manufacturing technology
underway, and if there was a light at the end of the tunnel it was very faint. Making the new building as energy effi cient as possible turned out to be a bold gamble that paid off for Rego-Fix—and it is one that keeps paying off. The effi ciencies implemented helped the company posi- tion itself for the increase in orders that came when the global economy eventually began to recover not long after the addi- tion became operational. The energy savings since then certainly have helped the bottom line. Other savings have been generated by other steps incorporated into the expansion program. Manufactur- ing processes, for instance, were more fully automated help- ing to increase capacity without increasing labor costs. More recently, these savings have also helped ameliorate
the effects of the strength of the Swiss franc versus the euro and other foreign currencies, according to Richard Weber, Rego-Fix president and CEO.
“As a company we believe in long-term thinking,” Weber said. That sort of thinking has indeed paid off. Rego-Fix also believes in keeping its manufacturing op- erations in Switzerland, even though it is a high-cost venue. Weber believes the country has an exceptional combination of educated workforce and work ethic that allows it to com- pete with low-cost countries. “We have a plan to not just stay competitive,” Weber said, “but to stay ahead through innovation and continuous improvement.”
In a country known for having a waste-not/want-not men-
tality, Rego-Fix’s idea of continuous improvement includes the seemingly heretical idea of replacing machine tools rather than rebuilding them. However, said Weber, buying new machine tools is a perfect example of achieving continuous improvement through innovation. Rebuilding a machine tool would leave Rego-Fix with a reliable, serviceable and produc- tive unit with old technology; buying a new machine gives the company the newest technology that can improve service- ability, reliability and productivity.
Not only has the company forsaken machine rebuilding, it has also turned its back on machine building, which was once one of its strengths along with toolholding. Many of the machines it made were aimed at serving the Swiss dairy industry. For instance, in 1960 it manufactured a machine for yogurt and milk bottling. By 1970 it was making a cheese cutting machine.
But two years later Rego-Fix invented the product that
“Green” roof, which serves as insulation and catches rainwater for use in the building, surrounds air-exchange unit and progressive air conditioning system.
changed everything, the ER collet, which it patented. The company’s very fi rst product was a collet for brooms. When it was invented in 1950 by Fritz Weber, Richard’s father, it radically changed the way brooms and handles were joined. The ER collet chuck wasn’t just radical, it was truly revolutionary. It enabled a clamping range of 1 mm for the fi rst time. Eventually the patent ran out and it was copied by other manufacturers. By 1993 it was standardized with the DIN 6499 designation Today it is the most commonly used collet chuck system in the world.
Since the 1972 debut of the ER, which Rego-Fix still makes, toolholders have become the company’s reason for being. “We connect the cutting tool to the machine,” said Richard Weber. “This is our focus.” Strangely, given the company’s success with its energy conservation measures, the energy industry is not one of its main markets, which are aerospace, medical manufacturing, automo- tive, watchmaking and, in the US, fi rearms manufacturing. “We are going to focus more on the US auto industry this
year,” said Weber. “Automotive is a strategic target for us for the next three years. Right now our foothold [there] is not as big as in aerospace. We will focus on Tier Two and Three companies.”
When it expanded its facilities a few years ago Rego- Fix also acquired space for future expansion. Should the increased emphasis on auto pay off, it’s a good bet that the next addition in Tenniken will have even more innovative energy systems.
80 — Energy Manufacturing 2015
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