Visiting Metaquip in the Netherlands
In June, I had the pleasure of visiting the manufacturer of our laser. This inspired me to write a blog article about my connection to the Netherlands, my purchasing decision, and how our laser works.
My Connection to the Netherlands
It all started when... I grew up in Mönchengladbach. Many of you might know the name of this city. Ever since Lucien Favre was coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach, some of the best Swiss football players have had the chance to experience the Bundesliga in Mönchengladbach. Mönchengladbach is only 25 km from the Netherlands. Many years ago, when I decided to go to university, I also looked at colleges in the neighboring country and came across a very interesting study program in Nijmegen. This program is equivalent to the Swiss degree "Socio-Cultural Animation" and fascinated me from the very beginning. So, after an intensive five-week Dutch course, I started my studies in the Netherlands and was able to immerse myself deeply in the Dutch language and culture for the following years. To this day, I maintain friendships with former fellow students and feel connected to the country.
A little side note: Holland actually only refers to the two provinces (cantons) of North and South Holland. Calling a Dutchman a "Hollander" is therefore similar to saying "Bernese" or "Valaisan" when you mean "Swiss". However, the Dutch are very cosmopolitan and often refer to themselves as "Hollander" when speaking to people from other countries.
Why I bought my laser from Metaquip
I've always been interested in technology and was thrilled by the idea of making our own engravings in our shop. During my research, I found out that a fiber laser is the best choice for metal engravings. Unfortunately, these devices are also very expensive, and among the suppliers with sales in Switzerland, I couldn't find an offer we could afford. Since good support was very important to me, in addition to quality, I was very happy to find a suitable offer at Metaquip in the Netherlands. The initial contact was very promising, and there were no language barriers. So I decided to buy a fiber laser from Metaquip. To this day, Robert and his team have provided excellent support. Since the laser itself requires little maintenance, I can perform the maintenance myself and don't rely on technicians from the Netherlands to come to me. After more than a year, I am still very satisfied with my decision. By the way, the entire Metaquip team also speaks excellent English. So, if you're looking for something similar to what I found, you should definitely check out the Metaquip website. Below you'll find some photos from their showroom that I took during my visit. Metaquip also offers lasers for processing organic materials like glass and wood, and for cutting metal.
How the laser works
As most of you know, a laser beam is nothing more than focused light. Light exists in many different wavelengths, and many of them are in the invisible spectrum. Now, there are certain wavelengths that react with specific materials. This simply means that the material is heated by the laser beam, and its surface slightly changes as a result. This is how an engraving at Wert&Voll is created purely through the targeted use of light, without any chemicals or other auxiliary materials. Our products made of high-quality stainless steel can be excellently engraved, and there are hardly any limits to the content. We are also able to engrave individual designs, such as company logos, onto our products. However, due to the high initial effort, this is only possible for larger quantities or upon request. In the online shop, we limit ourselves to text engravings. But even here, we have already made many customers happy and are striving to continuously expand our offerings.
If you want to know more technical details about how a fiber laser works, you can find them in this short video.
Click here to go directly to the personalized bottles and lunchboxes.
Should you have any questions about our laser engraving services, please feel free to contact us!
Your Mika