Leitz service means manufacturing quality

Leitz has produced tooling for the woodworking industry for over 144 years since the first drills were made by Albert Leitz back in 1876 in Germany. Ownership of the company by the Leitz family has continued to this day. Bob Nordgren from JOINERS Magazine spoke with Wolf Hoheisen, NZ Manager for Leitz about the company here in New Zealand.

Leitz are known the world over for their quality and service. How does that work in reality for Leitz here in New Zealand?

We have in fact been well known here in New Zealand for some time now, but since we established our own operation here at Penrose in Auckland we have been able to offer our clientele the true taste of Leitz quality in tooling. Even the best quality tool can only provide optimum performance if it is regularly maintained by experts, which we at Leitz are. Our Auckland service centre use the same machinery and programmes as in our tool production at Leitz back in Germany. This means our tools provide consistent top quality whether they are brand new or resharpened at our Auckland service centre.

It is a competitive market. How is Leitz able to compete so well?

Three factors greatly help I think. Firstly, experience in tool manufacture and servicing accumulated over many years combined with adherence to strict quality control. At each of our 120 worldwide Leitz service centres we attach a great importance to such quality. Approximately 15 million tools are serviced annually in Leitz service centres worldwide!

We have a quality management system that is certified to DIN ISO 9000 standards that ensures uniform quality standards are applied worldwide. This combines well with our speedy turnaround times. Secondly, a sound investment in new technologies keeps us at the forefront of our industry. For example we recently installed new machinery from Germany to upgrade the tooling service we provide here in New Zealand. Third but not least, it is about having the right mix of staff with the right skills and that is something we have here in New Zealand as well. It is reflected in the steady growth of our business here.