CERATIZIT invests in platform provider Spanflug

Munich / Mamer, 4 November 2024

The CERATIZIT Group has acquired a minority stake in Spanflug Technologies GmbH. This was announced by both companies on November 4th, 2024. The strategic investment is intended to promote synergies in product development, sales and internationalisation. This underlines the strong commitment of both companies to making the manufacturing industry fit for the future through digitalisation and automation. Spanflug Technologies operates a leading manufacturing platform in Germany. CERATIZIT S.A., a Plansee Group company, is recognised as one of the leading providers of hard material solutions for machining and wear protection. The contracts were signed at the end of October. The two private companies did not disclose the amount of the stake and the investment. 

Higher precision through tool data

"The CERATIZIT Group's investment takes us a big step forward in our mission to digitally connect supply and demand on the platform, automate processes and thus make the procurement of custom machined parts as quick and easy as possible for customers and suppliers," explains Dr Markus Westermeier, CEO and co-founder of Spanflug. In particular Spanflug’s algorithm technology, which calculates the necessary manufacturing steps and costs for parts, will benefit from the strategic partnership. "Thanks to detailed tool data, we can calculate quote prices in Spanflug BUY and manufacturing costs in Spanflug MAKE even more precisely. This will also enable interesting additional services for our users, such as tool procurement directly on the platform." The software development at Spanflug is to be further expanded for this purpose.

Driving forward digitalisation and internationalisation

"We are very pleased to contribute to the further development of Spanflug's innovative and customer-centred platform for metalworking and look forward to exploring new sales channels together," explains Melissa Albeck from the CERATIZIT Executive Board. With 50 subsidiaries worldwide, the technology leader in the carbide industry is also an important partner for Spanflug in accelerating the internationalisation of the platform and establishing and expanding its presence in global markets.

Summarising, Westermeier emphasises: "After the consistently positive experience with the German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) as a minority shareholder in Spanflug, it was clear to us that an additional strategic investor from the manufacturing industry was the best fit for us and our goals. We are very pleased that with CERATIZIT we have gained a global player that can support us beyond the investment with specific expertise, important data and international structures."

About CERATIZIT

For over 100 years, CERATIZIT, a member of the Plansee Group, has been a pioneer in developing exceptional hard material solutions for machining and wear protection. The private company, with registered offices in Mamer, Luxembourg, develops and produces highly specialised cutting tools, indexable inserts, rods and wear parts from hard materials. The CERATIZIT Group is the global market leader in several industrial sectors and successfully develops new carbide and cermet grades for wood, metal and stone working and other applications. With over 7,000 employees at more than 30 production facilities around the world and a sales network comprising over 50 branches, CERATIZIT is a global player in the carbide industry. The company’s international network includes the subsidiaries AgriCarb, Stadler Metalle, Xceliron and the joint venture CB-CERATIZIT. As a technological leader, CERATIZIT is continually investing in research and holds more than 1,000 patents. Innovative hard material solutions from CERATIZIT are used in various sectors, including mechanical engineering and toolmaking, the automotive, aerospace, oil and gas industries and in medical systems.

About Spanflug

Spanflug Technologies GmbH is a technology company based in Munich and operator of a platform for the efficient procurement of custom machined parts. Spanflug's aim is to digitally network supply and demand, automate processes and thus make procurement as quick and easy as possible for customers and suppliers. The Spanflug BUY procurement solution offers customers efficient, automated processes, from instant quotations to large project requests. The range includes turning parts, milling parts, sheet metal parts, 3D printed parts, laser parts and assemblies. The parts are manufactured via a network of thousands of machines at selected and qualified suppliers in Germany and Austria. The software-as-a-service solution Spanflug MAKE enables manufacturing companies in the machining sector to perform costing, quoting and work preparation more efficiently, to react more quickly to customer enquiries and to set up their business profitably in the long term. Spanflug has a quality management system certified to ISO 9001:2015. The company was spun off from the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in 2018 and is supported by UnternehmerTUM. The German Machine Tool Builders' Association (VDW) has held a stake in Spanflug since 2020 and the company CERATIZIT S.A. since 2024. Further information can be found at http://www.spanflug.de.