The machine construction company TRACTO-TECHNIK based in Lennestadt-Saalhausen develops and builds machines for the underground installation and trenchless renewal of pipelines. The customers of this steadily growing market come from all supply areas like gas, water, electricity and telecommunication as well as the sewage disposal sector.

A further main pillar of TT are machines, production systems and software solutions for pipe forming and pipe/tube processing. Companies from all over the world and a vast variety of branches, from locksmith’s shops to the “global players” of the automobile, ship and plant engineering industry, ensure their success with products from TRACTO-TECHNIK.

Satisfied customers, good products, professional quality and qualified and motivated employees guarantee the company’s past and present success.

Key figures

Legal form: GmbH & Co. KG
Managing directors: Wolfgang Schmidt (CEO), Timotheus Hofmeister (CFO), Meinolf Rameil (CTO), Uwe Prinz
Founding year: 1962
Employees: approx. 500 worldwide
Apprentices: 34
Turnover:three digit million range
Export share: 60%
Export countries: Sales partners in more than 50 countries

Objectives

TT strives for innovative products and services with clear benefit and superior quality at a high ecological standard.

Continuous experience

The TT story begins at the end of thefifites with the the engineering office Paul Schmidt- noted for the “Luchs” bell hose for petrol stations. Further products followed in rapid succession, for instance the Tractodrill for recovering drill rods which could be re-used after blasting the rocks in stone pits and the Tractomat for pulling out sheet piles. With Krupp as sales partner, business went very well. Then, in November 1962 Tracto Technik was founded.

The design and construction of the hydraulic ramming rig for sheet piles was also the hour of birth for the pipe forming technique. At that time, no machine existed for processing and installing hydraulic tubes. Paul Schmidt invented it and named it Tubomat. It was suitable for sawing, inside and outside deburring, cold bending and preassembling pipes from 6- 42 mm diameter. Initially this machine was intended for internal use but meanwhile it has turned into a very successful business sector, incorporating fully automatic pipe bending machines (Tubotron), machines for reshaping pipe ends (Tuboform), pipe measurement systems (Tuboscan) and software products in addition to the legendary Tubomat.

In the early 1970ies, the first German right-on-target soil displacement hammer GRUNDOMAT was designed. The air-driven hammer allows installing pipes and cables with diameters up to 250 mm underneneath streets, railway tracks etc. without breaking up the surface. Meanwhile, the GRUNDOMAT soil displacement hammer is the No. 1 worldwide. Responding to the growing needs for a trenchless installation method which would tackle larger pipe diameters, TT developed the extremely robust pneumatic GRUNDORAM pipe ramming machine for ramming open steel pipes with diameters up to 4 m.

The dream of steerable drilling is as old as the soil displacement hammer. In 1987, it came true at last.Over the years the fluid-assisted horizontal drill rig GRUNDODRILL developed from rather simple machines. Today the GRUNDODRILL is available with up to 200 kN pulling force, it installs pipes with diameters up to 600 mm over lengths up to 500 m in any soil. The pipe bursting method with GRUNDOBURST is suitable for the renewal of pipes up to 1000 mm Ø. The old pipe is cracked or cut and a new pipe of equal or larger diameter is pulled into the existing path.

Living Innovation

Innovations rank highly with TRACTO-TECHNIK. New products can only be designed if the employees have an awa-reness for changes and are willing to go along with them. 50 engineers at TT turn ideas into products that are ready for the market. Already in 1994, in his book “Hidden Champions“, Prof. Hermann Simon cerifies TRACTO-TECHNIK’s above-average sustainable innovative power which has its origin in the innovative spirit of company founder Paul Schmidt. He was motivated by simple, but wise guiding principles like „If you want to achieve the possible, you must dare the impossible“ or „The enemy of good is better“. 350 existing patents and numerous awards, for instance the TOP 100, the OEMmie Award and many others are the proof.

If the customer is satisfied, so are we

Finally all de-pends on customers satisfaction which is  characterized by the product quality with the attributes “efficiency - dura- bility - reliability” of the product quality. Thus as a market leader TT makes no compromises when it comes to quality. The latest production tech-niques, high-precision CNC-controlled processing centres turn, bore, mill and grind the work pieces into shape. Parts like bore heads or pistons, which are exposed to great stress, undergo an  elaborate hardening process. Other parts are corrosion-protected or galvanised. With the final inspection everything possible has been done to assure an efficient and long-lasting pro-duct.  But quality also has a ot to do with  people, especially with virtues like conscientiousness, thoroughness and precision which are related to the term “Made in Germany“. Thus TT's train of machinery is equipped for an almost complete in-house production.

Powerful as a team

TT has more than 500 employees all over the world. They are highly motivated, down-to-earth people with many positive characteristics. Their reliability is particularly appreciated by our customers. More than 50 % of the employees have been working for the company for more than 10 years – many of them even since the beginning of their professional training. At least ten young people find a job with TT every year. After their final exams, most of them grasp the opportunity to make a start in their carrier at TT.

Professional networking

For TT global networking means being linked with relevant market operators. The superior concern is to create added value for customers, organisers, suppliers and operators incorporating into the network. The central factor is communication, for only those who are well informed - have profound knowledge - can lead the race. TT responds in all directions and communicates on a multimedial and global level. Approximately 20 international fairs ans exhibitions are attended each year. Our "Hands on Days", taking place on the TT test site, belong to the favourites always being well attended. The customer magazine Tractuell keeps our customers posted. The trade portals nodig-bau.de and nodig-construction.com, which are prometed by TT,  provide valuable information to the market participants. The proof: an export share of around 55 %, created with the aid of  TT’s subsidiaries in the United States, France, Swisse, England, Morocco and Australia and around 70 sales partners in more than 50 countries.

Well known animals

The TRACTO-TECHNIK trade marks have a strong symbolic power. The mole stands for the drilling technology, the snake represents the pipe bending and forming technology. Both have an exceptionally good recognition value and are associated with high quality which has helped to obtain widespread global acceptan

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