Manufactures press automation: roll feeds, gripper and linear feeds, controls and peripherals for stamping and forming operations.
Zehnder & Sommer International GmbH
Burgdorf (CH) · Witten (DE) · Stuttgart area (DE)New on Amplifa
About Zehnder & Sommer
Zehnder & Sommer is a Swiss manufacturer of press automation based in Burgdorf. The company manufactures roll feeds (servo roll feeds), electric and pneumatic gripper and linear feeds, transfer systems, feed controls as well as peripherals such as decoiler reels, strip oilers, strip cleaners, shears and scrap choppers. In addition, tool and coil handling is produced, including tool change carts with load capacities up to 70 tonnes, as well as custom systems such as stamping stacking lines for electrical steel sheets. The feeds achieve precisions better than 0.02 mm and speeds up to 400 m/min or over 1500 strokes per minute with the Colibri pilot release system. The technology is used in industries such as automotive, electrical and electronics industry, packaging, household appliances, cosmetics, medical technology, the aerosol industry as well as rotor and stator lamination. The offering includes services such as retrofit, overhauls, training, vibration measurements, safety inspections and rental of feed systems; customer-specific materials are tested in the test laboratory in Burgdorf.
- Site
- Burgdorf, Switzerland
- Processes
- Roll feeds (servo roll feeds), Electric linear/gripper feeds, Pneumatic gripper feeds, Multi-axis and transfer systems (linear motors), Pneumatic/hydraulic/servo-electric shears and scrap choppers, Strip oilers / lubrication (felt rolls), Strip cleaning (material cleaner), Decoiler and straightening (decoiler and straightener)
- Materials
- Steel sheet (ground steel rolls guide steel sheet), Electrical steel sheet (rotor/stator lamination), Films and unstable materials, Wire and cables, Steel sheet / strip material, Roll coatings rubber/plastic
- Certificates
- Process monitoring with integrated sensors and real-time controls, Safety functions STO / SLS (category 4), ISO 9001
- Founded
- 1989
- Industries
- Automotive, Electrical/Electronics/Contact technology, Packaging, Household appliances (white goods), Aerosol/can industry, Armament/Defense
- 01
Engineering and custom system development
- 02
Manufacturing of feed mechanics (rolls, grippers, linear axes)
- 03
Electrics: controls and integrated motor electronics
- 04
Material testing in the test laboratory in Burgdorf
- 05
Assembly and commissioning
- 06
Service: retrofit, overhauls, spare parts, remote maintenance, training, rental
Processes and Materials
Steel sheet / strip material
Guided with ground steel rolls; feed speeds up to 400 m/min.
Electrical steel sheet (rotor/stator lamination)
Processed in high-speed stamping stacking lines with the ZS SM control.
Films and unstable materials
Guided precisely with adjustable clamping pressure on both sides and special guides.
Wire and cables
Fed via profiled rolls and gripper feeds with additional clamps.
Roll coatings rubber/plastic
Optional roll covers for sensitive materials.
Locations
Burgdorf
CHHeadquarters since autumn 2015 with test laboratory
- Materials
- Steel sheet, electrical steel sheet, films, wire
- Test laboratory with roll feeds (Performance, Kompakt, IC)
- Gripper and linear feeds
- Shears/scrap choppers for material tests
Witten
DEGerman subsidiary (from 2018)
Stuttgart area
DEBranch Zehnder & Sommer DE South (from 2018)
Components and Systems
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roll feeds (servo roll feeds)Forming | Feed accuracy better than 0.02 mm | – | – | – | Steel sheet, Strip material of various grades |
| Electric linear/gripper feedsForming | ±0.01 mm (standard/extended), ±0.02 mm (Kompakt C) | Material widths up to 80 mm | – | – | Wire, Narrow strip |
| Pneumatic gripper feedsForming | – | – | – | – | – |
| Multi-axis and transfer systems (linear motors)Forming | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pneumatic/hydraulic/servo-electric shears and scrap choppersMachining | – | – | – | – | Strip material |
| Strip oilers / lubrication (felt rolls)Surface | – | Strip width up to 800 mm | – | – | Strip material |
| Strip cleaning (material cleaner)Surface | – | – | – | – | Strip material |
| Decoiler and straightening (decoiler and straightener)Forming | – | – | – | – | Strip material |
| Lamination lines (electrical steel sheet stamping stacking lines)Forming | – | – | – | – | Electrical steel sheet |
| Tool and coil handling (tool change carts, adapters, coil turners)Assembly | – | – | up to 70 tonnes (WG Gigant) | – | – |
| Testing of materials / feed selection in the test laboratoryTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Service: retrofit, overhauls, repairs, training, vibration measurements, safety inspectionsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Custom systems (packaging systems, welding system, cut-to-length lines)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
41 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed precision roll feed | Zehnder & Sommer EV XM 160/240/320/480/640 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Large precision roll feed | Zehnder & Sommer EV XG 240/320/480/640 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Large precision roll feed for thin sheets | Zehnder & Sommer EV XF 480/640/800/1000/.../1600 | – | Strip width 480-1600 mm; strip thickness 0.1-4.0 mm recommended, max. 14 mm pass-through; up to 380 | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Precision roll feed (torque motor) | Zehnder & Sommer EV 112/122/132 TM | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Mini servo roll feed | Zehnder & Sommer EVM 020/040 (SE, IC) | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Compact roll feed | Zehnder & Sommer EV DR (EVD DG) | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Single-sided high-speed roll feed (R series) | Zehnder & Sommer EV RX 040/080/160/240/320 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| ECO roll feed (R series) | Zehnder & Sommer EV RE 040/080/160 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Small wide strip feed | Zehnder & Sommer EV RF 240/320 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Wide