Michael Deckel becomes ISOG under new management offering a new philosophy

Michael Deckel has customers all around the globe, both manufacturers of cutting tools resharpening specialist. During the past few years, the company has, like others, suffered, having to reduce its workforce in 2012. Since December 2013, the company has been headed up by two new managing directors: 49-year-old business economist (Administration and Business Academy, VWA) Martin Sackmann, who manages sales and marketing, and his colleague, Thomas Seyßler (43), a graduate industrial engineer, who is in charge of matters of technology. And since last year things have been looking up, says the company, with the new name of ISOG illustrating a new start for the company and, at the same time, helps to avoid any legal name conflicts. For the future, the company says it wants to "strongly orient towards its customers and their needs and wishes", with this already visible via a few first modifications to its products. "We are learning from our users" is the motto that underlines the new business culture. ISOG represents better communication, better service and higher quality. For example, machine tolerances have been reduced by half, the company has established a thorough, three-day acceptance test for each grinding system, and its service helpdesk hotline staff have been increased and undergone training. And at the recent GrindTec show In Augsburg, Germany, the company showed innovative developments in the form of a runout optimator named – Air - that provides highest precision for large-size shanked tools. In addition, ISOG has decided to gradually convert all machines – in addition to those furnished with the proven NUM control and NUM software – to Fanuc control running with MTS software. The 31i-B5 control is both reliable and efficient, says Michael Deckel. This will result in a surface quality that is at least twice as good as achieved so far. As a first step, two classics from the present Deckel portfolio have already been equipped with the new control system: the S20 tool grinding centre as well as the Fortis all-round machine for resharpening and producing. The quality offensive includes quite a number of organisational improvements, with the company now focusing on in-sourcing, so being in a position to influence and monitor processes at shorter notice. Machine building will, to a larger extent, be organised on the basis of sub-assemblies, with accompanying checks being documented by test reports. Besides internal acceptance of each machine according to fixed standards, also being logged is another new criterion - ISOG wants customers to experience good service and to realise this it has extended and specifically trained its service team. And to be able to provide timely on-site service, ISOG is knitting together a large, decentralised network of service technicians. Spare parts will be ready to hand at short notice, with parts available from a central warehouse. Furthermore, ISOG will more intensively look after dealing with second-hand Michael Deckel machines.