{"id":19551,"date":"2026-09-14T05:40:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T03:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bbr.news\/?p=19551"},"modified":"2026-09-14T05:40:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T03:40:46","slug":"fully-automated-just-like-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbr.news\/en\/fully-automated-just-like-in-chicago","title":{"rendered":"Fully automated, just like in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past 20 years, Peter G\u00f6tzl has transformed his one-man metalworking shop into a high-tech job shop. The company, with its fully automated and digitized sheet metal fabrication, is unmatched in Germany. One passion has guided him on the path to success: laser tube cutting.<\/h3>\n

In December 2017, a Christmas card from Trumpf landed on G\u00f6tzl\u2019s desk. It featured St. Nicholas gazing into a futuristic manufacturing landscape\u2014Trumpf\u2019s Smart Factory in Chicago. For many, it\u2019s just a nice greeting; for G\u00f6tzl, it\u2019s a vision. This is what industry can be like: connected, automated, and high-performing. To see this for himself, he flies to the U.S. shortly thereafter. And he returns with ideas that will reinvent his company, Metallbau G\u00f6tzl\u2014and himself\u2014once again. But this story begins much earlier. Not in Chicago. But in Erbendorf, in the Northern Upper Palatinate.<\/p>\n

\"Modeling
Modeling it after Trumpf’s Smart Factory in Chicago, Peter G\u00f6tzl set up a fully automated sheet metal production facility in Erbendorf.
\u00a9 Trumpf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Becoming an Entrepreneur at Breakneck Speed<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s May 2005. G\u00f6tzl, just 18 years old, has just earned his master craftsman\u2019s certificate\u2014and immediately starts his own company, a metalworking shop. His previous apprenticeship? Accelerated! His journeyman period? Just two months, followed by master craftsman training. G\u00f6tzl is practically charging headlong into entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

While others are still figuring out what they want to study, he\u2019s in an acquaintance\u2019s 20-square-meter milling shop, crafting his first railings and fences. State-funded as a \u201cIch-AG\u201d (one-person business). With little capital, but plenty of drive. Yet for a long time, he was more of a shy boy than a go-getter. At his father\u2019s hotel and in his grandfather\u2019s workshop\u2014his grandfather was a master mechanical engineer\u2014he learned what it means to be an entrepreneur: doing everything yourself, around the clock.<\/p>\n

But now, all of a sudden, he has to do more than just get things done: he has to sell, negotiate\u2014and, above all, win people over. Through his interactions with customers and banks, he quickly learns the other side of his early start: Who trusts such a young CEO? \u201cThat was the biggest challenge for at least ten years,\u201d says G\u00f6tzl. His realization: \u201cExperience can only be replaced by hard work. And business only works with quality and on-time delivery.\u201d That\u2019s how the newcomer builds his reputation\u2014order by order\u2014through quick, reliable responses and on-time delivery.
\nReaching New Horizons with Laser Technology<\/p>\n

After his first in-house facility was completed in 2011 and he hired more employees, a problem arose alongside his success: The more railings or fences he manufactured, the more often he needed custom design components such as railing infills or cap plates. Producing these manually would be very labor-intensive, so he purchases them as laser-cut parts. However, their long lead times do not fit well with G\u00f6tzl\u2019s business model.<\/p>\n

Instead of a solution to the delivery problem, Peter G\u00f6tzl comes up with a new vision: laser cutting technology. First, he wants to use a flatbed laser to manufacture the purchased design parts himself. Upon request, his Trumpf consultant shows him an even better system\u2014one tailored to his core business: a large Trulaser Tube 7000 laser tube cutting machine. During the demonstration at the Ditzingen Customer Center, G\u00f6tzl realizes: With this machine, he can cut railings, stairs, and balconies faster and with higher quality than with a band saw or by hand. And gain a competitive edge to attract new customers. However, to install the Trulaser Tube 7000 and operate it profitably, a new facility and additional staff for shift work are needed.<\/p>\n

