Insight

A manufacturer of screwdrivers and screwdriver bits, Felo has established itself as one of the leaders in this specialist segment when it comes to quality, innovations, and also a great variety of different product lines.

Felo Werkzeugfabrik has 140 years of experiencing in manufacturing hand tools and for the last 69 years has been located at its current site in Neustadt, near Marburg, Germany. “The company was originally founded as ‘Hammermühle’, a factory for forged tools such as hammers, pliers and screwdrivers, before we changed the name in the 1950s to Felo,” explains Martin Holland-Letz, CEO at Felo. “Since the very beginning the company has been known for its commitment to innovation and quality, and has been very export focused.”

Today, 80% of Felo’s products are exported. The brand is active in 45 countries worldwide, with its main markets in Europe and the USA. “The US market is our biggest single market outside of Germany, which underlines our commitment to international growth,” states Martin. “Other important markets for us include Spain and Italy, but we also have a good market share in eastern Europe, and in South America – especially Argentina and Chile.”

Martin continues: “We are a company with a truly global outlook. For instance, we utilise marketing material in 20 different languages and our sales team can communicate with customers in seven different languages. We are proud of our global reach and are looking to grow even further in the future.”

Full manufacturing competence
Felo’s 230 employees produce 1 million bits, 60,000 individual blades, and 750,000 complete screwdrivers per month. “This production is across our two plants situated here in Neustadt as well as in Hungary,” clarifies Martin. “At Neustadt we have a very flexible production that includes an in-house design department, a tool and die making workshop and in-house heat treatment, all staffed with a highly trained and motivated workforce.”

When it comes to manufacturing screwdrivers, from machining the raw material up to customised packaging, there is a wide variety of production steps necessary – with Felo having the full competency for every step. “For screwdrivers we have the whole metal process in-house, starting from processing the steel wire, as well as the heat treatment, and the entire injection moulding of the plastics using robotic support, plus the packing and logistics,” points out Martin. “The only production step not carried out in-house is the chrome plating. This is due to it being, environmentally, a very sensitive process, which is why we work with specialists.”

Felo also has a comprehensive and growing range of insulated tools. Each item is certified and tested according to the highest standards for electrician’s tools. Each individual insulated tool is also tested upto 10,000 volts to guarantee conformance and safety.

Growing to meet demand
Felo has been increasing its production capabilities over recent years with the addition of new machinery and a new automated warehouse. “The automated warehouse was put into operation last year with the aim to help improve the picking process, and service, and give us more space for stock,” mentions Martin. “The new automated warehouse includes 5,500 containers, which is a lot more than we could previously stock, but it still takes up a similar amount of space as the automated warehouse is a lot more compact. The products are picked automatically and get moved to the logistics area where they are packed for shipment.

The company is also currently working on an additional building that will help create further space within the production department. “The new building has two levels, with the main hall housing injection moulding machines, as well as the tooling and die department, while the upper level will be used for offices of production related departments,” explains Martin. “This will then create further space in other areas of production, so we can continue to add more new machinery where necessary.”

Inspiring customers
Felo states that one of its key missions is to inspire its customers with the innovations it introduces to the market. “Often people will think a screwdriver is just a screwdriver and it cannot be improved. However, over the years we have introduced a lot of additional features that make the products better and different to what was available on the market before,” states Martin. “History tells us there is always room for improvement and the development of technologies helps open new doors continuously.”

Martin adds: “We are focused on a very niche area and we concentrate all our efforts on these products. This brings us to a level of innovation and quality that is incomparable to companies who are more general in the tools they provide.”

An example of Felo’s commitment to innovation is the thought process involved in the design of its ERGONIC® handle. “Ergonomic handles are very popular within the market and a lot of companies have different designs for the handle. We therefore decided to look at the definition of an ‘ergonomic shaped handle’ and as per the definition ‘it is a handle that makes it easy for the hand to shape to the handle’, but we saw that as a compromise. Why should the hand adjust to the handle? We thought it would be better if the handle could adjust to the hand.”

These considerations resulted in Felo’s invention of the ERGONIC handle. The impact proof handle core made from polypropylene is coated with durable elastomer with embedded cells of highly flexible plastics. Under torque, this leads the handle to deform and interlock with the user’s hand – giving a lot more leverage and making the installation easier.

“The ERGONIC screwdriver has been on the market for several years and has proved very popular with customers due to our unique view on what truly counts as ergonomic.”

Made in Germany
As a German manufacturer one of the biggest challenges for Felo is finding the right people it needs. “I am not talking just about engineers or highly qualified roles, I am talking about everyday jobs,” explains Martin. “The cost for labour has gone up significantly, not just within Germany but across Europe. It is almost impossible to hire people at our plant in Hungary – where we are looking at a double-digit increase in labour costs.”

To help it overcome these challenges, Felo is looking further into robotics and automation. “We have used robotics in our injection moulding department since the 1980s and it is already a big part of our production process. The role it plays will only grow in the future,” mentions Martin. “We have also recently introduced a robotic system into the grinding department, as we couldn’t find people willing to commit to the training.”

“Investing in automation will become a key factor for every business, even if the process gets a bit more expensive as a result. The reason why is because you get the reliability and repeatability guaranteed rather than a revolving workforce.”

Martin concludes: “We are a proud German manufacturer and thanks to our experienced workforce, as well as the continued addition of automation, we will carry on providing brilliant products – combined with an excellent service level – to customers around the world. We currently stock more than 2,000 products under the Felo brand and about the same number of special/private label products in our warehouse, which will help us meet our ambitious growth targets for the future.”

www.felo.com