Maintenance as an economic success factor

"The economy has focused a lot on price dumping in recent years," says Michael Kern, Managing Director of Spindel Full Service. "Gradually, however, everyone is realizing that this was very short-sighted thinking." Rising costs, inflation, material shortages and global supply bottlenecks are causing the German economy to rethink. Significantly more repairs are being carried out than before and the number of machine orders is declining.

"In the metalworking industry, this means above all that the heart of the machine, the spindle, now receives much more attention than before," says Kern. "It's the part that makes the turnover. It ensures production and precision. Years ago, we developed a process that allows us to repair spindles - whether turning, grinding or milling spindles - for over 20 years and make them look like new again. No replacement spindle is necessary."

Suitable repair methods in each case

The company achieves this through various parameters: Firstly, through a special laser welding process that gives the tool steel a hardness of 63 HRC instead of the usual 58. It is therefore more wear-resistant and can be used for longer in production. There is also a special coating process and a selection analysis. "During disassembly, we can tell exactly why the spindle has broken and can immediately initiate the appropriate repair process. In addition to the spindle, we also look at the machine environment to see if there are any problems there or in the machine history. It is often the environment, and not the spindle itself, that is the cause. Our approach is also very consultative."

Thanks to an additional patented test stand, where spindle motors of all types can be tested under real conditions, as well as an innovative cleaning machine with a one-micrometer filter system, individual lines can be restored to as-new quality. This is good for both company budgets and the environment. The spindles achieve twice to five times their service life with this type of maintenance.

Offensive new customer acquisition

It is not for nothing that around 40 percent of new customers are responsible for the good turnover. Michael Kern also runs an agency for SEO optimization. "Our visibility on Google and other platforms has contributed significantly to this," says Kern. "Industrial companies that ignore the change and continue to sell as before will suffer drastic consequences and be left behind by the competition. Highly specialized and technical companies in particular are already achieving significantly greater efficiency by using Google as a sales representative. Statistics show that around 90 percent of all decision-makers research on Google before making a pre-selection. Google is the perfect new customer channel," says Kern.