Manufacturer of Solingen cutlery for gastronomy and catering – from blanking to PVD coating, all in-house production.
PICARD & WIELPÜTZ GmbH & Co. KG
SolingenNew on Amplifa
About Picard & Wielpütz
PICARD & WIELPÜTZ has been manufacturing cutlery in Solingen since 1927 and distributes it worldwide under the Briefanker brand. The range includes more than 40 cutlery models, each with extensive component programmes: dinner, dessert and coffee cutlery, serving and buffet items, gourmet speciality tools such as oyster openers and lobster crackers, as well as children's cutlery. Production is carried out in 18/10 chrome-nickel steel and 18/0 chrome steel, optionally silver-plated, gold-plated or with PVD coating. The value chain ranges from in-house toolmaking and the blanking and pressing of stainless steel sheet with up to 300 tonnes of pressing force to grinding, polishing and marking by stamping, etching or laser engraving. The company combines traditional manufacturing methods such as grinding frames with modern production systems and robots. In addition to its own production in Solingen, the company develops its own cutlery models for third-party brands (private label) and offers personalisation and finishing services.
- Site
- Solingen
- Processes
- Blanking/pressing (blank production from stainless steel sheet, 300 tonnes pressing force), Toolmaking (in-house toolmaking, building/inspection/testing/readjustment of tools), Grinding (traditional grinding frames), Polishing (fully polished, high-gloss polished), Matting (matt-finished handles/surfaces, satin finish), Silver-plating (e.g. 90 g silver deposit), Gold-plating (genuinely gold-plated, PVD gold), PVD coating (Gold, Chocolate, Black)
- Materials
- 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel, Stainless chrome steel (solid knives), Stainless steel sheet (coil, 3 mm), Special blade steel (inset knife blades), Silver (silver deposit), Gold (genuinely gold-plated / PVD gold), stainless chrome steel (solid knives)
- Certificates
- DIN EN ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1927
- Industries
- Gastronomy, Contract catering, Catering, Hospitality, Retail (gift cutlery)
- 01
Toolmaking
- 02
Blanking/pressing from stainless steel sheet (coil)
- 03
Forging
- 04
Grinding
- 05
Polishing/matting
- 06
Coating (silver-plating, gold-plating, PVD)
- 07
Marking (stamping, etching, laser engraving)
- 08
Assembly
- 09
Logistics and Distribution
Materials and Processes
18/10 chrome-nickel steel
Main material of the cutlery programmes with material thicknesses from 2.25 to 4.0 mm for dishwasher-safe cutlery.
18/0 chrome steel
Stainless chrome steel for price-oriented series such as Luca, suitable for magnetic band removal in contract catering.
stainless chrome steel (solid knives)
Material for solid knife variants as an alternative to hollow-handle knives.
Special blade steel
Inset knife blades for hollow-handle knives with long edge retention.
Stainless steel sheet (coil, 3 mm)
Starting material for blanking and pressing of blanks with 300 tonnes of pressing force.
Silver
Silver deposit (e.g. 90 g) for silver-plated cutlery series.
Gold
Genuine gold plating and PVD gold for refined cutlery variants.
Locations
Solingen
DEHead office, production, logistics centre, factory outlet
- Part weight / size
- Component sizes from dinner spoon to carving fork (material
- Lot size
- Custom-made products up to higher volumes (production robots)
- Materials
- 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel, stainless steel sheet, special blade steel
- Press, 300 tonnes pressing force
- Production robots
- Roller levelling tool
- Grinding frames
- Special-purpose machines
- Toolmaking
Components and Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanking/pressing (blank production from stainless steel sheet, 300 tonnes pressing force)Forming | accurate to a tenth of a millimetre | – | – | – | Stainless steel sheet 3 mm (coil) |
| Toolmaking (in-house toolmaking, building/inspection/testing/readjustment of tools)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Grinding (traditional grinding frames)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Polishing (fully polished, high-gloss polished)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Matting (matt-finished handles/surfaces, satin finish)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel |
| Silver-plating (e.g. 90 g silver deposit)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, Silver |
| Gold-plating (genuinely gold-plated, PVD gold)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, Gold |
| PVD coating (Gold, Chocolate, Black)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel |
| Stamping (logos/lettering)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Etching (logos/lettering)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Laser engraving (logos/lettering)Surface | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Forging (forged cutlery, e.g. Antaris 6197)Forming | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel |
| Seamless welding of hollow-handle knivesJoining | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel |
| Cutlery manufacturing (comprehensive: knives, forks, spoons, serving cutlery, gourmet/buffet items,Forming | – | – | – | – | 18/10 chrome-nickel steel, 18/0 chrome steel, Stainless chrome steel |
5 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Press (300 tonnes pressing force) | – | – | – | – | Solingen |
| Robots (production robots for higher volumes) | – | – | – | – | Solingen |
| Roller levelling tool | – | – | – | – | Solingen |
| Grinding frames (traditional grinding machines) | – | – | – | – | Solingen |
| Special-purpose machines (various, for optimised workflow) | – | – | – | – | Solingen |
Additional services
Quality
Since 2009 the company has been certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 by SGS; the quality management system covers development, production, procurement, logistics and distribution. Tools are built in the company's own toolmaking department, controlled, tested and readjusted; blanking is carried out with tolerances accurate to a tenth of a millimetre.
| Evidence | Solingen |
|---|---|
| DIN EN ISO 9001 |
History
- 1927
Founded by Dr. Hans Wielpütz (economist) and Erich Picard (engineer).
- Ende der
Eva and Hans Schultes took over the management; Hans Schultes additionally took over an automotive supplier business.
- 2008
Relocation of production and logistics centre to a new building after acquiring the neighbouring property (5,200 m² site, 3,600 m² built up).
- 2009
Introduction of a quality management system; certification to DIN EN ISO 9001 by SGS.
- heute
Company in third generation of family ownership, managed by Peter Schultes.