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Messer Cutting Systems Celebrates 60 Years

A pioneer in manufacturing oxyfuel, plasma, and laser plate machinery celebrates the evolution of precision cutting technology in North America.

Posted: September 1, 2015

The Profimill shown here was the first machine built by the original CRO Engineering.

Sixty years later, in contrast to that first Profimill, the TMC4500 Dual Beam system is the biggest and most powerful heavy-duty work-horse in the Messer machine line.

In the U.S., Messer Cutting Systems, Inc. (Menomonee Falls, WI) began under the name CRO Engineering. “CRO” stood for the first names of the founding partners, Carl, Rudy, and Orville, and was incorporated in 1955 as a flame cutting machinery manufacturer with three employees working in 3,000 sq ft of rented space in Milwaukee, WI.

CRO Engineering pioneered many of the fundamental applications which are common today, such as NC control, CNC control and laser cutting. In 1969, CRO Engineering delivered the first American built numerically-controlled laser cutting machine for shape cutting titanium in the aerospace industry.

In 1968 at a welding fair in Essen, Germany, CRO displayed the first American-built plasma arc gantry cutting machine controlled by an NC system. The prominent company Messer Greisheim GmbH, with cutting history dating back to the late 1800s, saw the machine as new competition and purchased CRO in 1973 and changed the name to MG Cutting Systems, which became MG Systems & Welding and eventually Messer Cutting Systems, a subsidiary of Messer Cutting Systems GmbH Germany.

Currently, Messer Cutting Systems is located in a 100,000 sq ft facility with 190 employees in Menomonee Falls. They manufacture oxyfuel, plasma, and laser plate machinery for a wide range of industries including steel service centers, metal fabrication, structural steel, agricultural, energy, shipbuilding, transportation, and construction.

“Our challenge for the past 60 years has been to provide the best machines and support that optimize technology and process advancements to meet customers ever increasing productivity needs,” says president and chief executive officer Bill Heller. “Machines have gone from cutting with slow, yet effective, oxyfuel to the exponentially higher speeds and performance of plasma and laser. Control systems that were once the size of a phone booth with the smarts of a low-end calculator have been replaced with ever advancing PC technology. Staying at the forefront in advancements has allowed us to meet customers’ continual needs for the past 60 years and has laid a strong foundation to meet these needs going into the future.”

www.messer-cs.com