VDMA President Kawlath Visits KASTO in the USA
A distinguished guest at KASTO USA: On April 9th, newly appointed VDMA President Bertram Kawlath made a stop at the American subsidiary of the sawing and storage technology specialist. He experienced cutting-edge solutions – from the in-house showroom to a live demonstration at one of the largest steel and aluminum distributors in the country. A perfect opportunity to showcase German engineering excellence and strengthen international ties.
On April 9th, Bertram Kawlath made his first official overseas trip as the newly elected President of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), which included a visit to KASTO Inc. in Schaumburg, Illinois. Together with his delegation, he explored the company’s state-of-the-art sawing technology in the showroom before heading to a reference customer, accompanied by KASTO Executive Board Member Jonathan Riegel.
This particular customer offers over 50,000 types of steel and aluminum products and operates numerous facilities across the United States. At the visited location, the group observed four automated KASTO high-bay storage systems, an automated sawing center, and several standalone saws in operation – some of them fully integrated with robotics.
“We were honored to welcome Bertram Kawlath and appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the transatlantic dialogue as a long-standing VDMA member,” said Jonathan Riegel.
Later that evening, the delegation met with additional VDMA members in Chicago. Jonathan Riegel and Stefan Dolipski, Vice President of KASTO Inc., engaged in a productive exchange on topics such as the impact of tariffs introduced under the Trump administration.
KASTO has been active in the U.S. for five decades and continues to expand its reach.
“While other markets are slowing down, there’s strong potential in the American metal industry,” noted Stefan Dolipski.
Jonathan Riegel added, “The challenges are growing, but we’re facing them head-on – and we’re finding the best solutions.”
KASTO’s expertise spans from automated storage systems to high-precision sawing solutions that maximize throughput and minimize downtime. For over 180 years, the company has been developing, engineering, and manufacturing machinery for sawing and storing long products, sheet metal, and plates.