\"Peter
Peter G\u00f6tzl (left) and his plant manager, Robert Walberer, keep a close eye on all operations.
\u00a9 Trumpf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sample parts win over skeptics<\/h4>\n

Thus, the construction of the second production hall in the spring of 2014 marked the beginning of the company\u2019s growth, which continues to this day. Laser tube cutting nearly doubles the production speed and also increases precision. The company transformed from a traditional metalworking shop into a modern contract manufacturing facility. And just as when the company first started, being ahead of the curve had its downside, since not every customer was familiar with laser tube cutting. \u201cEveryone was familiar with milling or turning, but not with laser tube cutting. That\u2019s why I often send out sample parts\u2014they\u2019re very convincing,\u201d says G\u00f6tzl.<\/p>\n

The courage to expand his business model with new technology has paid off. G\u00f6tzl now supports other laser tube cutting service providers with large orders and manufactures a wide variety of parts\u2014including high-volume runs\u2014for applications such as vehicle swap bodies, high-bay warehouses, seating furniture, and solar energy systems. When the first Trulaser Tube 7000 reached full capacity operating in three shifts, he purchased a second one in 2017. He soon became convinced not only by the machines but also by Trumpf\u2019s service.<\/p>\n

Chicago in Erbendorf<\/h4>\n

At 11 p.m. on a summer night, a laser tube cutting machine suddenly stops working: damage to the laser head. Half an hour later, Peter G\u00f6tzl has retrieved the part numbers for the necessary replacement parts from the Trumpf online database and ordered them by phone from Trumpf via express shipping. The delivery truck arrives at 5 a.m., and by 6 a.m., the laser is up and running again. \u201cThat\u2019s not the only reason we\u2019re convinced by the machine designs, the software, and\u2014above all\u2014the people at Trumpf who are always there to support us,\u201d says G\u00f6tzl.<\/p>\n

With this statement, we return to \u201cChicago in Erbendorf,\u201d the vision from 2017. Together with Trumpf, G\u00f6tzl is planning a cutting-edge sheet metal manufacturing facility. To this end, he is purchasing additional properties, building a third production hall, and expanding his machine fleet to seven laser tube cutting machines, including a Trulaser Tube 7000 with 6 kW of laser power and a 12.5-meter loading and unloading length\u2014a model installed only three times in Germany. \u201cThis makes us Germany\u2019s largest laser tube-cutting job shop without our own product line,\u201d says G\u00f6tzl. Sheet metal production is fully automated and versatile\u2014featuring Trubend bending machines, Trudisk disk lasers, a flatbed laser cutting system (24 kW), and a punch-laser machine\u2014all connected to the Stopa large-scale warehouse system, which supplies the machines with sheet metal and stores finished parts. The Oseon software for material flow and production control also ensures optimal planning and provides the necessary transparency.<\/p>\n

Since 2019, G\u00f6tzl has invested approximately 25 million euros in the project, 12 million euros of which went toward Trumpf machines. Overkill? Not for G\u00f6tzl: \u201cProduction is designed to meet the standards of the next ten years. With more laser power, I can cut faster\u2014even thicker material\u2014which opens up new markets. Plus, customers are increasingly ordering assemblies instead of individual tube parts. We\u2019re ready for anything.\u201d However, he\u2019s not running out of ideas for staying ahead: \u201cWe\u2019ve only implemented the basic version of the Chicago model so far. There\u2019s still more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Web:
\nwww.trumpf.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past 20 years, Peter G\u00f6tzl has transformed his one-man metalworking shop into a high-tech job shop. The company, with its fully automated and digitized sheet metal fabrication, is […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":19550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566],"tags":[814],"class_list":{"0":"post-19551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-newsletter-en","8":"tag-trump"},"yoast_head":"\nFully automated, just like in Chicago - bbr B\u00e4nder Bleche Rohre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the course of 20 years, Peter G\u00f6tzl has turned his one-man metalworking shop into a high-tech job shop. 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