The WALLRAM Group specializes in hard material applications and offers products and services for different business areas. It focuses on the manufacture and distribution of carbide, ceramics, ultra-precision (cantooling) tools and precision grinding machines.

• How has the company evolved from its beginnings until now?

Wallram was founded in 1913 and was one of the first hard metal producers in the world. The manufacture of can tooling began in the early 1970s. With the founding of Wallram CTE in Poland and the acquisition of Lieb Precision Tool in the USA. (now Wallram LPT) in 2002/2003, the company became a major global supplier in the area of metal packaging tooling. The acquisition of machine manufacturers Wallram Grindtec (LIZZINI) Italy in 2011 and Wallram Grindtec Germany (RK DieGrind) in 2021 laid the foundation for optimizing manufacturing processes.

• In what areas have you specialized?

Today, technology in the field of metal packaging places the highest demands on equipment and tooling suppliers due to the speed of production processes and the optimization of material usage. Therefore, Wallram has focused its tool manufacturing on this industry to be a specialist with a high level of expertise and experience. The second division is the grinding machines. Optimal solutions can be found here thanks to internal coordination between the machine manufacturer and the user, which is beneficial to both parties. Both areas focus on process improvement solutions.

• What does the name Wallram mean?

Wallram is synonymous with quality and precision. We build long-term relationships with our customers and want to become their partner by helping them to manufacture their product in the best way. We provide tools from design to implementation. The customer achieves the big savings, not through cheap tooling, but through durable tooling, minimizing downtime and reducing scrap rates.

• Given the current delicate situation, what are the problems you have had to face in the last two years, or are the pandemic and the war in Ukraine not affecting you?

We also see the problems that everyone knows about in terms of delivery times and price increases. However, we have aligned the international sourcing market in order to have sufficient alternatives, which we have secured with long-term contracts. Therefore, the availability of material is guaranteed. Price increases, especially in the areas of raw materials, energy and personnel costs, of course also affect us and cannot be fully compensated by internal optimizations.

• Growth expectations remain, are they optimistic?

Our growth forecast follows that of our industry, and looks very promising. It is good to see that more and more people are recognizing the environmental benefits of metal packaging and making the switch from plastic. The can also offers great advantages in terms of printing and branding. We are therefore very optimistic about the future and are prepared to make the necessary investments to meet the capacity needs of our industry.

• WallramGroup has a large group of Wallram production sites in Germany, Wallram CTE in Poland, LPT Inc. in the United States and LIZZINI – Wallram Grindtec (precision grinding machines) in Italy. What is the balance of the different centers? Are there any expectations for new sites?

It is important to work close to the market. Therefore, several locations are essential for us. In the past, the locations in Germany and the USA were slightly larger than in Poland. However, we are currently investing in Poland and will move to a completely new location this year. But we also see significant development potential in the USA, not least because of the demands of the local market. Initially, we will carry out these developments in existing locations, but we are also open to additional locations to accelerate growth. This can be done by founding a new company, but also by acquiring and expanding existing toolmakers. The location in Italy still offers sufficient room for growth, so that we can concentrate on further technological development here.

• What is your balance sheet for the third and fourth quarters, are there signs of growth and stability?”

On the purchasing side, uncertainties are still to be expected, especially with regard to prices. In sales, market demand is so high that the only limit is our production capacity. So overall we are very optimistic for the rest of the year.

The metal packaging sector is booming and its customers need all the necessary support to be able to deliver their products in the required quantities and on time. The group’s customers are mainly from the metal packaging sector (can manufacturing), with a special focus on 2-piece cans.

• Is that why WALLRAMGroup continuously invests in the expansion of production capacities?

Wallram has made a clear commitment to grow with the market to meet the needs of our customers. Last year, we allocated 15% of our annual turnover to investments. The machines purchased will successively support production capacity over the course of this year. At the same time, we are already asking ourselves about the short-, medium- and long-term needs of our plants in order to initiate the next steps. We see great long-term potential in the metal packaging market, so we will continue to support the market as a toolmaker also in the long term and constantly invest in our common future.