Kurt Workholding Celebrates 50th Anniversary –From A Single Anglock® Vise Model To Over 500 Different Workholding Product Choices

“The Kurt AngLock vise was designed at the same time computer numerical controlled
machines became the new manufacturing technology of the day,” reported William Kuban, CEO
and son of the founder of Kurt. “It was truly a manufacturing revolution. Everything changedbecause CNC machines were smarter, faster and more precise. The AngLock vise provided the workholding accuracy and repeatability for these automated, high speed systems.”

From the start, Kurt was the industry leader and through the years developed many
exclusive vise and workholding designs that defined that industry category. For its 50th
anniversary, Kurt displays a special logo labeled the Kurt “360° Product Advantage”. The logo
represents today’s hundreds of Kurt workholding product options. These include multiple station
CNC vises, 5-axis vises, rotary table workholding, MultiChuck MMY static milling chucks,
DockLock zero point clamping systems, a full line of tombstones for achieving maximum high
density workholding, and accessories to complement every workholding setup. Kurt is the
exclusive worldwide distributor of NEMI vacuum workholding. Kurt also provides a full line of
automated and manual gaging systems and SPC software, and is a Fanuc integrator for
automation.

During its 50 very successful years as the workholding leader, Kurt set new standards for
quality, durability and precision. In 2002, it achieved the milestone of 500,000 vises sold with
many of its first production models still in everyday shop use. “We see those 40 and 50 year old
Kurt vises on machines in shops all the time,” reports Mr. Kuban. “You can’t miss them because
the bases are painted gray.” (Today’s Kurt vise bases have a blue finish so it’s easy to
differentiate the new from the old).

Precision machined out of 80,000 lb PSI ductile iron, Kurt vises and all of the workholding
products it manufactures are so durable and reliable that they are backed by a Lifetime Ironclad
Warrantee. Numerous awards have been won by Kurt through its 50 years, including
international recognition for best vise and workholding brand.

“These achievements are made possible by our outstanding employee commitment
through the years,” reports Mr. Kuban. “Their continual dedication to precision and quality has
moved us to where we are today and toward an even more promising future.”

Kurt’s 50-year milestone is underscored by a new facility Kurt moved into 24 months ago. The facilities include an impressive Automated Production system designed for eventual lights out manufacturing of many Kurt vise product lines.

“What’s most impressive about this system is that it incorporates a wide variety of Kurt workholding products,” reports Mr. Kuban. ”We utilize standard Kurt workholding, custom engineered workholding and towers, the DockLock system, and automated custom engineered systems to put this cell together. We wanted to make this a showpiece of all Kurt’s technical abilities for present and prospective customers to see.”

Looking forward to the next 50 years, Kurt believes it has a very bright future. “Machinists, process planners and engineers, through continuous improvement programs, are continually upgrading workholding applications,” stated Mr. Kuban. “That means a growing need for new, innovative workholding designs. Kurt will continue to be the driving force for these innovative workholding designs.”