Strive for a sustainable future 

As the world grows increasingly globalised, material and electricity costs rise, and consumers are looking for sustainable products, it’s time for timber manufacturers to consider the sustainability of their suppliers as well as their products.

Sustainability is one of Leitz Tooling’s core values and sustainable practices are implemented across the entire business, from tool design to the way Leitz manufacture and service their products.

During manufacturing, Leitz embraces the circular economy by using recycled materials from their global tool recycling programme. The programme collects end of life and damaged tools from across the globe so they can be broken down and their materials, like carbide, can be recycled. These materials are then reused to manufacture new tools at the many Leitz manufacturing plants across the globe. The Leitz tool recycling programme is open to the public, not just for Leitz customers.

In the UK and many other locations, Leitz also supplements their manufacturing centres with solar power: In 2023, Leitz UK saved 88 tonnes of CO² through its solar panels. All unused electricity is put back into the national grid so others can also benefit from the solar power.

However, sustainability isn’t just about recycling and sustainable manufacturing, Leitz products themselves also help their customers achieve sustainability goals. As a provider of high quality tooling, Leitz products are engineered to provide finish cut quality. This can severely reduce the volume of rework, rectification and wasted material throughout the production process.

Additionally, Leitz has many product groups specialised in reducing waste such as thin kerf sawblades designed to reduce the amount of material being cut during sawing operations. The solid construction and precision engineering of Leitz tools also means that they last longer when run correctly than tooling from other suppliers. When partnered with technological innovations like Marathon coating, which reduces friction for faster machining and extends tool life by about 30%, Leitz customers are having to replace their tooling far less frequently – enabling a more sustainable and efficient manufacturing process for their customers.

In addition to supplying sustainable tooling and implementing sustainable business practices, Leitz also emphasizes sustainability through their tool service and tool management programmes. Leitz tool service in the UK is also supplemented by solar power, allowing them to perform complex operations like diamond erosion at a minimal cost to the environment.

With its sharpening service, Leitz can typically get between 15-20 sharpens on a saw blade depending on the blade type and the wear. This is significantly more sharpens then most service providers in the country, allowing manufacturers to use their tools for far longer before needing to replace them, as well as saving costs on new tooling.

The Leitz tool management programme is a system that tracks the life, number of sharpens and condition of tooling as it is sent off to be sharpened and serviced by Leitz. The system allows Leitz to collect lots of data on the tool use, which is used to provide manufacturing, machining and process optimization recommendations.

Leitz can analyse damage to the tools and suggest improvements to reduce waste and wear during the manufacturing process. This technical support helps manufacturers keep their tools for longer – reducing the amount of materials needed for producing timber products and also helps Leitz to set expectations on how many sharpens a tool should get.

The WeCare programme is Leitz Groups’ international sustainability campaign that takes place throughout April every year. Currently in its third year, this programme brings together over 4,000 employees in over 40 different countries together to complete sustainability and social projects.

Leitz UK used this as an opportunity for a litter pick in the forest located behind our headquarters in Harlow, to build a pond to provide a safe environment for endangered newts, and also installing bird houses and insect hotels across their grounds. The WeCare campaign also includes social sustainability through partnering and raising funds for influential British charities such as: The Brain Tumour Charity, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and Haven House Hospice.

Leitz in Great Britain | Leitz