The CERATIZIT Group has acquired a minority stake in Spanflug Technologies GmbH. The strategic investment is intended to promote synergies in product development, sales and internationalisation. This underlines the strong commitment of both companies to making the manufacturing industry fit for the future through digitalisation and automation. Spanflug Technologies operates a leading manufacturing platform in Germany. CERATIZIT S.A., a Plansee Group company, is recognised as one of the leading providers of hard material solutions for machining and wear protection. The contracts were signed at the end of October. The two private companies did not disclose the amount of the stake and the investment.
Higher precision through tool data
“The CERATIZIT Group’s investment takes us a big step forward in our mission to digitally connect supply and demand on the platform, automate processes and thus make the procurement of custom machined parts as quick and easy as possible for customers and suppliers,” explains Dr Markus Westermeier, CEO and co-founder of Spanflug. In particular Spanflug’s algorithm technology, which calculates the necessary manufacturing steps and costs for parts, will benefit from the strategic partnership. “Thanks to detailed tool data, we can calculate quote prices in Spanflug BUY and manufacturing costs in Spanflug MAKE even more precisely. This will also enable interesting additional services for our users, such as tool procurement directly on the platform.” The software development at Spanflug is to be further expanded for this purpose.
Driving forward digitalisation and internationalisation
“We are very pleased to contribute to the further development of Spanflug’s innovative and customer-centred platform for metalworking and look forward to exploring new sales channels together,” explains Melissa Albeck from the CERATIZIT Executive Board. With 50 subsidiaries worldwide, the technology leader in the carbide industry is also an important partner for Spanflug in accelerating the internationalisation of the platform and establishing and expanding its presence in global markets.
Summarising, Westermeier emphasises: “After the consistently positive experience with the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) as a minority shareholder in Spanflug, it was clear to us that an additional strategic investor from the manufacturing industry was the best fit for us and our goals. We are very pleased that with CERATIZIT we have gained a global player that can support us beyond the investment with specific expertise, important data and international structures.”
