60 years for Kaiser AG

With a new ownership structure in place, Kaiser AG is entering its 60th year

In 2008, Heinz Kaiser AG celebrated its 60th anniversary, a year that also marked a change in the ownership of the company. On Jan. 1, 2008, Chris Kaiser, Karlheinz Kaiser and Gabriela Brasher-Kaiser assumed ownership of the company from their father, Heinz Kaiser, who founded Kaiser AG in 1948.

A technician at Kaiser’s manufacturing plant in Switzerland performs final inspection. After finish-boring heads are assembled, the accuracy of each batch is measured and recorded by serial number. This final inspection guarantees accuracy and repeatability of all finish heads. Image courtesy A. Rooks.

With headquarters in Rümlang, Switzerland, Kaiser AG manufactures and distributes precision boring systems worldwide. Through a global partnership with BIG Daishowa Seiki Co., Japan, and distribution agreements with other companies, Kaiser offers a range of other cutting tools, toolholders, workholders and other products. A U.S. operation, BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., has been fully owned by BIG Daishowa since 2003. BIG Kaiser offers brands such as Kaiser, BIG Daishowa, Speroni, Unilock and Sphinx.

While Heinz Kaiser has retired from active participation in the company, his presence is still felt. “In a parting letter to the company, my father wrote that this company has come of age, but he hopes it will always stay young,” said Chris Kaiser, co-owner and chairman of Kaiser AG, at a 60th anniversary celebration held last summer at the company’s headquarters. In addition, Chris Kaiser is president of BIG Kaiser.

HK, as people call Heinz Kaiser, is not just about business. “My father was always focused on the well-being of his employees,” said Chris Kaiser. “He taught us about social responsibility. He has a passion for the arts and is an avid supporter of classical music. He was really interested in sustainable relationships with licensees, agents and distributors. As long as they held up their end of the bargain, they always had a long-term relationship with him.”

New Product Focus

Today, Kaiser AG is focused on developing boring tools that meet new demands, particularly in the aerospace and medical markets. For example, market demand led Kaiser to develop heads for applications such as high-speed machining and micro-size holemaking, and to design boring tools with 1µm adjustment accuracy.

“About 10 years ago, the high-speed boring market was really starting to kick into high gear and it required balanced tools,” said Jack Burley, vice president of sales and engineering for BIG Kaiser. Most boring heads are neutrally balanced (prebalanced for the work range the tool is normally used in), which is acceptable for most applications. However, many high-speed applications require a different approach—boring heads that can be balanced by the operator throughout the entire speed range in which they will be used, according to Burley.

The result was the development of Kaiser’s EWB line of high-precision boring heads. One of the earliest users of the EWB boring head in the U.S. was The Boeing Co., which was using a range of high-speed machine tools and wanted all of its cutting tools to be balanced throughout their speed ranges.

The growth of micromanufacturing, and in particular the need by manufacturers to make large numbers of small holes, has also led to new boring tools. “Customers were looking for a small tool that could run at high speeds and be adaptable to small spindles, so we looked at a new concept for a boring head that is self-balancing through the entire working range,” Burley said. Kaiser developed several products that fit this need, including the EWBO.4-12 for hole diameters as small as 0.016 “. The boring heads can operate at up to 30,000 rpm.

A CNC lathe at Kaiser’s plant in Rumlang, Switzerland, is set up for hard turning. The process removes excess stock to reduce grinding time and imparts smooth finishes on noncritical surfaces. Image courtesy A. Rooks.