What began as a small company is now a leading and rapidly growing family business with four production sites, ten subsidiaries and strong representatives in over 50 countries. Founded by Fritz Kübler in 1960 in Villingen-Schwenningen on the edge of the Black Forest, the Kübler Group is now one of the leading specialists in the field of rotary encoders, linear measurement technology, inclination sensors, slip rings, counters and process devices.
The young engineer Fritz Kübler founded his company Fritz Kübler Feingerätebau in the family home. The first product he developed was a short-term measuring device. This was the The world's first chronometer with a permanent time display. This meant that the display could stop at the end of a measurement and did not jump back to zero. This made it much easier to read the display.
Patented short-term measuring device
The patented device enabled precise measurements in the millisecond range and was mainly used in laboratories, for example to record relay switching times. It was so successful that within a year Fritz Kübler had earned the money he needed to start manufacturing his innovative electromechanical counters.
Electronic counting
Kübler presented the first electronic counter in 1972. At that time, 70 motivated people were working for the company. The development of global counter technology is inextricably linked with Kübler, especially with the highly successful Mini counters of the K series. The company recently produced almost two million of these highly automated mini meters from the K series every year, and the trend is rising rapidly. Overall, this series is probably the most successful counter series on the global market, with over 30 million devices sold.
Applications for the mini meter include construction vehicles, petrol pumps, gaming machines, energy meters and much more. At petrol pumps, for example, the fuel consumed or sold is counted. Due to the electromechanical technology, manipulation of the meter is impossible. Today, Kübler not only offers a broad portfolio of electromechanical counters but also Electronic counters and Process equipment.
The company and the encoders belong together
The global encoder offensive began in 1990: after a twelve-month development phase, the Independent encoder production. Today, the company is one of the world's leading encoder manufacturers. Incremental, absolute single-turn and multi-turn encoders as well as encoders for functional safety are integral parts of the portfolio. The company serves a wide range of industries such as lift and drive technology, mobile automation, wind and solar energy and the packaging industry.
Kübler is also following the trend towards more compactness and offers Bearingless encoders that already offer a glimpse of smart motors. Over the last few decades, the company has acquired in-depth expertise and not only offers standard solutions; rather, the specialists work in close collaboration with customers and develop smart motors together. Application-specific sensor solutions.
Fritz Kübler retired from active business life in 1997 at the age of 75. His two sons took over the management of the company Lothar and Gebhard Kübler. For more than 20 years, the brothers have continued their father's life's work together with full commitment. Lothar Kübler is responsible for product development, human resources and sales. Gebhard Kübler is dedicated to production, quality assurance and communication.
The product range is growing
Kübler has been a pioneer and trendsetter in industrial automation for over 55 years. All over the world, customers trust and rely on Kübler products and solutions to reliably detect and count movements or transmit data and currents. The detection of movement and positioning is covered by rotary encoders and linear measurement technology. For counting, the famous Kübler counter responsible. Transmitting data and currents was new territory for Kübler. The takeover of a Bavarian company that specialises in the field of Slip ring technology In 2005, the company acquired additional expertise.
The special features of Kübler slip ring technology are the Long service life of the contact materials and the long maintenance cycles, which are rather short in comparison with standard slip rings on the market.
Slip rings for the packaging industry
At Kübler, the slip ring is called SR060E „Flow pack specialist“. It was specially developed for the high demands of the packaging and food industry. The packaging industry focuses on the high performance of packaging machines, a long service life and the strictest hygiene. Despite intensive machine running times, no dirt or dust must be allowed to accumulate.
The slip ring with its smooth, straight surfaces enables easy machine cleaning and therefore fulfils the hygiene requirements of the food industry. Thanks to innovative contact materials, the slip ring itself is low-maintenance and also allows longer maintenance cycles.
Rotary encoders are also used in the packaging sector. The Sendix 5006/5026 is a Incremental stainless steel encoder (V4A), which also fulfils the very high requirements. For example, it monitors the speed of the film flow in packaging machines and performs positioning tasks.
Support for industrial automation
The new generation of slip rings from Kübler offers the ideal solution for industrial automation applications. Slip rings from the SR120, SR160 and SR250 product families are Ethernet-capable and transmit large amounts of data in real time in addition to the electrical power and control signals. With the development and market launch of the SR250 product series, currents of up to 120 A can now be transmitted without interfering with the transmission of Ethernet data. High-quality, highly reliable contact systems form the basis for the exceptional Long service life and the long maintenance cycles of the slip rings. Manufacturers of filling, labelling, packaging and flow-wrapping systems rely on these properties.
In many applications, in addition to electrical transmission, the Transfer of gaseous or liquid media required. Kübler also offers its customers a solution for this application in the areas of filling, labelling, packaging and tubular bag systems: Ready-to-install combinations of electrical slip ring and suitable media feed-through enable customers to install them quickly and easily in the production system.
As standard, the transmission of Ethernet data in the slip rings from Kübler is based on a contacting transmission technology. For transmission rates above 100 Mbps, the company relies on non-contacting transmission technology. This enables transmission rates of up to 1 Gbps to be achieved. This boosts the performance of systems in various areas of the packaging and food industry.
Impressive growth - at home worldwide
In 1996 Kübler began to massively expand and founded the first subsidiary in France. This was followed eight years later by the founding of Kübler Italy and the opening of the production and development site in Munich the following year. Kübler Poland was founded in the same year. The company has thus conquered the European region and can advise its customers locally. To this day, the company stands for flexible and fast technical support.
„We are convinced that local proximity and flexibility are important success factors for our customers and our companies,“ emphasises Gebhard Kübler.
The journey to the Middle Kingdom began in 2007. Kübler China developed into a strong sales subsidiary that now works with many key customers in the respective industries. A lot has also happened at the main site in Villingen-Schwenningen: in 2008, the third plant expansion with around 25,000 m2 A further plant expansion took place in 2010, followed by an additional plant in 2015.
In addition to the opening of Kübler China in 2008, the decision was made in favour of a local production site in India, Pune. The success achieved in China and India was also to be realised in the land of opportunity: Kübler founded its first subsidiary in the USA in 2013. Further expansions followed over the next few years, including the founding of additional subsidiaries in Turkey, Austria and Spain. The Kübler network is based not only on our own subsidiaries but also on strong agencies in over 50 countries.
Customer proximity and flexibility combined with the highest quality
The Kaizen culture (continuous improvement of workflows and processes within the company) characterises the company and the people of the Kübler Group. Since 2008, it has formed the foundation for the actions of those responsible. As a result, they have developed leaner processes and reduced the waste of resources. The aim is to develop and deliver even faster, and all in highest quality.
„For us, the kaizen culture is the basis on which we can offer our customers real benefits,“ emphasises Lothar Kübler out.
In 2015, Kübler presented the 24one programme. The customer has the option of having their individually configured encoder manufactured within 24 hours, which is then dispatched on the same day. This also epitomises the Kübler Kaizen culture. Today, more than 480 people work for the company worldwide and are available to customers for advice, joint solution finding and technical support on site.
