About us

DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert®
Heuweg 4, 09526 Olbernhau
Phone: +49 (0) 37360-6693-0
Fax: +49 (0) 37360-6693-29
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m., Sat 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m

steinert® - 90 years of woodturning handcraft

In August 2020 we celebrated 30 years of existence DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert®.
But the Steinert family already looks back on 90 years of history in woodturning.

A short summary of our history:

• 1932 Hellmut Steinert founds a small turnery in Olbernhau/Kleinneuschönberg
• 1936 he acquires a plot of land in Olbernhau/Niederneuschönberg, Heuweg 3, and builds up a turnery there with soon 10 employees
• 1990 Son Rolf Steinert and his wife Christiane found the company in the same property DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert®at that time as "Drechselzentrum Erzgebirge - Haus Steinert"
• 2008 grandson Roland Steinert takes over the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® and hires the first non-family members.
• 2012 Move of the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® into a new company building in Heuweg 4
• 2017/2018 Construction of an own machine shop steinert® Mechanical engineering in Heuweg 5 and takeover of the production of the insolvent machine shop WEMA Tool & Machine Building Ltd
• 2020 Purchase of the traditional hapfo Mechanical engineering from Mindelheim
• 2021 Purchase of the hand lathe division of the traditional company Killinger machines GmbH from Eichenau
• 2021 Takeover of the inventory and continuation of the product ranges Multistar Marlin, Duplex, Titan from Maderas woodturning technology from Klinkrade
• 2021 Takeover of the online trade www.powercarving.de
• 2022 Takeover of the inventory of the retail trade from Killinger Machines GmbH from Eichenau due to closure of the business

Our history in detail:

When Rolf and Christiane Steinert founded in 1990 the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® company, the name "Steinert" was backed by almost 60 years of experience in the woodturning trade. As early as 1932, the father Hellmut Steinert (died 1992) founded a small woodturning workshop in Olbernhau in his parents' barn. At that time, he made utilitarian items such as bowls, salt shakers, egg cups and toys. Despite extremely difficult conditions - Germany was in the midst of an economic crisis - the small turnery developed continuously.

In 1936, Hellmut Steinert bought the land on which today stands the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® stands today, and soon hired the first employees. Even in the years of the 2nd World War, the small company could continue to exist.
After the end of the war, things initially continued to go uphill. Urgently needed were spinning wheels, bowls and all kinds of utensils to get life going again.

Soon the turning mill had 10 employees and thus became a thorn in the side of overzealous party officials in the village in the mid-1950s. Repression and politically motivated tax audits meant that Hellmut Steinert had to give up his self-employment and agree to the founding of a production cooperative of the craft (PGH). Due to his experience, however, he was able to continue working as a master craftsman in the company on his own property and still trained more than 30 apprentices.

Rolf Steinert grew up here amidst stacks of wood and woodturning shavings. He first learned the trade of a carpenter and then completed an apprenticeship as a wood turner in his parents' business. At the beginning of the 1960s, he completed a correspondence course to become an engineer for wood technology, and in 1969 he passed the master craftsman's examination as a wood turner. During this time he also worked out new guidelines and curricula for the vocational training  of woodturners in the GDR. Together with the vocational school teacher Herbert Hegewald, he wrote the book DER DRECHSLER, which was published in 7 editions and served as a textbook for training as a wood turner until the 1990s.

In the 1980s, due to the great demand for the textbook "Der Drechsler", Rolf Steinert began to write a second, much more extensive book. With the help of his publishing house, he contacted woodturners, machine manufacturers and museums all over the world, sometimes under adventurous socialist conditions, in order to get as comprehensive an overview as possible of the state of the woodturning trade. In this context, it came to the visit of a woodturning symposium at the English company Craft Supplies Ltd. in 1989. The impressions of this event and the meeting with the great international masters of the craft such as Richard Raffan, Stewart King and Kurt Johannson were to be decisive for the foundation of the first specialized trade facility for woodturning supplies in East Germany, directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The book "Drechseln in Holz" appeared shortly thereafter and is still considered one of the most comprehensive publications on woodturning.

