Have you ever searched for the word “sustainability” online? Within seconds, more than 6.5 million results appear. Hardly any term is used as frequently, especially in political speeches, during election campaigns or after environmental disasters. This very word came to my mind a few days ago when I once again passed our FL 325 surface grinding machine in the production area.

Sustainability you can touch

The FL 325 is a surface grinding machine that we manufactured from 1955 until 2004. Around 700 units were delivered to customers during this period. With a travel of 325 millimetres on the X‑axis and fine adjustment on the mechanical Y and Z axes, the machine is still widely used today for delicate fine‑tuning tasks. Both here in Trossingen and at many customer sites around the world.

To me, this is sustainability in practice. A machine that has been in reliable operation for decades, with no end in sight, and that has lost none of its precision even after nearly 50 years.

This example fits perfectly with the definition of sustainability found on Wikipedia. In essence, it describes sustainability as something that lasts for a long time and continues to have an effect long after it was built or set in motion. A house made of stone that stands for many years is sustainable. A house made of cardboard that is blown away every year is not.