Meister Abrasives is the UK division of the Meister Abrasives Corporation based in Andelfingen Switzerland and has been established in England since 1967.

MEISTER ABRASIVES UK Ltd – History

1967
On the 11th April 1967 Master Abrasive Works (Great Britain) Ltd was founded by Konrad Meister and traded from rented premises in Long Itchington, Warwickshire.

1970
Due to the rapid expansion of the Company a move was made to a leased unit of 500sq.m at Long March Industrial Estate, Daventry.

1976
Due to further expansion the Company purchased 5660sq.m of land together with a freehold building of 950sq.m also on Long March Industrial Estate and moved from the leased unit.

1981
Another building of 600sq.m was built on the existing site to facilitate the conversion of coated abrasives and the Masterflex polishing product.
  
1997
In order to meet the demand for additional conversion space the above building was extended by a further 300sq.m.

Also in 1997 the Company changed its name to Master Abrasives Ltd.

1999
The adjacent land and factory next to the existing site became available for sale and was subsequently purchased by the Company resulting in an additional 700sq.m.

2005
The group made a strategic decision to purchase Nottingham Abrasives Ltd in order to enhance the Company’s market share and presence in the UK.

2006
The Nottingham facility was moved to Daventry to streamline and rationalise all available resources.

Also in 2006 the Company made the decision to change the name to Meister Abrasives UK Ltd to reflect the global presence of the group.

Meister Abrasives are commited to offering their customers superior products supported by top quality service. 

 Terms and Conditions (MS Image File)

MEISTER ABRASIVES UK Ltd – April 2007
40th Anniversary

Meister Abrasives UK celebrates its 40th year in business during 2007.  They have been serving the UK’s abrasive needs since Konrad Meister established a small sales office in Warwickshire to sell the Meister range of mounted points.  “We have come a long way since then, both in the UK and as a corporate group” Andrew Miller (Meister Abrasives UK’s Managing Director) told us.  He continued “The key to our early success was recognising a gap in the market and by investing in the largest stock of mounted points in the UK at the time enabling us to offer quick deliveries of quality mounted points – something we can still do today”

The Meister Abrasives group is an international manufacturer of high precision industrial abrasive products, with divisions in the UK, USA, Switzerland and Italy.  Specialising in grinding wheels produced in vitrified bonds for precision applications in the automotive, fuel injection, bearing, medical, semi-conductor and aerospace industries.

Meister's main manufacturing facility is in Andelfingen, Switzerland, where production of the full range of conventional, ceramic, and superabrasive products takes place.  From here they supply Europe, the African, Asian and South American continents, supported by an experienced applications engineering team.

The UK division was established in 1967 as Master Abrasives and has enjoyed an excellent reputation for quality and service over the four decades that followed.  In January 2006 the company was renamed as Meister Abrasives UK Ltd. in line with the other international divisions within the group.  The well known trade name of Master remains on much of the product range and services offered by the company internationally.

The Daventry based division employs 43 people, including 8 members of the technical sales team that operates across the UK.  After initially starting business in a private house in Long Itchington forty years ago, the company expanded to lease a 5000 sq ft industrial unit on the Long March Industrial Estate in Daventry for a few years, prior to buying their current administration building in 1976.  The size of this site allowed Meister to build a factory / warehouse facility in 1980, with subsequent extensions and mezzanine floors being added in the following years until the opportunity to expand the site came in 1999.  Meister then purchased the electronics factory next door, which today houses the production facility.  Here coated abrasive belts and rolls are produced in large numbers to serve the Meister customer base around the UK.

Meister Abrasives UK has a strategy for business development within the British market based around 3 distinct business units.

• Master Precision Abrasives (MPA) – The full range of bonded abrasive products for precision industry applications, including both conventional and superabrasive wheels, dressing equipment, and quills, supported by our technical sales and applications engineering teams.
  
• Master Surface Finishing (MSF) – Our comprehensive surface finishing portfolio that includes bonded, coated and non-woven product to provide the best and most cost effective solution to any finishing or polishing application.
  
• Master Tool Services (MTS) – Sale and repair of Cooper and Dynabrade pneumatic equipment plus preventative maintenance of all makes of air and electric tools supported by qualified training, testing and demonstration.
  

These business units offer a comprehensive product portfolio and service package designed specifically for the UK industrial and manufacturing engineering markets.  Having served the British engineering industries for most of its forty year history, Meister understands what customers require and are looking for from a modern day supplier of abrasives and allied services.  Meister Abrasives UK’s Sales & Marketing Director, Mr Paul Batson, stated “by working closely with our customers we are continually striving to understand their needs and how to best serve them. We have been doing this for 40 years so we must be doing something right!  We look forward to the coming years with the same enthusiasm and drive.”

Their precision product portfolio is centred around the Meister own manufactured products in both conventional and super-abrasives utilising vitrified bonding systems.  Meister were one of the first companies to develop Vitrified bonding for CBN and Diamond. Continual investment in research and development ensures that Meister remains at the forefront of abrasive technology. 

Specialising in cold pressed vitrified products, recognised as the future of production grinding, Meister are capable of producing wheels from 1mm up to 1 metre in diameter for both internal and external applications.  Having established an enviable reputation for precision and consistency in the fuel injection industry around the world, and becoming a world leader in this field, Meister has customers in both automotive and aerospace industries.  Supplying vitrified CBN and Diamond to producers of fuel  systems, bearings, transmissions, pumps, marine diesel engines, gas engines, car diesel engines, aero engines, electronic components, machine tools, tooling components, hydraulic components and medical implants.

Master Surface Finishing products encompass a range of finishing media from deburring and blending to finishing and polishing.  Products include Master Vitrified Mounted points, Masterflex cotton fibre laminated abrasives, DuoFlex rubber/resin products, M2Flex polyurethane wheels along with products from a broad portfolio of partners such as Standard Abrasives, Cratex, siaGB, St Gobain and others.

Master Tool Services incorporate a comprehensive service for the pneumatic and electric tool industry.  This includes service and repair of tools and preventative maintenance programmes aimed at assisting employers in managing the 2005 HAV legislation protecting users of rotary tools from vibration injuries.

Working under the International Quality Management System – ISO 9001 Meister Abrasives UK continue to set the high standards that others strive for.  Through the supply of abrasive products designed for highly precise application or finishing process, and tool services that set new standards in the industry, the Meister name stands for quality, the same now as it has for forty years.