Summira — tradition and quality!

Based in Bornheim-Sechtem, near Cologne, Germany, Summira GmbH manufactures products of its own, but operates mainly as a commission processor. The purchases of waterjet cutting machines increased the company’s flexibility and with it the order volume in the job contract segment. As yet there is no end to the growth in sight.

It all began with the “calculating dinosaur.” When Paul G. Müller and his sons Norbert, Peter and Eberhard founded Summira in the mid 1950s, the enterprise developed and built mechanical adding and subtracting machines. But later, more advanced data processing equipment and particularly the pocket calculator put an end to the era of mechanical calculating machines. Today they can be admired in the German Museum in Munich.

Summira GmbH adjusted to the situation and shifted its strategic emphasis first to the production of cutting and punching tools for industry. Later, consumption meters and bookbinding presses were added to the program. The job contract segment also was beefed up in 1978 with the purchase of a CNC lathe. The machine outfit continuously expanded. In 1998 and 2003 two waterjet plants were acquired from FLOW.

Economical waterjet cutting
The company is now one of the biggest subcontractors in the region to apply erosion and waterjet cutting. Summira can process an extremely broad range of materials:

• Stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper
• Titanium
• Sheet steel
• Plastics of all kinds
• Ceramic and natural stone
• Different types of glass
• Rubber and sealing materials
• Foams and textiles

The waterjet systems, in particular, make for highly flexible use as well as quality and efficiency. “Only our waterjet machines are suitable for cutting certain materials,” according to Willi Lenzen, joint owner and second managing director. No wonder these systems operate at ceiling capacity.

Reputable companies from various industrial sectors entrust their products to Summira. The company’s new, many-colored building provides sufficient space for expanding activities also in future. Quality plays an important role in all this at Summira. W. Lenzen: “Strategically, the quality concept was and is a major component of our success. It should remain so in the decades to come. The FLOW systems undoubtedly are some of our most important tools.”

Higher competitive capacity and quality
Before buying the waterjet systems, the two managing directors, W. Lenzen and E. Müller, made thorough inquiries with all suppliers of this specific cutting technique. “We liked what we saw at FLOW. We noted that other suppliers had appreciably longer machine times, as many as 20 additional minutes of auxiliary process time and, in some cases, considerable problems generating the DXF file,” Willi Lenzen reports. A further plus is the cost per cutting operation. “These waterjet systems afford precisely the quality we need for everyday business. We are now more competitive,” Eberhard Müller observes. The economic efficiency is high also for the reason that no cost is incurred for tooling and a high cutting edge quality is ensured. No mechanical stresses arise; no thermal or chemical influencing of the material occurs. And the narrow width of the cuts permits optimal utilization of the materials.

“Where precision matters, we rely completely on the waterjet systems from FLOW”

Willi Lenzen and Eberhard Müller, the two managing directors, never regretted buying the waterjet plants from FLOW. Since 1999 they have been processing quite different materials with thicknesses up to 220 mm on the FLOW systems T11-2000 and WMC (Waterjet Machining Center).

“Where precision matters, we rely completely on the waterjet systems from FLOW,” is the verdict of Eberhard Müller, director and shareholder of Summira GmbH. “We believe the market for waterjet cutting will continue to grow steadily in the next few years. No other cutting tool features a greater range of application and flexibility.”

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