Insight

Goebel Group has recently invested over €5 million in establishing a manufacturing facility in Germany for blind rivets, as well as merging with a supplier within the UK to create Goebel UK – further increasing its capabilities and reach as a supplier of innovative fastening solutions.

Founded in 1979, Goebel Group is an internationally operating family business that is now managed by the 2^nd generation. As a developer, manufacturer, and distributor, Goebel is one of the leading suppliers of blind fasteners, including blind rivets, structural rivets, blind rivet nuts, lockbolts, as well as the necessary setting tools – all to the highest qualities. 

In order to continue to grow as a business the company decided to establish a manufacturing facility within Germany that would help guarantee the highest quality products, with a ‘Made in Germany’ guarantee. The facility would also help reduce CO₂ emissions and enable full traceability of products. “Our new factory in Germany gives us the flexibility to serve the customers more strongly,” underlines Marcel Goebel, owner of Goebel Group. “The production depth includes coloured rivets made in-house, with the factory including optical sorting machines, as well as individual packing options, such as private label, etc.”

Marcel continues: “The advantages of the German factory are huge, as special rivets can be developed. We are even able to simulate everything with a simulation program, leaving nothing to chance. The second phase of our ‘Made in Germany’ project will be to also manufacture blind rivet nuts and lockbolts at the plant, which will further grow our service and capabilities.” 

UK added to Goebel global reach

In order to further grow its presence within the UK market, Goebel has also merged with a well-known supplier in the UK at the beginning of 2024 – creating Goebel UK. “Our new operation within the UK provides a new stocking and manufacturing source for the UK market,” underlines Marcel. “The UK team is highly motivated and will serve customers using the same group philosophy – the customer is the king.”

An ISO 9001:2015 certified business, Goebel Group is already represented at six locations worldwide, all with highly qualified and motivated employees, as well as a sales network of representatives and distributors that offer the highest level of service for durable and sustainable fasteners. “Thanks to our global reach we are able to offer customers an all-round good service that is highly appreciated by our customers,” explains Marcel. “To further meet the needs of the customers, we have also expanded our warehouses worldwide in recent years and can deliver Goebel products to any place in the world in the fastest possible response time.”

As part of its service, Goebel’s engineers are also able to work alongside customers from an initial idea, to a patented product or a third party approved product – making it a company that customers can rely on. “A prime example is our patented full stainless steel extended lockbolt system G-GRIP®, which brings a lot of advantages to customers. The story behind this genius revolution, and the nowadays application, shows that Goebel is capable of developing sustainable fastener solutions,” mentions Marcel. “With our own R&D department, simulation software, engineers, and sales team, we are able to stay close to customers and ensure we are meeting their often daily changing requirements.”

All these products can be tested in Goebel’s new show room – ‘Riveting World’. “With our excellently equipped laboratory, we are able to test our products for all batches and this has resulted in a claim rate of only 0.02% annually,” mentions Marcel. “We have also recently invested in a tracking system to provide our customers with the documentation/testing reports. Customers need to simply scan the QR code on the box/delivery papers.”

Marcel adds: “We have annual manufacturing capacity of over 300 million pieces, but we are still continuously investing in further machines to increase the output. Geographically we are also looking to extend our business – with the brand and label expanding daily thanks to new customers and new markets. This underlines that even in difficult times globally we are on the right track. We are also working on a lot of new developments, including what promises to be the event of the year – the World Riveting Congress, which will take place at our German facility in Erkrath in September.”