A Swabian Saw Manufacturer Invests In New Sharpening Technology

Based in Schwaikheim, Swabia, Dewald Schärftechnik GbR is sharpening carbide-tipped circular and band saw company that pays particular attention to precision. Part of the success story at Dewald is their six Vollmer machines.

Located in an idyllic location in the Rems Valley, this region is characterised by meadows scattered with fruit trees and fields of corn. These features also adorn the journey towards Dewald Schärftechnik GbR. As you make your way towards the company buildings, you will hear a soft buzzing amongst the birdsong. The buzzing emanates from the open workshop door and greets visitors before they have even climbed the steps to the reception area.

Everyone who steps through the door is met personally by the husband and wife team of Gerd and Adelheid Laible. They are the managing directors of Dewald and proudly show their visitors where the buzzing is coming from - the six Vollmer sharpening machines that stand in the rear workshop.

"We have shared out the tasks at the company," says Adelheid Laible. "Whilst my husband is responsible for application consulting when it comes to re-sharpening and technology in the workshop, I am in charge of accounting and the sales of our circular saws."

The husband and wife team took over the company twelve years ago, after it was founded by Adelheid's father, Hans Dewald, in 1970. Before Gerd Laible decided to join the sharpening technology sector, he worked as an expert in the metal sector. His interest in sharpening technology was only awoken when he met his wife.

"Right from the start, we had a clear business model," explains Gerd Laible. "Our philosophy is to use the latest sharpening technology to ensure top process
reliability, offer our customers a uniformly high level of quality, and be the company of choice for sharpening carbide-tipped circular and band saws in the Rems Valley."

In addition, Dewald also machines small numbers of standard tools, such as drills, end mills and countersinks. However, precise sharpening is not enough to ensure success today; comprehensive care and advice are also required, and this is what Dewald's customers really value. They come from all of the sectors where carbide-tipped circular and band saws are used by private individuals, carpenter's workshops, furniture makers and large companies within the metal and plastics processing sectors and also the automotive industry.
Thanks to the proverbial Swabian sense of industry and solid investments over the years, the Laibles have been able to turn their philosophy into reality. Today, the family business, with four permanent employees and additional casual employees for transportation tasks, is known and valued far outside the Rems Valley.

"As well as customers from the wider region of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, we have customers based in the Black Forest, and we even regularly receive circular saw blades by post or carrier from the rest of Germany – sent by customers who have known and trusted us for years," says Adelheid Laible.

Nearly half of Dewald's customers cut aluminium with their carbide-tipped saw blades; the rest of the customers work with steel, plastic or wood. At the technical heart of the Dewald workshop, which covers an area of approx. 200m2, are six Vollmer machines. The latest of these is the CL 200 sharpening machine for the complete machining of the faces and tops of carbide-tipped circular saws. In addition to this, Dewald also uses the CHD250 R2, CX100 and CHP250 CNC-controlled sharpening machines. With this pool of machines, they can re-sharpen circular saw blades with various tooth geometries, machine bodies and produce small custom tools. The KSC 760 Loroch automatic sharpening machine takes on the task of sharpening, re-toothing and chamfering metal circular saw blades by
means of CBN deep grinding. Dewald uses the Loroch CNBS 80 sharpening machine to re-sharpen carbide-tipped band saw blades.

"Increasingly, we are offering our customers a complete service package in the field of sharpening technology," says Gerd Laible. "This means that, as well as sharpening saws, we also monitor their entire life cycle, including when and how they have to be re-sharpened and when they need to be replaced."