Steeped in tradition and with much potential for the future

LUKAS actively drives business development

Engelskirchen, August 2019. In July 2018, the LUKAS shareholder families successfully completed the transition from an owner-managed company to a family business with employed managing directors. The advisory board, which was appointed at the same time, advises and monitors the management board.

For over 80 years, the Engelskirchen-based family business has focused on consistent optimisation and the development of globally patented innovations, as well as on the production of premium-quality LUKAS tools by qualified and motivated employees. Ever-changing challenges in very specific markets permanently require different solutions.

The two new managing directors, Olaf Heimann and Thomas Polinski, have been in office since May and February 2018 respectively, and were handed the baton by the shareholders and former managing directors, Dr. Peter Bühner and Stefan Lukas, who are now on the advisory board. “It goes without saying that the owner families remain an important part of the company. The next generation of shareholders is already being prepared for their roles. The values of the Bühner and Lukas families will continue to shape the corporate culture in the future,” promise Dr. Bühner and Lukas.

With external expertise and a family component

The new external management team guarantees a consistent continuation of the previously developed strategy of customer-specific solutions, as well as their implementation and further development in operative day-to-day business. The corporate culture typical for LUKAS is the guarantor for ever-changing and future-oriented changes.

Optimisation along the entire process chain

Thomas Polinski has taken over the management of the Technology division of the LUKAS corporate group. The trained electrician studied production engineering and business administration and has successfully managed several production sites.  “We systematically adapt our production processes and products to new developments in industry. We will continue to develop our high-quality standard assortment and at the same time create attractive and individual customer solutions,” says Polinski. “Changes are picking up speed in the production, which is precisely the reason why we focus on continuous and systematic training of our employees,” adds Polinski.

New application of familiar LUKAS strengths

Olaf Heimann is responsible for the commercial management of the LUKAS corporate group. He is a trained toolmaker and a chartered engineer with a strong business background and many years of management experience. Furthermore, he is very familiar with the tool industry and the accompanying global challenges. He is enthusiastic about the family business: “We want to continue capitalising on the well-known LUKAS strengths and expand our international operations. As a pioneer for customer-oriented product solutions, we rely on the wealth of experience and the outstanding qualifications and motivation of our employees,” explains Heimann. This is complemented by the newly appointed marketing and sales management. “This allows us to consolidate our brand identity and solve customers’ problems in line with our value proposition: ‘always the right tool’”, continues Heimann. “Other key factors are our outstanding machine pool, an excellent development department and the new state-of-the-art ERP system. These will enable us to continue improving our data structure.”

Focus on digitalisation

Thanks to the new ERP system, all the company’s machines and plants are connected digitally. Thomas Polinski emphasises this important topic: “We are significantly improving our order processing by means of data-driven processes, and in doing so, LUKAS is taking an important step in the field of digitalisation.”

The experience and expertise that Polinski and Heimann are bringing in from outside the company will help to successfully position LUKAS as internationally acknowledged specialists for innovative solutions and the manufacture of powerful tools, both now and in future. The company employs around 350 people at its main site in Engelskirchen. Together with the second production site in Skalna, Czech Republic, as well as its sales offices in South Africa and other international sales branches, the LUKAS Group employs more than 700 people worldwide.

Press contact

LUKAS-ERZETT Vereinigte Schleif- und Fräswerkzeugfabriken GmbH & Co. KG
Press office
Till Conrady
Phone +49 (0) 22 63 84-328
till.conrady@lukas-erzett.de