest budget, the new MV Series from Mitsubishi Electric marks the entry point into the high-end class of wire-cutting machines. For Managing Director Trentzsch, the markedly improved quality of cut is also important. Whereas the FA10 called for four cuts to achieve the desired surface quality, the MV takes only three cutting cycles for the same quality – making 25 per cent time savings. A point highly appreciated at the business is wire usage. Compared directly to the FA10, the MV uses 10 to 15 per cent less wire. While the FA10 needed a spool of wire for standard jobs every 30 hours of service, the MV runs for 33 to 35 hours on a single spool. “Our old wire-cutting machines didn’t have automatic threading,” Trentzsch explains. “The new MV2400R comes with a system that runs automatically and totally without a hitch at night and at weekends. We’ve already built numerous fixtures so that we can clamp several workpieces for overnight or weekend machining.” Trentzsch comes to the following conclusion: “Our experience with Mitsubishi Electric has been thoroughly positive. We’re very happy with the service, and because the machines run really efficiently, we can satisfy the market with quality and good value for money.”