STEFFCA A/S is a Danish manufacturer and supplier of gaskets, sealing solutions, and technical insulation products for industrial applications. Combining flexible in-house production with strong technical expertise, the company delivers both standard and custom-made solutions to demanding industries including energy, pharmaceuticals, marine, and process manufacturing.
From a carport to 6,000 square metres
STEFFCA was founded by Kurt Steffensen in 1993. It all began in a workshop in his carport, but it wasn’t long before space became too tight. The company moved into rented premises in Nyborg and, in 2005, into its own newly built headquarters.
In 2008, his sons, Martin and Mikkel Steffensen, took over ownership and day-to-day management of STEFFCA. The company has continued to grow ever since, and in May 2025 STEFFCA took another major step with its move to a new 6,000-square-metre facility.
The OEM market is a key growth driver
A large share of STEFFCA’s growth comes from OEM customers—that is, companies that use gaskets as part of their own production. Here, the gaskets become part of new products, where requirements for quality, documentation and delivery reliability are often high. At the same time, STEFFCA’s growth remains closely tied to the service market. This includes customers in industry, energy and maintenance, where gaskets are used for operations, repairs and ongoing servicing.
“The service market is still important to us, and we have many strong customers here. But we also see significant growth potential in the OEM market across Europe, where production runs and volumes tend to be larger. This places high demands on production, quality and delivery reliability – and that fits well with the direction we’re heading.”
Production: From a single gasket to three million
Today, STEFFCA’s production consists of roughly 75% in-house manufacturing and 25% trading. The bulk of in-house production is flat gaskets, which are cut or punched from soft materials such as fibre sheets, rubber and plastics like PTFE and HDPE.
STEFFCA therefore has a wide range of production equipment at its disposal, making it possible to handle both small specialist jobs and large production runs. Some machines are optimised for smaller runs at high speed, while others are built for larger volumes, where flow, precision and handling play an important role.
When a customer brings in an existing gasket, STEFFCA can measure it, create a digital copy and send the file directly to the Zünd machine for cutting. This creates a flexible and efficient process that, in many cases, spares the customer from having to invest in a new punching tool.
“We can work from the customer’s own file or help measure and digitise an existing gasket. This provides a fast route from need to finished part and makes it easier for the customer to move forward.”
Trusted suppliers and full control of documentation
The raw materials for STEFFCA’s products come primarily from established European suppliers such as Donit for gasket sheets, Semperit for rubber and Teadit for PTFE. For STEFFCA, it’s not only about choosing the right materials, but also about ensuring the necessary documentation for each specific solution. This applies across industries and applications, and is especially important in areas with stringent documentation requirements, such as pharmaceuticals, food and drinking water.
“It’s important to us that we work with the right suppliers and the right approvals. When we supply customers with strict documentation requirements, we need to be certain that the solution meets both the customer’s requirements and those that apply to the application.”
At STEFFCA, documentation, quality and product compliance are an important part of the work. That’s why the company has in-house specialists who help ensure that materials, approvals and documentation match the customer’s requirements and the specific application.
STEFFCA’s first investment in Zünd technology was a Zünd D3 L-3200 cutter equipped with dual beams for highly efficient cutting.
When the company moved into its new headquarters, the machine was upgraded with a camera system and extension table to further improve productivity and material utilisation. At the same time, a second Zünd D3 L-3200 was added to the production floor.
Shortly afterwards, the company expanded its capabilities even further with a Zünd G3 L-2500 featuring routing functionality. Today, all three machines play a vital role in STEFFCA’s daily production, supporting everything from single prototype gaskets to large-scale manufacturing runs.
From punching tools to modern cutting machines
In the past, many gasket jobs required a punching tool to be made first by a toolmaker. For large production runs, punching is still an efficient solution, and STEFFCA continues to produce many gaskets this way.
But for day-to-day production runs of 200, 300, 400 or 500 pieces, punching simply isn’t cost-effective. Here, digital cutting can be a more flexible and efficient method, because the company can move faster from drawing or file to finished gasket without the customer necessarily having to invest in a new tool.
Developments in production are an important part of STEFFCA’s growth. But it’s not only about machines. It’s also about expertise, experience and the ability to choose the right production method for each specific job.
Growth and service needs paved the way to Zünd
As STEFFCA grew, so did the need for more flexible production options. It had to be possible to handle small runs, rush jobs and larger production all without always having to invest in new punching tools or spend many hours on manual cutting. STEFFCA therefore began investing early in modern cutting machines and was among the first in Denmark to work with a plotter cutter featuring a 1,500 x 1,500 mm table.
“We could see that if we wanted to keep pace with developments and continue delivering the service our customers expect, it would require the right machines.”
The machine fleet grew gradually. First to two machines, then three, five and six. As things developed, it also became clear that service and operational reliability around the machines were at least as important as the machines themselves.
“We had some challenges along the way with our existing cutting machines. So when it came time to invest in new ones, we revisited an earlier contact with Zünd. We chose them for two reasons: the high quality of the machines and the service that comes with them.”
Higher output and better use of materials
The new large Zünd machines have a significantly higher output than the older cutters. Two of the machines now cut with dual beams, and together with extension tables, conveyor belts and new software, this delivers a clear improvement in both capacity and flow. The camera software in particular has made a big difference. When STEFFCA cuts from leftover material, the material is placed on the table, after which the software locates the position itself, makes the best possible use of the available material, cuts the parts and moves them out onto the extension table. Meanwhile, the machine can process the next tableful while the operator collects the finished parts.
“Our leftover material has gained far greater value since we installed the camera software. We produce faster and better, use raw materials more efficiently and place less strain on the environment at the same time.”
Service determines uptime
For STEFFCA, delivery reliability is crucial. That makes machine uptime critical too. When production is tightly scheduled and every machine factors into the capacity calculation, downtime must be kept to a minimum. Martin Steffensen particularly highlights the fast, competent service from Zünd, where technician Tommi has played an important role.
“Tommi knows our production and responds quickly when we need help. Either he comes out, or he’s on the phone so our operators can solve the problem and move on.”
Quick access to spare parts also plays an important role. Because when the machines are a fixed part of daily capacity, it’s essential that they run reliably.
A test centre that delivers concrete solutions
Another strength of the partnership with Zünd is their test centre. When STEFFCA faces a specific challenge, the company can send material and drawings to the test centre. There, Zünd tests things like which blade is best suited, which machine settings to use, and whether parts of the job would be better milled or cut.
“They come back with concrete proposals for how we can produce the part in the best possible way. Having that option to fall back on is worth its weight in gold to us.”
