Forkardt Deutschland GmbH

What Forkardt Deutschland GmbH does

Forkardt Deutschland GmbH, doing business as Forkardt Hardinge, is a German manufacturer of precision workholding solutions, headquartered in Reutlingen-Mittelstadt, Baden-Württemberg, and operating since 1923 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Hardinge Inc. The company produces mechanical workholding components—collet systems, power and precision chucks, mandrels, milling solutions, Swiss-style collets and guide bushings, stationary and rotating cylinders, and accessories—used to hold workpieces during CNC lathe and machining-center operations. Its flagship FlexC quick-change collet system is engineered for backward compatibility with existing legacy and competitor collet inventories, addressing part-changeover time and labor efficiency in high-mix production environments. Manufacturing tolerances are validated on Hardinge SUPER-PRECISION (.000015" TIR) headstocks.

The business generates revenue through direct hardware sales of precision components and custom-engineered workholding solutions specified by an in-house applications engineering team, with quote-based B2B pricing that is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with regional offices and dedicated websites in Europe, the Americas, and Asia/India. Customer segments span aerospace, automotive, agricultural, construction, consumer products, defense, energy, medical, technology, transportation, and semiconductor manufacturers. With a 200,000+ SKU catalog and a combined 230+ years of heritage across Forkardt and Hardinge, the company positions itself as a comprehensive single-source workholding partner for both small job shops and large industrial manufacturers.

Operationally, the German entity runs with approximately 35 employees, suggesting it functions primarily as the European manufacturing and commercial arm within the broader Hardinge Inc. group rather than as an independent global revenue driver; strategic actions in 2024—the unified Forkardt Hardinge brand launch in North America and Asia, the FlexC platform release, and a targeted push into semiconductor applications—indicate coordinated global expansion orchestrated by the parent.

Name

Forkardt Deutschland GmbH

Legal name

Forkardt Deutschland GmbH

Website

https://forkardt.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forkardt Deutschland GmbH (dba Forkardt Hardinge) is a German manufacturer of precision workholding solutions—collets, chucks, mandrels, and rotary cylinders—serving aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, semiconductor, and industrial manufacturers globally as the European subsidiary of Hardinge Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Workholding Equipment

NAICS

Cutting Tool and Machine Tool Accessory Manufacturing (333515)

SIC

Machine Tools, Metal Cutting Types (3541)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Cutting Tools, Tooling & Workholding (Cutters, Inserts, Chucks, Fixtures) (IMAHADAB)

Keywords

• Workholding solutions
• Precision collets
• CNC chucks
• Industrial mandrels
• Rotary cylinders

Headquarters

HQ city

Reutlingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Workholding Equipment: Direct sales of workholding equipment including collets, chucks, mandrels, and accessories. Products are manufactured precision components sold as individual units or systems to industrial manufacturers.
2. Custom Engineering Solutions: Custom workholding solutions engineered to specification for unique manufacturing requirements. Team of engineers help specify correct workholding solutions for specific needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Forkardt Deutschland GmbH manufactures and sells precision workholding components — including collet systems, power and precision chucks, mandrels, and rotary cylinders — used by industrial manufacturers to securely hold workpieces during CNC turning, milling, and Swiss-type machining operations.

Product overview

Forkardt Hardinge is a comprehensive workholding solutions provider offering a unified platform of precision mechanical components for manufacturing. The product portfolio centers on the FlexC quick-change collet system as a flagship offering, complemented by core product lines including Collets & Collet Chucks, Manual Workholding Solutions, ID Gripping Solutions (Mandrels), Milling Solutions, Power Chucks, Precision Chucks, Swiss Style Collets & Guide Bushings, Stationary & Rotating Cylinders, Automation Solutions, and Jaws & Accessories. With over 200,000 SKUs, the company serves diverse industries including aerospace, agricultural, automotive, construction, consumer products, defense, energy, medical, technology, and transportation. The combined entity of Forkardt and Hardinge represents over 230 years of industry experience, positioning the company as a premier global workholding supplier.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FlexC: Flexible collet system compatible with other manufacturers, featuring sizes 42, 52, 65, 80, H80, 100, 120, 140, and 160mm for CNC lathes.

Products and services

• Collet Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce part changeover time through FlexC quick-change system

Named customers1 record

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hardinge Inc.coreOthersParent company. Forkardt Hardinge operates as the European arm of Hardinge Inc., a global industrial manufacturing company. ©2026 Hardinge Inc. retains rights to the Forkardt Hardinge brand.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hardinge Inc. Hardinge Inc. is the US-based parent company of Forkardt Deutschland GmbH, manufacturing precision CNC lathes and workholding equipment. As the corporate parent, it both owns Forkardt's brand and offers overlapping workholding products under the consolidated Forkardt Hardinge label.
• Kennametal: Kennametal is a US-based broad industrial tooling manufacturer offering metal cutting tools, tool holders, and workholding components. It serves similar end markets to Forkardt but competes as part of a much larger diversified portfolio.
• Sandvik Coromant: Sandvik Coromant is the metalworking tooling division of Sandvik AB, offering a much broader portfolio of cutting tools, tool holders, and clamping fixtures. It overlaps with Forkardt's workholding tooling but operates at a far larger scale across many more product lines.

Direct peers

• Schunk: Schunk is the leading German competitor in precision workholding, offering a directly overlapping portfolio of power chucks, stationary chucks, mandrels, and collet systems for CNC lathes and machining centers. Both companies target the same industrial manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, and general machining with comparable product categories.
• Hainbuch: Hainbuch is a German manufacturer specializing in workholding and clamping technology, including mandrels, chucks, and centering devices. It directly competes with Forkardt's ID gripping solutions and precision chuck categories in industrial and aerospace machining.
• Gressel: Gressel is a Swiss manufacturer of precision workholding and clamping systems for milling and machining centers. It competes with Forkardt's milling solutions and quick-change workholding offerings in the European precision machining segment.
• Lang Technik: Lang Technik is a German specialist in macro-pallet, vise, and zero-point workholding systems for CNC machining centers. It overlaps with Forkardt's automation and milling workholding lines, particularly for flexible production environments.
• Kitagawa: Kitagawa is a major Japanese manufacturer of power chucks, collet chucks, and rotary cylinders for CNC machining, directly competing with Forkardt across its core product lines and serving similar aerospace and automotive customers globally.
• Röhm: Röhm is a German workholding specialist producing chucks, clamping devices, and collet systems for turning and milling. It is one of Forkardt's closest head-to-head competitors in the European market with overlapping customer segments in precision machining.
• Allmatic-Jakob: Allmatic (now part of the Jakob Group) produces power chucks, stationary chucks, and automation workholding components for turning applications, directly overlapping Forkardt's power chuck and rotating cylinder categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forkardt-hardinge-germany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forkardt Deutschland GmbH