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LEUCO the company with long-standing tradition in Horb is setting the course for the future

Since the 1st July the former president of the supervisory board, Frank Diez, has been the CEO of the middle-class family company. Michael Theurer MEP for the FDP (liberals) and former Mayor of Horb has filled the vacant position as president of the supervisory board. Parallel to the organisational restructuring, the market leader in the tools for the woodworking industry is setting new standards with its P-System. The P stands for peeling and this is exactly how it works. After planning, milling, sawing and drilling, this is a brand new production method – in other words revolutionary!

With Frank Diez changing from the supervisory board to the executive board, the shareholder families and the supervisory board show the personnel continuity at the head of the company. Diez is Josef Störzers son-in-law. Störzer, together with Willi Ledermann, founded the model company in Horb nearly 60 years ago. Frank Diez, who studied law and economics, has been associated with LEUCO AG for the past few decades. Since 1994 he has been an active member of the supervisory board, in 1996 he became vice-president of the board and since 2002 he has been president of the supervisory board.

“As representative of the company’s owners, I have constantly accompanied and shaped the development of the company. I know the employees in Horb and abroad, our customers and suppliers and the associations. It is therefore logical that a representative of the family owners now provides certainty and orientation for the future.”

Confidence in employees

The aim says Diez, is to develop the company and remain market leader in co-operation with the employees. The requirements necessary for this are confidence and optimal structuring.  “We have designed a new organogram to meet the requirements of our future targets. “ The “heart” of the new structure is formed by six area managers who, together with Frank Diez and Jörg Reiner Dimke, form the management team. They discuss and analyze upcoming topics, they make and carry decisions together. “These management positions have been filled from within the company” and Diez knows “this means both taking a risk and taking a chance, but the new organogram guarantees more flexibility and therefore more efficiency.”

Almost pre-crisis level

The financial crisis in 2009 shook the LEUCO AG. “The crash and the associated loss of sales were not foreseeable, as they were created by the financial sector and not the market” says the LEUCO AG CEO. “Moreover the problems in the financial sector have still not been resolved. In the past three years LEUCO has recorded a stable upward trend – almost to pre-crisis level”. The market for LEUCO products is global. LEUCO is the world leading provider of carbide diamond tipped machine tools for the wood and plastic manufacturing industry. “Wood is a renewable raw material that will always be processed” says the native Horber optimistic for the future and for this, tooling and technical know-how are required. “LEUCO has both, and moreover it has a network of customers, suppliers and employees on all five continents, that know the special requirements of the respective markets worldwide. “LEUCO was, is and will remain a technology and sales driven company”, summarizes Diez.

Innovation und Quality

Outstanding features of the company philosophy which the “Leucolaner” follow are innovation and quality. “Both features have the same top priority in the company”,Diez explains the LEUCO creed “they are part of the LEUCO identity, aspiration and necessity simultaneously are demanded and promoted by the executive board, and demonstrated by our employees on a daily basis. “

Research and development has top priority at LEUCO. Together with the application technology and construction departments, they are responsible for LEUCO remaining the global leader in the competitive woodworking tool industry. “If we stay focused in this direction, we can maintain our high standards, as well as setting new ones“, Diez is convinced.

LEUCO employees are nearly all skilled personnel “We haven’t seen a lack of skilled workers so far!” states the head of the board. “Whoever has an affinity to wood, knows LEUCO and therefore we haven’t had any problems filling vacancies”

Impossible was yesterday

LEUCO is traditionally a leading player in their industry sector regarding innovation: Every decade saw them set new standards in their field, take for example "G5“the low noise sizing saw blade.

The P-System is more than an innovative tool - it is an innovative process. The special thing about the LEUCO P-System is the shear angle of more than 55°. This effect does not create a cutting process in the classical sense – rather more a material removal, similar to peeling, which results in excellent cutting quality and an extremely smooth surface. “Our P-System enables possibilities for customers that were thought to be impossible”, explains the head of the technical department Ewald Westfal “In addition to the outstanding cutting quality, the P-System also provides significantly longer tool life than conventional tools and therefore greater efficiency”. It is not surprising that this revolutionary machining process has already received various awards.

Anniversary just around the corner

In 2014 the LEUCO AG will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. “We are heading confidently towards this anniversary and the future” Diez concludes “ with the knowledge and experience of our employees, their affinity to the company and the low staff turnover, we will do everything in our power to make sure that LEUCO and its products remain globally renowned. The basis for success is in place, we will follow our chosen path with all consequences. “

LEUCO AG -GLOBAL player loyal to location The company Ledermann & Co. was foun-ded in 1954 by Willi Ledermann and Josef Störzer in Horb am Neckar / Germany. The LEUCO brand was born.
Today LEUCO is one of the world´s largest suppliers of carbide and diamond-tipped machine tools for wood and plastic processing. Wealth of ideas and technical know-how have been the heart of LEUCO since the beginning. The product range includes circular saw blades, hoggers, bore-type and shank-type cutters, drills, clamping systems and inserts.  Sharpening service, application consulting and service packages bundled under the term „Tool management“ complete the spectrum. LEUCO sells via direct sales. Our customers are sawmills, building-, furniture- and paneling-industry as well as interior finishing.  Internationally, around 1,100 employees work for LEUCO. Sales affiliates are in Australia, Belgium, England, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Ukraine, USA and Belarus. Sales and production subsidiaries are in China, France, Switzerland and South Africa.