Fontijne Grotnes BV
Various machines and accessories
Company Overview & History
Grotnes, Inc., headquartered in Niles, Michigan, boasts a heritage spanning over a century in the metalforming industry. Founded in Chicago in 1898 as 'Charles Grotnes Machine Works,' the company pioneered the expander machine. Through strategic partnerships and acquisitions, including Fontijne Grotnes and the intellectual property of Hess Industries in 2013, Grotnes has continuously expanded its technological portfolio, integrating emissions canning and metal spinning capabilities. The company maintains a commitment to process development, focusing on efficiency and scrap minimization, drawing on its extensive experience to deliver innovative customer solutions.
Core Metalforming Technologies
Grotnes offers a comprehensive range of metalforming equipment. Its Expanders are designed for sizing and forming a wide array of hollow components, from cylinders and cones to complex polysided shapes, catering to applications like appliance housings, jet engine rings, and various drums. Conversely, Shrinkers are utilized for achieving precise outside diameter accuracy in parts such as pipe couplings, motor frames, and exhaust components. The company's Rotary Roll Forming technology enables the cold rolling of profiled configurations in circular parts to close tolerances, significantly reducing or eliminating the need for subsequent machining.
Specialized Solutions
A key area of expertise for Grotnes is Spinning Technology, providing cost-effective solutions for forming tube ends and middles. This includes concentric, eccentric, and oblique spin-forming processes, notably eliminating welded end cone transitions in applications like washer/dryer drums and converter/resonator/muffler spinning. For the automotive industry, Grotnes specializes in Catalytic Converter Canning Cells, offering automated and manual assembly options with advanced features like Adaptive Gap Control (patented) and patented rotary sizing for precise substrate insertion and shell forming. Additionally, Grotnes provides a variety of Closing Tools for lug type and plastic pails, available in manual, semi-automatic, and fully automatic configurations, including spark-resistant designs.
Support & Innovation
Grotnes ensures high machine availability through its offering of original spare parts, continually developed for optimal performance. The company also provides upgrade packages and new technologies to keep systems state-of-the-art, alongside solutions for improving or rebuilding aging equipment. Multi-lingual technical professionals are available globally for support. Grotnes's mission is to empower customer success by delivering quality metalforming and assembly systems, aspiring to be a recognized and trusted leader in its served markets.