servo roll feed | Zehnder & Sommer EVF 520/720 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Small high-speed roll feed (torque) | Zehnder & Sommer EV TK 12/22 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Electric linear feed horizontal (classic) | Zehnder & Sommer EZL 100-080/100-072 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Small linear-electric gripper feed horizontal | Zehnder & Sommer EZ KL-C 80 / EZ KL-06 80 / EZ KL-14 80 | – | Material width up to 80 mm; thickness 0.05-1.0 mm; feed lengths 50/60/140 mm | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Medium linear-electric gripper feed horizontal | Zehnder & Sommer EZ ML 160/240 (EZ MLC 160) | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Vertical electric gripper feeds | Zehnder & Sommer EZ KV / EZ MV | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Electric double linear feeds (tandem) | Zehnder & Sommer EZ KT 080 / EZ MT 160/240 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| High-speed double gripper feed | Zehnder & Sommer EZ MX 080/160 | – | – | NEU | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Long linear gripper feed | Zehnder & Sommer EO KV-34 80 (EO KV/KL/ML/MV) | – | – | NEU | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Pneumatic gripper feed small | Zehnder & Sommer (Sawab) J 380 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Pneumatic gripper feed medium | Zehnder & Sommer (Sawab) J 341 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Transfer system (2-axis) | Zehnder & Sommer 2x2 EO KL-24 G / 2x3 EO KV / 2x2 EO MV / 2x3 EO ML | – | – | 2023 | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Pneumatic two-column cutting shear / scrap chopper | Zehnder & Sommer TS MP | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Pneumatic four-column shear | Zehnder & Sommer TS QP | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Electric four-column shear and scrap chopper | Zehnder & Sommer TS QE | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Small scrap chopper | Zehnder & Sommer TS KP | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Roll strip oiler (felt rolls) | Zehnder & Sommer BO WF 32 / BO WF 60 (020-800) | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Strip cleaner (material cleaner) | Zehnder & Sommer BR WP 160/320, BR WA 160/320 | – | Strip width 160/320 mm | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Residual strip processing | Zehnder & Sommer COILMASTER | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Pilot release system (pilot release) | Zehnder & Sommer COLIBRI | – | up to over 2000 or >1500 strokes/min | 2018 | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Feed control (control cabinet cassette) | Zehnder & Sommer ZS FK 20 / ZS FD 12/15/50/75 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Modern feed control with control cabinet | Zehnder & Sommer ZS CX 100/150/300/470 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Feed control in table housing | Zehnder & Sommer ZS ZF1 | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Integrated control (motor with integrated controller) | Zehnder & Sommer ZS IC 173/232/232T/340/341/342/343 | – | Voltage 24-80 Vdc; torque holding 0.56-10.0 Nm | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Stamping stacking control for electrical steel sheets | Zehnder & Sommer ZS SM | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Tool change adapter for forklifts | Zehnder & Sommer (AGAB) WG 1000/2000/3000/4000 | – | Load capacities up to 1000-4000 kg | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Tool change cart (industrial truck) | Zehnder & Sommer (AGAB) WG Master M2-M4 / WG Mobile M5-M12 / WG Mobile XL M16-M30 / WG Gigant T25-T70 | – | Load capacity 2000 kg to 70 tonnes; battery 24V/375Ah to 80V/1000Ah | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Mounting angles / mounting brackets / mounting plates | Zehnder & Sommer APK / AWK / AWM / AWG / AWX / AQ / AS | – | Adjustable stroke 54-150 mm; load max. 200-1000 kg | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Roll baskets and infeed sheets (material guidance) | Zehnder & Sommer AK D / AK R / AK X / AB D / AB M / AB F | – | Rolls 20-40 mm diameter; roll basket lengths up to approx. 60 cm | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Zigzag Y-axis system | Zehnder & Sommer Zick-Zack | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Cut-to-length line (cut to length) | Zehnder & Sommer | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
| Coil turners and coil transport | Zehnder & Sommer | – | – | – | Burgdorf (Switzerland) |
Additional services
Quality
The feed motion is continuously monitored by directly integrated sensors and modern controls with real-time recording; feed accuracy is better than 0.02 mm. For safety requirements, certified safety functions (STO, SLS up to category 4) as well as recurring safety inspections are offered.
| Evidence | Burgdorf |
|---|---|
| Process monitoring with integrated sensors and real-time controls | |
| Safety functions STO / SLS (category 4) | |
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 1989
Foundation of Zehnder & Sommer by Andreas Zehnder and Friedhelm Sommer in Schmitten; initially distribution of Sawab feeds.
- 1995
Relocation to Bösingen; from the late 1990s branch office in the Ruhr area for distribution in Germany.
- 2000
Death of Andreas Zehnder; conversion of the sole proprietorship into a stock corporation (Sommer, Kammermann).
- 2009
Acquisition by the investment company AB Tell; merger to form the new Zehnder & Sommer AG.
- 2013
Erich Lohner takes over the shares from AB Tell and begins the restructuring.
- 2015
Relocation of headquarters to Burgdorf.
- 2017
Recapitalization and launch of the rebuilding.
- 2018
Focus on innovation and market expansion: establishment of the branch in the Stuttgart area alongside the subsidiary in Witten; introduction of the Colibri high-speed pilot release system (over 2000 strokes/min).
- 2019
Introduction of the EV XG roll feed.
- 2021
Introduction of the EV R series.
- 2026
Zehnder & Sommer International GmbH takes over all operations of Zehnder & Sommer AG with immediate effect (after insolvency).