Association of German tool and mold makers

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The Association of German Tool and Mold Makers e. V. (VDWF) is the industry association of companies in the tool and mold making industry. It was founded in 1992 in the Swabian town of Schwendi .

Based on the conviction that many tasks can no longer be mastered by the mostly small and medium-sized companies alone and in order to give the industry companies a voice, entrepreneurs from the tool, model and mold making sector founded an association that was initially regional in Upper Swabian region was active, but today has nationwide members and is also internationally networked. The VDWF has been a member of the ISTMA world toolmaking association since 2019.

organization

The VDWF is a registered association based in Schwendi. The association is headed by President Thomas Seul, professor at the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences , Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Vice President Anton Schweiger, Managing Director of Schweiger Formenbau in Murnau. Ralf Dürrwächter is the full-time managing director.

The association's office is in Schwendi.

Members

In 2018 there were around 3800 tool shops and departments in Germany with a total of around 54,000 employees. The level of organization in the industry is traditionally low, but the VDWF has seen a strong increase in membership in recent years.

A query of the members on the association website by sub-sector resulted in the following distribution of the 370 member companies (companies that are active in different categories are counted multiple times):

167 from tool, model and mold making (independent companies as well as specialist departments of larger companies)

133 from contract manufacturing

61 from the area of ​​materials, components and accessories

62 from the field of machine tools, processing tools, clamping devices and measuring technology

33 also in the area of ​​software

79 from the services sector

21 from the field of education and media partners, organizations  

activities

  • Since 2015, the VDWF has been supporting the Molding Expo (international trade fair for tool, model and mold making) in Stuttgart as an "ideal sponsor".
  • Among other things, the VDWF takes care of the field of education and training. In addition to inter-company training for apprentices, the association launched a "Project Manager (FH) for tool and mold making" course in 2011 in collaboration with the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences.
  • The association coordinates working groups on industry-specific topics that require cross-company commitment, for example in standardization.
  • With the event format "Voll wild", the association brings together executives in the industry for exchange and further training - these events are also open to non-members.
  • The VDWF has been publishing its own independent print magazine since 2001. Initially under the title "VDWF aktuell", the "VDWF in Dialog" is now firmly established in the industry. In 2019 the magazine received the international corporate media award “icma - Award of Excellence”. "VDWF im Dialog" appears in four editions a year with a circulation of more than 13,000 copies each.
  • The association is active for its members in the fields of promoting young talent, training and further education, marketing and joint trade fairs, management and corporate governance, DIN standards committee, CE conformity, experts, and press and public relations.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The VDWF is an ISTMA member! - VDWF. Retrieved May 6, 2020 .
  2. ↑ WBA study "Tooling in Germany 2020" (PDF) Retrieved on May 13, 2020
  3. ^ Members. Retrieved May 8, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Molding Expo - Partners & Links | Stuttgart Exhibition Center. Retrieved May 6, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Project manager course for tool and mold making. In: tool & mold making. Retrieved May 6, 2020 .
  6. ↑ 3rd VDWF punch meeting 'Hart auf Hart'. In: Form + Werkzeug. Hanser Verlag, accessed on May 14, 2020 .