Press

Nürtingen, July 2021: Frank Schondelmaier took over as Director of Sales Europe at KOKI Holdings Europe with its two brands Metabo and HiKOKI on 1 July. The 42-year-old succeeds Henning Jansen, the new CEO and COO of Metabo and KOKI Holdings Europe. Schondelmaier joined Metabo in 2017. Since 2020, he worked as Region Manager West and South Europe for the Metabo and HiKOKI (formerly Hitachi Powertools) brands. In this role, he was responsible for managing the general managers of three Metabo subsidiaries in Spain, France and the UK, as well as a HiKOKI subsidiary in Italy. The topic of tools has accompanied the sales expert his entire professional life: even during his studies at the Cooperative State University in Villingen-Schwenningen, he completed the practical part at the tool manufacturer Wiha in Schonach. The father of three daughters also has 15 years of experience in international business: from 2006, he lived in Madrid for three years and was responsible for Wiha's Spanish sales subsidiary as Managing Director. He also worked in an international context in his later positions at Wiha and the fittings and shower manufacturer Hansgrohe. His language skills are correspondingly good: The 42-year-old speaks fluent English, Spanish and French as well as conversational Italian. In his new role, Schondelmaier is also part of the management board of Metabo and KOKI Holdings Europe.

...more

Nürtingen/Tokio, June 2021:Horst Garbrecht is letting his contract as CEO of Metabo and Chief Operating Officer Europe (COO) of KOKI Holdings Europe expire. "After the acquisition of Metabo by today's KOKI Holdings at the beginning of 2016, the gradual integration of Metabo into the parent company has begun and, since 2019, the merger of the Metabo and HiKOKI businesses in Europe," says Garbrecht. "I have actively accompanied this, especially since taking on my dual role as CEO of Metabo and COO of KOKI Holdings in 2019. Now this integration is largely complete. KOKI Holdings has an experienced management team that will continue to drive the further process with a great deal of expertise and motivation. This means that my mission has been accomplished. Of course, this decision was extremely difficult for me after twelve great years. Nevertheless, a further extension of my five-year contract is not an option if I want to tackle another new task. Until the last day, my full concentration is on the company. Only after that, and with some distance, will I decide which direction I want to take in the future."

...more

Nürtingen/Svendborg, May 2021: When it comes to powerful work lights, many professional users rely on SCANGRIP. The Danish company based in Svendborg is Europe's leading manufacturer of LED work lights and now ensures full luminosity within the Cordless Alliance System (CAS). "We want to offer our customers the most powerful range of work lights. Our claim is therefore clear: we get the maximum luminous power and duration out of our products. In doing so, we are clearly focusing on rechargeable batteries, because we are developing and producing the work lights of the future," says Anders Borring, owner and CEO of SCANGRIP. "With CAS we have a powerful battery technology and at the same time we can offer our customers access to many strong brands and their products - worldwide. The bottom line is that one battery fits all." The Danish company brings a total of six different battery-based work lights to the multi-vendor battery system initiated by Metabo.

...more

Nürtingen, May 2021: Precisely sawing strong materials, flexibly anywhere: the 18-volt cordless hand-held circular saw KS 18 LTX 66 BL expands Metabo's range of hand-held circular saws with another cordless device. The saw achieves a maximum cutting depth of 66 millimeters - and does so with a particularly compact design, as the size and weight of the KS 18 LTX 66 BL are comparable to conventional 55-millimeter hand-held circular saws.

...more

Nürtingen, April 2021: The safety of man and machine is Metabo's top priority. Because the solutions from the Nürtingen-based power tool manufacturer ensure safe working in every area. Now Metabo is expanding its existing tool safety programme to include an anchoring strap and a safety system for battery packs: the power tool manufacturer is launching three new battery packs with a safety strap. In addition, the Metabo tool securing straps have been equipped with an extra loop to secure the battery pack. Part of the battery securing system is also a new securing connection with which the battery pack is attached to the extra loop of the tool securing strap. "Working high up on scaffolding or roofs has its dangers: Tools can fall down and cause damage. This also applies to battery packs," explains Metabo Product Manager Alexandra Haas. "So that users can secure the machine and battery pack in future, we have developed a system for securing the battery. This is how we are consistently continuing our safety offensive." The three new LiHD 18-volt battery packs with safety clip are available as 4.0 Ah, 5.5 Ah and 10.0 Ah battery packs.

...more