A great day of joy for TIGRA in the Bavarian-Swabian town of Oberndorf am Lech. In summer temperatures, the company celebrated its 40-year success story with its staff and their families, friends, numerous customers and guests of honour in a festive atmosphere.
Before the big celebration on TIGRA's factory premises in Oberndorf started, all visitors had the opportunity to get a closer look at the manufacturing process and the individual production steps during a factory tour. From the pressed to the finish-ground carbide part, the various production steps and technologies were shown and explained by means of running machines and equipment, and important and interesting machine data were displayed by means of signage.
After the company tour, the about 700 visitors were cordially welcomed in the following speeches in the marquee by the two managing directors, Helge and son Bernd Motzer, and learned a lot of interesting information about the company's development and the importance and use of carbide.
It all began in 1983 when Helge Motzer and Dr. Harald Feld founded TIGRA in Meitingen-Waltershofen, north of Augsburg. The office with an initial staff of 10 was located in a former pub and the first parts were manufactured in a former car garage. In 1995, the company moved into the newly built company building at the current location in Oberndorf am Lech. After only a few years, Helge Motzer had already set the ambitious goal of advancing TIGRA to become the world's leading supplier of ground cutting inserts in woodworking, which was already achieved in 2006 and has been expanded since then due to the tireless high commitment and joy of its employees. Investments amounting to millions in production halls and machinery and equipment also ensured steady growth. In addition to its production site in Oberndorf, TIGRA has further subsidiaries in the USA, China and Brazil and supplies more than 1100 customers in over 80 countries.
"Even if TIGRA's products do not appear to the consumer, TIGRA is behind many finished products, e.g. as saw tips on circular saw blades or as sharp knives in electric hand planers," says Bernd Motzer. Well-known furniture companies such as Segmüller, IKEA or the brand with the red chair use TIGRA's cutting materials for the production of their furniture, which has been sawn, planed, drilled and profiled with TIGRA products. Bacardi, Jack Daniel's or Glenfiddich mature in oak barrels planed with cutters from TIGRA. VW, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Opel and other car brands rely on tools made of carbide or diamond from TIGRA for the production of rims, engines, carbon fibre inserts and more. Airbus, Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers also use products from Oberndorf for the production of their aircraft. Bernd Motzer also thanked his team for their extraordinary contribution, especially in recent years when TIGRA was challenged by the Corona crisis and the Ukraine war. "The Corona measures meant that there was little that could be done, and so people around the world - after the initial shock - began to invest in their own 4 walls," said Bernd Motzer. Only through extra work such as overtime, weekend and holiday shifts it was possible to manage the flood of orders.
After Corona, the war in Ukraine followed with all its negative effects. In particular, electricity and energy costs skyrocketed, which had noticeable consequences for TIGRA with an annual electricity consumption of over 8 million kWh. In order to be able to cover at least a part of the electricity consumption in the future, the company is currently investing heavily in its own photovoltaic park. The ground-breaking ceremony will take place shortly.
Afterwards, well-known politicians and regional figures praised the company's steady growth: "Success can never be expected. You have to work hard for success. And TIGRA has impressively proven that." Oberndorf's mayor called TIGRA "... a stroke of luck for Oberndorf."
After the speeches, everyone suitably celebrated the honourable day and enjoyed good meals and cold beverages until late into the night.