20 July 2024 Production Engineering Solutions pesmedia.com SAWING TECHNOLOGY 1844 was the year it all began for Kasto when Karl Stolzer launched the company – initially as a carpentry business. As with many successful organisations, evolution kicked in and growth has been progressive and steady over many decades (18 to be precise)! In 1947 with a patented hacksaw, Kasto took the vital step towards becoming a modern machine tool manufacturer for machining metal and in 1964, the company moved from the city to its current location in Achern, Baden-Württemberg which is the company’s headquarters and principal manufacturing facility. Arguably, on the product side, Kasto is probably best known for its sawing expertise but that’s only part of the story because over the years the company has truly excelled in areas such as storage, automation, sorting and distribution systems, and software. More than 170 patents and numerous industry awards later, Kasto’s products are fundamentally designed from the ground up to integrate and work together which is why you’ll often hear the term ‘solutions’ when describing its products because that’s exactly what they are. They’re answers to specific customer problems encompassing everything from a single sawing machine for example up to a fully automated production cell linked to extensive storage and warehousing systems for 24/7 round the clock manufacturing, featuring highbay storage systems with thousands of storage cassettes. Kasto is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in Europe. Today it employs more than 700 people worldwide and in recent years has generated a turnover in the triple digit million Euro range. Now in its fifth and sixth generation, family is clearly important to Kasto. As managing director, Karl’s great-greatgrandson, Armin Stolzer has been at the helm of the company for over 30 years. Under his management, the business has evolved to become a leading player on the global stage with more than 140,000 sawing machines sold and over 2,400 storage systems installed. Mr Stolzer’s wife Ruth and all four members of the sixth family generation also have central positions in the company’s executive management. There have been many, many product milestones in Kasto’s long history such as its first circular saw in 1972; the first bandsaw in 1975; the first CNC sawing machine in 1980; and the first fully automated bar storage system in 1972, but fast forwarding to new innovations released in 2024, let’s take a look at the KASTOpick bar robotic picking system, and Unitower cnc, designed specifically for the automated loading of CNC machine tools. KASTOpick bar: fully automated order picking in the steel industry Featuring nine million measuring points and ensuring a fully automated and secure grip, Kasto has introduced its intuitive, easy to use KASTOpick bar robot solution. This system can pick and deliver flat, square, and round materials, as well as round and profile tubes without the need for human intervention. The solution is available for new installations or for retrofitting existing storage systems. For many years, manipulators, such as KASTOpick sheet, have been used to separate metal sheets stacked on load carriers. However, handling a bar stock cassette and dealing with non-orientated 180 years of industrial innovation It’s always inspiring to hear about manufacturing companies celebrating anniversary milestones. The key to longevity of course is a relentless drive to innovate, adapting to ever changing market conditions and continuous investment in staff and infrastructure. 2024 represents a huge landmark for German sawing, storage and automation specialist Kasto as it celebrates 180 years in business. Dave Tudor reports. PES Report Dave Tudor Kasto’s headquarters in Achern, Germany KASTOpick bar in action at customer VBE’s site in Heidelberg, Germany
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjU1OTY1OA==