Insight

2021 saw rfks invest heavily in its Plettenberg facility, with three new automatic punching presses helping the company increase its production capabilities by 30% – reaffirming its status as a leading manufacturer of washers in the standard and special parts industry.

FFKS believes that competitiveness and reliability are the most vital characteristics of a supplier in the fastener industry, which is why for more than 80 years the family owned company has strived for customer satisfaction and best price performance ratio. Working ‘in the heart of Germany’ rfks has a huge range of high-quality standard and special washers/stamped parts with material thickness from 0.05mm up to 12,000mm (or inside diameter: M0.8 to M160).

The three new automatic punching presses have a punching force of 250 to 500 tonnes and will be fully operational in the first quarter of 2022. As well as this investment, the in-house tool shop – with 35 employees – was also recently restructured to make it ‘fit’ for the challenges of the future in the area of special tools. 

“With construction, tool productions, state of the art machinery, as well as motivated well trained employees, rfks is able to affirm our claim ‘everything from one source’ – something that’s being made more important with the current challenges of the market,” comments Peter Schlütter, sales manager at rfks. “We did see a decline in orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we used the low order time to build up stock of stamped parts, standard parts, as well as special parts according to customer drawings.”

Peter continues: “This is one of the benefits we have of being a German manufacturer, as we were able to meet the demand when it picked back up again thanks to this forward-looking measure. This also, of course, emphasises the importance of buying ‘Made in Germany’.”

To go alongside the challenges of the pandemic, there has also been an increase in raw material prices, as well as companies facing longer delivery times for steel. “We have been able to avoid serious supply challenges through a proactive purchasing policy and close customer communication. As we look forward to the future, one impact that will be of crucial importance is the outcome of the ongoing anti-dumping proceedings 676 against China.”

Another key driver of the fastener market has been the focus on creating added value for the customer through individual customised solutions – especially in the area of special parts and washers, which requires the technical background to generate and develop adequate technical solutions.

“As a manufacturer of DIN / ISO washers in the middle of Germany, fast availability of the standard products, as well as reliable delivery dates, loyal and competent long-term contacts in sales and quality assurance is paramount. But to go alongside this, a fair and transparent price policy remains top of our arguments for worldwide customers to purchase stamped parts from rfks. Competitiveness and reliability as a supplier will always be the cornerstone for rfks.”