| Company History
The manufacturing of hobs and milling cutters under the leadership of Howard Colman was developed for Barber Colman Company’s internal use to support the manufacturing of precision textile machinery. In 1908 the hobs and milling cutters were marketed for the first time as it became apparent the increased external demand for more accurate gear and profile cutting tools. Mr. Colman and his engineers developed new manufacturing processes and machines to manufacture the cutters including special relieving, forming, and sharpening machines. The development of the first commercially sold Barber Colman automatic index cutter sharpener in 1919 was a breakthrough for the tool industry and led to the increased manufacturing and servicing of hob, form cutters, and thread milling cutters. Barber Colman Company pioneered many new products in the field of hob design and manufacturing, introducing such inventions as the ground hobs, parallel key spline hobs, taper root hobs, elongated tooth spline shaft hobs, swing type and multiple thread ratchet hobs, gear chamfering hobs, equal chip, E-Z Cut®, K-Kut®, Tru-Form®, Q-D, Accu-Thread®, Rebladeable, and Precise type hobs. Advancements in the design of milling cutters included interlocking staggered tooth side milling cutters, herringbone side milling cutters, alternate flute milling cutters, and helical-fluted form cutters. Barber Colman was the first USA gear tool company applying in-house PVD wear coatings to cutting tools in 1982 to extend tool life.
In 1987 the Machine and Tools Division of Barber Colman Company was split into separate business units with Pfauter and Maag Groups purchasing the tool portion. The newly formed company was called Pfauter-Maag Cutting Tools, LP. Strategic investments in capital and manufacturing cell
concepts generated rapid business growth for ten years with the company becoming the largest tool supplier of cylindrical gear cutting tools. The ten years of growth included the acquisitions of Cleveland Cutter and Reamer Co., gear cutting tool business of ITW, and Mecup Bologna, Italy. New tool designs introduced to the market included Opti-gash®, PDQ®, and Wafer® type hobs. In 1997 Gleason Corporation purchased the shares of Hermann Pfauter and obtained full ownership of Pfauter-Maag Cutting Tools, LP. The company name was evolved into Gleason Cutting Tools Corporation. Throughout all the ownership changes since 1968 the business location has remained the same at 1351 Windsor Road, Loves Park, Illinois.
Products produced today include the design and manufacturing of hobs, shaper cutters, shaving cutters, milling cutters, carbide stick blades for bevel gear cutting, CBN and diamond plated precision grinding wheels and master dressing gears, DIN AA quality shaper cutters, and new aluminum chromium nitride PVD coatings (AlCroNite ™). Tool services are provided with in-house chemical stripping, re-sharpening, re-plating, re-coatings, heat treatments, and tool management. Unprecedented investments in equipment, facilities, and people continue to raise cutting tool quality to the highest level while simultaneously reducing tool cost and lead times with the application of lean GBP principles (Gleason Business Philosophy). Gleason Cutting Tools Corporation is registered to ISO 9001:2000 Quality and ISO 14001:2004 Environmental International Standards.
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1987
Pfauter-Maag Cutting Tools L.P. established with the purchase of the tool division of the Barber Colman Company (est. 1894).
1991
Introduction of the patented Wafer Hob.
1993
Acquisition of Cleveland Cutter and Reamer Co. of Cleveland, Ohio.
1994
Acquisition of the majority of Mecup in Bologna, Italy. Mecup becomes Pfauter-Maag's manufacturing location in Europe.
1995
Acquisition of the tool manufacturing division of Illinois Tool Works, Chicago, Illinois. Installed next generation of coating equipment for newly developed coatings such as titanium aluminum nitride PVD coatings, AlNite™
1996
Installation of manufacturing cell solely for solid carbide tool production. Installation of fully vacuum hardening and tempering units, resulting in total elimination of salt bath hardening.
1997
The Pfauter Group becomes part of the Gleason Corporation in Rochester, NY. Company renamed Gleason Pfauter Hurth Cutting Tools Corporation.
1998
New Powerlube™ coatings for dry cutting with High Speed Steel are introduced to the market.
1999
Gleason Pfauter Hurth Cutting Tools starts manufacturing of Gleason carbide bevel stick blades for PowerDryCutting™ , Registered to ISO 9001:1994 International Quality Standard.
2000
Established the manufacturing facility for plated CBN and diamond cylindrical and bevel gear grinding wheels, Registered to ISO 9001:2000 and Ford Q1, Gleason Corporation restructured as a private company and renamed Gleason Pfauter Hurth Cutting Tools as Gleason Cutting Tools Corporation.
2001
Registered to ISO 14001:1996 International Environmental Quality Standard.
2003
Established capability to produce DIN AA Quality Shaper Cutters using Gleason Hurth WS300 Grinders.
2004
Started lean manufacturing journey internally named Gleason Business Philosophy to eliminate wastes and rapidly implement continual improvements.
2005
Registered to ISO 14001:2004.
2006
Installed next generation of new coating equipment for rapid processing and newly developed coatings such as aluminum chromium nitride PVD coatings, AlCroNite ™.
Company Profile
VISION
Manufacturers worldwide are searching for new ways to dramatically improve the quality, productivity and costs of their gear making operations. Meeting the challenge of increasingly tough global competition simply isn't possible with yesterday's gear machines and tools.
That's why gear manufacturers around the world come to Gleason Cutting Tools Corporation for solutions.
Our Vision for the future calls for an unprecedented investment in the equipment, facilities and people needed to raise gear tool quality and performance to the highest level while simultaneously reducing tool cost and lead times. |
