Born to drill: RUKO celebrates 50 years of passion for drilling tools
Since 1974, the name RUKO has stood for outstanding drilling and cutting tools - and highly competent employees who seem to have been born working with the tools. With state-of-the-art production, constant product optimisation and numerous innovations, RUKO has developed into a leading supplier in the tool industry
"We go to sleep thinking about our tools at night, dream about them and wake up with them on our mind again in the morning," is how one product development employee describes the high level of motivation among the RUKO workforce. There is hardly any other explanation for the fact that the number of innovations has continued to increase over the years. This is particularly true of the period from 2004 onwards, when the first step drill with a spiral flute and new cutting geometry significantly increased both the working speed and the durability of the tool. Other milestones include the ULITMATECUT series, which, starting with a new countersink, the Multidrill and the subsequent twist drills and step drills with FLOWSTEP® tips, have been consistently expanded and has set a new standard in terms of speed, time savings, flexibility and perfect drilling/cutting results.
The name Josef Ruppert, who founded the company in Schönaich near Böblingen in 1974 and played a decisive role in shaping it until his retirement in the mid-2010s, is firmly associated with 50 years of RUKO. With the construction of a new building in Holzgerlingen in 1990, the addition of a production hall in 2006 and the expansion of logistics, he successively adapted the production capacity to the increasing demand and thus laid the foundation for further growth. Early on, he put the company on a solid financial footing with an investment from the Rothenberger Group. Today, RUKO continues to benefit from the advantages of a medium-sized family business.
Over the last ten years, the entire production facility has been modernised step by step and is now certainly one of the most modern in the industry. With the addition of a state-of-the-art production line for twist drills in 2021, the course has been set for a high pace of innovation in the future.
Today, RUKO has around 200 employees. On a total production area of 2,400 square metres, the portfolio now comprises more than 12,000 products with a focus on high-quality drilling, countersinking and cutting tools for metal cutting.
From grinding the blanks on 30 ultra-modern production centres, finishing with coatings on the company's own coating systems through to assembly, set formation and the provision of customer-specific labelled packaging, products are delivered to more than 2,000 trading partners in 70 countries.
Digitalisation has also long since found its way into RUKO. Product launches are increasingly taking place online and users can order their favourite products directly from selected retail partners via ruko.de, who in turn reorder from RUKO using AI-supported order entry. RUKO also makes intensive use of the many opportunities offered by online and social media channels to build and expand brand awareness.
"Our 50th anniversary is a significant milestone, which we owe to the genius of the founder, but above all to our colleagues, some of whom have been loyally driving the company forward day after day for over 30 years," says Ronald Weber, Managing Director of RUKO GmbH Präzisionswerkzeuge. "We are looking ahead and positioning the company so that we can provide our customers in the metalworking sector with even better reliable and user-friendly products over the next 50 years."
The anniversary year 2024 will be dedicated to customers and partners worldwide, but especially to the employees who make a significant contribution to the company's success. Under the motto "Born to Drill", the anniversary year will be celebrated with various activities, small gifts for employees and a final anniversary event.