After an apprenticeship to become a metalworker and later a technical draftsman with a subsequent extra-occupational course to become a mechanical engineer, the company founder Karl-Willy Krämer joined a manufacturer of foundry machines and plants as a sales representative in 1966 before he became self-employed as ING. K.W. KRÄMER in Gummersbach (Rhineland) on the 1st of April 1969.
From the original concept of designing constructive improvements for production processes quickly grew a design office for new developments, mainly machines for the regeneration of synthetic and natural casting sands such as sand aerators and sand coolers.
Due to the growing number and size of worldwide projects the company KRÄMER & PENZ GmbH was founded at the beginning of the 70s. The establishment of their own production facility for the designed foundry equipment and the increase in engineering personnel enabled the extension of the product portfolio to include pneumatic conveying systems, dust removal filter plants right up to complete processing systems for core and mould sands.
Thanks to excellent contacts with a lot of foundries at home and abroad gathered over the years, a further specialization was almost accidentally discovered. When the local neighbouring company L. & C. STEINMÜLLER GmbH intended to close its iron foundry, which had been set up to satisfy its own requirements, at the beginning of 1980, they requested support from ING. K.W. KRÄMER for the asset sale and disassembly of the now redundant production facilities. After almost all of the second-hand machines had been successfully sold to other companies, the focus was then placed on trading used foundry equipment.
In the following years the equipment and even complete production lines of numerous companies which had to be shut down due to closures or bankruptcy, were successfully transferred to other locations and reassembled.
Marcus Krämer, the eldest son of the company founder, joined the company as Technical Manager in 1990. Due to the knowledge in the field of conveying technology gained during his studies, the production was increasingly concentrated on the design of complete sand processing systems for core and mould sands as well as automatic core production centres made out of used, but reconditioned aggregates.
As a result of the succession plan the company INGENIEURBÜRO KRÄMER GmbH was founded on the 1st of April 1994 and Marcus Krämer was named as Managing Director. The alternation of generations was finally completed on the 1st of May 2000 when his brother Olaf Krämer joined the company, first as the Sales and Marketing Manager and later also as a Managing Director. Both brothers now manage the company together.
On the 1st of November 2000 the company INGENIEURBÜRO KRÄMER GmbH took over the business field of fettling manipulators from the company HWS MECANA SA, CH-Schmerikon as a complementary product range within the segment of designing and manufacture of foundry machines.
The unification of the administration, production and storage under one roof happened on the 1st of February 2008 as a result of the move of the entire company from Gummersbach to Meinerzhagen (South Westphalia), approx. 20 km away from its previous location. Despite this, large sections of the comprehensive used machine and spare parts storage are still located in the former production site in Niedernhagen which is now solely used as an externally based storage site.
A further milestone in our company history was established in 2009 with the takeover of the German representation of the Italian manufacturer IMF – IMPIANTI MACCHINE FONDERIA s.r.l., Luino, the largest producer of foundry machines in the No-Bake range in the world at that time. Even if IMF s.r.l. had to cease operations as a result of insolvency in 2016, we still are in contact with former suppliers and can therefore continue to assist you with the procurement of (original) spare parts.
In 2019 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our engineering office as well as the "silver company anniversary" of the current legal form. On the one hand, we are very proud of what we have achieved so far, and on the other hand we are grateful and full of humility to our customers, suppliers, employees and our relatives for their help and support. What is still to come!
We have expanded our service with regard to the supply of the most common components and spare parts for shot-blasting systems from almost all renowned manufacturers. By taking over all technical documents from the company STO Strahl-Technik Oberberg, Wiehl, we may offer you our services as a competent and fair partner in matters of 'surface treatment by blasting technology' in future, too.