HORN celebrates its 50th anniversary with the 3rd generation
Toolmaker HORN turns 50 This event was celebrated as part of its technology days from June 5 to 7, 2019. The opportunity to discover the new management team of the company. Markus Horn, son of Lothar Horn, represents the third generation at the head of the family business he runs with his father.
In 2019, Paul Horn GmbH celebrates its 50th anniversary as part of the Technology Days. From June 5-7, the company opened its doors to customers and business partners for the seventh time. The program of this event, eight presentations with practical demonstrations. Parts from different sectors of the clientele were also exhibited. In addition, more than 50 corporate partners have come to enrich the 2019 Horn Technology Days.
HORN France, the subsidiary headed by Pascal and Didier Ortega, participated in the event with some customers. ” We are delighted to have been able to introduce Horn’s production sites to our 144 French customers. Their many very nice feedbacks made us particularly happy. What is clear from their testimonials is the fact that they were all impressed by the technical and new technologies implemented in terms of production, organization, cleanliness of manufacturing sites, professionalism and skills. Unanimously they were seduced by our training school “La Horn Akademie”, within the factory. For us, the biggest reward on these 3 days remains the faces of satisfaction of our customers. ”
Companies from 70 countries and all continents produce using tools manufactured by Horn. They represent the aeronautics and aerospace sectors, chemistry, medical technology, tool and mold making and the automotive industry. The car also evokes the place where was born the project of Paul Horn: this company was born in a garage. Horn had rented it while he was still working as a representative of the Hertel Carbide Tool Factory.
His son Lothar Horn, now managing director of the company, remembers: ” My father knew that a serial manufacturer like Hertel was thinking in terms of tonnage and could not, from an economic point of view, take into account account the need for highly specialized tools in small quantities . This gap was to be filled by the company of Paul Horn, a specialist in the manufacture of diving tools for grooving machining.
Today, Horn manufactures high-precision accessories and tools for metal machining in Germany, covering 30,000 square meters (including Horn Hartstoffe GmbH) in Tübingen. The company also has other production sites in England, Italy, the Czech Republic and the United States. With around 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of more than 197 million euros in 2018, Horn is the largest industrial employer in Tübingen. More than 1,500 people work in the Horn Group worldwide.
HORN’s core competencies are based on 4 pillars.
In addition to 25,000 standard tools, the family-owned company has so far supplied more than 150,000 special solutions to customers around the world. They are precision tools adapted to demanding machining problems. The company’s core competencies are based on four pillars: an in-house research and development department, its own coating technology, carbide manufacturing and unique production technologies.
Prior to the invention of horn pad 312, manufacturers used individual grooving blades to machine grooves, which required frequent grinding and therefore required significant logistical and financial investments. Horn came up with the idea of the three-edged dive pad: each pad could be used three times. With a complete set of these interchangeable tools, a machine could run continuously for one or two weeks. It was no longer necessary to rectify the blades, and this simplified the storage and management requirements. It also made the Horn product more efficient than the previous tools.
The plate 312 has radically changed the machining of grooves
The innovation of the Horn Pad 312 has been a revelation that has radically changed the machining of grooves. It has also paved the way for what distinguishes Horn today: identifying market needs and advancing technology to design tailored solutions. With its innovative products, Horn quickly attracted a wider customer base and expanded its product portfolio step by step. The 1972 three-corner cutting board inspired other products and innovations. Many circular milling and grooving tools are born from this idea. One of the very first patents filed by Paul Horn was a “cutting tool for lathe cutter”, already having the typical shape with three cutting edges.
Horn’s new management team
Paul Horn GmbH embodies precision, durability and the future. As much for its precision tools as for the company itself. Lothar Horn initiated two important milestones in this direction in 2018: until then he was the sole managing director of Paul Horn GmbH, he called his son Markus Horn in March 2018, followed by Matthias Rommel in November 2018. Since then, General Managers lead the company together.
Markus Horn was already director of information technology and a member of the management of Paul Horn GmbH since 2017. Before joining Horn, he worked as an IT consultant and in the international distribution of complex software with multiple variants, including customer relationship management software and middleware. In addition, he masters the subject of digitization.
Markus Horn: ” One of our main goals is to build a digital model of the entire process chain, from the customer to the production and back to the customer. We proceed project by project and thus piece by piece the puzzle of our digital factory. In addition to information technology, he is also responsible for sales and administration. In these areas, the two members of the Horn family work closely together.
The second important step was the hiring of Matthias Rommel, who took up his new position as technical director at Paul Horn GmbH in November 2018. Matthias Rommel is responsible for the production and technical sectors. ” Horn is a company that stands out in the tooling industry. Exceptional product diversity and quality, exemplary growth and an outstanding corporate culture characterize the company. I am delighted to become part of a unique whole, “says Rommel. As a director, he has already been responsible for several business sectors of renowned companies, particularly in the precision tooling industry.
“By welcoming Matthias Rommel, we have integrated an exceptional manager into our company. The division of management responsibilities into three people strengthens sustainability and the knowledge base within Horn, “says Horn. He sees the future of the business in the next generation. It’s important for him to know that society stays in the family. ” I am confident that the success of Paul Horn GmbH will continue under the leadership of my son Markus and our Technical Director Matthias Rommel with the same core values, but with new impetus. ”
About HORN:
Since 1969, the German group Paul HORN GmbH, renowned specialist in throats, designs and manufactures precision tools for turning and milling grooves. The group’s headquarters are located in Tübingen, near Stuttgart. Family-owned, independent and internationally established in more than 70 countries, the HORN group employs 1,350 people. Its customer base is in the automotive, aerospace, medical, jewelery, industrial equipment and hydraulic and pneumatic components sectors. The group invests in its own processes to deliver high quality products and in research to expand the range and improve the offer towards more precision and modularity. Based in Lieusaint (77) and Haute-Savoie (74 Scionzier) for bar turning, HORN SAS was the first subsidiary created in 1993. Led by Pascal and Didier Ortega, its workforce is 47 people. HORN SAS accompanies its customers from the recommendations to the implementation, through training
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