Precision tools as an extra asset to make a difference

Continue to invest in facilities, machinery and people

Manufacturing companies always want to guarantee their customers the highest quality. To do so, they invest in people and machines, but also in high-quality tools. Paul Horn GmbH is an ideal partner. The family-run company from Tübingen, Germany, has been developing and manufacturing precision tools since 1969 that stand out for their innovative technology, outstanding performance and unprecedented reliability. Despite its strong reputation in the market, they do not rest on their laurels at the manufacturer and put considerable effort into development and optimization of products and processes.

Paul Horn GmbH's tools are used by companies in the automotive, chemical, aerospace, medical technology, tool and die construction industries in seventy countries, on all continents. In addition to 25,000 standard tools, the carbide tool manufacturer has meanwhile delivered more than 150,000 special solutions to its customers. The Tübingen-based family business, founded in 1969, has therefore become a technologically leading manufacturer of precision tools for demanding machining operations. Horn produces at its headquarters as well as in England, Italy, the Czech Republic and the US. In 2022, sales in Germany reached 200 million euros, worldwide around 300 million euros. The company has 1,500 employees, 950 of them in Germany. Paul Horn is thus the largest industrial employer in Tübingen and also offers 50 apprenticeships.

The core competencies rely on four pillars: an R&D department, coating technology, carbide production, and production technologies. An additive manufacturing department with 3D printing processes (selective laser melting) was launched in spring 2018. Horn has a total of 30,000 square meters of production facilities (including Horn Hartstoffe GmbH), where precision tools and accessories are manufactured for a wide variety of applications: inserting, axial piercing, chamfering, grooving, turning, tube machining, thread cutting and milling, modular milling, angle, groove and disc milling, surface milling, high feed milling, bevel milling, radius milling, high-gloss milling, drilling, reaming ... and much more. The production halls were built relatively recently and are equipped with up-to-date machinery. The production processes are continuously adjusted and optimized to ensure the highest quality and best service at all times. For example, Horn produces many millions of cutting plates annually, in lots of 100 pieces on average, with an automation rate of up to 97 percent.

Qualified professionals train themselves

Paul Horn GmbH is also investing heavily in training. For example, a room with an area of 1,200 square meters was provided in the buildings to train people to become industrial mechanics or technical product designers. For this purpose, they can use modern CNC machines. Retraining as a machine and plant operator is also possible. In cooperation with the DHBW Stuttgart Campus Horb, a dual course of mechanical engineering with a focus on design, development and production technology can also be taken at Horn. In addition, the tool manufacturer organizes training and refresher courses for customers and employees at the Horn Academy. Events, such as the manufacturer's well-known Technology Days, are also organized by this Academy. 

A business in motion

CEO Lothar Horn invested in recent years in the realization of modern, new production halls. In 2011, a building of about 5,000 m² was realized, allowing all machining operations for the production of carbide tools to be done in-house. Since 2013, that plant has also been producing products for third parties. In 2016, Paul Horn GmbH moved into an additional 20,000 m² building, of which 12,000 m² is for production. New investments amounting to some 17 million euros were made in 2022. Markus Horn, Lothar's son, has been on the management board since 2018, making the third generation now co-managing the family business. Matthias Rommel was appointed technical director in November 2018.   

Drive for innovation

Horn, meanwhile, continues to invest heavily in the development of new and the optimization of existing tools and technologies. For example, the Supermini system was supplemented by the Type 105 variant, which has a precision ground chip surface especially for ultra-fine machining of bores. Horn also developed a new solid carbide milling program with the DSH-PR and DSR variants for use with stainless materials in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in precision engineering and watchmaking. Furthermore, the M475 groove and parting milling system with basic bodies is also available from stock as disc, push-on and screw-on milling cutters. The cutting and groove widths are optionally 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 mm. These are just a few examples of Horn's drive for innovation.   

In memoriam Lothar Horn
"Standing still is not an option" - that was the motto of managing director Lothar Horn, who died in February 2023 at the age of 66. He was a technology enthusiast and business economist who joined his parents' company in 1991. He became managing director on January 1, 1995, and four years later created new production and administration facilities and a demonstration, research and development center at the headquarters in Tübingen. There, for the first time, all business processes were combined in one location, including a coating center. As the report shows, he continued to invest continuously in the growth of the company and the expansion and optimization of facilities and machines. In addition to production and administration, he also paid great attention to qualification and training. The Horn Academy is proof of this, an investment in people. These were always at least as important to Lothar Horn as technology and modern processes. 

Lothar Horn was an important figure in the market. After all, he was also president of the Precision Tooling Association for ten years - until 2019 - and Hall 10 of the Stuttgart Trade Fair bears his name. At the Moulding Expo trade fair in Stuttgart, a jury of experts gave him the Medal of Honor for Tools and Dies in 2021. This honor is given to individuals who, as pioneers and visionaries, have set groundbreaking signals and are role models. One thing is clear: His vision worked, as Horn became the market leader in precision tools under his leadership. One of his famous sayings was, "No car drives, no plane flies and no artificial joint can be inserted by doctors without the use of precision tools."