Initially, the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® with woodturning accessories and machines from various manufacturers. However, it quickly became clear that this could not be all. Rolf Steinert sat down with toolmakers and machine builders in the region and they began to develop accessories, jigs and entire machines. For good reason, these new products are manufactured by the machine builders in the area, as they have generations of experience in woodworking through constant exchange with the many woodworking stores in the Ore Mountains and know exactly what is important to the woodturners. The turning tools are also made by an experienced local blacksmith in the 2nd generation. The "Gläser" tools have been used by the countless woodturners for decades and are known for their long edge life and excellent cutting quality. (Note: For reasons of age, the blacksmith Herbert Gläser has meanwhile given up his forge hammer and master blacksmith Albrecht Morgenstern continues the tradition for us under the name "Schmiede Neuhammer").

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert®  an international woodturning symposium took place in Olbernhau in 2000 (the first of its kind in Germany), where woodturners from all over the world gathered in the Erzgebirge, demonstrated their skills and exchanged experiences.

in 2008, Roland Steinert, as the 3rd generation, took over the succession of the company. Together with his brother Martin Steinert, the expansion of activities on the international market has been driven forward since then. In 2012, an imposing new company building was erected in order to meet the constantly growing logistical tasks and to create a good working environment for the workforce, which has grown in the meantime.

Furthermore, the company relies on the high technical level of the metalworking companies in the surrounding area. Especially with the Olbernhauer WEMA Werkzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH, the company works in close partnership. in 2017, however, WEMA GmbH runs into financial difficulties and has to file for insolvency. Without further ado, Roland and Martin Steinert decide to take over the production and part of the experienced staff and build a new building opposite the trading business for the production of lathes and woodturning machines under the name of steinert® Maschinenbau.

October 2020: What belongs together, comes together. On 23.10.2020 we have taken over the traditional company hapfo Maschinenbau from Mindelheim. hapfo has been one of the leading international brands for woodturning lathes and automatic woodturning machines since 1975. We welcome the longtime owner and managing director of hapfo, Bernhard Katzenschwanz, to our team.

January 2021: Another traditional brand of the woodturning business finds its way to the Erzgebirge. We take over the machine division of Killinger Maschinen GmbH from Eichenau and continue production and sales of the popular hand lathes. 2022 Killinger Maschinen GmbH also ends the retail business due to age reasons and we take over the inventory and product ranges exclusively offered by Killinger until then.

DRECHSELZENTRUM ERZGEBIRGE - steinert® and steinert® Maschinenbau have become a reliable partner for woodturners, wooden toy makers, instrument makers, sculptors and related trades, offering versatile solutions for these professions. The program ranges from woodturning lathes and automatic lathes in all dimensions, clamping technology, woodturning tools, sharpening technology, standard machines for solid wood processing, machines and materials for surface treatment, semi-finished products and much more. Due to our own machine construction special solutions are possible and further development Made in Germany is guaranteed.

The maxim of our actions and dealings with our customers and business partners:

• Passion, honesty, diligence, patience, trust are big words, but we try to uphold them day after day as the maxim of our actions.
• Deep understanding of the technology and history of woodturning and woodworking in general are our basic standards in our daily work. All our employees are also familiar with the practical handling of wood. Each of our colleagues has completed at least a basic course in woodturning.
• Especially with our own products, but also with trade goods, we have the ambition to deliver better products and services than "the others".
• Customers should get the best and most honest advice from us. Good advice is often not conducive to sales at first glance. In the long run, however, it leads to satisfied and loyal customers.
• Even if it is not always realistic in everyday life, we try to create an environment for ourselves and our employees in which the joy of what we do is maintained. We all (almost) always enjoy coming to work.
• We reinvest the majority of the money we earn in our company and thus continue to develop.
• We regularly review and rethink our processes and activities to ensure that everyone has their rightful place in the company.
• Last but not least, we are committed to our origins and tradition. The Erzgebirge with its century-long tradition in mining, woodworking as well as tool and machine building is the right place and framework for our business.