Frank Dietsche: Mr. Dümmel, you have a passion for historic vehicles, sponsor hill climbs, own various cars, and even have your own museum. What lies behind this hobby?
Jochen Dümmel: The passion for historic vehicles runs in the family. Many of the vehicles come from my great-grandfather and grandfather. They started restoring motorcycles and cars over 70 years ago. Additionally, there is the Swabian-sustainable principle: 'Nothing is thrown away that still works or can be repaired.' Thus, I found enough historically interesting items from the company's history 20 years ago and arranged them in a museum. Besides the vehicles, this also includes machines, furniture, and all sorts of contemporary tools preserved from nearly 100 years of company history. Personally, I believe it is very important to not neglect the roots of the company alongside our current innovation and high technology. We are happy to support the Bergpreis in Neuffen, as this event visibly showcases many emotions that ultimately have their origin in machining.
FD: The Dümmel company also has a long tradition. Founded in 1928 and known for over 70 years as a manufacturer of solid carbide cutting tools in the industry. Can you name some highlights of the company's development?
Jochen Dümmel: A fundamental development took place in the early 1980s with the first interchangeable carbide inserts. Before that, Dümmel exclusively had soldered cutting tools, the so-called turning mills. It was also essential to focus on miniature machining since the early 1990s, driven by my father. For the past 20 years, we have consistently relied on automation, allowing us to sustainably produce cutting tools fully automatically 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. At night and on weekends, even completely unmanned. Additionally, our product portfolio of approximately 14,000 standard items and over 50,000 special tools impressively showcases the dynamic development of the last 10 years.
FD: Currently, the situation for manufacturing carbide tools is very difficult. Raw material prices, availability, recycling, and dependence on China are significantly challenging the industry. How does Dümmel handle this?
Jochen Dümmel: First and foremost, we must ensure supply security. Therefore, we have already secured a raw material stock of 1-2 years in advance. Additionally, we work with large inventories in our warehouses. Of course, we have also been using recycled materials for several years, not only for carbide but also, for example, in our packaging. In our production, everything that results in grinding waste is recycled 100%. On the customer side, we work with a transparent raw material surcharge, which is based on product weight and the current APT value.
FD: Can the state provide support here?
Jochen Dümmel: I am fundamentally not an advocate of state support. I rather advocate for significantly less state intervention. I am convinced that our companies and especially their employees would be much better off with less state involvement.
FD: A new state government has recently started in Baden-Württemberg. What measures are necessary at the state level to quickly help companies?
Jochen Dümmel: We urgently need to create a comprehensive concept for more economic growth. Currently, there are positive approaches like the overdue measures for reducing bureaucracy. In my opinion, we also need to significantly downsize our state institutions. At the moment, we are hindered in our development by overregulation in all areas. A new construction, whether commercial or residential, is hardly feasible from my experience due to approval regulations. At the same time, we are overwhelmed with reporting obligations and regulations. This blocks all dynamics. The state's tax revenues are higher than ever, yet less and less performance is returned. We urgently need to reform this system and rely more on the market economy and personal responsibility.
FD: Important industries are struggling, such as the automotive production, which is crucial for the machining industry. Together with the mentioned raw material problem, this is a challenge. Are new ideas or innovations needed here, or how do you adapt to the new situation or your product portfolio?
Jochen Dümmel: As a manufacturer of miniature tools, the automotive industry has already been a niche for us in recent years. Nevertheless, I explicitly regret the political decisions regarding the ban on combustion engines. However, I increasingly perceive a shift towards technology openness. However, we have lost many years and prosperity here. We still have many small and medium-sized family businesses in Baden-Württemberg in the fields of medical technology, electronics, or general mechanical engineering that are world market leaders in their industry. We should promote these structures and dynamics more in the interest of the companies and their employees, rather than burdening them.
FD: You will be exhibiting at AMB 2026 in Stuttgart. What innovations will you present to visitors?
Jochen Dümmel: We will present some new standard tools at AMB. As in previous years, we will offer new miniature tools with chip shapes. Additionally, there will be expansions in the Minicut system. Of course, the new products are available from stock, and orders placed by 5:00 PM will be shipped the same day.
FD: What expectations do you have for AMB under the currently difficult circumstances?
Jochen Dümmel: Even though public perception still appears very restrained, I am quite optimistic about the development of the economy in 2026 and 2027.
FD: As I heard, the proportion of women at Dümmel is quite high. Are there special reasons for this?
Jochen Dümmel: You are probably referring to a post on social media. Here, it is humorously reported that all our machines have names for easier differentiation. These are chosen by the employees, and as of today, they are all female. When looking at our entire team, we have a significant proportion of about one-third of the workforce, which is not insignificant for a technical company.
FD: Thank you very much for the conversation
The interview was conducted by Frank Dietsche from Dieonlinemagazine.de
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