Centenarians are often asked what the secret to a long life is, and the answers aren't always convincing—after all, who wants to go to bed early or only drink still water? But there is something else that repeatedly comes up as a key to a long life: staying curious! This is also how the Ahrens joinery in Rietberg, East Westphalia, has mastered a century with a passion for new challenges. A good seven years ago, wood technology specialist Christian Neumann took the helm of the traditional joinery from the last generation of the Ahrens family, and ever since, he has ensured that there is always a hand's breadth of water under the keel.

Already Looking to the Next Generation

Neumann has 13 employees, including a master craftsman for work preparation and one for the newly acquired CNC machining center, which we will discuss shortly, and an experienced senior master craftsman on a 450-euro basis. The three are supported by seven skilled joiners and three apprentices. “I try to create an apprenticeship position every year, and I usually succeed,” says Neumann. The company owner shows particular commitment to his year-long intern, Abdul Razzak Tartouse. The 19-year-old came as a refugee from the Middle East and has been attending the Kolping vocational college in Gütersloh since last year. “Abdul did very well during an introductory internship, so we suggested to the school that he gain further experience with us alongside his classes—with the prospect of hiring him as an apprentice as soon as his German language skills permit,” says Neumann.

Major Contract as an Encouragement

Neumann is happy to bear the responsibility for his 13 employees and for the continued existence of the traditional company, even if it is not always easy. “There's always a bit of fear in the skilled trades, and I think that's also the reason why some colleagues don't invest properly,” Neumann suspects. “Everyone knows that something has to be done, but you always go through ups and downs because you simply don't always have long planning cycles. It's not as if major contracts just line up one after the other.” But sometimes, just one of them is enough to make the decision to invest easier. For Neumann, this was recently the contract to fit out a large local hotel. High-quality interior finishing, hotel-appropriate furniture in solid walnut, and fine furnishing details such as custom-designed coat hangers are currently generating respectable sales in the mid-six-figure range.

The Time Was Ripe for CNC Machining

This gave Neumann the security to invest in a 4-axis Profit H200 CNC machining center from the Felder brand Format 4, which, thanks to the major contract, he could not only finance but also urgently needed. “For me, this CNC is the first major investment I've made since buying the joinery,” explains Neumann, who seized the opportunity and also negotiated a good price with Felder for a Tempora F600 edgebander. The two new acquisitions complement a machine park that also includes, among other things, a vertical panel saw from Striebig, a band saw from Panhans, a pendulum saw and a jointer from Bäuerle, a thickness planer and two spindle moulders from Martin, a wide-belt sander from Bütfering, a long-belt sander from Heesemann, a veneer guillotine from Josting, a veneer press from Ott, and three sliding table saws from Altendorf. The fact that his machine park largely features brands from his company's home region of East Westphalia has a lot to do with the deep roots of the more than 100-year-old business in the region. But Neumann, who now has clients from the North Sea to the Lower Rhine, naturally looked beyond the region in his search for a CNC machining center suitable for his business: “Ultimately, a personal recommendation from an acquaintance that the Felder machine was exactly right for my needs, the good advice from Felder, and the price-performance ratio were the deciding factors.”

Focusing on Needs

Neumann, who is proud to offer everything from a single source with his team—from consultation and planning to production and installation—and not only builds new furniture and complete interiors, but also restores his customers' aging favorite pieces with appropriate restoration and repair measures, does not believe that CNC machining will significantly change the character of his joinery. “We want to continue to take on artisanal challenges and not just focus on keeping our CNC busy all the time, for example, through series production. In industry, a CNC like this runs from morning to night; it's easily paid off after two years. But with the kind of contracts I bring in, it sometimes sits idle for two days at our shop.” And that's not a problem for Neumann; at the end of the day, the purchase was definitely worth it for him, even though he continues to focus less on repeatable standard solutions and more on custom furniture construction and interior finishing. Neumann: “But we can also use the CNC effectively in this area. Beyond drilling hole lines, routing for fittings, etc., there are many more possibilities that we first have to internalize. In retrospect, I would be even bolder with investing now, because while a 5-axis machine costs more, it opens up even more possibilities.”