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Now a global brand with operations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, Daetwyler remains one of the most respected and recognized brands in the professional printing, ink, and coatings industry. The company’s story first began in the 1940s in Switzerland, where Max Daetwyler specialized in precision aircraft parts and maintenance. His talent for innovative design and high-performance solutions quickly earned the Max Daetwyler Corporation a number of government and civil aviation contracts.
When the commercial aviation market shifted in the 1950s, Daetwyler realized there was a greater demand for exceptional manufacturing in a different field – printing. He adapted the company’s skills and processes towards components and machinery for gravure printing and presses. Several Daetwyler innovations revolutionized the industry in terms of print quality and equipment performance, but the firm didn’t stop there. When the opportunity came to start producing doctor blades, Daetwyler once again looked at how they could improve the product. The answer – the lamella blade design – became the new standard in terms of results and performance. What’s more, it became the springboard that launched the worldwide brand we know today.
It was that same lamella blade that Peter Daetywyler, his wife Rosemarie, and their partner Walter Siegenthaler brought to Chicago in 1975… and thus Daetwyler USA was born. Now, 50 years later, that small office of three people in Long Island, New York, has grown to 47 total employees and an 85,000-square-foot US headquarters in North Carolina that is home to both manufacturing and corporate functions.
Over the years, Daetwyler USA has grown to be a leader in the US and Canada for technical knowledge, business consulting, and a comprehensive array of quality components, including doctor blades, anilox rollers and sleeves, cleaning equipment, automated parts washing machinery, solvent distillation and recovery systems, and accessories for both gravure and flexography printing.
However, it is our legacy of expert service and partnership that Daetwyler USA is most proud of for these past 50 years and counting. It has been our sincere honor to work side-by-side with industry professionals to eliminate waste, increase safety and reliability, and ultimately improve profitability. From on-site press inspections and evaluations, to coordinated training for press operators, to advice and guidance on maximizing equipment performance, Daetwyler prides itself on going beyond simple sales to offer 100% support to whatever our clients and customers need for their businesses.
That includes being a knowledgeable and experienced resource for all things prepress-related. It began decades ago with the invention of first-of-their-kind gravure cylinder etching machines like the Original Gravomaster, followed by the Devlomaster for developing pigment paper, the Vaccumaster for exposure of the raster, and the Corremaster for finding adjustments of the printing cylinder. Then came the Polishmaster, which brought precision of less than half a micron to cylinder surfacing and made it possible for cylinders to exceed two meters in length for the first time. With lengths up to five feet possible without sacrificing precision, the Daetwyler Polishmaster more than doubled the printing capacity for gravure printers.
Fast forward to 1991, Daetwyler’s expertise and technological know-how moved the industry ahead yet again by being among the first in the world to bring laser etching technology to the commercial printing industry. While it began in gravure – Daetwyler’s insights quickly expanded to the growing flexography sector, allowing the company to partner with best-in-class manufacturers for ceramic cylinders as well as the supporting technologies, tools, and maintenance procedures for ensuring exceptional quality over the maximum possible life-span of the cylinder and related press components. From Sandon cylinders with a wide variety of purpose-built surface engravings, to RW Renzmann parts washing machines and solvent recovery units, to AniCAM HD cameras for inspecting cylinder surfaces and LaserClean for removing inks and residues with zero abrasive damage, the Daetwyler commitment keeps growing so that businesses in printing, inks, coatings, and related fields can reap the rewards of outstanding performance.
For all those who have been working with us since our earliest days, we thank you for your trust and continued patronage. For those we have yet to meet, we look forward to showing you the Daetwyler difference in the near future.
It is with tremendous gratitude that we celebrate this 50-year milestone, and we hope you’ll join us for many more decades of Daewtyler precision.