High Wycombe-based Tooltec signed a two-year licence at the Ligna show in Hannover for all its serrated and centrolock knife products to be produced in Germany.
The newly-delivered German steel bars will be processed by Tooltec into knife blanks which are used by sawmilling customers to make finished tools.
Tooltec managing director David Evans told TTJ that the company had made a strategic decision to invest in German steel because of its quality and due to customers demanding increased lifespan and wear resistance for their tooling.
He said Tooltec’s decision to invest in an electro discharge machine (EDM) 18 months ago had also proved to be a good investment, so much so that a second EDM is planned for later in 2013.
Tooltec’s EDM cuts knives into matched balanced pairs, to a tolerance of 2 microns, in a cutting process which is fully submerged in water.
"We are seeing an increase in sales in our timber milling business, with sales up by about 9% over the last 10 months," said Mr Evans.
