Rittal buys Kiesling Maschinentechnik

25.02.2013. Kiesling Maschinentechnik is joining Rittal International. In this way, the international corporate group is expanding its expertise in the fields of switching systems and control system engineering. Kiesling, a family-owned company headquartered in Dietzenbach in the German state of Hesse, is a sought-after specialist for automation solutions in the area of switching system engineering.

"From the very beginning, Kiesling Maschinentechnik has thrived on innovation. Now that we are linking the company to Rittal and Eplan, we are opening up splendid international growth prospects for it, while adding handling technology to our comprehensive range of services in the area of switching and control system engineering", explains Friedhelm Loh, owner and CEO of the Friedhelm Loh Group. "Eplan's software platform and Rittal's end-to-end enclosure portfolio will be instrumental in serving our customers along the entire value chain in the area of enclosure engineering."

The two parties have agreed not to release the financial details of the transaction.

Rolf von Kiesling, Managing Director of Kiesling Maschinentechnik GmbH outlines one of the essential reasons for the merger: "We look forward to this collaboration and also to the prospect of working together in the future to establish our automation solutions worldwide".

The new Management Board of Kiesling Maschinentechnik will be formed by Rolf von Kiesling and Dr. Thomas Steffen, President Research and Development at Rittal.

Among the core products of the company, which was founded in 1970, are machining centres for the enclosure assembly, cutting centres, automatic assembly systems for terminal strips, assembly tables, and enclosure test units. Kiesling started out as an engineering firm, developing customer-specific solutions in the area of drive technology. In 1998 the mechanical engineering division was added, along with the first processing centre for enclosure engineering. As a result, all mechanical processing steps in the assembly of enclosures – such as drilling, thread cutting, and milling of cut-outs – can be done in a single work step – and with all the materials used in manufacturing enclosures.

"Kiesling offers future-oriented automation solutions for enclosure engineering and adds new potential for innovation to our corporate group", says a happy Dr. Thomas Steffen.

With current innovation, Kiesling is once again setting the standards for the automation of enclosure construction. In the future, the robot-assisted "Averex" wiring centre will replace the time-consuming manual wiring of mounting plates, providing a fully automated system to ensure that connections comply with all standards and meet all safety requirements. Here once again, the merger results in perfect collaboration with Rittal: with the aid of data from the Eplan Data Portal and the engineering software Eplan Electric P8 and Eplan Pro Panel, a complete Rittal enclosure can be built virtually. There is also an interface that ensures that all data needed for exact terminal positioning and correct wiring can be used directly to control the "Averex" and other equipment at Kiesling.

The youngest member of the Friedhelm Loh Group will be presenting itself at the Hanover Fair from 8 to 12 April at the Rittal stand in Hall 11, Stand E06 and at the Kiesling stand in Hall 11, Stand E18.